Chapter 978 How much can a cavalry team with only 200 people do?
In the cracks of the northern forest, a cavalry team moved south quickly.
After confirming that they were at the rear of the Frankish march, the Ross cavalry led by Fisk did not rush to pursue them.
At least, they think they have touched the enemy's tail, and the enemy knows nothing about it.
But when it comes to the Frankish army, King Ludwig heard the situation reported by the withdrawn light cavalry. He made a judgment based on the existing information, and the entire army entered a state of combat readiness.
A large number of soldiers immediately put on armor, and all the main battle soldiers headed straight to the town of Osnabrück as fast as possible.
The enemy not only burned down the town and killed people everywhere, but also arrogantly used it as a place for decisive battle?
To be fair, there is a large open area in the forest, which can indeed be used as a fighting field.
Ludwig very much hoped to solve the problem in the north through a decisive battle, preferably in one or two days. The supplies he carried were heavier, but they could not hold on for a long time. If the war was delayed until January next year, it would be the whole year.
During the coldest period, continuing to spend time in the north is really asking for death.
He even had the thought that his move was simply to vent his anger, and to forcefully send troops regardless of the unfavorable factors of the season. He was facing risks from the time he sent troops.
The arrow has been fired, and it cannot turn back. The army has no way to retreat, and this war must have a result.
In his heart, he longed for a decisive battle as soon as possible, so he thought that Osnabrück would be the place for the decisive battle. Although the enemy was probably hiding in the woods, waiting for work, Ludwig felt that his military advantage was huge, and in addition,
The soldiers were already very angry. In the decisive battle, the army with strong morale would be able to overcome many disadvantages and use its powerful force to crush the arrogant Normans.
The sun shines through the gaps in the trees on this straight Roman road.
Heavy cavalry and heavy infantry, they are the legendary "Iron Men". As many as 6,000 armored warriors can be regarded as Ludwig's absolute main force. They are a force that he is proud of and a force that he used to safeguard his political power in the civil war.
the basis of status.
Because Ludwig never coveted the title of "People's Emperor of Rome", the eldest brother Lothair, the king of the Middle Kingdom, could continue to hold this title and continue to control the capital Aachen.
What he and his younger brother Charlie want is for his elder brother to acknowledge his late father's will, the so-called implementation of the three-part world.
Ludwig is now taking a huge gamble with his own power. If this army is defeated, the Eastern Kingdom will have no elite soldiers to use, let alone the capital to fight a civil war with his elder brother.
But I must not be cowarded! If I ignore the Saxon rebellion and turn a deaf ear to the Norman invasion, it will not only force the Archdiocese of Cologne to support the Middle Kingdom, but also cause the County of Flanders, which is sitting on the fence and watching, to defect. Yes,
Ludwig actually knew that Baudouin from Flanders was just like his father, a man with ulterior motives who manipulated both sides.
The soldiers marched quickly with an attitude of decisive battle. The heavily armored legions rushed towards the battlefield quickly, and the heavy cavalry took the lead to clear the way.
Following closely behind were unarmored peasant soldiers, mostly armed with shields and spears, whose speed was slower than the former.
At the end were the Sorbian slave soldiers escorting the baggage.
Even on a smooth road, this large army will be out of touch with each other after a long march.
Then, as the heavily armed troops entered the open area one after another, they saw towns that continued to burn and obvious traces of the battlefield, while the baggage troops managed by the Sorbians were still lingering in the rear.
Ludwig himself rode on horseback and boldly led the heavy cavalry straight into the burning land.
A horrifying scene soon unfolded.
His heart was beating wildly, his brows were furrowed and his teeth were about to break.
The head was stuck on the ground on a wooden branch, and an iron sword was stuck beside it. Such a masterpiece must have been done by the enemy, it was a deterrent and a mockery.
"Who did it? Ahhhh!"
The king roared to the sky and ordered his men to collect the bloody corpses.
Seeing this horrific scene, all the soldiers felt a strong desire for revenge.
As the sunlight becomes darker and darker, the surrounding forest becomes ghostly.
The infantrymen did not dare to disperse further after entering this open area. Ludwig also ordered them to form a dense formation as a unit of 100 men, keeping alert and observing changes in the surroundings.
They decided to wait for the enemy's reward until nightfall before temporarily lowering their guard.
The Frankish army continued to advance, and the peasant soldiers finally began to enter the open area. However, conditions began to arise in the rear.
How much can a cavalry team of only 200 men accomplish?
