Chapter 1519 This Nobleman Defeated the King of Denmark
【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
The soldiers rushed out from the Luxembourg military camp, and they rushed towards the Danish military formation that had formed an emergency formation.
They were Franks and fought like their ancestors.
The flying ax first struck the Danish army's shield wall with a crackling critical strike. Some of the javelins mixed in with it pierced the round shield, making it difficult for the warriors behind the shield to control it. Some javelins simply flew over the front row and hit the people in the rear.
What followed was a violent collision.
The small shields of the Frankish militia were mounted on the large round shields of the Danish army, and a brutal and bloody sword-and-spear confrontation immediately began.
Many militiamen became so fearless that they climbed over their comrades in the front row and jumped deep with hand axes and daggers. The militiamen who dared to do this completely ignored the fact that such a move would inevitably lead to death.
The swords of the Danish soldiers pierced the chests of those who leapt down. The blood stained the chainmails red, and the helmets and cheeks of the Danish soldiers were completely dyed red.
Even though he is the king of Denmark, Ragnar is now fighting at the front like an ordinary warrior.
The situation was very different from what he had imagined. How could the militiamen in his imagination be on the verge of collapse, as if they had drank magic mushroom soup and turned into berserk warriors?
"Hold on! Hold on! Kill these stupid farmers!"
Ragnar gritted his teeth and persisted, but a steady stream of Frankish militiamen clearly did not hesitate to die. They kept pushing forward and squeezing the Danes' wings, forcing them to condense into an arc-shaped defense line, and even transform into a perfect circle.
Directly in front of the Danish army, this was the place where the most brutal battle took place.
The dead militiamen lay down on the grass, and their blood began to gather into a stream, slowly flowing into the Alzette River next to it.
The following militiamen stepped on their bodies to continue fighting, like stepping on a ladder, making it easier for the fearless warriors to leap down. With just a chop with an ax or a pull with a dagger, the Danes' unprotected calves and knees will bleed profusely.
Although one militiaman would be killed by a random sword, he also killed the Dane's "Achilles Heel" before dying.
One after another, soldiers in chainmail suffered such sneak attacks and fell to their knees screaming in pain. Although the injuries were not fatal, a soldier with a severe leg cut wanted to stand again. It was absolutely impossible to fight anymore - those with shattered knees and severed Achilles tendons could only huddle on the ground.
If it were just such an attack, the Danish army's front would not collapse.
Although there were gaps in the shield wall, they were quickly repaired, and it remains as solid as a rock.
The shield wall is really like a wall. The army led by Ragnar has quite a lot of experience in plundering in Britain. The soldiers are used to seeing blood and will not be defeated by such a blow.
But Ragnar simply could not imagine that a thousand of his own men would have to fight against ten thousand Frankish militiamen!
If it is just a general recruitment of militiamen, they can only follow the aristocratic army and wave the flag and shout, and when they find out that there is a great chance of victory, they will fight with the wind.
This group of militiamen has a completely different mentality.
Families were killed and villages were destroyed. A group of militiamen were basically refugees from the Diocese of Maastricht. They not only witnessed the destruction of their homes, but also saw the attack on the great bishop's church.
When encountering disaster, people instinctively think of escaping. Now fear has turned into resentment, and hatred has turned into courage.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Too many family members and friends have died. The refugees fled into the Ramon Highlands and decided to join the local militia. They have lost too much and now they have only one life left.
The Archbishop of Liege has declared that this is a war against Satan. Anyone who dies in the war will have the original sin of his family eliminated and his soul entering heaven.
This can be regarded as a psychological reassurance for the militiamen. Because Rurikki’s letter of war was passed by the exiled knight, the document clearly stated that the Kingdom of Rus was responsible for all evil along the Maas River. The archbishop immediately announced this fact. Since the real person was found The enemies and people with deep hatred have now given up.
The crowd came in waves one after another. The stubborn Ragnar was not willing to let his array be broken by stupid farmers. He insisted on his men to hold the line, so more and more corpses piled up in front of the array.
No one was talking about retreat, although some were beginning to think it would be foolish to continue fighting like this.
Some people began to fantasize: "If my king agrees to the suggestion of King Rus, and a Rus army joins the battle now, our predicament will be solved."
For a moment, Ragna also regretted his arbitrary decision.
"Had I known this, I shouldn't have been impulsive. But I'm not at the point where I need to retreat yet."
The Danish army can still fight and retreat at the same time. They are not far from their ship. Now they can board the ship and escape shortly after running back.
The price paid by the Frankish militia for such a ferocious fighting style was extremely high. The militiamen as a whole were seriously lacking in armor and relied entirely on thick sweaters and leather jackets to keep out the cold. The clothes could prevent certain cuts but were unable to withstand thrusts.
