Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 356 Decisive Battle on the Plains
Late at night, the French army quietly approached the hills, but the moonlight reflected off their helmets and chainmail gave them away.

"There are enemies!"

Hearing the sentry's shouts, the rangers awoke one after another. They hadn't taken off their cloth armor before going to sleep, thus skipping the step of putting on full armor, and immediately threw themselves into battle.

Using the dim light, the rangers drew their bows and unleashed a barrage of arrows that tore through the heavy air. Most of the arrows landed on the grass, some were blocked by shields and armor, and only a very few struck the face or calves.

On the gentle slope, men kept falling, their cries of pain mingling with curses. Finally, the French soldiers scaled the low wall and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Rangers behind them. Hundreds of figures were entangled together, both sides instinctively brandishing their weapons.

With more than half of their men killed or wounded, the enemy retreated again. The rangers fired arrows at the retreating figures in the darkness, then sat down against the low wall, panting heavily.

Havelun had his men count off. They started with 305 men, but now only 140 remained, making it difficult for them to withstand the next attack.

Despair hung over the hill. The rangers cursed under their breath in Pecheneg or Viking, but they had no choice. The chances of survival were too slim whether they fled or surrendered. They could only grit their teeth and hold on.

On July 14th, the blinding sunrise roused the sleeping rangers, who numbly gnawed on dried meat, occasionally sipping water. Someone found a bag of wine among the French knights' bodies, and they shared it with their comrades, enjoying what might be their last drink.

After more than half an hour, instead of the French attack, they saw their own flags.

Havelun muttered a complaint, "So it's the newly formed Sixth Ranger Battalion. No wonder they were so slow; they almost got us all killed."

As time went on, more and more cavalry arrived on the battlefield, and the trees below the hills were cleared out to set up more defensive structures.

At 10:00 a.m., the directly subordinate division and the first and second field divisions arrived at the battlefield. They handed over their excess supplies to the third field division and marched to this location by force.

On the way, the 2nd Field Division was harassed by French troops, and only more than 5,000 men arrived on time. The remaining three infantry regiments lagged behind and were expected to arrive an hour later.

Vig found Havelen covered in blood. "How is she?"

"According to the prisoners' confessions, Bald Charlie is in the north and should be arriving soon."

So fast?
Vig ordered the infantry to rest on the spot. Not long after, dust rose from the northern horizon, and behind the hazy yellow sand, outlines began to emerge. At first, they were a few swaying black dots, then they connected into lines, and finally spread out into a silent, moving shadow.

The Union army marched slowly and heavily, their horses with heads drooping, their manes stained grayish-yellow with dust, and their chainmail armor covered in dust, dull and lifeless. Their spears rested slanted on their shoulders, their tips pointing listlessly towards the sky.

Seeing this, Vig ordered his equally exhausted direct subordinate division and the 1st Field Division to deploy in formation, blocking the enemy's path and preventing them from crossing the shallows.

"Attack, take them out before Gunnar arrives."

Vig was attempting to replicate his victory at the Battle of Dunworth Estate the previous year. Under his command, two infantry divisions slowly advanced. The long march had pushed both sides to their physical limits; sweat trickled from beneath their armor, soaking through their coarse cloth shirts. Finally, they drew closer.

Without any earth-shattering shouts of charge, the two torrents slowly collided, and the soldiers struggled, pushing, shoving, falling to the ground and rolling and wrestling.

After more than an hour of fighting, Vig made an extremely rare move, sending out his cavalry first.

Vig has always emphasized infantry warfare, relying on well-trained heavy infantry to pressure the enemy lines. Before the enemy deploys their cavalry, he always holds onto his own cavalry as a last-ditch reserve.

In Vig's view, cavalry charges were incredibly powerful, but also extremely risky. Once they were sent out, the commander had no choice but to make his own decisions. Once the cavalry were thrown out, they were like water spilled on the ground; if anything went wrong, they couldn't be taken back.

Of course, a commander can delegate command of the infantry formation to someone else and personally lead the cavalry charge. The advantage of this approach is that it allows for precise timing, deploying one's strongest forces at the enemy's most critical and vulnerable points, potentially achieving remarkable results and the most astonishing exchange ratio. Examples include Li Shimin at the Battle of Hulao Pass and Alexander at the Battle of Gaugamela.
Whether to focus on infantry or cavalry, it's hard to say which approach is better; it depends on the habits the commander has developed over many years.

Of all the wars Vigé fought, only during his campaigns in the North (Scotland) and Ireland did he possess a cavalry advantage. When fighting the Franks, he was always at a cavalry disadvantage, usually holding onto his meager cavalry to guard against Frankish cavalry charges.

Correspondingly, Gunnar joined the West Frankish forces, where he had ample superior warhorses to spare. Coupled with his exceptional horsemanship, he always preferred to fight alongside cavalry, maximizing their value. Three years prior, in the Iberian War, Gunnar had displayed his talents to the fullest, defeating the Moorish field forces in a short period and reversing the course of the entire peninsula.

In the current battle, excluding casualties and cavalry sent out to scout, Vig's cavalry totals 3,500 (2,500 heavy cavalry and 1,000 light cavalry), which exceeds the number of French cavalry (1,800) on the opposing side, making it suitable for him to take the initiative in the battle.

Looking at the western hills and seeing the king's flag signals, Torga felt a sudden dryness in his mouth; the moment that would decide the fate of Europe had arrived.

He quickly summoned his officers and divided the more than 3,000 cavalry into two groups. One group took the lead and went around to the southeast to attract the attention of the French cavalry.

"Remember, the heavy cavalry should not charge too fast. Let the flank cavalry use their mobility advantage to harass the enemy. Your goal is to slow them down and harass them, not to annihilate them."

Soon, 1,800 cavalrymen roared off the hillside and charged straight toward the Frankish cavalrymen who were waiting in place.

The situation was critical, and Charles the Bald ordered the French cavalry to retreat behind the infantry, which unexpectedly caused considerable chaos. The Viking cavalry commander acted decisively, launching a charge along the gap, which disrupted the French left flank (the eastern side of the battlefield).

"Good, that's how it should be. The Northern Army won't be able to hold out for much longer."

On the hills to the west of the battlefield, Tolga observed for a moment, preparing to launch a decisive attack.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly saw the king waving two small flags, the meaning of which was very clear: the cavalry should remain in place and not go into battle!

what's the situation?
Torga led a small group of officers to Vig, where they learned astonishing news: Gunnar had broken away from the main force and was rushing towards them at full speed with two thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry, less than three miles from the Marien River.

(End of this chapter)