by Griff Hosker
There was a huge roar as my lords shouted and began banging the table. The feast then became a normal Viking one; we sang songs and spoke of dead warriors. The next morning, I spoke with each of my lords before they left. I wanted them to understand my mind. I did not think that any were reckless. Our two Breton disasters had shown that but I did not want warriors like Saxbjorn and Ragnar to try to make amends. It was unnecessary. The last to leave was Sven.
“I am inexperienced in sieges, lord. The one at Paris was a failure. “
“We did not lead that siege. They wasted too many warriors on the walls of Paris. We do not need to make war machines or attack the walls. That is wasteful. Surround the town and stop them from receiving help. This will not be for a year, probably two. We must coordinate our attacks so that Paris and Chartres are attacked at the same time. That way we split their forces. They may even keep a reserve in case we attack with a third army.”
He shook his head, “We had over three hundred drekar the last time we attacked Paris. You will have much fewer men.”
“But we will not need drekar. When we begin the war, I intend to stop all trade up the Seine. We might spend up to half a year ransacking all that the land between our land and the Franks has to offer. They will have no food up the Seine nor from the Seine valley. The siege begins when I advance to Beauvais. I learned from our failure. We may have fewer men but they are better men for we lead them and not the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok!”
We hauled our logs and chains across the river to stop any Frank from using it. Then I led the men of Rouen towards Beauvais. My first attack was on two fronts. I sent Bagsecg and Bjorn across the river at Elbeuf. They raided all of the settlements along the river. Their aim was plunder. With Bagsecg’s horsemen as a protective shield Bjorn the Brave led his men to capture animals, grain, weapons and slaves. A day later I led my men, all two hundred of them, in a wide sweep east from Rouen. Bárekr’s farm marked our starting point. It would also mark our camp. My intention was to devastate the land for a month at the very least. Bagsecg and Bjorn would return across the river when the settlements on the river were destroyed.
The first four days were easy. We encountered no opposition at all. By the third day families were fleeing and we found empty farms, which we burned, and animals too old to take and those we slaughtered. We could have moved faster had we used horses but I did not have enough for all of my men. As we closed with Beauvais then I would use horses. What I wanted was the pandemonium of families who fled. There would be more mouths to feed in each town further east. The Franks would be eating that which they needed for the winter.
I sent back the animals to Rouen. The slaves went with them. The treasure and weapons we kept at Bárekr’s farm. On the fifth day the enemy found us. Or rather, thanks to Leif and his men who had found horses, we discovered the enemy. There were two hundred men. Half of them were mailed and the other half were not. They were spotted when they were twenty miles away. Haraldr wondered why we went to meet them rather than waiting at the farm.
“I would do all of our fighting on the soil of the Franks. This will now be our last night at Bárekr’s until we return to Rouen. We fight this battle and then find a Frankish farm. We are more than half way to Beauvais. I am hoping that these men come from Beauvais.”
We marched confidently east. Leif’s men had kept in touch with the Franks. They had horsemen but they did not use them as scouts. They were lords and they wore mail. It would prove to be a mistake. We waited for them at the Epte River. It was not a wide river. It was less than forty feet wide and could be forded but there were trees on the west bank and we took shelter there. We had parity of numbers but I wanted the Franks to think that they outnumbered us and that we were afraid to fight. I placed Leif’s ten horsemen to the north of the woods where they would be seen. Our twenty archers sheltered in the eaves of the wood and the bulk of my army hid themselves in the woods. When I gave the order, they would burst forth.
William and his bodyguard, Godwin, were with us. He had been in no danger up to now and I did not think that he would be in any danger now but Godwin had been given clear instructions. If he thought that William was in danger he was to take him back to Bárekr’s farm. I knew the young warrior would heed my command. Egil had the standard furled. We would not use it yet. It meant he could fight as hearth weru.
We watched as the plumes and standards of the nobles appeared over the skyline. An arm pointed at my horsemen and the Franks began to gallop towards them. Those on foot followed. They were eager. Siggi commanded our twenty archers. “Make each one count Siggi.”
“Aye lord.”
As ordered Leif and his mounted men fled when the Franks neared the river. There was a huge splash as they hit the water. The splash and the spray disguised my archers’ arrows. Four men fell and two horses were hit before they realised that they had been ambushed. The leader made the fatal mistake of halting. My archers did not stop nor did the men of Frankia who fought on foot. They poured down the slope.
I drew Long Sword. I would not need my spear, “Ready warriors! When they are in the middle of the river we burst forth. Archers you had better move quickly.”
“Aye lord.”
The Frank who led the horsemen now compounded his error. He sent twenty of his horsemen after Leif while the rest turned to join the men on foot and attack the archers. Siggi ignored the men on foot. The horsemen were more valuable. They had mail, good swords, helmets and horses. No doubt they would have coins in their purses. With just twenty archers sending arrows we could not cause huge numbers of casualties but we hurt them and we hurt their horses.
I saw the first of the Franks who fought on foot reach the middle. They too splashed and sent showers of river water in the air. Once they had passed the centre then they would be able to see us. “Charge!”
