A huge fleet surged across the vast ocean against the south wind.
It was already midsummer, and the Slavic troops stationed on Tombstone Island for a long time had already turned into fishermen.
Due to the delay in receiving the king's order, Medved could only lead his own thousand troops to live on Tombstone Island and surrounding islands. They were self-sufficient by fishing. It was this behavior that caused a large number of bad people to take the boat.
The man quickly adapted and seasickness was no longer a disaster.
They were even forced to learn to swim.
The summer solstice is approaching, and ordinary soldiers are worried that once they set off, they will miss their farming work due to the war. Many people even hope that the time can be delayed as long as possible.
After all, the king brings a strong army. Even if the Slavic army does not participate, the king can still win.
As long as the time is delayed until the end of July, the brothers can probably go home.
There is no other reason, because around the end of August is the wheat harvest season in Novgorod. It is far-fetched to expect the women and children in their hometown to complete the wheat harvest work. Of course, the people left behind can also complete it. Without the participation of mature men, the efficiency will naturally be greatly reduced.
Finally, Aric's fleet suddenly arrived.
Some prisoners of war and some captured supplies were thrown directly to Tombstone Island.
A large number of leather products and iron weapons were unloaded. The piles of these objects were an eye-opener.
Because a fleet returned from the direction of Lake Malaren not long ago. They were the first fleet to withdraw from the battle and returned via the inland waterway. The news they brought made the Slavic troops stationed on the island excited.
After knowing the news about the king, Medved actually asked him to prepare the personnel and ships to sail south. This was a challenge to the Slavic army, and also to ordinary soldiers, the previous fantasy of delaying time and having to return home disappeared.
Bubble.
Just as they were busy loading weapons and supplies, Arik's fleet arrived.
Arik brought unprecedented and exciting good news. It was originally intended for people who were sailing on a large scale. Seeing that the experienced "double sword" Arik led the team, they suddenly had a backbone.
There are six newly launched standard armed cargo ships, and they entered the war as soon as they were launched.
Brand new ships were moored at Tombstone Island and were on standby. Together with other large ships, a large fleet of up to twenty armed cargo ships, two sailing destroyers and a sailing cruiser carried a total of 1,200 soldiers and sailing cruisers.
Auxiliary personnel, carrying a large amount of food and reserve weapons, sailed towards the southern Baltic Sea.
As for Arik, he knew very well that the king was very interested in time. Even if the reinforcements he brought did not join the battle on the planned date, the main force of the Russian army would have to cross the Kattegat Strait and land forcefully on the Jutland Peninsula.
Don’t miss this great show coming to Denmark for the first time!
Not wanting to miss out on glory, Arik, who arrived at Tombstone Island, urged people to board the ship quickly, and also encouraged the Slavs for war.
"We will attack the Danish mainland! That is another powerful Varyag force. We will win and you will all be rich. Don't worry that you will miss the farming season. You will harvest the enemy's wheat after the war. When you return
, everyone has access to new wheat, iron tools, and leather.”
Originally, the reason for letting the Slavic troops from the far hinterland of Eastern Europe go to Denmark to fight was rather far-fetched. These farmers did not have the unique warrior glory of the Vikings. If you wanted them to clamor to fight, you could only promise a large amount of loot.
A new force was racing across the ocean. What Arik didn't know was that a brand new Kingdom of Denmark had been established.
The fleet arrived at the Oresund Strait, a strategic choke point, and was suddenly united with the Russian army entrenched here.
"Look! It's our people." Medved, standing on the flagship, stretched out his big hand: "My brother-in-law (referring to Rurik) placed the army here?"
Arik scratched his chin: "Impossible. What's going on? My brother can still do tricks?! The main force of the army shouldn't be here."
Although Rurik, who was still in Gothenburg at the mouth of the Göta River, could not control the overall situation, his orders were indeed carried out silently by his subordinates.
As soon as Rus and New Denmark completed the informal alliance, Ragnar hurriedly rowed back to Zealand to prepare for the implementation of his offensive mission.
The verbal alliance was accompanied by Rurik's strategic tactics.
