The Frankish heavy cavalry who had just emerged from the forest raised their spears high in the snow on the riverside to show off their power. They waved the cross flags in their hands wantonly to declare their majesty.
However, what the Russian army gave them was a spinning and falling javelin.
The low temperature made the seal oil used for lubrication become too viscous, and it almost adhered to the torsion unit of the torsion slingshot in lumps. The performance of the slingshot was reduced, but the enemy bravely appeared in the fire coverage area, and the Russian army could completely
Attack wantonly.
The soldiers on the ship adjusted their direction, and the javelin passed through a low parabola and began to fall into the Frank cavalry array.
The war horse was penetrated and the rider was shot dead. Even if he was wearing armor, he could not withstand the high-kinetic impact of the hardened carbon steel javelin head.
Death came suddenly, and the majestic cavalry immediately took evasive tactics.
They tightened their reins and immediately retreated to the forest. Some riders didn't care that their bodies were pierced, and wanted to go back to join the large army with their severely injured bodies.
Those hoplites with high morale were looking forward to fighting the rebellious invaders out of the forest and quickly ending this bad winter expedition with a decisive battle.
The huge brim of the leather helmet covered half of his face, and the linen he carried covered his cheeks and neck, and even his nose, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.
The leading infantrymen saw the returning cavalry and were shocked to see among them the wounded whose bodies were stabbed.
The captain of the cavalry banner, who was ordered to go first, encountered a head-on blow, but he also discovered the true and false nature of the enemy, and returned in a hurry to report what he had seen to his king.
Unexpectedly, Ludwig was first angry at what happened to his men: "You were attacked? You retreated without a fierce battle?! You looked like cowards when you ran away."
The king's accusation was so chilling that the flag captain did not dare to quibble.
He gasped and replied cautiously: "Your Majesty, everything on the Elbe River is just like what we encountered on the Weser River. The enemy has stood those damn big ships on the river again, and now they are firing terrible javelins at us. If our army is on the riverside
If you form a formation, things will be dangerous."
"They... are so vicious?" Although Ludwig had an ominous premonition, he still hit a hard wall. "How is the Elbe River?" he asked, "Is it frozen?"
"There is no ice, and the river flows normally. Your Majesty, our army cannot cross the river unless..."
"how?"
"The pontoon bridge in Hamburg is in place, and that is the only way we can advance, but..."
The flag captain was talking nonsense. Ludwig was so angry that his beard was trembling, and he continued: "But that damn pontoon is controlled by the enemy."
"Yes. Your Majesty, what should we do?"
The question was posed to Ludwig. Not far ahead was the end of the forest. When he went out, he could face Hamburg, the lair of traitors and invaders. He realized that his Northern Expedition to vent his anger was indeed too hasty, but he was already standing here.
The sunk costs are already too great. If a decisive battle cannot be fought, the entire operation will be a thankless effort.
Ludwig thought for a while: "We will camp in the forest for the time being. The village we found earlier will be used as a camp. Without my order, no one in our army is allowed to go to war without authorization. Violators will be hanged!"
The battlefield shifts to Hamburg.
It only took two rounds of javelin strikes to disperse the Frankish cavalry. They left about twenty of their cavalry lying on the ground and fled in despair. They had no time to pull away these casualties.
The soldiers of the coalition army have long been sharpening their swords and preparing for war. The rowing boats parked on the north bank of the river have also been untied from their ropes. The brothers are waiting for the king's order to rush to the river and row to the other side to fight.
Many nobles standing high up were really dissatisfied with the outcome of a battle that ended in an anticlimactic outcome, and the one who was most excited was Liudov.
"The heavy cavalry actually withdrew. Their army is in the forest, and we must hit it hard. Otherwise, we will be in great danger."
"Actually, your power will be very dangerous." Rurik turned his head and glanced at Liudov, then looked at the forest: "Don't be anxious. I think the enemy is actually more anxious than us. Now we will see who is more patient.
Keep your temper."
"Just waiting? Doing nothing?"
"Just waiting for now."
The coalition chose to wait, and Rurik even ordered the soldiers on the ship to stop charging the slingshot.
The battlefield returned to calm, and the north wind across the river dispersed people's whispers, but the wailing of the injured cavalry could be vaguely heard.
After stagnating like this for a while, Rurik suddenly thought of a plan.
He sent thirty soldiers rowing to the other side, most of whom carried large axes. They were ordered to chop the dead horses into pieces and capture the wounded enemy soldiers who were still alive.
There is no need to waste the horse carcass. For example, the four horse legs must be chopped off. After all, it is difficult to get fresh meat in this cold weather.
Under the spotlight, this tongue-catching team went out in a majestic manner. Not only the coalition forces in Hamburg were paying attention to their actions, but also the Frankish army on the other side.