Our archers dropped their bows and ran towards the horsemen. I led my men into the river. I leapt from the bank to land within my sword’s length of a warrior with a short mail byrnie, spear, shield and helmet. The wave I created struck him in the face as I brought my sword down to split his helmet and head in two. As he fell into the river it began to turn red. I stepped forward for my long legs made it easier for me than my other men and swept my sword in an arc. It tore into the side of the neck of one man. A second lunged at me with his spear but I flicked Long Sword around and the head missed my arm by a handspan. I was too close to use my sword and so I punched him in the side of the head with my fist. As he slipped below the water I stabbed down and skewered him in the middle.
Egil shouted, “Lord, the horsemen!”
I saw that while the men on foot were being slaughtered the horsemen were making inroads on our left and three of my archers had been killed. “Oathsworn!” I waved my sword and they skilfully disengaged to follow me. We ran at the horsemen. Even as we approached them another archer was speared. I swung my sword at the nearest rider and it hacked through the horse’s skull. The horse fell to the side and took the rider with it. I lunged at the next rider and my sword went into his thigh. The first fallen rider was trapped beneath his horse as its hooves flailed around. He drowned. My oathsworn were all good swordsmen and they were not afraid of horses. We were mailed and could take hits. When another five riders had fallen I saw the leader raise his sword and shout, “Fall back!”
“After them! Kill as many as you can!”
When men rout they are the easiest of targets. Men killed this day could not fight us again. By the time we reached the other bank the horsemen had escaped but Gandálfr, Haraldr and Lars led their men to hunt down the men on foot.
I heard the hooves of horses, “Turn!” There were just eleven of us and five archers but we were enough. Fifteen of the horsemen who had pursued Leif now returned. They saw their path barred. Siggi and two archers had reached the west bank and picked up their bows. Their three arrows decided the Franks. With Leif and his men coming behind them they had two choices, fight us or surrender. They chose to fig
ht. Their horses were tired and they laboured across the river. Our three archers hit both men and horses although none were fatally wounded. As they reached the top of the bank we stepped forward and swung our swords. We were not afraid of horses but the horses were terrified of the wall of steel which confronted them. My sword ripped open the throat of one horse and as it fell backwards it crushed its rider against the river bottom. Egil avoided the spear which came at him and sank his sword into the unprotected groin of a second. The river was soon filled with fatally wounded Franks. We captured eight horses. We had won. I watched Godwin lead my son from the safety of the wood. My son had a seax and he raised it, “My father, Lord Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson!” It was an accolade of which I was truly proud.
We had passed a farm just half a mile from the river and we camped there. We buried our dead by the river, on the west bank, and then stripped the enemy dead. After gathering the enemy dead, we burned them. The flames leapt up into the late afternoon sky. When it became dark the survivors of the battle would see the flames and know that their fellows were being burned. It would further demoralize them.
We had not brought priests with us but we did have warriors who knew how to heal. Luckily the wounds were relatively minor. Some men needed wounds stitching. There were three broken limbs. They would be sent back on two of the captured horses with some of the treasure we had taken. Bárekr’s farm would be the collection point.
Haraldr and his men had not fought in such a battle for a long time. They had lost more men than the rest of us. I could see that it bothered the warrior. “Do not fret, Haraldr. Your men acquitted themselves well.”
He pointed at Egil, “Yet young warriors like that looked far more accomplished than my men and he looks so young.”
“Egil Flame Bearer is a special warrior. He has dedicated himself to becoming the best that he can be. Save for the time he spends with my son William he just practises his skills.”
“And your son is young. Do you not fear for him?” He shrugged, “I have no children, or none that I know of. I am not sure that I would risk my future in battle.”
“The Norns spin, Haraldr, and there is little point in fighting them. If the Norns wish William dead then that would happen if he was within Rouen’s walls and protected by an army. Godwin is a good warrior and he will see no harm comes to him. This way my son sees from an early age how to lead and how to defeat the Franks.”
“I can see that I have much to learn from you.”
We spent that day at the river. Horses needed rest as did we. Our scouts still ensured that we were not in any danger.
The next day saw us advance another fifteen miles. We stopped when we saw the walls of Beauvais. They were made of wood and they were defended. It was getting on to dark. “Haraldr, Leif and Lars, you will make your camp here. Light one fire for every five men. I will take my men around the other side. When dawn comes have your men advance to bow range and wait.”
“Wait?”
“They will be more worried than we are. I will send a rider with instructions.”
“You do not know yet what you will do?”
I laughed, “Let me see their defences and how they react when they see that Lord Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson has come!”
I turned as William said, “And what of me?”
“You will stay here with Godwin. We have a night ride through ground we do not know. When you are more skilled in such things then you may come with us. Until then you stay here with Godwin and Haraldr.”
“Aye lord.” He was learning to obey commands, even those he did not like. He was learning to be a warrior.
As we headed through the dark Egil asked, “Do you know what you will do, lord?”
