After capturing Leeds, the Viking army dispersed and collected plunder from all over the place, naturally concentrating on the official residences and monasteries in the city centre, while some men went off to plunder the countryside.
After more than a week, the Viking bands that had gone out returned one after another. After a short rest, Ragnar left a hundred old, weak and sick men to look after the baggage and ships, and then led the army to the next place on foot.
On the way from Leeds to Manchun, they had to cross hilly terrain, which seriously slowed the march. It was not until midday on the third day that they saw the walls of Manchun.
Compared to Leeds, this place has a stone wall about four meters high, which looks like a city abandoned by the Romans.
Fortunately, due to years of neglect, a small section of the northern wall has collapsed, and hundreds of workers are urgently rebuilding it. Seeing the arrival of a large number of ferocious Viking raiders, the workers dropped their tools and ran back into the city, shouting exaggeratedly.
"This is a rare opportunity, attack!"
The Vikings once again used the pig-charge tactic, and under Ivar's leadership, they rushed through the breach in the city wall, only to encounter a large group of Anglo-Saxons in iron armor.
These men were armed with square shields and formed a shield wall across the street about eight meters wide. Seeing this, Ivar raised his sword and signaled for the Viking warriors to form a wedge behind him.
"Odin!"
Ivar spat, shouting Odin's name and rushing towards the shield wall. Surprisingly, when he pierced the front row of soldiers, warm blood splashed onto the faces of the soldiers in the back row, but did not frighten them. On the contrary, the tenacity and bravery of this group of Anglo-Saxons far exceeded the Vikings' expectations.
"Hah, these English-speaking dwarves are quite tenacious!"
Ivar used his sword to desperately pierce the gaps between the shields. Each time he killed one, the soldiers in the back row filled the gaps.
To Ivar's right, Bjorn swung his battle axe at the shield wall, and two spears flew out of the gaps in the shields as splinters flew. His axe was stuck in the oak shield, so he could only retreat quickly, but was stabbed in the stomach by a spear. Even with chain mail for self-defense, the spear tip was still stained with sporadic blood.
In the depths of the battlefield, Nils shot at the English-speaking archers on the rooftops on both sides with bows and arrows, but the enemy numbers seemed endless. After a round of shooting, the Viking archers fell behind.
...
As time went on, the English shield formation froze like a reef, and the Viking advance slowed considerably. As the sound of metal clashing gradually became less frequent, Ivar signaled his comrades to retreat slowly.
Suddenly, a cry of murder was heard outside the city. He turned to see a large group of English-speaking soldiers emerging from the woods on the western side, the lead horseman holding a red and yellow striped flag.
The next moment, Ivar heard Vig cry out:
"The flag of Northumbria! Damn, no wonder these enemies are so strong, they are probably King Elaud's palace guard!"
Ivar was attacked from the rear and was forced to retreat from Manchuni. At this time, a large number of archers appeared on the city wall, firing heavily at the retreating Viking warriors.
Under numerous blows, the detachment of more than 300 men finally collapsed. The crowd fled back in disarray. Having joined Ragnar's main force, the surviving members of the detachment transmitted the panic to their comrades, causing more and more Vikings to flee spontaneously, and their morale was on the verge of collapse.
"Ivar, Vig, hold the line!"
The situation was critical. Ragnar and four nobles took the initiative to lead the men, stop the enemy, and buy the great army a precious three minutes.
Three minutes later, the main force of the Vikings had formed a rough circle and had by chance survived the most dangerous stage. However, the cost was extremely high. Only a small half of the warriors who had followed Ragnar survived, and one noble was killed in the battle.
As the sky darkened, the Vikings huddled together and retreated slowly. After the two armies broke contact, Ragnar took stock of his men and found that he had lost a third of his force, leaving only 1,050 men.
"Why didn't Elaud stay in the capital and show up in Manchung in the southwest?"
As it happened, the five English-speaking soldiers had gone too far. After they were captured, Ragnar couldn't wait to ask questions, and the result was unexpected.
"You mean that Elaud gathered these troops to suppress the noble rebellion and repair the walls of Manchun. As a result, I accidentally stumbled upon them, so I set up an ambush?"
After hearing the prisoners' confession, Ragnar regretted not listening to Leonard's advice. If he had rushed to York in one fell swoop, he would probably now be dividing up the treasures in the palace, and why was he in this situation?
