Chapter 927 The sound of the horn blows on the day of the decisive battle of the Aleb Fortress
The beach at dusk was littered with dead bodies, and the village of Lindholm was in a mess.
The sun had almost set, and in the dim light, Ragnar's Danish army was still stationed on the beach until they watched the Frank cavalry leave in a hurry.
"It's really abominable. Without the support of the Russians, I would have continued to fail. The battle was like this again." Recalling the tragedy just now, Ragna was still frightened.
He would not blame the Russian army for the lack of support at all.
On the contrary, he clearly understood that he was killed entirely because the army was busy looting.
This also fully exposed that the essence of his "New Kingdom of Denmark" was just an illusion. The tribal armed forces from Zealand were very willing to fight with the wind, but they just ran away when a powerful enemy attacked.
How dare you call yourself a "warrior who worships Odin"?
At least the New Danish Army is still standing here, and everyone can comfort themselves that it is not a defeat.
After a period of silence, the frightened people finally regained their senses. Those who jumped back to the ship and watched on the shore are now re-landing.
The Danes' beach landing was successful, but not completely successful.
In line with their alliance obligations, the Ross army in the rear took the risk of accidentally injuring friendly forces and fired a large number of javelins to force the Frank cavalry to withdraw from the battlefield. However, it was dark and the Ross army had no time to continue drifting on the sea.
After seeing the withdrawal of the Frank cavalry, the Ross fleet immediately adjusted its course and landed on the soothing beach south of Ragnar's landing place.
Twilight concealed the actions of the Russian army. A large number of small boats were lowered and soldiers landed by boat.
For those war horses placed in the cabins of armed cargo ships, soldiers drove the horses along the narrow wooden slope to the top deck. At the same time, these armed cargo ships also took advantage of the evening tide to forcefully rush to the shore and deliberately ran aground.
Later, the prefabricated wooden boards were pieced together into longer wooden boards, which were inserted directly into the sand and gravel ground.
The unsaddled horses followed the steep wooden plank, plunged fiercely into the water up to their waists, and ran towards the shore amidst the rising tide.
This move was very unfriendly to the horses, and "Bald" Fisk was worried about it, but he had no good solution.
In fact, there is a good landing place, which is to use the existing pier in the fishing village of Lindholm. Those wooden trestles seem to be suitable for use, but the area is already crowded with friendly longships, and it looks messy at all.
There is no room for Ross's horse to land.
After all, the horses landed one after another. Since they were taking advantage of the tide, if the ships could not be towed away immediately, they would have to be stranded on the tidal flats at low tide.
A large number of warriors waded ashore, and those Slavic warriors carrying linen bags, round shields, and folded spears endured the sea water and stood in the core territory of the Danes for the first time.
This was also the first time that East Slavs arrived at the birthplace of the Varyags.
Because any Vikings living in Scandinavia and nearby islands spread out from Jutland.
Night covers a lot. It can conceal an army, make a large army disappear in the night, and create an extremely huge army in the night.
The bonfire is a common trick used by the Russian army.
The Russian army and the attached Slavic army that had just landed were eager to dry their wet clothes, so they used local materials and cut down the grove not far from the sea to get wood. They used bows and drills to make fire, and used fire salt to fuel the fire. A large number of bonfires were lit.
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The Ross army's camp is self-contained, and for security reasons, the troops that landed first maintained high-intensity alert and responded to the continuous landing of the rearguard troops.
Undoubtedly, the dark night gave the Russian army a huge obstacle. Landing at night was a challenge. In order to ensure stability, Spyut only asked the soldiers to land first, and a large amount of heavy equipment and living supplies could be transported until dawn.
After all, summer nights in Northern Europe are extremely short, so you don’t have to wait too long.
Compared with the friendly forces, Spyut, Fisk, Kanuf and Medvet, the armies under these four Russian generals totaled 2,000 people. There were still many non-combatants such as sailors.
Stay on the ship. These people will not participate in future battles unless necessary.
The Russian army built a dense camp, and they deliberately lit more bonfires to create the illusion of a large camp.
The fact is that the army that stormed the beach was indeed unprecedented in scale, with a total strength of 13,000 people!