Their military strength seems to be small, but under special circumstances, they may be able to achieve quite outrageous results.
At this moment, Fisk led all the cavalry and formed a column on the Roman road very boldly, advancing in an orderly manner in a fast marching pattern.
This was not the first time that he was so bold. The young cavalry warriors, led by Fisk, had their round shields on their backs for a while, and the quivers on both sides of the saddle were full of arrows. No one was carrying a spear, only steel on his waist.
Sword, and recurve bow in hand.
Fisk is not yet sure of his current precise situation, but he believes that he is behind the enemy based on the traces left on the ground, and now is a good time for a sneak attack.
The cavalry continued to advance, and soon noticed the vast scene ahead.
The soldiers took a closer look and saw that it was actually a long motorcade?! Everyone was shocked and didn't know what to do for a moment.
At the critical moment, it was Fisk who stabilized everyone's emotions and ordered everyone: "Hold your bows! Draw your swords! Charge over as quickly as possible!"
The brothers had to give orders, they knew the risks, but no one cared.
The steel swords glowed orange in the setting sun, and the iron helmets they put on also reflected intensely.
The soldiers and horses were already a little tired. Now a huge fighter plane was in front of them. The brothers decided to fight the second battle of the day.
The Russian cavalry began to attack.
At first, it was just a trot of war horses. Fisk expected to wait until a suitable distance before launching a strong attack.
However, they have clearly exposed themselves, but the enemy behaves rather stupidly.
"Strange, can't they see me?" Fisk was confused. As the cavalry was about to engage in battle, those in front actually made extremely outrageous actions.
I saw a large number of people holding short spears or with empty hands, and they hurriedly hid on both sides of the road as if they had received an order. Only the carriage was in the middle of the road.
The "Road to Hell" can be traced back to the war road built by Augustus during his conquest of Germania. It was built in strict accordance with the standard width. The so-called five "Roman steps" were built, and its width has reached the equivalent of more than seven meters.
Some.
Such a spacious road is enough for four infantrymen to advance side by side at the same time, or even two baggage carriages to drive side by side.
As time passed and Rome fell, the "Road to Hell" was further extended by Charlemagne's order, and he tried his best to imitate the Romans' road construction methods. Although he did not learn the technology of advanced pavement, he did understand the craft of pounding it again. It became Charlemagne.
It is almost the only way for Mann to conquer and rule the north, and it is now the only way for Ludwig to suppress the rebellion.
It can still drive two carriages side by side, but now in single file mode.
Those hurriedly standing on both sides of the road were the Sorbian slave soldiers. They hurriedly gave way to the cavalry under the order of the accompanying Frank captain.
The cavalry, wearing helmets, walked struttingly, and the dim sunset obscured a large number of them. The Franks in the front queue naturally thought that these were friendly cavalry. In other words, they thought that only the Franks had cavalry in the entire Western Europe. As for the Sorbian slave soldiers
, they were forced to fight. In their understanding, the Frankish cavalry were all masters who could not be messed with. If they did not want to be trampled to death by horses' hooves, they had better make way quickly.
However, what awaits these people is ruthless killing...
Fisker took the lead in shouting slogans.
"Ula!"
This was the signal to kill, and he led the charge with his sword raised above his head.
All cavalry are in attack mode and contact has occurred.
The sharp steel sword slashed at the unsuspecting Sorbians, and Captain Frank who was among them was also beheaded.
Fisk slashed left and right, and then ordered the horse to move forward.
The Russian cavalry was like a ruthless sickle, cutting down two standing wheats one after another.
Many people were hacked to death inexplicably, and the rest heard screams and huge roars from behind. The first thing they did was not to stand in formation and prepare for battle, but to run away under the leadership of a leader.
After all, a large number of Sorbian men were conscripted. They did not want to fight a civil war with the Franks, let alone fight with the Saxons in the north for the rule of Falak. In fact, they were very envious of the Saxons for their brave rebellion.
Unfortunately, the Sorbians have no ability to rebel.
They saw that it was actually a group of cavalry that was killing people wantonly. The leading figures did not care too much and shouted: "Escape to the forest!"
Even though Frank's captain was shouting at his best, asking these slave soldiers to immediately resist this inexplicable attack. But, who would listen?
Since the Franks conquered the entire Sorbian tribe with their iron horse and gold, it is reasonable for the Sorbian people to have a deep fear of cavalry.
So, when the Ross cavalry continued to attack, all they saw was the scene of poorly dressed enemies running around under the setting sun. They ran to the forests on both sides of the road one by one, so it was really impossible to kill them.
