Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 387 Milan
After capturing the crossing, the Viking army used ships to transport troops in small groups, while simultaneously collecting ships from upstream and downstream and building pontoon bridges.

On July 13, two other armies arrived to join Vigé, restoring his forces to 70,000.

On July 15, the pontoon bridge was completed, and the Viking main force began to cross the river. Their next target was Milan, a city with about 20,000 inhabitants and the most important settlement in northern Italy.

Since the Vikings marched north, Frankish soldiers from the Alps and the Po Plain gradually arrived in Milan, totaling 10,000 men, and 5,000 militia were mobilized from the surrounding areas.

In the era of cold weapons, 15,000 soldiers could hold out against the walls left over from the Roman period until they ran out of food. However, the Vikings had cannons, and the Franks' defensive advantage vanished.

After much discussion, the French high command concluded that they should withdraw eastward.

"Retreat now? What about the troops stranded in Turin and the Alps?" Bald Charlie estimated that there were still three thousand soldiers in the west, as well as a large amount of supplies that could not be evacuated in time.

Turin is an important supply base for the Alpine defense zone. Most of the spoils from last year's raids on Corsica and Sardinia are stored in the city's warehouses, including enough grain to feed 50,000 soldiers for a year, as well as large quantities of armor, weapons, arrows, and cloth.

Alfred: "Food, armor, weapons, none of these matter. As long as we retreat to the east coast, the Eastern Roman Empire will definitely send enough supplies. As long as we preserve this army, there is still hope!"

“That’s right!” the Earl of Orléans and other nobles loudly agreed.

Bald Charlie couldn't stand the stuffy heat inside, so he went to the window to breathe some fresh air. After a long while, he agreed to leave the next morning.

Alfred: "It's too late, Your Majesty. We must retreat now. The Viking cavalry may have already set out. If we delay any longer, we won't be able to escape even if we want to."

At 1 p.m., many soldiers walked out of the barracks in a daze. Their officers ordered them to pack their personal belongings and move to the east coast to set up camp.

Most of the soldiers, unburdened by families, readily accepted orders and refused to stay and fight the Vikings. Those soldiers with families, along with local militia, were unwilling to leave and strongly requested to remain.

"It doesn't matter, I won't force you."

The officer ordered the soldiers who were unwilling to leave to go to the west side of the square, while the remaining soldiers formed four columns and quickly left the city.

The following day at noon, a small group of rangers appeared on the outskirts of Milan. They circled the city, carefully observing Milan's defenses. Some of the garrison soldiers went out of the city and drove the rangers away, earning cheers from the local people.

After some time, more rangers returned to the outskirts of the city to continue scouting it, like a swarm of flies that were hard to get rid of.

Soon, the rangers learned from the villages on the outskirts that 10,000 soldiers had withdrawn the previous day, and there were more than 20 noble banners, which they estimated to be the main force of the Franks.

At 3 p.m., Vig received the message and decided to have Torga lead all the heavy cavalry, light cavalry, and 4,000 mounted infantry to pursue the main French force.

Even if the French army abandoned their baggage and traveled light, it would take them 7 to 10 days to reach the eastern coast of Italy from Milan. Torga was confident that he could catch up with them.

On July 16, the cavalry pursued the Franks along the ancient Roman road east of Milan. After a full day's journey, they caught up with some Franks who had fallen behind.

Where is Bald Charlie?

Faced with the menacing Viking soldiers, the prisoner immediately replied, "They're just ahead on the road." Hearing this, Tolga, despite his exhaustion, continued the pursuit until the afternoon of July 18th, but still could not see the main French force ahead.

"what's the situation?"

He vaguely sensed he had been tricked and dispatched a large force to search the surrounding area. Finally, a greedy shepherd informed the Viking translator:
"The Franks didn't take the main road, but instead went into the northern Alps, and are probably fleeing along the mountain paths. Sir, I'm willing to be your guide, but it will cost extra."

Tolja had reservations about the shepherd's proposal.

Perhaps the old man was an undercover agent, deliberately luring himself into a treacherous valley. Then, French archers, swarming from high ground, riddled the Viking soldiers with arrows.

Secondly, cavalry units are not good at mountain warfare, so even if this person is not an undercover agent, it is still not suitable for them to go into the mountains to pursue and kill him.

At this point, a staff officer had a sudden inspiration and suggested a long-distance raid on the Po River plain to block the French army at the exit of the Alps.

Tolga adopted this plan, and nearly 10,000 people marched in a grand procession along the ancient Roman roads, recklessly traversing the Po River plain.

Soon, he faced another problem—food.

During this time, the local people were terrified by the news of the Vikings' arrival. They fled into the forests and towns, carrying food and other valuables. The villages along the main roads were almost devoid of food. At this rate, the packhorses' provisions would only last for two days!

When out on the battlefield, food is the top priority. Tolga dispatched all his rangers, ordering them to expand their search area to twenty miles, which drastically reduced their marching speed.

At this point, Torga lost confidence in continuing the pursuit. He sent a messenger to report to the emperor, revealing the full situation facing the cavalry and asking the emperor to decide on the next course of action.

Meanwhile, in the northern Alps.

Alfred trudged along the mountain path with a cane, as did the king and the rest of the nobles, whose warhorses had been abandoned on the very first day they entered the mountains.

Occasionally, a piercing scream would echo through the valley, eventually fading into deathly silence. The soldiers advanced numbly, seemingly accustomed to this phenomenon.

At night, the Franks huddled in crevices of rocks or in sheltered mountain hollows to spend the night. They had no tents, no hot food, only hard, rock-hard black bread and a small amount of cheese.

The next morning, the deep blue sky gradually lightened to a grayish-blue. In a moment, golden dawn suddenly tore through the clouds, illuminating everything in front of us: the snow-capped peaks in the distance, the low-lying moss growing in the lower areas, and below that, a large expanse of dark green fir forest.

After observing for a moment, Alfred exhaled a puff of white breath, quickly finished the small piece of black bread in his hand, and continued on his way with the group.

By July 30th, the French army had lost 30% of its soldiers. The remaining men, with vacant eyes and tattered clothes, followed the soldiers ahead aimlessly, like a flock of migrating goats.
They walked in silence, not even wanting to waste the energy to speak. Alfred had lost his armor and sword, leaving him only with an oak cane. His legs felt like lead, but he couldn't stop.

Occasionally, accompanied by the howling of the cold wind, he would habitually look up and see nothing but endless mountain ranges before him.

(End of this chapter)