On the twelfth day of the Crimean Khanate's assault on the Isthmus, Giray finally brought out the Khanate's only two cannons to blast through the earthen rampart in front of them.
As mentioned before, that earthen rampart was a masterpiece of the Theodoro Principality; its thickness was unknown, but it looked solid enough that it would be difficult for Tatar sappers to conquer it easily with their regular strength.
Fortunately, the Khanate had transported two cannons from their northern garrison. As long as the Khanate didn't use them to pointlessly duel with the cannons on the watchtowers, as they had last time, they could still serve their intended purpose.
Just as the Tatars had expected, when Crimea's cannons bombarded the earthen rampart on the Isthmus, they achieved quite good results: after the first stone shot, a large hole was blasted directly in the middle of the rampart. Although it hadn't been completely breached yet, it ignited hope within the Crimean Army. Meanwhile, some of the Theodoro defenders on the watchtowers showed signs of panic, with some even rushing to inform Manuel, who was commanding the entire army.
Faced with this news, Manuel initially took it very seriously: "Quickly go gather information on those new cannons Crimea has brought."
However, their worries seemed to be superfluous, because throughout the entire day, these two Crimean cannons actually hit the rampart in very few places. Aside from the earth-shattering stone shot that breached the center at the beginning, there were no other performances that surprised both sides more. After all, these two cannons, like the five that were destroyed last time, were of an outdated model and had not been well-maintained. By the end of the day, one was even on the verge of bursting.
If this continued, with the growing war-weariness in the Crimean Army and the Golden Horde army pursuing them from behind, the Theodoro defenders were very likely to win without a fight. This was foreseeable by the high-ranking officials on both sides.
To prevent this possibility from coming true, on the third day after the cannons arrived, which was the fifteenth day, or half a month, of the Crimean Khanate's attack on the Isthmus defense line, Girai Khan, after consulting the opinions of the various noble generals in the army, decided to employ an all-out assault tactic.
As for this potential decision by the Crimean Khanate, Manuel, as the commander of the defending forces, was not unprepared. As soon as Crimea's cannons began to bombard the earthen rampart, he had consulted with his generals. After receiving their advice, he formulated detailed tactics for a possible large-scale attack by the Khanate. "This time, these heathens will surely be defeated and sent home. Even if they can't 'go home,' they'll at least lose a layer of skin," Manuel thought after completing the plans.
On the afternoon of the fifteenth day, after rousing the morale of the entire army with the call of "Holy War," Haji Giray personally led four thousand Crimean Army troops in a direct assault on the earthen rampart defense line that Theodoro had set up on the Isthmus. Facing the Tatar's strong attack, Theodoro showed extreme vigilance, ordering all archers and cannons on the watchtowers to relentlessly bombard the Crimean Army from the moment the Tatar vanguard, or rather, cannon fodder, appeared. This time, the cannons not only included the grape shot cannons deployed earlier to save money and effort, but also the large and medium-sized stone-throwing cannons, breech-loading cannons, and naval cannons that had been used to blockade the coastline since the Principality's inception... In short, all available long-range weapons, except for the less cost-effective matchlock guns, were deployed.
Facing this dense barrage of cannon fire and arrows, the Crimean Army was not entirely unprepared. In previous clashes with Theodoro, Giray had noted in battle reports that while the enemy's cannons had a much longer range than his own, their power was also affected by the distance. Therefore, if Crimean soldiers wore sturdy heavy armor, they could greatly reduce the damage they sustained. However, in the early days of the Crimean Khanate, there naturally weren't many robust heavy armors. To address this, the Khanate adopted a strategy where heavy armored soldiers, carrying large protective gear and shields, would cover the main force in front, reducing long-range damage from the watchtowers.
However, what could be reduced from the watchtowers could not significantly reduce the cannon fire from the Black Sea. After receiving a personal summons from Manuel, and while ensuring the blockade against Crimea, Francesco Falero personally led a considerable Theodoro fleet to fiercely attack the Crimean Army. Under the influence of the Theodoro navy's cannons, even with heavy armored soldiers providing cover, the Tatars suffered heavy casualties.
"It's time, quickly advance, horse archers!" After personally witnessing their tragic casualties, Giray gritted his teeth and relayed the order to the rear.
What use were horse archers? To answer this, one must first look at the current distance between the Theodoro navy and the Isthmus defense line. To ensure lethality, the Theodoro fleet was currently quite close to the Isthmus defense line, with the closest ship even risking grounding, being more than 3 pule rong from the coast!
This gave the Crimean Tatar horse archers an opportunity. The Tatar cavalry, skilled in mounted archery, naturally wouldn't miss such a close-range advantage. It's important to know that elite Tatar horse archers posed an even greater threat to enemies than contemporary England longbowmen. While maintaining safety, it was incredibly easy to shoot at the sailors on the Theodoro ships. As mentioned earlier, if it weren't for the first day's cannoneers and archers on the Theodoro watchtowers, even if they wore sturdy armor, their threat to the Crimean Army would not be as high as it was now.
Soon, the sailors on several Theodoro warships, risking grounding, quickly faced retaliation from the Tatar horse archers. Large numbers of reckless sailors fell as a result, and one ship even collided with a hidden reef while trying to escape the enemy's arrow range, completely losing its combat effectiveness. Upon realizing the enemy's counter-method, Falero immediately gave orders, directing cannons to bombard the enemy horse archers while also ordering his fleet to withdraw beyond the enemy's arrow range.
After the pressure from the sea diminished, Crimea quickly adjusted its state, turning to continue attacking the central part of the earthen rampart in the way most advantageous to them, hoping to quickly breach it. Under these circumstances, a clear gap finally appeared in the earthen rampart, drawing cheers from the Tatars.
But Giray always felt something very strange: "Why hasn't Theodoro sent infantry and cavalry to block us? What exactly are they thinking?"
But no matter what, in this assault on the earthen rampart, Crimea never saw a single hair of Theodoro infantry or cavalry. Finally, under the Crimean Army's fierce assault, the earthen wall on the Isthmus defense line ultimately crumbled. The Crimean Army could finally cheer from the bottom of their hearts for this victory.