After a hasty night's rest, the Vikings retreated to the east. As they crossed the ridge, Vig suddenly pointed to the rear and shouted: "The army of Northumbria, they have been pursuing us!"
The enemy army numbered about 1,500 men, including 200 soldiers in iron armor. These were the palace guards who had blocked the street yesterday.
In addition, in the middle of the team were 20 horsemen. Judging by their elegant clothes, they must have been nobles or nobles from different places. Surprisingly, this group of people was not equipped with stirrups.
"Really?"
According to historical records, double-sided metal stirrups were invented during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Later, they were widely used in the military, and armored cavalry with armored riders and horses appeared. According to Whig's experience in Eastern Europe, both the Pecheneg nomads and the cavalry of the imperial guard of Constantinople were equipped with stirrups. I did not expect Britain to be so slow.
"Without stirrups, the enemy horsemen can only act as mobile troops, not as shock cavalry, which is very good."
...
At midday, small groups of enemy archers appeared in the mountains and forests on both sides. They did not pursue accuracy, but simply threw feather arrows at the team from a distance, effectively slowing the marching speed of the Vikings. By sunset, the pursuing forces were only two kilometers away.
At this point, the remaining Vikings abandoned their fantasies completely, stopped at an abandoned farm and decided to fight the enemy to the death tomorrow.
The setting sun was slanted, and the entire sky was painted an extremely bright orange-red. With the bloody battle approaching, most of the Vikings went on a last riot of drinking, fighting and having sex. They agreed to meet in Valhalla after they died in battle, enveloping the entire camp in smoke.
Vig did not join them, but watched the area alone. The northern side of the road was flat and suitable for a decisive battle. Over the past few decades, the British countries have studied the Viking tactic of the "shield wall". If he guessed correctly, tomorrow both armies would form a shield wall and fight head-on until one side's line was completely broken.
"A thousand men against a thousand five hundred, and our army's morale is low. I estimate that the chances of winning this battle are less than 30%."
He turned his gaze to the hillside on the southern side of the road, frowned and thought for a long time, and finally came up with a strategy to defeat the enemy.
After hearing the prisoners' confession, Ragnar regretted not listening to Leonard's advice. If he had rushed to York in one fell swoop, he would probably now be dividing up the treasures in the palace, and why was he in this situation?
After a hasty night's rest, the Vikings retreated to the east. As they crossed the ridge, Vig suddenly pointed to the rear and shouted: "The army of Northumbria, they have been pursuing us!"
The enemy army numbered about 1,500 men, including 200 soldiers in iron armor. These were the palace guards who had blocked the street yesterday.
In addition, in the middle of the team were 20 horsemen. Judging by their elegant clothes, they must have been nobles or nobles from different places. Surprisingly, this group of people was not equipped with stirrups.
"Really?"
According to historical records, double-sided metal stirrups were invented during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Later, they were widely used in the military, and armored cavalry with armored riders and horses appeared. According to Whig's experience in Eastern Europe, both the Pecheneg nomads and the cavalry of the imperial guard of Constantinople were equipped with stirrups. I did not expect Britain to be so slow.
"Without stirrups, the enemy horsemen can only act as mobile troops, not as shock cavalry, which is very good."
...
At midday, small groups of enemy archers appeared in the mountains and forests on both sides. They did not pursue accuracy, but simply threw feather arrows at the team from a distance, effectively slowing the marching speed of the Vikings. By sunset, the pursuing forces were only two kilometers away.
At this point, the remaining Vikings abandoned their fantasies completely, stopped at an abandoned farm and decided to fight the enemy to the death tomorrow.
The setting sun was slanted, and the entire sky was painted an extremely bright orange-red. With the bloody battle approaching, most of the Vikings went on a last riot of drinking, fighting and having sex. They agreed to meet in Valhalla after they died in battle, enveloping the entire camp in smoke.
Vig did not join them, but watched the area alone. The northern side of the road was flat and suitable for a decisive battle. Over the past few decades, the British countries have studied the Viking tactic of the "shield wall". If he guessed correctly, tomorrow both armies would form a shield wall and fight head-on until one side's line was completely broken.
"A thousand men against a thousand five hundred, and our army's morale is low. I estimate that the chances of winning this battle are less than 30%."
He turned his gaze to the hillside on the southern side of the road, frowned and thought for a long time, and finally came up with a strategy to defeat the enemy.