I heard from the Danish lords of Zealand, especially Lord Lindholm, who had fled, and sighed with sadness and indignation.
It is said that the Frank army has completed its garrison and built the fortress, but intelligence also pointed out that the territory of the Frank army and Horik, the "transgressor" of the Robard tribe, did not merge.
This time the main banner of the Ross and New Denmark coalition is to destroy Horik's forces. Of course the Frankish forces will fight, but the priority of attack is still Horik at the northernmost point of the peninsula.
The narrow Jutland Peninsula gave an opportunity to fight a war of annihilation, so Rurik formulated a strategy.
The so-called Rus Army, the main fleet of the Swedish Allied Forces, stormed the beach and landed on the beach. Ragnar's New Danish Army, the Spyot Pirate Army, and Fisk's cavalry moved in a partial division and marched by sea, right at Lindhall on the thin waist of the peninsula.
Landing on the Isthmus of Mu.
The main force will go head-to-head with Horik and attack the midfield with a partial division. This is a tactical threat to the Frank army, and it is also necessary to seize the isthmus and block Horik's retreat.
According to Rurik's idea, he would attack the "transgressors" from two sides, annihilate them, and then join forces to deal with the Franks on the peninsula.
Such tactics are simply shocking to most of the lords and nobles who only know how to gather people to fight in groups. In an "extremely extensive" battlefield, the tactics are actually so sophisticated.
After receiving the mission, Ragnar, Spyot and others had to wait for the agreed July 10th in the Julian calendar to launch the attack. Just before this date, Aric returned successfully.
Mahobi is just a sandbank village, and the new Danish army is stationed in an open area on the other side of the narrow strait. This open area is nowhere else but the geographical location of the city of Copenhagen.
This place is suitable for armies to gather and fleets to dock. It was developed as a military camp during the war. Its superiority immediately attracted the great attention of the lords.
Arik and the army he brought landed here to rest. A large number of Slavic warriors carrying detachable and assembled spears stood in the new world. They carefully looked at the Varyag warriors who were watching.
There is a physical difference between the Danes in Zealand and these people from the heart of Eastern Europe - hair color.
But as the exchanges deepened, these Danes suddenly realized how the new army from the far east was highly similar to the Bimeranians.
The language of these Orientals is not unfamiliar. But they are not Pomeranians, let alone Obotelidits.
What is irrefutable is that these Eastern warriors all wore uniforms of the Russian army. They assembled the folding spears and formed a "hedgehog formation". The Danes in Zealand have never seen this formation.
.
Show off your muscles to the locals. The strength of Medved's Slavic army should not be underestimated.
Therefore, a ship hurriedly drifted to Rurik, who was eager to go on an expedition, to report the good news.
The eldest brother did not miss the first battle! Rurik simply issued a new order. Arik, who had experienced hundreds of battles, became the supreme commander of the Russian army in the east and cooperated with the new Danish King Ragnar to capture the Lindholm Isthmus.
So, how many troops does the so-called Eastern Division have?!
In the past, the Danes, who were not united enough to eradicate the Frankish forces that invaded the Danish world on their own, now have a leader who can unite everyone and a powerful alliance. The cavalry they feared most is no longer scary, because the allied Russian army also has
cavalry.
There are more than 50,000 Danes in Zealand, and the men are eager to join the army. The tribes and landless lords who fled Jutland a few years ago are not willing to live under the fence of others, and they are not willing to become pirates as a whole family.
Now that the opportunity came to restore the territory, men and women almost joined the clan to fight.
The so-called partial division, the soldiers from all walks of life were put together to form nearly 10,000 soldiers.
The lords of Zealandia have never been so united as they are today. They will not completely surrender to Ragnar, but for the benefit of their own tribe, they must drive away the intruders.
From leading warships to large sailing warships, Zealandia's partial division assembled thousands of ships.
The agreed date is July 10th!
Let the war begin!
In Gothenburg, Rurik's main army of various warriors swelled to 7,000 men, most of whom were combat troops.
The Ross fishing boats cruising in the strait suddenly disappeared, and these standard cargo ships were transformed into troop carriers.