There have been hundreds of casualties and the militia offensive has not abated.
Earl Eberhard, who was riding a horse, had sharp eyes and his brows were knitted to closely observe the development of the battle situation.
The cavalry cannot be dispatched, just because the current cavalry is empty, and the significance of deterrence far exceeds the significance of actual combat, even if this deterrence is just a pretense.
He also did not expect that the militiamen could be so brave. If these people received military training, were equipped with better weapons, and were finally organized, the emperor's regular army would not care about it.
Almost all of the imperial standing forces under Emperor Lothair's command were in Strasbourg, and were trapped in an extremely disadvantageous situation.
The garrison in Trier should have been ordered to leave, but as a strategically important place, the area had to be fortified. A flag force was severely depleted, and there were only about 200 people left in the flag force. Failure to participate in the war was a disgrace to the Frankish veteran's honor, but now he could fight the invading Norman bandits at home, which was not a disgrace.
If there are enough elite warriors, the enemy's shield wall will be broken down.
Obviously having an absolute advantage in troops, the blocking battle has been going on for a while. Although there are bright spots, the battle situation is far less than Eberhardt expected.
He was cruel and ordered the archers on standby to take action.
He ordered his temporary deputy to immediately convey the order: "Order all archers to take action. Throw arrows at the Russian military formation until all the arrows carried are used up."
"Sir, this may hurt our people."
Eberhard's attitude was cold and stern: "But it can kill more gangsters. The Archbishop said that this is a war against Satan! Thank the sacrifices for their contribution to victory. Go!"
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
"Okay! Haha!" The deputy swung his riding whip and quickly rushed to the gathering place of the archers.
Seeing their companions fighting, the archer troops that had assembled up to 400 people were restless. Finally, when they received the order from the adults to go to war, they started to walk towards the battlefield with great interest.
At this moment, the battlefield was in ruins.
The Danes' physical strength was rapidly depleting in the constant fighting. If the crazy killings could not stop the Franks' desperate advance, it would be a matter of time before the shield wall collapsed.
Archers lined up to enter the battlefield. Most of them were local hunters and did not have much sympathy for the militiamen who fought hard. If they did not have the righteous intention of attacking the Norman invaders and helping Emperor Lothair win the civil war, these local Luxembourg militiamen would spontaneously drive away the guest troops from Lamontgau, Masgau and Jülichgau. outsider.
They were also worried that these strangers would occupy the fertile river valleys and linger there.
So, if you really launch arrow throws and kill these friendly troops... everything depends on the Almighty God.
The archers were commanded by serious Frankish swordsmen. They first fired a volley to give the enemy a heavy blow, and then fired freely, forcing the enemy to take care of themselves with uninterrupted firepower, thus providing opportunities for the constantly attacking friendly forces to break the formation. .
The shouts completely drowned out the noise of arrows tearing through the air as a volley of hundreds of arrows flew over the heads of the militiamen.
The weight of Orion's bows varies, as does the quality of the arrows fired, which determines that the salvo will have a large spread, and some arrows will inevitably hit friendly forces.
But the Luxembourg archers didn't care, nor did Count Jülich, who was commanding the battle.
Arrows rained down like rain, and Ragnar never dreamed that the Franks could do this.
Some soldiers in the Danish army did not wear armor because of poverty. Arrows hit their shoulders and arms. The soldiers' combat effectiveness was greatly reduced by the arrow wounds. What was worse was that the arrow attacks continued.
At first, some soldiers raised their round shields over their heads to resist the attack. The inferior arrow clusters barely penetrated the shield, and most of them got stuck on the shield surface.
Although the shield can protect against most arrows, it seriously interferes with the rhythm of substitutions in the battle line.
The warrior who had been fighting was out of breath and urgently needed the follow-up brother to take his place. He rested for a while and then fought again.
The arrows also killed and wounded the Frankish militiamen, but the red-eyed soldiers did not care about this. Even if there were arrows from friendly forces stuck in their backs, they continued to fight the Danish army with all their strength.
As a result, Ragnar not only had to lead his troops to continue fighting fiercely with the infantry, but also had to be wary of sneak attacks with arrows, which finally forced him to start to shrink his front.
Moreover, when the Frank army saw that the arrow attack was effective, those militiamen who could not participate in the fight struggled to throw the short spears, harpoons, pitchforks, and even stones tied with ropes as hammers in their hands to speed up the enemy's line. Crash.
"Ragnar! Did you hear that?!"
"This can't go on like this!"