Fisk had no time to care about the fugitives. He wanted to follow the orders of King Rurik, whether it was killing the enemy or killing the enemy's livestock, but whatever the enemy's belongings could be taken away, he would take it away, and if he couldn't take it away, he would destroy it.
In the chaotic battle, any verbal orders became useless. Both the enemy and his own people were shouting, so Fisk set an example for his brothers with his own actions.
He is killing the enemy's horse!
It is enough to give the enemy's horse a sword, even a wound.
The Franks' baggage carriages and horses suffered varying degrees of blows one after another. Some horses immediately knelt down and twitched and neighed after being injured, while some horses were not seriously injured and even started running around, such as pulling a cart of goods and plunging into the nearby forest.
There are as many as 5,000 Sorbian slave soldiers. They seem to be powerful, but it turns out that they are just a bunch of rabble. This is not because they are really inferior, but because they don't want to sacrifice their lives for the Franks at all. This time they go to war.
It’s impossible not to participate.
The killings of the Ross cavalry aroused collective fear among the Sorbians, who gave away a large amount of Frankish supplies, especially a large amount of military rations and tent materials.
The Ross cavalry had already killed the Sorbian queue in front of them without even using a single soldier. Their steel swords were dripping with blood, but the brothers continued to advance.
On the other hand, looking at the entire road, the enemy has completely escaped, and it is really boring for the brothers to pursue them into the forest.
Fisk urgently ordered: "Continue to attack and continue to expand the results!"
…
The movement behind is lively, but the movement in front is even more lively!
A distinguished man is caught in a strange dilemma.
Archbishop Hadbold heard the noise in the rear, but he did not think it was an enemy attack. Out of his piety for his faith, he also had compassion for the Sorbians in the army.
The entire Sorbian tribe had been converted, and matters such as imposing heavy taxes on them were King Ludwig's business. Hardbold was very concerned about whether these people were pious to God.
Accompanied by many young priests, he himself sat on a creaking carriage to escort the holy relic of the gilded cross.
"What happened back there?" he asked casually impatiently. The carriage without a shock-absorbing system made his hips very uncomfortable, and he was quite mentally exhausted now. It was said that there was an enemy situation, and the archbishop could not deal with such a big thing.
Mental improvement.
No one gave him a specific answer, and even the entire Frankish heavy infantry standard escorting him remained calm.
Until no one could ignore the sudden appearance of the cavalry from behind.
The entire heavy infantry standard regiment numbered nearly 800 men. This behemoth was only ordered to protect the archbishop himself.
They all wore chain mail and a layer of cowhide and riveted iron armor on their torsos. After receiving the order from King Ludwig, the soldiers escorting the archbishop also immediately marched in heavy armor.
The armor reflects the metallic luster, and their team is also in order.
When Fisk, who had already killed the Sorbian queue, saw this, he immediately raised his sword and stood up. After a moment, the Ross cavalry that followed stopped one after another.
Now, the situation was very embarrassing.
On one side are the Ross cavalry, whose steel swords are dripping with blood.
On one side were heavily armored Frankish heavy infantrymen who were unaware of where they were.
However, the large golden cross standing on the carriage was too conspicuous, and Fisk and his brothers stared straight at it.
Launch a cavalry charge? No! Killing those guys' baggage convoy has already consumed a lot of energy on the horses.
Fisk immediately ordered: "Change the bow! Bring in some people, dismount and shoot!"
Although the red-eyed Fisk did not dare to continue charging, he still dared to stand here in formation and fight against an enemy many times his own.
Obviously, they were determined to make full use of their arrow advantage before fighting.
Shooting has begun.
The Frankish heavy infantry who had not yet reacted suddenly encountered some precise attacks. Their unprotected faces were hit by clusters of pointed arrows, which even penetrated their skulls and killed them instantly.
It was only then that the Franks put the tower shield on their faces, and they also began to form a collective formation to form a shield wall.
The arrows hit their shields mercilessly, and the wooden shields were penetrated one after another, but they could not go any further.
The prairie recurve bow encountered a real enemy with heavy armor, and the Russian army's arrow rain became more and more intensive. In this cramped battlefield, after suffering a lot, the Farak heavy infantry stabilized the line and even began to push back.
Undoubtedly, Fisk was shocked: "Arrow is actually useless?"
Some subordinates questioned: "Boss, it's useless to continue like this! Or should we disperse them?"