In Gothenburg, all kinds of ships were full of people. Ross was at the front of the formation before the battle, and the entire fleet rushed to the northernmost tip of Jutland.
On Zealandia, which can no longer be called a partial division, the troops were assembled, the war horses were placed on the standard cargo ship, and all the soldiers boarded the ship and rushed towards the isthmus at the waist of Jutland Peninsula.
The total number of warriors of all colors reached 15,000. This was the first time in the history of the Vikings that an army of this size was assembled.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Horik forces, the Frankish army's Liudov forces, and the lords who converted to God were not sitting still and waiting to be killed.
Especially in the northernmost part of the peninsula, Horik has given up his illusions. He has lost a lot of power. If he loses this place again, he will be completely lost.
He was exhausting the war potential of the Robard tribe and mobilizing those ten-year-old boys.
It stands to reason that Horik is only the grandson of the legendary leader Godfrey in name only, and is a blood relative of the expelled Harald Clark. He moved his old tribe's population to mix with the Robard tribe, but his family genealogy
It has nothing to do with the Robard tribe.
So far, this outsider has been supported by the Robards. Because for the tribe, they cannot tolerate the decline of their Danish hegemony and cannot tolerate being bullied by the Rus again.
Then fight! Even to the last warrior.
Regarding the war, the Robard tribe gave up their illusions and organized as many as 10,000 warriors.
These ten thousand people naturally have water, just as Ragnar's new Danish army on Zealand across the ocean has water.
Many men who were not suitable for fighting took up arms. Horik knew that this was a waste of money. He had no choice, and the Robard tribe had no choice.
He didn't really count on the Frankish army or those Saxon warriors either.
In the end, two de facto regimes emerged in Jutland, the so-called Christian Denmark and the Christian Saxony under the banner of Frank.
Will Liudov's Frankish and Saxon armies fight to the death for their Christian Denmark?
"Take up arms! Always be prepared! Don't enter the beach rashly. Once they land, we will look for opportunities to annihilate them!"
After all, this was also the first time in the history of the Christianized Robard tribe that a general assembly was held, and the male and female warriors gathered together in a loud voice.
They betrayed Odin, and now the northern saint Eskil led his entourage, carrying a gilded cross and an abstract icon mounted on parchment, using fresh cypress branches dipped in holy oil to pay homage to Robard's elite.
The warrior showered blessings.
The entire Robard tribe army was blessed. The so-called barbaric Norman army pressed on the border. People who believed in God fought for their faith. If they died in battle, they would immediately enter heaven and obtain a perfect and happy eternal life.
At most, this is a beneficial spiritual bonus, supporting the Robard tribe's determination to fight to the death, as they must defend their homeland and glory.
Therefore, some Christian Danish lords had to go north with their tribal warriors. They had some doubts in their hearts. If Horik and Liudov were defeated, could their tribe turn disaster into good fortune if they re-believed in Odin?
These lords did not dare to fight the Ross navy, so they took one or two hundred infantry to the north. The tribes of the alliance sent out at most a thousand warriors. It was obviously a life-and-death war. Horik was speechless and helpless.
He wrote to Liudov who was stationed at Haleb Castle, hoping to obtain an absolute promise of military protection.
Although Liu Doufu felt the atmosphere of war, due to his own understanding of war, he did not think that there would be a large-scale war in the future. The battles would probably involve hundreds of people, or at most a thousand people fighting in a melee.
So this reply is very interesting: "You can't defeat those barbarians with your own strength? If you are really defeated, my invincible cavalry will help."
Liudov's perfunctory attitude made Horik scratch his head and scratch his head in anger. He had no intention of replying because he had no time.
In Haleb Castle, a large number of Saxons moved here. It doesn't matter if the fortress hangs the Frankish Three Lions flag, because the men they support are descendants of Widukind!
With Liudolf here, the southern Jutland where he lives is the territory of the Saxons, and this is New Saxony. War? What does the war between the Danes and the Rus have to do with me, the Saxons?