His companions were shouting at the top of their lungs. Ragnar held his shield against his body. His arms were covered with the enemy's blood, and the right hand holding the sword became numb due to the fierce fighting. The Danish king was still witnessing the battle - as he had ten years ago. He was brave enough to kill King Oleg of Sweden with his own hands many years ago.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
"What did you say?!" He heard it and asked loudly.
"We're going to collapse!"
"Impossible!" He objected subconsciously.
"We won't be able to escape if we continue like this. The Franks were well prepared, and we were deceived by those damn prisoners of war."
Another companion roared: "Look at our people! Many brothers are already dead. Now retreat to the ship and we will retreat temporarily. Now invite the Russians to fight together, and we will not lose."
"I'm not willing to give in!" It is true that inviting Rurik to send troops to help can quickly turn the tables. Ragnar recalled that he had boasted about Haikou before, but he couldn't lose face in terms of face.
But the collapse of the Danes was taking place.
Although extremely reluctant...
"Damn it, the gods will see my humiliating defeat! What a third defeat!" Ragnar was so angry that he almost broke his teeth. "Then retreat! An orderly retreat!"
The retreat order from the King of Denmark has been issued. The soldiers who had long expected to retreat to the ship and plan again quickly retreated. Their extravagant hope of an orderly retreat turned into a rout. The rear wing of the formation had never been outflanked by the Franks. They guarded against this and now had a way to escape.
Now some of their companions seemed to be unable to care anymore, and despite the wailing of the wounded soldiers, they watched their companions run wildly towards the north.
Soon the wounded soldiers were drowned in the waves of Frankish militia, and were beaten into a horrific pulp by various weapons...
Finally, Earl Eberhard's tense nerves relaxed while watching the battle. No matter what the enemy was, it was the Normans, and he and a group of ragtag men successfully defeated a large Norman pirate.
"God willing, we can win. Soldiers, now is the time for you to become a real cavalry. I admit that you are all my soldiers in Lixigao. Now follow me!" After that, he pulled out the buzzing sword. , Eberhard pointed his sword straight ahead: "Cavalry! Let's go!"
Formation no longer matters, although there is no formation at all for the Frankish army to fight today.
Leaving behind many corpses and wounded soldiers, Ragnar took his men and ran away. Their steps were vigorous, but they exposed their backs to a group of chasing farmers. This humiliation was worse than killing them.
Ragnar especially remembered that the last time he was in such a mess was his massive defeat three years ago. At that time, his old father Sigurd died in battle, and he led the remaining tribe forces into northern Frankia in retaliation, and then encountered encirclement and suppression by the local army and suffered huge losses.
At that time, his army mainly targeted Saxon villages that had surrendered to the Franks for sneak attacks, and the number of Frankish villages that were actually attacked was very small. Now they were fighting real Frankish militia, and the situation was unexpected.
Militiamen vented their anger over the dead bodies.
"Stop it all! Leave a few alive!"
However, no one took the words of Eberhard on horseback seriously, and they still went their own way and executed the wounded soldiers.
However, a close observation of the enemy's corpse confirmed Eberhard's estimate that the people he killed were not Russians.
"Perhaps the King of Rus recruited a group of pirates from other places to fight for him. How despicable. Isn't it more glorious for a king to personally lead his troops to fight?"
Eberhard didn't know it yet, but he led his troops to defeat the Danish king. A big pirate who had troubled the King of Wessex fled in panic under the attack of his little Count Jülichgau.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Ahead was the longship parked in a long snake formation, and the fleeing army looked on with ecstasy.
At this point, Ragnar could only accept the reality. He urged: "Everyone jump on board and withdraw as much as possible as quickly as possible."
His soldiers rushed onto the ship without hesitation and quickly pushed the semi-stranded ship to the central channel and began to maneuver the oars to retreat to the north.
However, the narrow Alzette River channel during the dry season simply cannot accommodate two ships operating side by side. The Danish army can no longer take it easy, and now the ship blockage has become extremely deadly.
Ragnar scratched his head and scratched his head in worry. He held his sword on the shore and shouted: "Paddle quickly! Make way for the brothers behind."
The boats at the end were already struggling to move, but more boats were too impatient. Finally, a huge congestion occurred on the river. The bow of the ship was pressed against the stern of the ship, and the slender dragon-headed warship was squeezed crookedly. Finally, it lay across the river, suddenly like a wall. Generally blocking the retreat of other ships.
If it was completely safe, the Danes would have enough time to right the ship and allow the fleet to leave the narrow river calmly.
Now many desperate warriors can only regretfully abandon ship.
The ships and other ships blocking the river were abandoned one after another, and Ragnar even abandoned his flagship, which had been at the head of the fleet.
