Young people are always restless because of their strong blood and energy.
Leo IV was obviously such a young man, and he was also an emperor, the emperor of one of the most powerful empires in the world.
The result of his restlessness was He likes to lead his army everywhere and conquer personally.
This war with the Bulgars is no exception.
The entire plan was planned by him.
This aspect also shows his extraordinary intelligence.
However, he does not know that his plan has been destroyed, and he does not know yet.
The partial division he sent to cut off the Bulgars' retreat had been completely wiped out.
On September 23, Leo IV's 50,000 troops had been in ambush in Giorlu for five days.
There was a relatively narrow basin leading to Constantinople in Giorlu, and there were towns and villages living around it.
According to the previous invasion records of the Bulgars, they must take this route to facilitate looting and grab more things.
Therefore, Leo IV set the decisive battle here.
This narrow basin is about twelve miles long and five miles wide.
Although the surrounding mountains are not high, there is no room for cavalry to detour in this narrow basin.
The low mountains and the width of five miles from north to south will also make the Bulgars Ignoring reconnaissance and ambush, this is why Leo IV set the decisive battle here.
Leo IV had no other choice.
He did not dare to fight the Bulgars in the Great Plains.
The Eastern Roman Empire had too few cavalry, most of which were infantry.
Fighting in the Great Plains would be detrimental to the Eastern Roman Empire's army.
Even if they win the battle, they cannot catch up with the Bulgars who have a large number of light cavalry.
The Bulgars have the right to choose the time of battle, and they They only have the right to choose the right location.
As for harmony, in the Thrace region, neither side has the factor of harmony.
The barbarians living in the Thrace region were forced to survive by the heavy taxes and taxes of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Naturally, they would not What good impression does one have of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Eastern Romans here also hate the Bulgars who come to plunder almost every year.
Lucis, the general of the Praetorian Guards, walked quickly to Leo IV with his sword in hand and pressed his chest to report: "Dear Your Majesty the Emperor, the Bulgars are coming.
They are twenty miles away from here.
Their marching speed is very slow.
It takes an estimated two hours to get here.
What is strange is that they only have 5,000 cavalry, and the remaining 20,000 or so are all infantry, and there are a large number of livestock behind them carrying a large amount of supplies."
Leo IV's eyes flashed, and he sneered: "Isn't this normal?
They burned, killed, and looted all the way.
They robbed too many things, and they couldn't carry them all on their backs.
They could only use horses and livestock to carry them.
That's good. , very good, the Bulgars are looking for death.
They have robbed so many burdens and will be defeated later.
I will see how they escape and pass on my will.
I order everyone to hide and no one is allowed to make a sound.
Wait for them to leave.
Enter the encirclement and then follow my orders to take action."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor" As expected, this Bulgar army moved slowly.
Many people gave up riding horses and chose to walk.
They carried all the spoils they grabbed on the backs of horses and animals and marched, even if each of the five thousand cavalrymen carried more or less got something.
Two hours later, more than 20,000 Bulgars finally entered the ambush circle of the Eastern Roman Army.
Because the two armies were far apart, the Bulgar army was densely covered with flags.
Leo IV and the generals of the Eastern Roman Empire Not seeing at all that there were only a few Bulgars in this army, most of them were recruited barbarians, Leo IV and the Eastern Roman generals were confused.
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Riding in front was Fatli and Golmut, the leader of the Unogul tribe.
At this time, Golmut turned his head and looked at the low mountains in the distance on both sides.
He frowned and said to Fatli: "I Why do you feel that there is danger here?
Could it be that Leo IV ambush his army here?
It is so wide here, and even if they ambush here, it will be of no use."
Fatli said: "You are wrong.
You see that this place is relatively spacious, but once it is arranged into a formation, there is almost no space for the army to retreat and make a detour.
If the number of his troops is large enough, I am afraid that there will be no space here at all."
I can’t pretend that this is really where he set up an ambush.
Don’t worry, we just need to hold on for a while and hold on until King Khan leads his army.
That’s victory.”
When all the Bulgars entered the ambush circle, Leo IV finally couldn't help but be excited.
He stretched out his trembling hand, pulled out his sword and pointed forward: "Attack" As the desolate horns sounded, densely packed Eastern Roman Empire soldiers appeared from the low mountains and forests on both sides.
They quickly formed a military formation at the foot of the mountain.
At this time, the Bulgars were supported several miles in front.
An army of the Eastern Roman Empire appeared, and the soldiers of this army All wearing heavy armor, one held a spear, the other held a shield, and a short sword was hung on the waist.
They lined up in a neat square and moved forward slowly under the orders of the centurion and centurion.
They could feel it even from such a distance.
The murderous intent coming from the pavement, yes, this is the heavy infantry phalanx of the Eastern Roman Empire.
"Leo IV really ambush the army here."
The expressions of Fatli and Gelmut changed.
They were surprised that the number of troops dispatched by the Eastern Roman Empire far exceeded their estimate, a total of 50,000 troops.
This was amazing.
It is not a small number.
You must know that the Eastern Roman Empire still has a large number of troops stationed in Syria and Canaan.
These 50,000 troops are probably the last force that Leo IV can use.
The Bulgar army stopped.
Many people in the team found that enemies appeared far away on both sides, and there were enemies in front, forming a three-sided siege.
They all began to panic, and there was chaos in the team.
Fatli shouted: "Come here, give the order, everyone must not panic.
There are reinforcements behind us.
As long as we persist for a while, the reinforcements will arrive.
We don't know who will win and who will lose.
Let the people behind pull all the vehicles."
