Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 346 Baron Dunworth Estate
On the afternoon of October 19th, Bald Charlie received news that the Viking army had left Rennes and was heading northeast, seemingly heading towards Baron Dunworth Manor, where he was located.

Bald Charlie examined the parchment map and realized he couldn't shake off Vig's pursuit. Rather than hastily engaging in battle in the wild, he decided it was better to stay on the manor and build defensive structures to stall for time until reinforcements arrived.

He dispatched messenger riders to inform all departments to cancel the plan and rush to Baron Dunworth Estate.

Under a leaden sky, Vig's army marched along the winding country roads, filled with an eager excitement. The soldiers were full of energy and looked forward to the rewards and glory after the battle.

As the sun set, the light quickly faded. In the distance, the blurry outline of a village came into view; the area had been occupied by rangers, and there were no large enemy forces within five kilometers.

The order was relayed down the ranks: camp here tonight. The column quickened its pace, surging towards this village destined for unrest.

The local inhabitants had long since fled, and the Vikings found no food or livestock left behind; even the cellars had been emptied. The officers dispatched soldiers to cut timber and construct makeshift camps centered around the village.

Soon, the air was filled with the smell of firewood smoke and the aroma of stewing food. Sentinels patrolled the edge of the camp, their figures swaying at the boundary between the faint firelight and the thick darkness of night.

With the decisive battle approaching, tonight's meal was quite good: wheat and vegetable porridge mixed with large chunks of smoked sausage, and the soldiers poured in twice or even more fish sauce. It was a pity that drinking alcohol was not allowed in the army, which made some people feel very disappointed.

After a quick dinner, Vig went to bed. Having experienced so many wars, he was already used to this kind of life and did not suffer from insomnia due to the pressure.

At dawn the next day, before the sky was even light, the sharp sound of bugles pierced the silence of the village. Soldiers, rubbing their sleepy eyes, reluctantly got up at the urging of their officers. Numbly, they gnawed on hard flatbreads, filled their canteens, and prepared their armor and weapons.

At six o'clock, the army completed its assembly. Accompanied by the marching tunes of the military band, this huge, weary snake began to wriggle, embarking once again on this seemingly endless muddy journey in the gray morning mist of late autumn.

With only ten kilometers to go before Dunworth Estate, Vig ordered a halt to the advance.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds, bringing a meager warmth. The soldiers rested on both sides of the road, ate a few bites of hard bread, and then lay down to doze off. A little further away, the horses snorted and chewed on the remaining grass roots. The entire column fell into a heavy and brief silence.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the marching column crossed a low hill from west to east, and the view suddenly opened up.

Before us lay a flat, open landscape of vast, plowed winter wheat fields. About three kilometers away stood the baron's manor's grey-white, pointed church, surrounded by the baron's residence, mill, barn, a few houses, and a continuous stretch of French military camps.

After spending more than half an hour, Vig deployed a wide formation suitable for attack, with the direct command division in the center, the second and third field divisions on the left and right flanks respectively, and the cavalry division positioned in the rear as a reserve.

With only three hours left until nightfall, he had no time to probe and launched his first attack, deploying three infantry divisions.

Urged on by bugle calls, the Viking army advanced in an orderly fashion toward the eastern manor, like a slowly surging black tide.

The French army had also completed its deployment. They were small in number, numbering only 27,000, so their tactics were relatively conservative. They planted thousands of sharp wooden stakes on the west side of the Dunworth estate, spaced about one meter apart, to defend against the Viking cavalry charge.

Once within range, the archers on both sides took action, drawing their bows and unleashing a dense rain of arrows that swept across the sky like locusts, whistling as they fell upon the heads of the opposing infantry.

Under this deadly rain of arrows, the Viking spearmen leading the frontal advance did not halt. Clad in iron helmets and black cloth armor, they were difficult to harm unless the arrows struck unprotected areas or gaps. Similarly, the French front-line infantry were also equipped with armor of a particularly haphazard style, including some captured from the Iberian Moors.

Thanks to the protection of their armor, the infantry on both sides did not suffer heavy losses in the rain of arrows. When the Vikings closed in to a distance where they could engage in combat, the melee began.

The spearmen at the forefront of both armies lowered their spears almost simultaneously, roaring as they thrust their spears forward with all their might, trying to pierce the enemy's armor. A sickening metallic clang echoed across the battlefield.

The battle lasted for more than ten minutes. The Vikings retreated slightly and replaced their troops with energetic infantry regiments. The French took the same action, sending their second-line troops to the front.

The second-line troops had less than 40% armor coverage, and their morale and training level were inferior to the Viking soldiers on the other side. After a short while of fighting, the French lines began to falter.

Sensing the French army's decline, Vigg, ​​on his makeshift wooden platform, waved his flag, signaling the frontline troops to intensify their efforts. Soon, the Viking spear wall advanced steadily, causing several gaps in the French lines.

In an attempt to turn the tide of the battle, a large number of French cavalry appeared north of the Dunworth estate, intending to attack the flank and rear of the 2nd Field Division. Vigé immediately dispatched Torga's cavalry division. Assuming the French cavalry launched an attack, Torga's cavalry would strike their exposed flanks, severely damaging or even routing the force.

Realizing the danger of their move, the French cavalry canceled their attack and remained quietly in the grasslands to the northeast, facing off against Torga's cavalry.

At 2:30, the 3rd Field Division on the south side made significant progress.

As more and more Viking soldiers poured into the breach, countless Franks crowded back, exposing the flanks of the central army.

At this point, the French cavalry on the northern front were urged to take action, abandoning their attack on the Second Field Division's lines and shifting their target to Torga's cavalry division.

Seeing the French cavalry approaching, Tolga, following the king's instructions, decided to proceed cautiously and led his cavalry back to the makeshift wagon formation.

In addition to 2,800 combat cavalrymen, the cavalry division also had an equal number of support personnel. Adding the support personnel of the other three divisions, the total number of this group was close to 6,000.

They didn't sit idle; they used horse-drawn carriages to form three huge hollow squares behind the army formation, picked up crossbows and spears, and held their positions inside the formations, ready to respond to any enemy attacks at any time.

Witnessing this scene, the French cavalry were at a loss. Attacking the infantry meant being attacked from the rear by the Viking cavalry. Attacking the wagon formation head-on would be tantamount to suicide.

The battle was turning against the French.

On the rooftop of the chapel at Dunwall Estate, bald Charles, trying to remain calm, explained to his nephew, King Lothair II, and other high-ranking French military officials:

"In the north, the Earl of Orléans' 20,000 troops are rushing here, and there are also 10,000 reinforcements in the south. Once they arrive on the battlefield, the situation will improve."

(End of this chapter)