Now that the tail ship has become the lead ship, the soldiers jumped on the long ship that could still move normally and retreated at an extremely fast speed.
After all, the Frankish militiamen had exhausted too much energy in the chaos, and their pursuit was a complete mess. After venting their anger toward the dead bodies, many people sat on the battlefield and panted to rest.
There are only a handful of people who dare to follow the earl and continue to pursue him.
As for Earl Eberhard, he still caught up with a small group of Norman warriors and managed to capture several of them after a fight.
And when he discovered the large number of moored longships and the defeated troops who were eager to board the ships, his pursuit force was already at the end of its strength.
A large number of Danes crowded into the limited longships and took the opportunity to escape from the battlefield, but half of the longships were stuck on the river and could not move.
Eberhard rushed over anyway. It was his first time to observe a Norman ship so close. He looked up and noticed the raven flag still flying on the mast.
"Who the hell are you?! Which Norman force is it that has a clear flag?"
Making a flag with a fixed pattern to express a force is extremely novel in the current era. Frankish symbols of power were represented by Charlemagne's "Three Lions" and "Fleur de France" banners, like the victorious Count Jülichgau, who had no banner of his own. If any flag could be raised, he would have ordered his troops to raise the cross.
So taking the enemy's flag from the mast did not feel like much of an honor to him.
Of course, Ragnar's loss of his flag would not be a big shame. When it comes to real shame, there are only two: having his back seen by the enemy, and having a large number of ships captured by the enemy.
The latter suffered the most direct losses. Without the ships, how could the Danish army carry out sneak attacks in Britain?
A chaotic battle finally ended. Although the Franks won, the casualties they paid were horrific. After the army calmed down, it was estimated that there might be a thousand casualties on our side!
All the wounded Norman soldiers were killed in retaliation, and only the prisoners captured by Eberhard himself survived.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
He took the time to ask these guys about their origins.
I could only hear these guys with black teeth explaining their identities in crude Frankish vocabulary, and even verbally cursing.
"Danes? You are actually Danes? Is the King of Denmark leading your attack?"
Because the prisoners said too many curses, after learning the key information, he was furious and directly ordered the execution of these villains. His men were also very ruthless. It was the priest's job to reform the gangsters. The soldiers just wanted to chop off the gangsters' heads.
Things became confusing, and Eberhard left a small group of militiamen who had rushed to the scene to guard the captured ship while he returned with his cavalry.
The joy of victory was no longer on his face. The stern-faced earl realized that the nature of the matter had changed drastically. The so-called Russian army had not been dispatched but the King of Denmark had joined the battle with his army of bandits.
Ragnar's notoriety has spread. For two years, the southern coast of the Kingdom of Wessex has been subject to unprecedented organized attacks by the Danes. Even the outer city of London was severely attacked.
The Kingdom of Wessex has always had frequent personnel exchanges with the Frankish Empire, and Charlemagne even directly interfered in the appointment and dismissal of the new generation of kings of Wessex. In a sense, this small kingdom was a vassal of the huge Frankish state.
Various news about the attack were flying all over the sky. Since Ragnar's power in Denmark largely came from the support of the Rus, he needed to establish a truly powerful reputation to rectify his reputation, so he spread his name widely during the plunder of Wessex. No., so a group of Frankish nobles knew that the Danes had their new chieftain - Ragnar, nicknamed "Wool Breeches", a descendant of the Stonewall tribe and the son of Sigurd the Ring.
Of course Ragnar also has some domineering nicknames. People who don't like him refer to him as "wool breeches".
Now that he knew that his enemy was such a guy, Eberhard called him "a runaway in woolen breeches." He returned to the battlefield and had little to say to the vast militiamen who were busy cleaning up the battlefield.
He defeated the King of Denmark and captured a large number of things, which only shows that the Russians did not participate in the war and their strength was not damaged.
In other words, the army he leads must face both the Danish and Russian armies in the next battle. It can be estimated that the Normans have increased their troops, and the two forces have even formed a coalition. It is unknown how many troops they have.
He also saw that the militiamen had suffered heavy losses, and the corpses of the fallen militiamen were piled up like a low wall on the battlefield.
So what if there are ten thousand people? Even if the Normans are defeated, their own side will suffer massive casualties. Eberhard could not imagine that if the casualties were half the number and they did not collapse, the militiamen would have suffered heavy losses and would not retreat. Today's battle was already a miracle.
However, Archbishop Hatega has decided on a full-scale war, and it has become fate for the entire Luxembourg garrison to march in the direction of Trier.
Eberhard knew that he could only bite the bullet and lead this militia army to continue fighting.