On the last day of July, that is, the eve before the expedition, Rurik reviewed his army on Tombstone Island.
All the soldiers who were eager to go out gathered together. They were dressed in battle armor and outer gods wearing blue and white gowns. They were arranged into a rectangular formation according to the flag team and conducted a tactical drill.
How will the decisive battle be fought? Of course, it will be a face-to-face group fight between the two armies.
Yes, wars in this era are no different from gang fights.
Could it be that the Gotlanders used any tactics? They must have gathered together, roared to form a shield wall, and rushed towards the enemy to break out into a melee.
This kind of battle has a basic order at the beginning, but as it drags on, it turns into a big brawl that tests personal bravery. Those with strong armor and excellent physical endurance will win the final victory.
Otto stood at a high place and saw this army composed of his own tribe and servants walking past him in a neat line. His nose felt sore and he was moved to tears.
This is just the beginning.
Rurik formulated a relatively simple tactic for the Ross army, and he also gave it a name - the Horn Formation.
The two most elite Russian warrior banners were arranged on the wings, with the Slavic banner and the shooting banner in the middle.
Rurik's one hundred silver-armored berserkers are also in the center of the formation. They are to stabilize the Chinese army's position, suppress possible escapees (Rurik cannot trust the Slavic Spears at the moment), and rush into the formation.
In the front, he relies on his armor to take on the functions of fighting the enemy.
As for those in charge of baggage, such as those who herded deer, they followed the commanding officers to prevent surprise attacks by the enemy.
According to Rurik's plan, the enemies should hit them one after another. They would attack the center of the Russian army formation as a matter of course, survive arrows and slingshots, and then collide with the Slavic flag troops.
After obtaining this fighter plane, the Ross flag troops on both wings immediately launched a two-wing encirclement, attacking the enemy's vulnerable wings, and finally completed an encirclement circle, eating all the enemies.
No, the Russians are practicing this tactic right now, pushing forward like a bull's horns, and finally retracting their wings to launch this pincer-shaped offensive.
Rurik also knows a lesson: when the cannon goes off, the plan is halved.
The battlefield is ever-changing, and no matter how stupid the enemy is, they will not really follow the plan made by the opponent and jump into the pit of fire.
The enemy is a fish, and you need bait to get it to take the bait.
Who is the bait? Naturally, they are the mercenaries composed of the moneyless and powerless people of Malaren led by Herriger. This Malaren flag force is the vanguard officer in the decisive battle.
They are testing the enemy's strength. Regardless of the enemy's strength, they must pretend to retreat, or simply show retreat to lure the enemy into full pursuit.
Rurik had no expectations for these Melalenites from the beginning. They were just hundreds of tool men. They withdrew to the Russian army and then launched a counterattack together with the Russians.
This is called pretending to retreat, luring the enemy into an ambush position, and then massing a pincer attack to annihilate them.
Looking at this tactic, Rurik thinks there is no big problem.
It is too difficult for a huge army to advance in unison. Of course, one flag unit of the Russian army can keep pace, but several flag units will be out of sync. This time, Rurik decided to use defense as offense and let the enemy run into it.
My own military formation! They must collide.
For the future war, the soldiers on Tombstone Island are very enthusiastic. Rurik and other commanders are very optimistic about the future war.
The army had better end the war as soon as possible, reap the benefits at the end of the month and then gather together, because the army still has to go home to harvest wheat.
The promised date is today!
The night last night was still relatively short. Many soldiers just lay down quietly, their restless hearts driving their sober minds, and they just spent the five hours of the night watching the bright starry sky.
The temperature in the early morning was only 15℃, which seemed to be low temperature, but it was extremely comfortable for the soldiers.
Everyone woke up in the early morning light. The sun shone on the mist in the forest on the island, and the golden curtains gave the world a holy feeling.
Rumia, wearing a deer-antler helmet, woke up early. She first made a memorial ceremony for the deceased at the warrior cemetery on the island, and then made another small sacrifice at a temporary altar by the sea.
For a whole month, all parties have been preparing for this moment.
There was no impassioned speech, and Rurik did not want to make a loud noise with his voice that was beginning to change. In the sanctity and solemnity of the early morning, the soldiers who went on the expedition had a meal of fresh fish and began to board the boat one after another.
The army spent a lot of time landing on Tombstone Island, and getting on the ship also consumed time.