"No! The horses are too tired. If we charge forward, we are seeking death!" Although he didn't want to admit that he didn't have the upper hand, Fisk had to make a decision in the face of the current situation.
"Forget it! Let's go! The brothers who are dismounted immediately mount their horses and retreat!"
Therefore, under the cover of arrows, the Ross cavalry hurriedly retreated. They fired many arrows and hurriedly withdrew from the battlefield without increasing the results.
This experience had an unexpected effect.
A stream of arrows flew past Archbishop Hadbold. By chance, one of his subordinate priests was hit in the back by a stream of arrows and penetrated the heart.
Seeing that his men were dead, he was so frightened that he didn't care about his dignity, his mind suddenly became refreshed, and his tired body was as flexible as a monkey. Regardless of his age, he jumped out of the carriage in a hurry, rolled and crawled under the shaft of the carriage and hugged him tightly.
brain.
Even the Bishop of Utrecht dared to carry the black wooden cross and go straight to the Russian army in the posture of a martyr. On the contrary, the noble Archbishop of Cologne did nothing.
It wasn't until the strange cavalry left that the Archbishop escaped from under the hidden wheel, pulled by the heavy infantry soldiers.
He slapped his body hard and kept crossing himself on his chest to calm his wildly beating heart.
However, when I looked up at the holy object, I saw an arrow stuck on the golden cross!
"Ah! Holy object!"
A young priest pulled out the arrow with his own hands, and saw that there was a too obvious hole on the cross. After all, this was a thin iron plate plated with gold and covered on a wooden stick. The so-called holy object was just the archbishop's wishful thinking. But everyone talked about it too much,
Things that are not sacred objects have become sacred objects.
Seeing that a hole had been drilled into the sacred object by the enemy, the Archbishop suddenly felt huge humiliation mixed with intense fear, and he actually fainted...
On the other hand, the Ross cavalry left without any loss. Fisk has not yet figured out what to do next, but since this straight road cannot be run, there is a way to return to the north.
The Ross cavalry once passed through the baggage convoy that had been passed over. This time it was their ruthless attack. Although they saw some people running to the road to see the situation, these people who showed up ran back to the woods in fear. They entered the forest to pursue them.
Them? No! What if I get tricked by these guys?
"This must be a convoy transporting supplies to the enemy! Continue to destroy! Kill their livestock and destroy their wheels!"
It is difficult to destroy the wheels, but it is easy to kill the horses pulling the carts. There is no need to kill the horses at all. Some warriors do it by taking a few arrows to cut off the shackles of the enemy horses that have not been killed or injured and look very stupid.
Put a rope on it and lead it away directly.
Such skillful and courageous warriors were none other than the Pechenegs in the army. They did not want to kill their precious horses, and it was better to keep the intact horses to transport supplies.
In this way, Fisk no longer questioned the killing. Those frightened horses naturally couldn't do anything. They couldn't get the enemy, let alone the enemy, so they just cut a horse's leg and ignored it.
As many as thirty horses that were timid or too docile were pulled away. Except for the moaning enemies lying on the ground and the injured horses neighing, no one interfered with the Russian army's looting.
They grabbed some oats and intact cloth, led the captured horses and drove away, leaving chicken feathers on the ground.
As for the way forward, Fisk has no new ideas for the time being. What is certain is that if you continue to go north, you will have a high probability of encountering a large enemy force. It is no longer effective to deal with those heavy infantry with just your own strength, so why not...
An evil and terrifying plan was brewing in this young man's heart.
"The king asked me to cause as much massacre as possible in the Frankish territory, and I will kill them to show the king!"
Who knows how far this avenue can extend to the south? Anyway, there are targets everywhere, just for the brothers to kill and loot.
Who would be worried about the danger? The brothers are all old Russians, and at the worst they are the best among the Slavs. They are also senior Pecheneg riders who are good at running wildly on the prairie.
Now the longships have been replaced by war horses, and the south is not entirely unknown. After all, Fisk participated in the military meeting before departure and also knew the important information provided by Ragnar.
Even Fisker carried a small folded cardboard map. Even though it was very rudimentary, the main geographical structures of half of Western Europe were clearly marked.
This Roman road is marked on the map. To the south is a large city called Cologne and a long river, the Rhine.
According to Ragnar, many villages in the south are very rich. What he calls wealth is gold and silver coins. Ragnar can escape unscathed, and of course the cavalry can too.
A fire was ignited in the hearts of the brothers. They were willing to make a fortune with their boss, and they didn't see anything wrong with continuing their adventure south.