Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 357 Bayonet Phalanx and Cavalry

"I'll stop him!" Torga replied instinctively, noticing the king shaking his head slightly.

"No, your cavalry should not move; hide behind the hills. Bald Charles's army has collapsed. I have the First Field Division maintain the offensive and give him no chance to breathe."

The directly subordinate divisions and the fully assembled Second Field Division organized a defense to withstand Gunnar's first attack. Wait for my order before you launch your assault.

"Yes, sir!" Tolja and the other officers were far more obedient than the Frankish nobles. They returned to the hill as quickly as possible, dismounted their 1,700 cavalrymen, and hid on the western side of the hill's ridgeline.

At the same time, Vig changed formation, ordering his direct divisions to withdraw from the battle and set up a defensive line with the Second Field Division in the southern part of the battlefield.

Dust billowed on the distant horizon, and the faint, thunderous sound of horses' hooves could be heard. At this moment, the military bands of each infantry regiment changed their rhythm, no longer playing melodious marching tunes, but a rapid, unquestionable continuous chorus of drums and bugles.

Under the orders of officers and sergeants, the soldiers quickly formed tight columns. Then, these columns no longer faced the same direction. Some soldiers swiftly marched forward, forming the south side of the square, while others abruptly turned 180 degrees, facing away from the advancing soldiers, forming the opposite north side. Soldiers on the left and right flanks simultaneously spread out to the sides, ultimately forming a hollow square.

To withstand the Frankish charge, the soldiers were packed shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow, so tightly that there was no room for movement. The soldiers in the front row knelt on one knee, their three-and-a-half-meter-long spears planted diagonally in the grass in front of them, the gleaming bayonets pointing obliquely at a forty-five-degree angle to the sky.

The second rank of soldiers stood straight, their spears held level, gazing intently at the approaching dust and smoke from the southeast.

The third rank of soldiers consisted of crossbowmen. Once the soldiers in the first two ranks were killed, the crossbowmen were responsible for picking up spears to fill the gaps.

Each hollow square formation is approximately fifty meters on each side, with some non-combat personnel distributed in the open space in the center.

The officer, mounted on horseback, scanned the entire formation with sharp eyes. Drummers and flag bearers surrounded the military flag closely, along with shamans, clerks, cooks, and other support staff.

Two divisions, totaling twelve infantry regiments and four mountain infantry battalions, were arranged into sixteen hollow square formations. The remaining three thousand men formed a larger square formation of wagons, with a three-meter-high platform temporarily erected in the center. Vig stood on the platform to observe the battle, with his central command flag erected beside him.

In less than five minutes, seventeen black squares appeared on the grassland.

The front row consists of nine square formations, the second row has five square formations, and the third row has two square formations and a vehicle formation, arranged in a 9-5-3 pattern, with the square formations spaced 150-200 meters apart.

Almost simultaneously, thousands of French cavalrymen suddenly appeared on the horizon, their armor reflecting the blinding sunlight. They charged to the southeast bank of the Marien River, slowed their pace slightly, and the next moment, countless hooves thundered, shattering the calm surface of the river and stirring up large, fine sprays of water, making the entire river seem to churn and shimmer.

With a rushing sound, the cavalrymen quickly crossed the shallows, then reined in their horses on the wet grass and spread out into a wide formation.

“Deus adjuva!”

The steel torrent slowly began to move, its heavy hooves striking the grass. At first, it was just a dull rolling sound, but then it became faster and faster, denser and denser. The earth groaned and trembled under the iron hooves, and the horses kicked up gray-brown dust as they charged straight at the Viking ranks.

The surging tide was rapidly closing in, and the distance was closing at an alarming rate. At seventy, fifty, and thirty paces, the Viking soldiers could clearly see the white foam spewing from the mouths and noses of the opposing warhorses, as well as the tense faces of the Frankish cavalrymen beneath their iron helmets.

The world seemed to suffocate at that moment; all sound vanished. Spurred fiercely by their riders, a few exhilarated warhorses charged straight into the hollow square formation. The next instant, a sharp spearhead pierced their bodies; they neighed loudly, tumbling forward with immense pain and momentum, crushing several Viking soldiers in front of them.

At the same time, the knight in his saddle was violently thrown forward. Before he could stand up, the clerks and grooms waiting in the center of the formation rushed forward. They frantically stabbed the gaps in his armor with daggers until the knight's body stopped moving, and the air was filled with a strong, nauseating smell of blood.

However, many warhorses followed their instinct to avoid danger and survive. They defied their masters' will, twisting their heads with all their might, their hooves pawing the grass frantically, braking sharply, turning, and running in what they perceived as a safe direction.

Thus, before most of the cavalrymen could even collide with those cold spears, they seemed to encounter an invisible reef, suddenly scattering to both sides, becoming countless tiny streams that flowed into the gaps between the square formations, running in circles repeatedly.

The cavalry officer shouted anxiously, trying to regroup the troops, but space was limited, speed was forced to slow, and the momentum of the charge inevitably dissipated.

"Free Fire!"

Upon receiving the order, the archers inside the phalanx fired at the figure on horseback, continuously weakening the French forces and causing the enemy to become increasingly panicked.

The situation was critical. Gunnar snatched the flag from someone else, ignored the crossbow bolts coming from both sides, and charged straight at the third row of wagons, or more precisely, the black figure on the high platform in the middle of the formation.

Soon, Gunnar charged to the front of the wagon formation, and the Frankish cavalry and mounted infantry all dismounted, bundled together, and charged toward the wagon formation.

Watching the enemy's desperate counterattack, Vig remained unmoved. As the commander-in-chief, his only option was to stay put and entrust his fate to his soldiers.

Inside the wagon formation were 1,500 Imperial Guards, along with an equal number of support personnel. Douglas led the majority of them at the front, while only Leif, the second prince Frey, and more than 30 young staff officers remained around the high platform. They drew their swords one after another, stood with their backs against the platform, and waited for any enemy that might break in at any moment.

The fierce battle lasted for more than ten minutes. Vig felt that the time had come and picked up two flags and waved them back and forth.

"Finally, the signal has been given." The officers, including Tolja, on the western hills breathed a sigh of relief. They led their cavalry over the hills, forming two loose horizontal lines, and rammed into the disorganized Frankish formation.

At this point, the overall situation has been decided.

The Viking cavalry charge utterly shattered the morale of the Southern army, and the Franks and Italians scattered and fled. Gunnar rode back to his horse and roared the enemy commander's name outside the wagon formation, "Vigg! Vigg!" seemingly wanting him to come out and fight one-on-one. Vigg ignored the man and simply stared at him coldly.

After a long while, Gunnar led a small number of remaining troops eastward in a large circle, retreating from the battlefield through the murky river water, splashing water everywhere, like a hazy white mist.

Vig seemed to have a premonition that this might be the last time the two of them met.

At 1 p.m., the battle ended, and the plan for the southern and northern armies to join forces was completely thwarted. The French suffered over 10,000 casualties, the vast majority of whom were cavalry. It is estimated that thousands of noble families will be wiped out.

(End of this chapter)