Most of them are Danes who believe in Odin. The war at dusk proves one thing. Although the army is strong, it cannot achieve unified military orders. The tribes that come together have their own plans, just like this night
To set up camp, each tribe gathered in a group under the leadership of the lord.
The Ross army's camp set up a night defense position. The crossbow-wielding warriors were placed on the outside of the formation, and the ten torsion slingshots that were carried ashore first were placed at intervals.
Although bonfires were widely spread, the main force of the Russian army and their horses were huddled in a semicircular area near the sea and camped densely.
The soldiers ate dry food and fed the horses a lot of oats.
The current situation is very serious. Just look at the good spots everywhere on the fortress on the mound. The soldiers of the Russian army believe that the enemy defenders are also strong in strength, and Ragnar's Danish army believes this even more.
After all, the army has landed, and Ragnar's troops are cleaning up the mess on the battlefield.
How many people died during the Frankish cavalry rampage? It was impossible to count at night, and there was no need to count.
People can only describe the terror of the Frankish cavalry and the fact that they fought a useless battle.
Suppressing his anger and complaints, Spyut personally went to the "Danish King's Palace" established by Ragnar, which was essentially a larger and relatively intact house in the village of Lindholm.
The house became the command center of the army, and the various lords and Ragnar himself were already quarreling in the brightly lit house.
They were making quite a loud noise.
Si Puyut heard the obvious insults, shirks, and accusations in Norse. He also held back his anger. Then he rushed into the meeting room and shouted: "Stop arguing! Stop shirking responsibility! With you guys
How can my friend Ragnar build Denmark well when we are only together with guys who only care about robbery?"
This sight shocked the entire audience and also moved Ragnar very much.
After being quiet for a while, a lord suddenly pointed at Spuyut's nose and asked sharply: "Why are you shouting so loudly? We suffered losses when we landed, and it has a lot to do with the delay in the support of you Russians."
Immediately, someone else beat their chests and echoed: "You are too slow! Why didn't you log in earlier?! Support was launched only at the last moment."
…
Siput shook his head. Although there were still many lords here who remained silent, those few dancing guys made him furious.
What is bloody? What is barbarism?!
I saw Spuyut suddenly pull out his sword, and the sword pointed directly at the men who accused him with a strong buzzing sound.
This move forced the house to be quiet.
"You cowards don't have the guts to fight the Franks. Instead, you blame us Russians for being too lazy. Ross doesn't bother to associate with cowards. If you are so cowardly, how can you be Ross's allies? Why don't you give up your position?
Disband the army and go back to your hometown in Zealand to fish."
The words were too irritating, and those who were criticized knew very well what kind of old pirate Spuyut was, so they all shut up.
Ragnar had no choice but to smooth things over, spreading his arms and dancing to appeal to everyone to calm down.
"We really need to calm down now." Spuyut said seriously: "We don't have time to blame each other, and we don't even have time to burn the bodies of the dead in the war to ashes or bury them in peace. Those Franks won the battle, and they will definitely be there tomorrow.
Comeback."
"I think so too." Ragnar slapped his thigh and echoed, "Stop all the quarrels, we must make a decision. I! Have to knock down the fortress in front of me."
Everyone organized a large army and came to Jutland not just for a vacation. The huge losses in the landing battle made people soberly aware that this war was completely impossible to win easily.
They began to study tactics.
The still huge military strength is the undoubted advantage of the new Danish-Russian coalition. How to really use the advantage is a matter of care.
The enemy will use the fortress to launch defense. How should the army break the fortress?
The fortress has a stone wall, so you just need to make some ladders to cross the stone wall. The army only needs to attack one point to create a breakthrough, and then the army will file in, and all problems will no longer be a problem.
After all, this war was fought by the Danes to regain the stolen territory. Spyut had just become as if he was the absolute commander. A decisive battle was about to begin, and the initiative must be held by the new Danish king Ragnar.
Spruit had to give face to the Danes, for which he would lose the honor of being the first to break through the fortress.
Considering that he was essentially a partial force, there was no need to overtake the enemy to make great contributions. In order to avoid meaningless casualties, he announced that the Russian army would first be responsible for providing support with long-range weapons.
Such a statement hints at one thing. The so-called New Danish Army's Sealand Danes will take the lead, which means that Ragnar will take away the castle from the Frankish invaders. The troops who enter the fortress can rob based on their skills. This is a welcome robbery.