Rurik had already boarded the Avrora first. He was able to stand on a high place and witness longships being pushed into the sea. The extended oars drove the ships to slowly drift into the inland sea and enter the fleet array.
inside.
"Just forming the formation was time-consuming. Sure enough, I made the right decision not to directly land on the beach in Visby."
Rurik's eyes were fixed on his man's movements, and a big hand covered his shoulder.
He turned his head and flicked his flowing ponytail: "Father."
Otto looked solemn: "Now, let's start. Once we leave here, there is no way back for us."
"Yes, I know, we will win."
Otto's deep eyes stared in the direction of the island: "You don't have to make any confident promises anymore, of course we will win. Look! After all the brothers have joined the team, we set off."
It would be great to add the whistles of existing ships. The Russians do have a few small horns made of cow horns. The sound of the horn is not loud, but the penetrating power is not small.
There were mercenaries on board the Avora to act as trumpeters. After some time, the sun was shining brightly, and the huge fleet had assembled off the island. The melodious sound of the trumpets reminded them of it.
The furled huge triangular sail was lowered under the control of the cable, and the Aurora was violently moved.
An old sailor with a cloth wrapped around his head shouted: "Adjust the direction, let's move forward!"
Each cargo ship loaded with people and supplies lowered its sails, and at a specific angle to the ship's central axis, they began sailing against the wind.
And in all the long boats, the people holding the oars raised their huge oars, like centipedes moving on the water. They started their great journey with the "Flag of the Duke of Ross" flying on the huge and towering mast of the Aurora as a reference.
This is the Russian war! The war has begun.
The war has indeed begun, and the most intense battle will be in the future. Now the Russians have to float on the sea for two to three days. Will the morale of the soldiers be worn away by boredom?
The rainfall in recent days has been less than in previous years, and it may rain more in September.
The sunny day was really a good time to fight, and what surprised Rurik was that King Olegin, who had been fighting in the south with his army for a month, did not send anyone to return to Lake Mälaren.
What exactly is the southern army going through? Is it just recharging its strength, or have they already organized a fleet to conquer the rumored "Silver Castle"?
The Ross fleet waited until about noon before officially starting the expedition. As the fleet completely entered the depths of the ocean, the oarsmen closed their oars one after another and relied on pure wind power to move forward.
Every ship in the entire fleet is performing zigzag movements, and each ship must be very careful to avoid colliding with neighboring ships.
The fleet gradually and inevitably became looser. Fortunately, each ship was flying a clearly visible flag. At this time, everyone suddenly realized that the "paddle flag" originally owned by the leader's flagship was to avoid going missing.
Go away.
Due to the zigzag line, the light ships had to accommodate the cargo ships carrying a large amount of supplies and personnel, and the speed of the entire fleet dropped to a mere four knots.
Rurik could not accurately judge the speed of the fleet, he could only feel that the speed was really unsatisfactory.
Of course, some ships can speed up, but the Ross fleet is not the suture monster like the previous Swedish coalition.
The Mellaren army took the lead, only to make a group of allied armies stare with anger.
The Ross fleet is a whole, and the fast ships must accommodate the slow ships.
The fleet basically maintained a stable speed of four knots. After passing through the dense island group of the Åland Islands, it advanced all night on the edge of the Gulf of Finland.
The setting sun guides the west, and the natural stars, especially the unique Big Dipper, also guide the direction.
No one was worried about getting lost, especially Rurik, who had no worries about losing his way while sailing at night.
In the early morning of a new day, the noise on the deck woke Rurik up.
Jevro hurriedly walked into the captain's lounge.
Rurik sat upright and covered Lumia, who was sleeping beside him, with the deerskin. At this moment, Otto was still snoring slightly unconsciously.
"Sir, something happened on the distant sea. We..."
"What's your situation?" Rurik asked, rubbing his head.
"It's land. Some people say we've reached our destination, but I don't know! Now I have my brothers on deck, and the torsion slingshot is ready."
"How is that possible?" Rurik raised his head, and there was indeed a constant thumping above his head. "Let's go, I'll go see the situation."
Rurik stood on the bow deck of the ship. He could see a hazy coastline in the distance, and Avlora was surrounded by his own ships. Each ship still raised its sails, and the army just drifted in the vast sea all night.
Jevro boldly pointed to the hazy place: "Isn't that the enemy's territory?"
