Chapter 1524 Rurik’s Battle of the Sauer Estuary
【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
Behind the low fence is a tense situation, behind the fifty shooting holes are the torsion slingshots lined up in a horizontal line, and the sharp javelins that have been charged are waiting for Rurik's order.
The Frankish army has come like a tide, and the open space on the left bank of the Sauer River is full of running warriors.
As Rurik's right hand holding the sword fell, the javelin flew out.
The sharp weapons swirled towards the place of charge. They drew a relatively low parabola and plunged deeply into the chests of the enemies who were charging intensively, and then plunged the soldiers into the mud.
"Charge! Keep charging!"
Rurik's eyes were as wide as copper bells, and the warriors standing by in the slingshot position around him rotated the winch with all their strength. Just as the power was accumulated, another person inserted a javelin, and the third person put on the latch of the hook lock. The second person Wheel launch starts.
There are three players in a formation, and they work well together.
Even if the enemy has rushed under the low wall, just adjust the position of the tenon at the lower end of the slingshot slide to make the slingshot shoot out at a negative angle. As long as the enemy does not cross the low wall, the shooting will not stop.
For the charging Franks, their companions were suddenly pierced by something like a spear. They had no time to experience. They held various weapons in their hands and opened their mouths to shout. They looked straight ahead and ignored their companions who were hit by javelins and were drowned in the charging crowd. .
Even if he is injured, he will be trampled to death by countless pairs of feet in this tidal attack.
The javelin could not contain the enemy's charge, and Rurik wanted them to charge all the way to the end.
"Archers!" Rurik ordered all the archers in ambush at the right time: "Throw!"
Suddenly, countless black lines appeared from the east.
Arrows rained down for a while, and the short wooden bows with generally less than forty pounds of draw weight barely managed to throw the Ross standard light arrows a hundred meters away.
that's enough.
Due to the difference in weight, Ross's arrow rain hit a large attack surface. Due to the dense formation of the Franks, countless civilian soldiers were pierced by cone-shaped arrow clusters.
Shoulders, back, arms and even head... Once they fall to the ground, they can be trampled by the companions behind them.
But most people fell into fighting frenzy. For a while, they felt no pain, and their minds went blank. All they could think about was moving forward and fighting bravely.
Rurik no longer needed any further orders, and nearly a thousand archers began to shoot freely. There was only one thing they had to do - to throw all the thirty arrows in front of them.
Continuously shooting thirty light arrows from a low-pound bow is nothing. These warriors still have enough strength to join the subsequent fight.
Of course, if the enemy is completely trapped under a low fence, these archers will have time to throw another basic light arrow.
The arrow rain continued to weaken the Franks' vigor, and Rurik was very satisfied with the current situation.
"Crossbowman! Get ready."
When he felt that the distance was right and he could clearly see the ferocious face of the enemy, all the crossbowmen standing in a row behind the low wall launched a fatal volley! In this round, the two crossbows with wooden arms and steel arms fired more than 400 arrows.
The archer centurions from each of the four flag teams all joined the battlefield. After they finished shooting this round and inflicted a dangerous and fatal critical hit on the enemy, they quickly left the field and were replaced by nearly a thousand halberdiers who had been ambushed.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
The Russian army carried a large number of lifted spearheads and ax blades, and used newly felled trees to make a large number of wooden poles. The combination of the three made temporary halberds, coupled with the high-quality halberds that had already been equipped. The hands of these halberds were covered with round shields. With swords swiveled at their waists, they wore iron helmets with a piece of chain mail covering their faces, and their eyes were smeared with charcoal dust. Therefore, for the Frankish militiamen, they could not see the faces of the Russians, but could only see the glimpse behind the low wall. A large group of dark heads appeared.
The critical hits from the crossbows greatly weakened the number of the Franks' few elite warriors. By this time, the majority of the militia had arrived under the low wall.
They rushed to the small ditch under the wall and immediately began to climb.
Some soldiers tried to open the gaps in the fences and tear them apart, but they saw a spear sticking out.
Some soldiers tried to climb up directly, but were poked by their halberds.
Harpoons, reverse-loaded scythes, pitchforks, and even just sharpened sticks, the Frank militiamen used various equipment to poke at the Russians on the low wall.