Haaken the Bold laughed, “Of course he does. We will march up to their gates and demand that they surrender.”
I could see that Egil could not see how this would work. “Lars and his men will light one fire for every five men. Normally we light a fire for ten or twelve men. They will think we have more men than we do. Tonight, they will send riders for help. They will have counted our fires. We take and kill their messengers. I will ride to their walls with the heads of their messengers and demand their surrender. They will refuse. I will wait for a messenger will have ridden to Haraldr and the others. They will advance and those in Beauvais will think we have doubled the numbers. The walls have a little Roman stone with a palisade on the top. The men we slew were from Beauvais. They will have little heart for a fight.”
“And if they do none of that lord?”
I smiled, “Then we will scale their wooden palisade and slaughter them.”
I was confident that they would surrender without much of a fight. I would, eventually, leave Beauvais for my intention had been to show what we could do. We would continue to raid as we headed back to Rouen. The land around Beauvais was flat but we had to cross fields rather than roads. It took longer to reach the far side than I had anticipated. I sent two of my oathsworn, Hrolfr the Horseman and Sven Mighty Arm, to ride ahead once it became clear that our circumnavigation of the town would take longer than expected. We passed two farms and we occupied them. The farmers and their families were forced to flee south. Word would spread of our presence but it was to the east and Paris where the danger lay.
We reached the road which passed through the wood to the east of the town and found my two oathsworn. They had a dead messenger and were holding his horse. “I am sorry lord, there were two of them. The other fled back inside the town when we appeared. This one thought he could outrun us.”
“Good, just so long as none escaped to Paris.” I turned to Gandálfr, “Make camp in the woods. We light no fires.”
My men were happy to have cold rations for they anticipated the fall of a town. Confidence breeds confidence. We put out a screen of sentries and we slept. I walked with Æbbi Bonecrusher to view the town. He pointed to the walls. They were manned and it was more than a night guard, “The death of their messenger has alerted them to our presence, lord.”
“It is not how I planned it but this helps us. The messenger saw two warriors on horseback. They have not heard the thunder of horses and may think it is a scouting party. They will worry. In any event it does not change what we do. We march forward at dawn and plant ourselves before their walls. Egil will get to hold my standard so that they know who we are.”
There was no sudden movement on the walls and I knew that we remained unseen in the dark. Our blue cloaks were most effective at night. It made us invisible. We returned to the camp and slept.
Rising before dawn, after eating we headed to the edge of the wood. We left the horses, save one, at the camp. The one we brought we tethered at the edge of the wood. I was trying to make them think we had more men than we actually did have. I had my men spread out in a long line. When we were all in position I raised my sword and we stepped forward, almost as one man. The effect was dramatic. Horns sounded and I saw movement on the walls. We came from the dark and, as the sun rose above us, we saw the defenders of Beauvais. My men began banging their shields as we moved closer to the walls. We marched steadily using the rhythm of the shields to keep us in line. My men knew when we would stop for I had told them before we left our cold camp and, as I raised my shield, thirty paces beyond bow range they stopped and held their shields before them. It would have come as a surprise to the defenders who expected us to charge like barbarians. My men were not like that. We knew how to fight a controlled battle.
When we stopped we ceased banging shields and the last bang seemed to echo across the ground towards the walls. It was replaced by silence. I allowed the silence to linger. I saw, on the fighting platform of the town wall, men’s faces turn to look at their neighbours. What were we doing? I turned to Beorn Long Legs, “Go back to the camp. Mount the horse and ride back to the others on the other side of the town. Tell them to sound horns and advance to the walls. Then fetch the men we placed in the farms and bring them to the south walls.”
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sp; “Aye lord.”
He ran back to the woods and we stood in silence. A short while later the hooves of his horse could be heard thundering. Like our banging they echoed as he galloped south, hidden beyond view. Still we stood in silence. Eventually I saw more faces appear at the walls. My plan was working.
“Egil, show them the standard. Wave as though you are signalling.” In my head I had been counting time. The hooves of Beorn’s horse had receded and I was timing this to have the greatest effect.
“Aye lord.” He untied the cord which held the banner tightly to the staff and, raising it, began to wave it.
Just at that moment I heard Haraldr sound the cow horn. Within a few moments some of the men facing us had left the walls. Still we did not move. When the twenty or so men we had left in the farm appeared to the south, led by Beorn on a horse, I deemed it time to speak.
“Come Egil, it is time to speak.” I had a good eye for distance and I stopped at what I thought was beyond bow range. I was twenty paces from my men. I took off my helmet and handed it to Egil. An arrow flew from the walls and landed six paces short of me. I stepped forward and walked to the arrow. I picked it up and snapping it in two spat on it and threw it back towards the walls. Without turning I said, “You can come closer now, Egil.”
When he was next to me I took out Long Sword and rammed it in the ground. It looked like a cross. I cupped my hands and shouted, “I am Lord Göngu-Hrólfr Rognvaldson. I have you surrounded. Surrender to me and I will let you live. Fight me and you all die. You know I keep my word.”