by Griff Hosker
Sir Robert nodded, “You make war sound as though it is something which is dark and dangerous. Before the forest attack, I would not have believed you but now I can see that it is so. I envisaged charging our enemies with lance and shield. I saw us sweeping our foes from before us and watching them sue for peace. They are barbarians!”
Sir Bengt Persson nodded his head in agreement, “Sir William is right. My ancestor learned to fight barbarians and he was taught by an English crusader and his men. The Lithuanians do not wish to be Christian. They want to cling to their old ways and if that means dying then they are happy to do so.”
I looked into their faces, “Are you willing to die here in Lithuania?” I saw, in their eyes, that they were not. They did not answer me. “Then stay alive. Watch the sergeants at arms. They fight for pay and they kill efficiently. They may not have the armour you wear but they protect themselves. Most will carry a dagger in their left hand behind their shield. When you sweep your enemy’s sword away you stab him with the dagger. You all have good helmets. When you are close to the enemy and cannot use your sword then head butt him. You all wear poleyn. A sharp knee to the groin will hurt your enemies and then you can stab them in the neck. Survive, my lords, survive!” My speech was interrupted by the return of the Earl and his squire, Edward.
The Earl looked flushed with excitement. “We have been given the honour of leading the attack from one of the towers the day after tomorrow.”
The Hochmeister had appealed to Henry’s vanity and it had worked. He had never had to assault a castle and did not know the dangers. My words of warning had had an effect on the young knights who sat watching the Earl. They did not respond the way he expected. They did not look happy.
I asked, “Just our men in a tower, my lord?”
“We will have twenty Teutonic Knights and their twenty sergeants with us.”
“And how many other towers will be attacking?”
“Two others.”
I did not say so but we were doomed to failure. The Earl looked disappointed. “I know it will be hard but we are fresh, that is what the Hochmeister said. We are not tainted with failure. This just needs English courage.”
The towers had been used in the attack and had been withdrawn from the city walls. They were guarded by the Polish sergeants. “Do we know which tower we shall use?”
He looked at me, “No. Why, is it important?”
“All have been in battle. Some will have suffered damage. I know a little something about siege warfare.” I looked at Sir Bengt, “I would like to choose the one we use. Could that be arranged?”
“I do not see why not. Come, Sir William, let us go and inspect them. If the Hochmeister wishes the English to lead an attack then the least he can do is to let them choose their tower.”
Walking across the ground with John and Roger of Chester allowed me to see at first hand the problems we would face. The ground before the walls was badly churned up already. That could only get worse. Perhaps a sudden freeze might make the ground hard but the skies looked too cloudy for that. Men who had fled the towers had discarded equipment. It would be another obstacle. The Poles who guarded the towers seemed totally disinterested by our presence. They ignored us and went back to cooking their meal. From the look and the smell, it was some rats they had trapped. On a battlefield, there were always plenty of rats.
All three war machines had been damaged. I saw that one had been set alight and, although the fire had not damaged it too badly, I ignored that one. The second looked a little more solid but the logs which had been used to roll the machine towards the wall were not as thick as the ones on the first one. It would move more slowly towards the wall and that increased the likelihood of damage. The third one had better rollers but, when we ascended it, I saw that the top had been attacked with axes. It would need to be repaired. The four of us stood on the top and looked at the walls of Vilnius, four hundred paces away.
“What do you think, Roger of Chester?”
“I think we should make our own, my lord. The three of them are as poorly made towers as I have ever seen.”
“As we attack the day after tomorrow that cannot happen. I think we use this one and improve it.”
Sir Bengt asked, “How?”
“We fit new timber to the top. We add spears fixed around the top.”
Roger nodded, “There were many broken ones we passed on our way here. That will deter those on the walls from getting too close.”
I pointed to the first, burned tower, “They will try to fire it, I want soaked hides and cloaks covering the front. We need to soak the wood so that it will not burn.” I pointed upwards, And a better roof.”
Roger nodded, “I will get the men to source the timber, hide and cloaks tonight and we will start in the morning.”