The Russian army apparently supplemented the raids.
This made the new Danish army lords, who had been so noisy just now, very relieved.
So Ragnar's new Danish army can capture Aleb Castle alone with only a little long-range arrow support?
Ragnar was quite confident after the meeting, but Spyut still felt uncomfortable when he returned to his camp.
Seeing their uncle return, young Fisk and Kanuf hurried forward to greet him.
"How? What did the Danes say about the failed landing?" Fisk asked.
"They are all a group of pretentious guys, but they are also very cowardly. Fisk, gather the cavalry first."
"ah?"
"Go quickly, I have something to tell you."
The cavalry soldiers who had just finished their meal lined up urgently and heard such instructions.
Sipuyut is already in his forties. He is no longer young. He has experienced too much over the years and has become quite wise and pragmatic.
"The battle will begin tomorrow, and our Danish allies will attack the fortress. The task of the Russian army and the Slavic army is to assist those people. You are the most elite cavalry. Your task is to delay or annihilate the Frank cavalry. Remember you.
If you encounter enemy cavalry, you can discuss among yourselves how to fight."
Spute did not understand cavalry, and the Frank cavalry was a formidable enemy.
How to deal with cavalry? Probably the best way is to use cavalry against cavalry.
Fisker happened to think so too.
A military meeting was held in the Ross Army camp, and the officers quickly discussed the arrangements for tomorrow's battle.
Late at night, in the cavalry camp protected by regiments.
Beyathil, who was too obviously pregnant, wanted to join the battle, but her thoughts were suppressed by others. She was on the battlefield, and although she could not join the battlefield, she still had to do her job as a cavalry advisor.
It just so happened that Fisk was in urgent need of the prairie princess's combat advice.
"Those Frank cavalry seem to be wearing heavy armor. We are fighting fiercely with them. Our cavalry is small and does not have an advantage. What should we do? You..." Fisk sat cross-legged like a bear. On the other hand, Fisk was much petite.
Beyathil, sitting sideways and as obedient as a rabbit.
"This rabbit" is extraordinary, he is a smart warrior as soon as he opens his mouth.
"Are you stupid? To deal with this kind of heavily armored enemy, just use our grassland tactics."
"Just shoot with arrows? They have heavy armor, our arrows may not work, and your recurve bow may not work either."
"Then give priority to shooting their horses." Bejahir immediately mentioned such a battle example: "In our hometown, we Pechenegs fought against the Roman cavalry. Those cavalry were covered in iron, and even the horses were iron.
. Killing with this kind of cavalry is a recipe for death. We can only keep firing arrows to harass them. When the enemy is exhausted by the heavy armor, it is time for us to fight back. "
Siputu immediately cheered up: "Is that so? I have never fought with another cavalry, and the king also hopes that I will not damage any warrior or horse."
"Rurik? My man... his ideas are too simple. How can there be no undead people or horses in a war? Even if our cavalry is expensive, this is war! You see, I am a noble princess. Wasn't I in the first place before?
Frontline battle?" She was still hinting that she was eager to overcome physical difficulties and join the battlefield.
After a lot of chatting, the two of them came up with the counter-tactics against the Frank cavalry in just a few words. Whether it would work well or not still needs to be tested on the battlefield.
The horses have rested, but the cavalry soldiers cannot sleep yet.
Although I don’t know whether the enemy will send out cavalry in tomorrow’s battle, and how they will attack if cavalry is sent out. Ross’s cavalry must make full preparations, such as giving up their lances, and not confronting and assassinating each other with the enemy’s super powerful lances. They must give full play to their nature as a prairie.
The specialty of the cavalry is to prepare quivers on both sides of the saddle, and stuff them with as many pointed armor-piercing arrows as you can.
The Pechenegs pursue this kind of tactical model. As a weak force in the Eastern European steppes, fighting with powerful enemy cavalry is asking for death. They cannot tolerate the death of a large number of people in battle and cannot accept the loss of defeat, so they call it obscene
The "kite-flying" tactics of the enemy mostly used harassment and attacks in order to pick up leaks, and they were not willing to have direct contact with the enemy cavalry.