"It's not there, but I know where it is."
"where is it?"
"It should be Saaremaa Island, or Hiiuma Island. I marked it on the sand table."
"Sand table?"
"Huh?" Rurik glanced at Yevlo's eyes and realized that this person had not participated in the pre-war meeting. He sighed slightly: "Well done, you made the brothers prepare for the naval battle in advance. If you really encounter
When the incident happened, we had the first-mover advantage."
"So, shall we..."
"Are you still planning to land?" Rurik shook his head: "There may be some enemies there, or they may be friends. There are indeed people there, people who have been exiled by various tribes, including the rebellion of the Russians. Maybe I will deal with it in the future
Get rid of them, but not now."
Jevro nodded and said nothing.
The sun in the east has risen, and the mist on the sea has disappeared.
The clear air allowed Rurik to clearly see everything within a radius of thirty nautical miles. Now he gradually saw the so-called hazy coastline clearly, which was clearly two large islands!
He couldn't help laughing.
"Master, why are you laughing?" Jevluo asked.
"Nothing, I already know the correct position of the fleet. It's time for us to adjust the direction!"
The majority of the personnel of the Ross fleet are indeed very interested in the islands ahead. They are eager to explore and curious and want to land and have a look.
Can you find anything good on Saaremaa Island, or Semelia Island? There may be some, and they are fellow villagers who speak the same Norse language. When these unfashionable fellows meet fellow villagers, of course they will kill them on sight.
Conquering Saaremaa is not part of Rurik's plan, and the island has few minerals, making it difficult to attract people.
Each ship in the fleet stared at the movement of the Aurora, and she began to change direction. Soon the entire fleet corrected its new course.
The army began to move toward the southwest, facing the southwest wind!
Rurik was confident. He felt that after a day and night of sailing, he was expected to reach the eastern coast of Gotland tomorrow morning. The Russians had to find a suitable landing site.
There were more than 200 large and small ships, and their front became increasingly dangerous.
Although it was unlikely, Rurik ordered the nearby ships to prepare for a naval battle. The ships communicated with each other by shouting. Soon, all ships and everyone was clearly aware of the risks ahead.
Everyone was ready for a sea battle, and the ships of Arik's First Flag of the Warriors took the initiative to engage in battle with the enemy ships that came into sight. They fired first with steel-armed crossbows, and then joined the ship to complete the final kill.
This set of tactics has become Arik's specialty. He and his brothers from the First Flag Team have been so brutal in this sea area for the past two years that the enemies no longer dare to fish in the fishing grounds in the north of the island.
However, when he invaded the eastern sea of the island, Arik only had one encounter experience. In that thrilling and fierce battle, his people were highly successful.
Arik expected to see the enemy's fishing boats, but only Ross's army was riding the waves in the vast sea.
Finally, night fell again, and no one knew how far the fleet had traveled during the day and how long it would take to sail in the future.
But there really was only one full day of sailing ahead.
It was another early morning, and the sun shone on the people sleeping together on the long boat.
Some noise woke up Rurik again. This time he got up quickly and bumped into Jevlo who had reported the news at the door of the lounge.
"Ah, sir! Something big has happened!"
"We...have arrived at Gotland?"
"Yes! I was about to report this. And..."
Rurik immediately cheered up: "What's going on?"
"It's your brother Arik. He saw a fishing port and some fishing boats. The brothers of the First Flag Team have completely separated from the fleet and took the lead in attacking."
"Ah?!" Aric was so shocked that he rudely kicked his father awake (Otto drank some strong wine last night and was now sleeping deeply).
"You...you kid." Otto subconsciously grabbed Rurik's neck.
Rurik suddenly broke away: "The war has begun. Arik has already started a landing battle. Let's get ready quickly."
"Finally the fight started." Otto let go of his hand with a serious look on his face.
The father and son quickly boarded the bow deck, and now they could clearly see the scene ahead.
Nearly thirty longboats all lowered their large wooden oars and headed towards the village between the two mounds.
There are indeed enemy fishing boats running frantically for their lives, but unfortunately this escape is meaningless.
No one knows what is going on in the fishing village in front of us. The only thing that can be determined is that the long coastline in front of us belongs to Gotland!
The fishing port in front is not only located between two mounds, it also has a small bay. This place is really unique as a anchorage.
The battle started with a unilateral attack by the Russians, and the victory was no longer in suspense...