Come to the front, hurry up” "Yes, sir" Fatli then said to Gelmut: "Go and rectify the troops and stabilize the people's hearts.
Most of the people here are recruited savages.
These people can fight with the wind, but now that they are surrounded, they may not be able to hold on for long, so I need you to stabilize the morale of the army, as long as I'm in front of you."
"Okay" Gelmut agreed and turned around to leave.
Under the command of Fatli, the Bulgars formed a circular formation, with the cavalry in the middle, the infantry on the outside, and the outermost being a large number of horse-drawn carriages and human carts carrying supplies.
"Everyone listens.
All hold their shields in their hands.
When they hear the order, they raise their shields.
The people on the outermost side place their spears diagonally on the ground.
Don't leave any gaps between vehicles.
This will be used by the enemy."
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Lee shouted and commanded.
In front of the East Roman heavy infantry phalanx that was busy advancing, cavalry appeared one after another.
They joined the front from both sides and formed formations while walking.
These knights were all wrapped in thick plate armor, and even their horses were So, they were armed with lances, which were placed on the necks of their horses.
"Heavy Armored Cavalry" Fatli's expression changed again.
Although there were only three thousand heavy armored cavalry, the visual shock they brought could definitely scare the pee out of the timid.
He felt a little lucky in his heart, thanks to the large number of vehicles he brought with him.
Although they moved slowly, under the current situation, these vehicles were placed on the outermost edge, and they could effectively resist the charge of the heavy armored cavalry.
Fatli quickly understood Leo IV's tactics.
He should first use the heavy armored cavalry to charge into the formation.
He wanted to rely on the ability of the heavy armored cavalry to break up the Bulgar army, and then use the left and right cavalry to break up the formation.
The light infantry and the heavy infantry in front engage in a pincer attack, and the heavy armored cavalry that rushes past can turn around and come back to block the Bulgars' retreat and completely encircle and annihilate them.
Fatli was right.
This was what Leo IV planned.
As his order was issued, the three thousand heavily armored cavalry began to accelerate slowly.
The horses' hooves trampled the soil and withered grass and galloped.
There was a lot of sound of horse hooves.
Deafening, these armored knights were holding long spears, and the spearheads shone coldly under the sunlight.
The expressions of the Bulgars who were on the defensive changed.
No one could remain calm under such circumstances, and no one could survive such an impact.
Fatli held a machete in his hand and shouted: "Hold still, hold the carriages and carts steady for me.
No one is allowed to retreat.
Anyone who takes a step back will be killed immediately."
As the cavalry of the Eastern Roman Empire rushed over, the Bulgars at the front showed frightened expressions.
Many people's legs began to tremble, their hands became weak, and their faces completely lost color.
"Ah" the Bulgars at the front shouted in fear when they saw that the enemy's cavalry was about to rush over.
"boom" The heavily armored cavalry finally collided with the army of chariots and horses.
The chariots and carts were completely knocked to pieces.
The Bulgars controlling the chariots and the Bulgars behind the chariots and horses were all knocked away, but the front ones were all knocked away.
Several rows of heavily armored cavalry knights all flew out from their horses.
The horses were blocked and could not advance or retreat.
However, the cavalry behind were still sprinting at high speed.
The horses in front were knocked down one after another, some were killed, and some were killed.
The Bulgars were pierced by spears stuck in the ground.
Once the heavy armored cavalry sprinted at high speed, almost no troops could stop it.
After losing nearly a thousand people, the heavy cavalry of the Eastern Roman Empire finally rushed into the Bulgars.
This fake Bulgar army was composed of various ethnic groups.
The army began to become confused, and the circular formation began to be scattered.
The remaining heavy cavalry smashed through the Bulgar formation with great force, leaving behind a large number of corpses.
At this time, the Eastern Roman light infantry on the left and right sides had already pressed forward.
They stopped after walking for a while and began to collectively fire arrows over a large area.
The overwhelming arrows fell on the heads of the Bulgars, causing a large number of casualties.
The heavy infantry in front also slowed down.
As they got closer, they lined up neatly like a steamroller.
The Bulgars who stood in front were stabbed to death one after another.
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And they were holding thick shields, and the Bulgars could do nothing to them.
Leo IV stood on the hill and saw that the Bulgars were surrounded on all sides.
He was panicking and the encirclement was getting smaller and smaller.
He smiled and said: "The overall situation has been decided."
At this moment, a puff of smoke rose in the west, and a group of more than 10,000 light cavalry rushed from behind.
This was the main cavalry of the Bulgar army led by Trilig, with a total of 12,000 cavalry.
These light cavalry were very fast, and they killed the Eastern Roman Empire army before they had time to react.
They used weapons to carry out close attacks.
The main weapons of the Eastern Roman heavy cavalry knights were spears more than four meters long, and they were shot by Attacked on the back, they were hit hard before they could even turn around, and they were knocked off their horses one after another.
The Eastern Roman heavy cavalry of less than 2,000 people was quickly eliminated.
The Bulgars surrounded in the middle were morale-boosted.
They began to counterattack the Eastern Roman heavy infantry on the left and right sides and in front.
After the battle, the archers were ineffective, but the Bulgar light cavalry could keep firing arrows.
The morale of the Eastern Roman Army began to waver, and it soon developed into a rout.
Leo IV's face turned pale.
He had not prepared a reserve force at all.
He had just put all his troops into it.
Now the morale of the army was shaken, the defeat was complete, and there was no way to recover.
The general of the Imperial Guard immediately asked a few soldiers to carry him and ran down the mountain, leading him to escape
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