On one side are civilians, on the other side are armored elites. Even the iron harpoon can at most pierce the Russian soldiers' robes and plate armor skins, and it is good to be able to draw marks on the armor.
As for the sharpened stick, this thing is a joke at best.
The Franks braved the constant rain of arrows and javelins from the Russian army while charging through the low wall.
They also tried to launch an outflank, but found that the enemy's circular defense line had few flaws.
In the chaotic battle, the soldiers who charged head-on into the low wall were still trying to climb over it with brute force. They stepped on the bodies of their companions and climbed up, ignoring the cries of the wounded. After being knocked down by the halberds, their bodies became A stepping stone for the companions behind.
At this moment, the torsion slingshot was already firing cast-iron bullets, and the half-pound iron weight struck at close range, easily cutting off the enemy's head. Is there a crossbowman who rushes up the low wall, raises the weapon above his head and launches a rough shot, then throws the crossbow to his companion, and then takes another one that has been charged and loaded with arrows.
More and more corpses of Frankish militiamen filled up the small trench under the low wall. The corpses turned into some gentle slopes. The soldiers who continued to charge gradually began to step on them to be level with the low wall. It seemed that they had successfully crossed the low wall in this tragic way. The wall was just a matter of time.
This scene is like the bloody battle between the Celtic chief Breanus and Caesar. The Roman legions built low walls and deer forts, while the Celtic army rushed through the fortifications like a tide. After paying huge casualties, the battle finally turned into a hand-to-hand battle. Caesar's legion also paid a heavy price and won a tragic victory. That happened more than 800 years ago. At that time, the Frankish tribe was still an unknown tribe, and it was only a small branch of the Teutons or the Swibbi.
The bravery from deep within the blood vessels was aroused, and finally some militia soldiers began to be able to break through the low wall with their entire chests, even if such soldiers were immediately stabbed by the halberd.
Rurik never imagined that the Franks could be so ferocious. If this army were mostly armored elites, the low wall would have been broken through long ago, and the battle would completely turn into a shield wall fight.
Now, militiamen began to expand to both flanks. It was impossible for them to launch an outflank from the Sauer River on the right. After trying to outflank and finding that there was no way to go, they withdrew one after another.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
The only way to truly achieve outflanking is to go to the left.
A group of soldiers attacked to the left, which was the right wing of the Ross Camp. There was no gate here, and a large number of roadblocks such as horse-blocking stakes were set up at the exit for personnel to pass.
The Frankish militiamen rushed over and were overjoyed to see that there was no damn low wall here.
They rushed in with a roar and swore to be hit by a round of crossbows. Then what awaited them was the full force blockade of the Danish army and the Nassau army.
Since the Ross army had its back against the Moselle River, there were a large number of longships half stranded on the riverbank. A group of longships were pushed into the river urgently. A group of archers got on board and anchored the ships on the river. This was the case with an archery platform. .
The militiamen who tried to attack from the left began to confront the Danes through the obstacles. A group of Nassau Army soldiers holding bows kept firing arrows from multiple archery platforms on the river.
At this moment, Count Gilbert, who was trying to persuade his Ramon High Army, was firmly controlled by Count Eberhard. He was in an absolutely safe place at the rear of the battlefield, watching the Frankish army that was attacking bravely without making any progress.
The fighting has been going on for a while, and those damn Ross flags are still flying high, and the shouts of killing are loud. I don’t know how many soldiers have died.
Gilbert's arms were tied now. He no longer cared about this. He was more concerned about when the army would break the dam than his own safety.
He noticed that Eberhard's face was trembling, and he was looking ahead as if he had lost his mind.
"Eberhart! You are an idiot! If you really see the full extent of the Ross people, you will never want to fight with them."
"You...shut up."
"Stop it! I have formed an alliance with King Rus, and there is no need for my militia to fight with them anymore. You have stolen my power, and you are murdering my people." After saying that, Gilbert began to struggle violently, trying to break the bundle. The rope around the wrist.
This move was immediately stopped by the soldiers.
"The Archbishop has given up his command to me. He is the royal advisor and represents the emperor's power. I must be loyal to the emperor." Eberhard kept repeating these words.
"Stupid, even if you have 10,000 troops, they will all be lost here. Stop it."
"It's too late."