The Horik and Robard tribes do not know the true strength of the Ross army, but the strait has been firmly controlled by the other side in the past few months, and the large number of fishing boats cruising around proves its strong strength.
Until the people watching on the beach saw the overwhelming number of ships filling the strait.
"It's the enemy! They are coming!"
"There are enemy ships everywhere! Let's fight!"
Terrifying news spread in the villages of the Robard people. In these chain-connected villages, the villagers stood on the roofs and looked out into the distance. They had already seen terrifying huge sails and a large number of ships.
Horik beat his chest and learned from the last lesson. He made heavy iron armor for his last elite, and asked the Robards to make large quantities of short wooden bows and arrows. He was reflecting on the previous defeat and trying to learn from the Russian army.
equipment.
Of course, he cannot learn the Russian fleet.
He was still not fully prepared, and now he could only bite the bullet and gather his troops to fight.
"Brothers, we must live!" he encouraged his elite.
Then he led the nervous Robard soldiers to march towards the northern beach. The soldiers organized a shield wall. Nervous, fearful and happy were intertwined. They rushed to the coast and lined up like a Great Wall.
They saw the Russian army that was charging ashore on a large scale. The scale was completely beyond imagination. Their enthusiasm was instantly shocked, and the attack stopped. After the shield wall was built, no one dared to attack alone.
The two armies met like this.
Rurik had already landed, and he didn't expect Horik's response to be so quick.
The current situation of the Ross Army is not absolutely safe. Troops are still landing one after another. If the enemy launches a desperate attack while the foothold is not stable at this moment, the Ross Army will have no choice but to fight hastily.
Thanks to the many tough battles fought by the Ross army, the generals and nobles seized the time to line up. As long as they continue to delay time, it will become more and more beneficial to Ross.
The ships that were busy unloading supplies stopped working, and the big ships turned broadside against the enemy.
"Hell, don't even give me time to set up a shore camp."
Rurik hurriedly summoned his cronies and allied nobles, and asked them to line up the troops according to the plan before the expedition, wave the flag vigorously, and wait for the order of the general attack.
On the other side of the battlefield, Horik noticed that the Ross army's foothold was not stable.
"I can win if I rush them and wash them into the sea. If I fail, I'm doomed. No! We must fight!"
This was a big gamble. After hesitating for a while, Horik convinced himself and issued the attack order.
"Brothers, charge me! Robards, drive them into the sea!"
The battle begins.
Horik decided to strike preemptively. The hesitant warriors, led by the local nobles of Robard, received orders and began to advance tentatively. As some people charged hard, it quickly turned into a total charge of thousands of people.
Seeing such a wolf running wildly, Rurik became convinced.
"Damn it, you don't play your cards according to the routine. Then let's fight. Let's fight early and solve the problem early."
Rurik no longer issued any orders. The people who landed first immediately deployed shield walls, and the warriors with bows and crossbows immediately fired regardless of priority. The big ship risked running aground and pushed near the shore. Each torsion slingshot was equipped with javelins, and the javelins were installed at high elevation angles.
Directly fired after aiming.
Horik was mentally prepared for the speed of the Russians' counterattack, but the large number of Robard soldiers could not expect it, nor could the Christian Danish allies.
They braced themselves, raised their shields above their heads, and ran faster under the blows of javelins and longbow arrows. Ignoring their fallen companions who were struck by arrows, they continued to attack and counterattacked by throwing arrows from short wooden bows.
No one can stop. If you don't want to be trampled to death by your own people, you can only rush.
However, Horik stayed behind like a thief, and he was speechless when he saw that a large number of troops from the allied tribes also deliberately stayed behind.
Co-author Only the soldiers of the Robard tribe devoted themselves to this desperate charge! It was as if this hasty anti-landing operation became the fate of the Robard tribe.
Soon, hand-to-hand combat began. This was a battle between the Vikings. It was not only the glory of the warriors, but also the defense of faith and the right to exist.
The Russian army did not want to be driven into the sea and drowned, and the Lobad people did not want to be slaughtered. Both sides knew that defeat meant mass death. This decisive battle that Rurik did not want to happen immediately began in an extremely bloody and tragic way...