Sir Bengt said, “And I will go and tell the Hauskomtur. He will not object.”
As the three of us walked back to our camp I said, “We will need to drill the men. There are two ladders for each floor. Those ladders can each only bear three men at a time. John, I will put you in charge of loading the men in the tower. Once we are at the wall then you let the men up. You will do so six at a time; three on each ladder. When they have ascended then you send six more.”
“Aye, lord. Will the other men at arms and knights obey me?”
I said, “You make sure that they do. I will speak with the Earl this night. If he seeks my advice then he had better support my decisions.”
The food had been cooked and Ralph had platters of it for John and me. Roger was looked after by his men. The Earl had eaten and he looked at me expectantly, “Well?”
“There is one which might suffice but we will need the men at arms to repair it tomorrow. I have asked John to regulate the movement of men in the tower.”
“Regulate? Command knights? He is but a squire and not a noble one at that.”
“My lord, a wooden tower is not like a castle tower. It has ladders to ascend the floors. Too many men can break the ladders. Too many men on the top floors can make it unstable and it can topple. We need someone to regulate the flow of men. John can do that. It will be hard enough as it is.”
“Very well. How many men can fight from the top at any one time?”
“No more than six.”
“That does not seem many.”
“It isn’t and it explains why the attacks have failed. You need at least ten towers attacking along a wall. They will just bring twenty or thirty men to oppose each tower. We are protected until we raise the ramp and then their crossbows will tear into us. The range will be so close that they cannot miss and the power at such close range will penetrate plate armour. They will use fire to burn us. If we manage to get men on to their fighting platform then that is all that we could hope for.”
“The Hochmeister made it sound easy.”
I said, flatly, “He would, lord, for he will not be scaling the walls.”
My words cast a damper on the mood of the Earl.
Chapter 6
The next day, while some men collected broken and discarded swords, daggers and spears from the battlefield, others went to find timber. A third group scoured the camp and surrounding area for hides and old cloaks. We soaked them in the river. While the broken weapons were fixed to the face of the tower, we had buckets of water poured from the top of the tower to completely soak the timber. It was late in the afternoon when we finished repairing the structure. Roger and my men at arms volunteered to sleep in the tower. After all our work we did not trust the Poles to watch it well enough. I spoke with Alan of the Wood before I ate with the knights and the Earl.
“You will need to support us from the side of the tower. You will be exposed to their crossbows.”
“Aye, lord. I had the men make pavise. We will make it hard for them but you know we cannot clear the walls completely.”
“I do not expect miracles. Arrows raining down will suffice.”
As he turned to go to his archers, he sa
id, “You do not think that this attack will succeed, lord.”
I said, “I have a better chance of becoming Pope than this attack has of success. For me, the success will be that all the men I bring are safe and sound at the end of the attack.”
I went over the plan with the Earl. Sir Bengt had identified eight knights who were fanatical enough to want to be the first to attack the walls. We would allow them to do so. The second group would be led by the Earl and myself. Sir Walter, Roger of Chester and the Earl’s squire. Edward and three of the Earl’s sergeants would be the second group. After that there would be another group of knights and the last group would be men at arms.
The other two towers would be manned by allies too. The Poles would take the slightly burned one and the Swedes the one which was hard to roll. All of us were in position hours before dawn. The three war machines had to be rolled into place and that took time. We just had Edward, the Earl’s squire, on the top of the tower. The rest would both push and pull it into place. We had ropes at the front. There, forty of our men, half pulling and a half using their shields for protection, would haul the tower into place. There were bars which slotted into the side and other men would push from there. Finally, men would push from the rear. They were the ones who would not need protection.
Even though it was dark when we began, we knew that the pagans would hear us coming. A rolling war machine creaked and groaned like an old man rising from his bed. They would try to hurt us before we closed. The Hochmeister himself came, on his white horse, to order the attack to begin. I was with the men at the front. I had the Earl at the rear. John was with the Earl and I had my men at arms with me. My archers would scurry around like ants ready to loose at any crossbowman that they saw. Our tower was the only one thus protected. The rest had crossbowmen and their arrows had a flat trajectory. They could not be sent high into the air as could our arrows. They had little chance of hitting flesh. Alan’s missiles could fall from on high!