Eberhard finally shook his head, because the situation was completely out of control now, and he could no longer direct the tactical maneuvers of the militiamen who killed Red Eyes. If the militiamen were defeated, he would be unable to gather the remaining soldiers and fight again.
So far, Rurik is very satisfied with the current combat situation. "Perhaps we can win without notifying the cavalry to launch a fatal attack. Anyway, if the cavalry misses the battle, they will be very unhappy." Rurik thought this way. He left the low wall and notified the three hundred men who were already anxious. The itchy heavy infantry prepared to fight.
Just tell the horse messengers on standby to prepare to run wildly.
He also informed Ragnar's Danes, who were still fighting the militia on the flanks, to prepare to make way for a large gap.
Suddenly, the time has come.
A group of berserkers wearing integral breastplates, their bodies glowing with the unique light of steel under the scorching noon sun.
The right hand holds a sword and the left holds an ax. More warriors hold long-handled stabbing axes.
They are the strongest group of people selected in the army, and only they have the ability to wear the heaviest armor. Compared with using sharp weapons, for them, using blunt weapons seems to be more conducive to killing the enemy, which can be stabbed, pounded and chopped. The long-handled stab ax is an excellent piece of equipment.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
A large group of small steel giants suddenly emerged from the opening deliberately opened by the Danes. The helmets of these warriors only had a thin observation window. The only weak points on their bodies were the insteps and palms, and the rest were covered by iron armor.
The militiaman's spear could only make clear marks on the breastplate, and what the spearhead scraped off was just the galvanized layer of the armor.
The heavily armored warriors filed out, slashing and smashing at the panicked enemies. Their powerful and heavy long-handled axes could smash large rocks, and it was even easier to deal with flesh and blood. They quickly shattered the courage of the Frank army.
When all three hundred iron men rushed out from the flanks, many cavalry also rushed out. They galloped towards the due north. After running for only about three kilometers, they met with the cavalry general Fisk who had been waiting impatiently. .
Just by seeing the flag on the messenger's saddle, Fisk knew that his time had come.
"Brothers! Line up, head south! Follow me!"
The cavalry had already set off. After a round with the messenger, all the cavalry began to trot all the way.
Fisk has received orders in advance. The cavalry's turn is the beginning and end of the entire battle. In the final battle, the cavalry will not attack anyone who openly displays the Ross flag. However, the messenger claimed that Gilbert's lobbying had failed, and no one knew whether he had rebelled again.
It wasn't a problem, Fisk never looked down on the traitor.
For a time, the gold-armed and iron-horses were like tigers swallowing thousands of miles, and more than a thousand horsemen entered the battlefield.
At this moment, Fisk saw a shocking scene. Under the low wall were all the Franks who were fighting. They seemed to be stepping on corpses and struggling to climb the wall, but they couldn't break through smoothly.
On the other hand, there were the Ross heavy infantry with metallic luster all over their bodies. They moved slowly and slashed everywhere, and their integral breastplates and backs were stained red with the enemy's blood.
The Ross cavalry came from the north, and they meandered along the northern foothills. This position was very conducive for them to shoot arrows on their left side.
More than a thousand horse archers thought about the Franks shooting arrows quickly, and fired 10,000 arrows in a short time!
The higher-pound recurve bow fires armor-piercing light arrows, which can easily pierce an unarmored enemy.
They came like the wind, and even if the militiamen tried to fight back, nothing could be caught. The militiamen were suddenly attacked from both sides, especially from the rear, which was hit by an incredible and extreme rain of arrows. They were quickly defeated.
Fisk led his troops directly around to the rear of the chaotic infantry, and now went straight to Archbishop Hatega and Earl Eberhard who were watching the battle.
"How could such a thing happen? How could such a thing happen?" Hatega, who was still standing on the captured longship, could already see the sick faces of those Rus.
Suddenly there was a whooshing sound around him, and he suddenly saw that a junior priest was shot through the head and died on the spot.
"Ah!" The tragic memory came to mind, and Hartega did not care about dignity. His high bishop's hat had fallen off, and he huddled in the cabin with his hands covering his "Mediterranean" head.
Until then, the Ross cavalry who had reached here realized that they had attacked the priest, and the centurion immediately ordered his men to stop.