Look at this longship boldly crossing the river. After landing, they spread out their formation and showed off their bucklers and swords. They looked at the surrounding situation alertly and started to take action.
When the injured heavy cavalrymen who were still able to move saw the barbarians approaching with swords, they instinctively wanted to resist. They even tried to pull out the small saber from their waists and resisted resolutely, but their legs were pressed by the horses and they could not move.
For such uncooperative wounded, the Russian soldiers crossing the river directly stabbed them to death.
After all, brothers are not good people, and we only need one living prisoner of war, who can be found and taken away to make a deal.
An injured person covering his face was forcibly dragged out. There was no obvious external injury on this person's body, but his lower body was pressed by the death horse and he could not move. This person was also very uncooperative at the beginning, but he was wearing heavy armor and it was not easy to get up.
After being knocked unconscious by the wooden handle of the tomahawk, he was tied up and prepared to be dragged away.
As for the other Russian warriors, they were chopping up the horse carcasses and plundering the horse meat.
The Russians seemed to act as they pleased, but unexpectedly another horn sounded one after another.
Liudov, who was mentally sensitive across the Elbe River, was shocked. He yanked Rurik's arm regardless of etiquette. "No! This is their attack signal. The people you sent out will be hit."
"ah?!"
Before Rurik could react, he saw a group of heavy infantrymen wearing armor and shining brightly in the sun and snow suddenly rushed out of the forest.
These people don't seem to have many troops. They run fast in the snow by the river, just like a pack of wolves eyeing their prey and won't stop until the hunt is completed.
The Ross soldiers scratching their tongues on the other side of the river neglected to observe their surroundings carefully because of their arrogance. Little did they know that as soon as they landed, the Frank scouts in the dark hurriedly reported the new situation.
Ludwig, who had just suffered a loss, had to regain his face. Considering that the opponent had dispatched about 30 people, he should send out ten times the number of heavy infantry to intercept them at the right time. Even if the enemy's long-range weapons were somewhat sharp, he could still defeat them with ten times the number of heavy infantry.
Is there any reason to fail when intercepting and killing with a force of one?
Three hundred heavy infantry received orders and quickly advanced to the edge of the forest to ambush. An infantry flag captain was in charge of the retaliatory raid. When he saw that the enemy troops, who were obviously dressed in Norman pirate attire, were tending to withdraw, he decisively launched an attack.
They moved with the sound of the horn, and the three centurions ran at a sprint speed of 100 meters.
Seeing this, the thirty Ross soldiers did not have enough time to evacuate.
"Captain" gave the order: "Put everything down! Shield wall!"
The well-trained brothers quickly threw down the prisoners and the huge pieces of horse meat. Thirty people stacked their bucklers on top of each other to form an arc array, and began to move in an orderly manner in the direction of the ship.
Immediately afterwards, there was the collision of shields and a fight.
The ferry was obviously not far behind us, but on the other side of the river were tens of thousands of coalition soldiers.
How can the glorious Russians escape in a hurry? Everyone is obviously eager to fight, and for the sake of glory, they must fight against this group of enemies that suddenly appeared!
As a result, the armored warriors on both sides trembled together. The Frank infantry did not break through the Russian shield wall in the initial collision, and then the swords of both sides stabbed each other through the shields.
Both sides began to suffer casualties, and the Rus' front line, which was inferior in strength, continued to shrink. If they continued to resolutely defend the glory of Odin's warriors and refused to retreat, they would be killed by an enemy ten times their size.
"What are they doing?! Are they not withdrawing now?! What a bunch of idiots!" Rurik, who was watching, yelled angrily.
However, Liudov was extremely eager for an opportunity for a decisive battle, and now the opportunity came.
This Liudov hurriedly responded: "The heroes are unwilling to withdraw, so we should help them. Rurik, our Saxon army should be dispatched. I will help your people lift the siege."
"Bah! I think you just can't wait any longer." Rurik rolled his eyes at him, "I don't want the decisive battle to be like this."
"But you can't expect them to fight according to your arrangements and die according to your arrangements."
"No, I will send more people across the river to fight. You Saxons, don't be too hasty."
As a result, the elite Russian army who were eager to try finally got a chance to fight.
The three flag teams gathered together a thousand people, some walked directly on the pontoon bridge, and some rowed across the river.
They moved so quickly that a large number of rowing boats immediately appeared on the river.
Accompanying these ships were the javelins fired again from the large ships across the river.
It was just a tongue-grabbing operation after the encounter. Now both sides are increasing their troops, and the scale of the battle is rapidly expanding!
The Russian army sent a thousand elites across the river! They were uniformly dressed and well-equipped. When the Franks saw these troops, they could confirm without hesitation that they were absolutely elite.