In Viking society, this tactic was as dirty as dirt and as despicable as thieves.
It's like two warriors dueling, and one of them uses a hidden weapon unprepared.
Fisk is not stupid. His priority is to avoid the loss of cavalry, and secondly, whether the battle is fair and honest.
Bah! Those Franks don’t believe in Odin, so there’s no need to fight them openly.
So, when the new sun rose, the cavalrymen who had just slept and the huge Russian army camped were awakened by the melodious sound of trumpets in the distance.
The Russian army, especially the cavalry, who had fought too many fierce battles, was the first to wake up. The horses stood up, and the soldiers hurriedly hung the quivers full of arrows on the horses. They held the reins and paid attention to the movements of the Frankish castle, and listened carefully to the movements of the Frankish castle.
The melodious and deep horn sound came from the side.
That horn sounded like a signal to start a war.
The sleepy warriors hurriedly got up. With their backs to the sea and fear of being attacked by surprise, they hurriedly tied their bucklers to their left arms and stood ready with swords and battle axes in their hands.
The warrior holding the crossbow also hurriedly prepared to wind the string, and the javelin of the torsion slingshot was also inserted into the bullet slot.
Looking at the thousand Slavic troops in Medvet, the soldiers were busy inserting round pine sticks soaked in pine resin and reinforced into bronze tubes. The spear divided into three sections restored its true colors. In other words, the weapon in its complete state was
An extra-long halberd is more suitable. This is an innovation of a weapon, and it can also be regarded as a revival of a weapon. The spearmen of the Macedonian phalanx soldiers long ago had splicable spears. It has great advantages
The advantage is that it is convenient for marching.
When the Slavic troops landed, they were dressed up like standard Russian soldiers, even their clothes were completely uniform. At first glance, they looked like the arrival of elite Russian citizen soldiers.
It wasn't until they showed off their spliced spears that they looked different.
Indeed, a thousand-man spear army in this time and space, whether it is Western Europe, Northern Europe or even Eastern Europe, will contribute a share. When this army goes into battle, the swordsmen, shieldmen and crossbowmen of the Russian army must rely on this spear
Formation, so as to protect each other. This was discussed by the generals before the war. They learned war in the war, and based on the principle of doing as much damage as possible and minimizing casualties, they spontaneously moved closer to the tactics of the "Spanish Grand Square".
The Russian cavalry adopted "steppe cavalry" tactics, while the Russian-Slavic infantry adopted "grand square" tactics.
They are very different from the traditional image of the Vikings. Only Odin, who is universally believed in, proves that although he is ever-changing, he is still Odin's warrior.
Yes, a large number of Slavic soldiers have spontaneously given up their past beliefs. They now feel that they are fighting for the great god Odin and gain glory. After death, their souls will return to Asgard for eternal glory.
Their fighting spirit was high, and it would be inappropriate at this moment if the enemy did not appear arrogantly.
No!
The Frankish cavalry left the city in mighty force!
Cross flags were flying, and the horses of the Frank cavalry were wearing blue-striped robes. Miraculously, the main color of Liudov's cavalry was also blue and white, or in other words, all Frank troops tried to dress in blue and white, even if they did not have standard military uniforms.
The two sides who are about to fight are dressed in similar colors. The reason is quite simple. Blue plant dye is easy to obtain in the pan-Nordic region.
Today, Liudov, with the residual power of yesterday evening's loud voice, marched forward amidst the cheers of the people in the rear. Everyone accepted the priest's blessing again, thinking that today was another righteous killing and bestowed death judgment on the barbarians on the seaside.
Liudov now looked down upon his defeated generals. He raised his spear high, although he noticed that there was another large camp to the south, but that camp was obviously not as large as the one directly in front.
He understood the principle of capturing the king first before capturing the thief. The chief of the barbarians must be hiding in the largest camp.
"Children of Widukind! This time it's not for Frank! It's for our Saxony, come with me!"
Therefore, Liudov's five hundred cavalry launched an early morning offensive towards the Danish army camp in Ragnar.
All this was closely watched by the Ross army in the "southern camp" that he ignored.
Fisk could not sit back and watch these enemies attack friendly forces. He had no time to prepare, so he immediately led three hundred Ross cavalry to magically rush out and launch a pursuit...