It's not that this centurion has any kind thoughts towards the priests. They are Frankish "priests". It may not be good to kill them casually. Besides, if the priests who can stand here are captured alive, the benefits after the war may be greater.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
"It seems that they really robbed the Danish ship. Brothers, we captured them and removed the cross flag from the mast."
The cavalry captured Archbishop Hatega with their hands. The old guy was kicked and screamed and begged for mercy in Latin.
"Shut up, priest! We won't kill you." came the Latin shout from the Rus' cavalry, which surprised Hatega.
The archbishop was escorted off the longship. Through the slit of his eye, he saw that the cross flag on the mast was torn off by a spear, and soon a Russian "St. Andrew's Flag" was hung up again.
On the other hand, Fisk had easily annihilated Eberhard and finally managed to form a small group of cavalry. The so-called cavalry were just men who could ride horses. They were regarded as serious enemies and fell off their horses one after another under the strikes of precise arrows.
Because Earl Eberhard was gorgeously dressed, he only had a lot of colorful clothes on his body, and he was eager to let others know that he was an extraordinary person.
Eberhard was surrounded by people, and next to him was Gilbert who was sitting on the ground with a complicated mood.
By now, Gilbert had adopted a willing-to-kill attitude. He even curled his lips and taunted Eberhart: "I've long told you that fighting the Russians is pointless. We can't win at all."
"It's going to be like this! It's going to be like this..." Surrounded by a group of cavalry, the Russians in uniforms all aimed their bows and arrows at him.
Eberhard, who was unable to resist, thrust the broad-blade iron sword into the ground. He looked up at the sun and closed his eyes, waiting for the moment of death.
Fisk saw Gilbert's strange situation, and even more noticed the gorgeously dressed man standing to die.
"Hold your bow!"
After giving the order, Fisk yelled in Latin: "No matter who you are, put down your weapons and surrender now. You can survive!"
"Didn't you see that I had put down my sword?"
Eberhard no longer found it strange that the Russians could speak Latin. The old nobleman still looked like he was ready to be killed. He wished he could be killed now.
Fisk won't let himself stop his men from killing him.
The horse rope was tied around the figure of the old nobleman, and then the rope was tied up.
The rope binding Gilbert's hands was untied, but the young nobleman was not happy at all. He had no intention of chatting more with the bald general of the Russians, because now his militia had been severely defeated, which would undoubtedly be a heavy blow to his Ramongao fiefdom.
A large number of strong laborers turned into corpses on the battlefield. What will happen to farming in the future? Can I still collect enough food tax from the fief?
At the same time, more cavalry began to complete the final harvest of the Franks.
The strength of the militia once reached 12,000. In the end, only a few people broke through the low wall defense line and were killed by swordsmen on standby.
The Ross army finally began to launch a full-scale counterattack. Those heavy armored infantry broke the backbone of the Frank army. Behind them were the full strength of the Ross-Danish-Nassau sword-and-shielders.
The Frankish militiamen, who finally understood the situation, began to flee in vain. They ran in vain along the river to the west. The Ross cavalry also deliberately gave way to a road. The so-called "encirclement of three towers" gave the enemy a possibility to escape and prevented them from being trapped and fighting in the encirclement. , and this is actually a fatal trap.
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【The Rise of Rurik】 【】
The militiamen had no time to worry about the safety of the archbishop and the count. They just wanted to leave the battlefield as quickly as possible.
They were panting while fleeing, and those who fled had no physical strength to continue fighting.
The fatal pursuit of the Ross cavalry began, just like hunting, the arrows ruthlessly killed these prey, and those who knelt down to beg for mercy were directly stabbed to death by swords.
The battle was all over before sunset, and the Battle of the Sauer Estuary ended with a complete victory for the Ross coalition.
Victory is inevitable! Rurik was also surprised by two things.
First, the real Frankish militiamen were very heroic, although they did not fight well.
Secondly, I won too smoothly. It can only be said that the Ross people themselves may not know that their strength is so strong.
"It's time to end this."
Rurik issued a stop-kill order, and the army stopped indiscriminate killing. In addition to finishing the wounds on the seriously wounded enemy, the rest were unarmed and escorted away.
The order was given too late, and the entire cramped battlefield was littered with corpses. The Sauer River had been dyed red, and even the Moselle River had begun to turn red...
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