Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 348 The decisive moment
Four o'clock in the afternoon, Baron Dunworth Estate.

"Uncle, I think we should leave."

With the French army on the verge of collapse and Lothair II seeing no hope of victory, he left the church rooftop with a grim face. He led a small number of guards to the stables and, before the Vikings could surround the estate, fled eastward at breakneck speed.

At this moment, the French army's southern and northern flanks had been defeated, and the remaining 10,000-plus men were desperately holding on to the manor, waiting for the reinforcements the king had mentioned.

After holding out for another half hour, the morale of the French army collapsed, and Bald Charles withdrew from the battlefield under the escort of his knights, leaving the Viking cavalry to reap the spoils of their infantry.

"ended."

From Vig's perspective, the entire battle was one-sided, with superior numbers, equipment, and training levels. Moreover, as the supreme commander, no one dared to give orders or disobey commands.

Suddenly, Leif reported a message: the prisoners confessed that Charlie had mentioned two reinforcements heading towards Dunworth Estate, the northern reinforcements numbering 20,000 and the southern reinforcements numbering 12,000.

There are still 32,000 people?
Vig adjusted the deployment, gathered most of the troops, and reorganized them to deal with the enemy that might arrive at any time.

Not long after, a letter arrived from the 1st Field Division on the northern front. Leif removed the sealing wax and translated the coded message into plain text.

“Uncle, they were about eight miles (twelve kilometers) from Dunworth Manor and originally intended to join us. However, after discovering the Earl of Orléans’ army, the Shrike changed its plans and ambushed the enemy on the spot, almost annihilating the French cavalry with minimal casualties.”

At this point, Leif paused, suppressing his curiosity and shock, and continued:
"The outflanking plan has failed, and the French army has chosen to go east, expecting to arrive at Dunworth Estate tomorrow. Another possibility is that they heard about Charles the Bald's defeat during their march and decided to withdraw."

Upon learning of the situation on the northern front, Vig was equally curious, but in any case, the Count of Orléans was no longer a threat; he only needed to deal with the southern reinforcements.

The battlefield was in chaos and disorder. The cavalry and mountain infantry responsible for the pursuit had almost disappeared. Vig split an infantry regiment and sent them to scout south to find any trace of the southern reinforcements.

On the morning of October 21, the First Field Division arrived to join them, and the cavalry and mountain infantry that had been wandering outside returned to their camps one after another. There was still no news of the southern reinforcements.

At midday, the Vikings captured scattered Frankish soldiers in the forest ten miles to the south. These soldiers belonged to Jean de Beauval's forces, the same southern reinforcements that had troubled Vig all night.

Recently, due to continuous small-scale conflicts, the Earl of Beauval's scouts have suffered heavy losses. On his way to Dunworth Manor after receiving orders, the entire army got lost and learned that Charles the Bald had been defeated. The Earl then led his army to retreat eastward.

Thus, the Battle of Dunworth Manor came to an end.

The British suffered 5,000 casualties, 1,500 killed and 3,500 wounded.

The Frankish allied forces suffered 28,000 casualties, the Count of Orléans lost over 5,000, and the remaining 20,000-plus casualties came from Charles the Bald's army. If the earlier small-scale battles are included, the allied forces' losses reached 32,000.

Having suffered such a crushing defeat, the French army lost its field combat capability in a short period of time, and Vigé seized the initiative in the next phase.

Upon returning to Rennes, Vig hosted a victory banquet. During the banquet, someone presented him with a crown, claiming it was a trophy that the rangers had found in a village.

Vig took the crown and examined it carefully. The main body was a gold ring decorated with iris patterns, and it was also inlaid with eight sapphires, eight red garnets, and four amethysts. The value of this thing lay in its symbolic meaning, and he instructed his servants to keep it safe, perhaps for future use.

As time passed, the atmosphere at the banquet grew increasingly lively. Riccard, believing himself to have rendered great service at the Battle of the Running of the Bulls, raised his glass to Vigé and proposed taking advantage of the situation to attack Paris, but was immediately rejected.

"The Seine River is a natural defensive barrier. The remnants of the French army retreated into the city and could not be taken at all."

Rickard's remarks sparked a heated debate, with some suggesting an attack on Calais. This plan was even more absurd, completely ignoring the difficulties of crossing the river and the risks of penetrating deep into enemy territory.

Frankish forces are well-established, and one victory is far from enough to end the war. Vigé decided to proceed cautiously to avoid falling into a situation where he won first but then lost.

After five days of rest and recuperation, once the soldiers had regained their strength, Vig began the next phase of the operation, attacking nearby Cherbourg, Le Mans, and Caen.

The primary destination was Cherbourg, a port located at the northern tip of the Cotentin Peninsula, 190 kilometers from Southampton. The voyage between the two cities took anywhere from half a day to a day and a half, making it a suitable base for subsequent resupply.

In early November, Vig led his personal division to the outskirts of Cherbourg. This place had once been the port through which Gunnar smuggled warhorses to Britain, but after the smuggling trade ceased, the port's population dwindled, leaving it only with military defense functions.

Using the same familiar tactics, some soldiers dug tunnels outside the city while others cleared out nearby noble estates. After half a month, the British successfully captured Cherbourg.

Vig assigned the garrison duty to the Fifth Garrison Regiment, and he instructed Earl Rickard:

"The same old rule applies: have the prisoners repair the city walls, and then send them to Jersey for safekeeping."

Since the start of the war, Britain has captured 18,000 prisoners of war. Such a large number is destined to be an extremely unstable and dangerous factor.

If the prisoners were placed on the Frankish mainland, Vig worried that they might take the opportunity to escape.

If the prisoners were placed on the British mainland, the probability of them escaping would be reduced; however, in the event of a large-scale rebellion, the mainland would lack sufficient troops to quell it.

Taking all factors into consideration, Vig accepted Leif's suggestion to settle them on Jersey, minimizing the possibility of the prisoners escaping. Even if they rebelled collectively, the impact would be limited to the island and would not affect other regions. If the navy cut off their food supply, they would have no choice but to compromise or starve to death.

Before departing, Rickard made a request, stating that his territory was mobilizing a second army, expected to expand to 1,500 men next year. He felt he could take on a more challenging task.

Vig replied calmly, "No rush, we'll talk about it later."

With the Battle of Dunwall over, not only Rickard, but the entire noble class was in high spirits. They took the initiative to write back to their territories and mobilize more militia to go to Lundneume for training.

In their view, more soldiers meant more opportunities to earn merit and greater benefits after the war.

In early December, Vig returned to Rennes for the winter, but the harsh weather forced him to temporarily halt his offensive. To pass the time, he opened a military academy to train junior officers.

(End of this chapter)