Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 361 Southern Conquest
Several years ago, East Frankish discovered that the Harz Mountains contained rich silver deposits and invested manpower and resources in developing the mining area. Today, the total output of the various silver mines is about one ton, equivalent to three thousand pounds of silver.

In addition, the mining area also produces lead, zinc, copper, and gold. All the minerals together are worth about one thousand pounds.

According to Vig's plan, the Hearts Mountains and surrounding areas will be incorporated into the direct territory. Subsequently, enough prisoners of war will be allocated to the mining areas, and British railcars and hydraulic ore crushers will be introduced, which will at least double the output.

In August, Vieg left the 3rd Field Division in East Francia to attack the settlements in the south. After some time, the 4th Field Division completed its training, and the two field divisions, working together, were sufficient to wipe out resistance in East Francia.

After handling all matters, Vig led 30,000 field troops back to West Frankish to carry out the final cleanup work.

After two years of war, the West Frankish nobility suffered heavy losses, and the entire south fell into a power vacuum. Although there were still more than two million people in the area, they could not organize a decent army.

Vig's plan is as follows:
"The Second Field Division and three Brittany garrison regiments will attack the Aquitaine region in the southwest. Two thousand Eastern European mercenaries will arrive next month, which should be enough. I will lead the rest of the troops from Lyon, south along the Rhône River, to attack Marseille and Montpellier, and strive to end the war within six months."

In September, 20,000 Viking soldiers entered Lyon. After nearly a year of reconnaissance and infiltration, the garrison discovered a great deal of intelligence about the southern regions and also built one hundred longboats.

More than 100 kilometers south of Lyon, the river flows gently, the valley widens further, forming a more expansive alluvial plain. The area along the way is rich in resources, sufficient to meet the army's food needs.

Five days later, the army reached Montreal, from where the terrain narrowed again towards Avignon to the south, with cliffs on both sides. The remaining French forces focused their defenses here, attempting to halt the Viking advance.

The canyon, about 60 kilometers long, had a rapid current, which was not conducive to the deployment of large armies. The Vikings' advance slowed down abruptly, and four mountain infantry battalions took on the main combat tasks.

In order to buy as much time as possible, the French built camps in strategic locations and constructed catapults to block the river below, forcing the enemy to launch a forced attack on the mountaintop fortifications.

Left with no other choice, the expeditionary force had to advance step by step. The mountain infantry cleared out the small groups of enemy in the surrounding area. Next, the engineers transported the disassembled parts of the light crossbows to the top of the mountain to assemble them. They then used the crossbows to fire oil canisters and burn down the enemy's wooden stockade walls.

By early October, when the weather turned cold, the Vikings finally emerged from the valley, advancing an average of 2.5 kilometers per day.

Upon arriving at the outskirts of Avignon, Viguet, as usual, organized a siege. After taking control of the city, he led his army to Marseille in the southeast.

On October 28, with two days' journey remaining to Marseille, the scouts discovered the Frankish army lying in ambush in the nearby forest, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

When the news reached the central command, Vig ordered them to remain on guard. Within minutes, the infantry, organized by battalion and company, formed hollow squares on both sides of the road.

From Vig's perspective, the mountains to the southeast stretched out in a continuous range, two plumes of black smoke rose crookedly into the sky, the forest rustled in the autumn wind, withered leaves fell like rain, and there were a lot of shouts of battle.

The black smoke was a distress signal from the mountain infantry, indicating their location. Vig dispatched a mountain infantry battalion and an infantry regiment, slowly advancing towards the attack site.

Before long, the shouts of battle grew more intense, and another plume of black smoke rose from the mountains—the reinforcements had also been attacked.

"It seems that the remaining main force of the French army is all here." The situation has changed, and Viger has moved his troops to a large wheat field on the west side of the road.

The terrain here was flat and the view was wide open. He reorganized the defensive formations, adjusting the battalion and company-level square formations into regimental-level square formations. More than ten regimental-level square formations were arranged in loose circles, with three thousand cavalry and a large number of non-combat personnel inside.

With their ranks complete and the Viking army firmly established, Vig and his commander discussed the next steps. Suddenly, a cacophony of battle cries erupted again from the eastern forest, and over two hundred mountain infantrymen on guard duty fought their way back into the open.

Soon, scattered Frankish soldiers emerged from the forest. They were in disorganized formations, wearing helmets with nose guards and chainmail. At a glance, there were about three thousand of them.

What's going on? Vig didn't understand the enemy's specific intentions and ordered the longbowmen to suppress them from a distance.

A few minutes later, a loud bugle call echoed through the mountains, and the French troops retreated back into the forest. Vieg sent troops in pursuit, capturing dozens of prisoners.

According to the prisoners' confessions, 10,000 Frankish soldiers were hiding in the forest to the southeast, originally planning to ambush the Viking marching column. However, before the main Viking force entered the ambush zone, the mountain infantry had already discovered the Frankish tracks.

Bald Charles was unwilling to let this opportunity slip by, and ordered his men to leave the ambush site and, before the Vikings could react, rush straight towards Vig's central army.

Upon receiving the order, ten thousand French soldiers ran desperately northward. The brave charged ahead, the cowardly shrank back, and some lost their way, wandering aimlessly through the complex mountain forests.

From the ambush site to the location of the Viking main force, it was about four kilometers of mountain road. Tens of thousands of men ran around in a chaotic manner for a while. Bald Charlie sadly discovered that only one-third of the soldiers had arrived at the battlefield, and the so-called ambush had become a farce.

And so, the Franks' last chance to turn the tide vanished.

"Long-distance mountain raids—this tactic demands extremely high skill from junior officers. What on earth is your king thinking?"

Vig took out his tin kettle, sipped the water, and thought that Bald Charlie had completely lost his mind.

The captured knight replied: "After fleeing to northern Italy, His Majesty devoted himself to studying ancient Roman texts and was deeply moved by the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest."

(Note: In 9 AD, during the reign of Octavian, the Germans ambushed and almost completely annihilated the three Roman legions led by Varus in the Teutoburg Forest, killing more than 20,000 Roman soldiers.)
puff!
Vig spat out the water in his mouth and laughed heartily. "So, the result of his six months of research was just that he thought I was Varus, that number one idiot?"

Early in the war, Viggo equipped each field division with two mountain infantry battalions and one ranger battalion.

During the march, the rangers scout the flat areas, while the mountain infantry search the forests ahead and to the left and right. If they find any trace of the enemy, the main force will quickly form a square formation to avoid being attacked suddenly.

Looking at the dejected prisoners, Vig explained, "Classic battles like the Battle of Teutoburg Forest are taught in military academies, and even junior officers at the company and platoon levels are familiar with them. Don't expect us to make such a basic mistake."

(End of this chapter)