Three hundred people could not crush the thirty-man shield wall defense line. Even though the enemy only had a dozen people left, they still fought to the death, as if these people were simply bait.
No, the actions of the Normans convinced the Frankish flag captain who was performing the mission that now was the moment for the decisive battle, even though everyone did not want the decisive battle to start so hastily.
Javelins roared over the heads of the Russians on the other side. Many javelins were deeply embedded in the mud, and many of them directly hit the enemy and killed them on the spot.
"Keep holding on, brothers, this is a glorious decisive battle, our reinforcements have arrived!" The "captain" held on to his last line, even with the barge behind him.
Ludwig did not go far. The scouts continued to report on the progress of the battle. As they pointed out that a large number of Norman pirates had crossed the river to attack, he concluded that the moment of decisive battle had arrived.
Immediately afterwards, it was the turn of the Frank army to attack crazily.
The king on horseback waved his sword. He had no time to form his troops. Almost all the soldiers lined up on the Roman road. Most of the soldiers had just started to rest. However, the opportunity for a decisive battle was fleeting. If you don't fight now, the face will continue.
Things are not easy to handle in the flowing Elbe River.
However, Ludwig issued special orders.
The messengers on horseback were approaching the rear of the team frantically, giving orders to a large number of peasant soldiers.
Among the Normans, the Rosses have sharper arrows. If their arrows are exhausted, their advantage will no longer be there.
In the kingdom, some people are born noble, and some people are born slaves.
Ludwig was not stupid enough to devote all his elite heavy infantry to the war of attrition on the Elbe River. The best way was to send the largest number of peasant soldiers to fight, while the elite heavy infantry and heavy cavalry watched the battle from behind.
, waiting for the right time to enter the battle.
So, the ordered peasant soldiers, armed with their battle axes and short spears, rushed towards the river like a herd of wild boars in the snow.
As long as barbarians and traitors are killed on the battlefield, the farm tax debt can be forgiven. As long as a Norman head is cut off, the serfs can regain their freedom.
Most of the peasant soldiers came from the Earl of Rheingau. The Earl himself was imprisoned after a great defeat. The people in this territory were immediately selected by Ludwig as the main source of troops for the Northern Expedition. Peasants who killed the enemy would be rewarded for their military exploits.
The strongest among them will be incorporated into the standing army, so that the whole family will be better off in the future.
Especially a large number of minor nobles in the earldom. Their head of the family had fought against the rebellious Saxons and Normans in this battlefield a few months ago, but all their troops were wiped out. It is one thing to do meritorious service for the king, but to fight for the head of the house.
Revenge is a big thing for the new nobles who succeed. It is only natural to avenge their father and brothers who died in the war. These small nobles and their retinues rushed fiercely.
A large group of warriors wearing thick cloth and leather clothes and rarely wearing armor filed out of the Roman road.
At the same time, thousands of Russian soldiers had completed the landing. Their appearance turned the offensive, and the balance of strength once completely tilted towards the Russian army. Now it was the turn of the Frankish heavy infantry to start fighting and retreating.
More than a hundred people formed a fighting square, and the Russian army continued to advance in the form of a hundred-man team. Their bucklers were stacked on top of each other. There were often two rows of warriors in the front row thrusting with swords, and then there were brothers holding long-handled halberds pointing at the enemy's head.
A fierce smash.
The Franks could not learn such organized fighting.
Even if a heavy infantryman wears thick armor, in the hundreds of years since Rome was destroyed, Frank has forgotten the original design intention of the "centuries" and "standards". It seems that it is just a simple grouping of soldiers until the actual fight begins.
It soon turned into a separate battle among the soldiers.
The Roman legionnaires are resurrected!
However, they are Vikings (Normans) with blond hair and blue eyes.
The ten blocks are constantly advancing, and the accompanying crossbowmen are slowly firing arrows. The archers in the gaps between the blocks are holding crossbows and shooting at the enemies. They often hold two to three arrows in their mouths, and after firing once
Wind up your boots, take out an arrow from your mouth, load it, aim and shoot, trying to reload as quickly as possible.
The ten centurions moved slowly toward the forest, but the deep winter forest must have hidden the enemy's army. They gradually slowed down and watched the expelled Frank heavy infantry escape.
The losses of the Ross army were not many, and all dead and injured were transferred to the ships in the rear and quickly transported to the rear, including several wounded prisoners captured.
If the Franks had withdrawn like this, the battle would not have turned into a final decisive battle. If the enemy did not invest new troops, the thousand-man Russian army would have to withdraw.
However, there suddenly began to be a loud killing sound in the forest, and snow fell on a large scale in the forest as far as the eye could see.
The footsteps shook, and the shouts of killing shook the snow, which completely terminated the retreat plan of the Russian army.