I was at the front and the rope was tied around my waist. My men held the rope behind me. Teutonic Knights held the other seven ropes. With a rope tied around my waist, I could protect myself with my shield. The word was passed and I strained against the rope. All of us heaved. I wondered if the tower was stuck for it seemed reluctant to move. It creaked and complained and then it moved. I found I could place one foot before the other. The ground over which we moved had been flattened when the tower had been moved before. Once we began it moved a little easier. The creaking of the timbers and the sound of men grunting alerted the sentries. We had not attacked for a couple of days. They were expecting something. Horns were sounded and I heard men racing along the fighting platform. I concentrated on using my body weight and my legs to drive us forward. We, in the front row, had the most dangerous of tasks but it was easier for us to walk. The ones behind had to copy our stride and avoid tripping up.
I had my shield angled slightly. The first bolt which struck it bounced up and over. I heard it thud into the tower. There were cracks along the shields as bolts hit us. They were sending them blindly for they could not pick out individual targets. It was as though to be hit was a judgement of God. The nearer we came to the wall the more the bolts struck shields. I heard cries from the other two towers as men were hit but we seemed to bear a charmed life. The ditch before the wall had been filled months ago during the first attacks. The men behind us carried further timbers which they would drop as they crossed. The weight of the tower compacted the wood already in the ditch with each attack.
When I reached the wall I, along with the Teutonic Knights, turned my back to the stone wall and raised my shield. Stones began to clatter down on it. When Roger reached me, he sheltered under my shield while he undid the towing rope. We would be tightly packed until the tower reached its final position. The bridge which would be lowered would span the gap. I saw the wood of the tower was close enough now to the wall and I said, “Move!” This would be the trickiest time. We had to run around to the shelter of the tower. I slipped my shield over my back and I ran. It was not a noble act but my legs carried me quickly around. As I did so I saw that the Poles had theirs in position but not the Swedes. They were still labouring up to the wall. That would delay the attack and allow the defenders to heat oil and to create fire. Already I knew that the attack would not succeed.
I saw the relief on John’s face when we arrived. Sir Bengt, too, looked happy to see me. The Earl looked distracted. Glancing behind I saw why. There were bodies marking our passage. “It is time to climb, my lord!”
I entered the Stygian gloom of the tower. I nodded to John as I passed him. I climbed one ladder and the Earl climbed the other. There were another two ladders to climb. In mail, it was not easy and I was already tired from the march to the wall. I reached the top and saw Edward. He was peering through a slit. He looked at the Earl. “They have lit fires, lord. They are waiting.”
He nodded and remained silent. Sir Bengt arrived and he began to pass orders to the other knights. It was crowded at the top. Roger and Edgar of Derby untied the ropes which held the bridge. I swung my shield around and drew my sword. The bolts had ceased to rattle into the tower but I knew that the crossbows would be waiting. They would be aimed at head height and when the bridge was lowered, we would have to endure a storm. The bridge could carry four knights at a time. Sir Bengt and I, along with Edward and David of Welshpool stood behind the bridge with our shields. We would bear the brunt of the bolts and then step away to allow the knights to run across the bridge and on to the walls.
“Ready, my lord?”
“Aye, Roger! For God!”
The Teutonic knights also shouted something and then the bridge was lowered. I had just my eyes above the shield which was held tightly to my body. At first, we were protected by the lowering bridge but as soon as it came close to the crenulations then the bolts cracked into our shields. The four shields formed a barrier. One was driven so hard that its tip made the inside of my shield bulge. As soon as the thunder of the bolts had ceased I shouted, “Back!” We had a few moment’s respite while they reloaded. We stepped away and the Teutonic Knights, in two rows of four, hurtled across. Even as they did so we stepped back to the entrance and the Earl, Sir Walter and Roger of Chester joined us. More heads appeared below us as the next men joined those who were about to attack.
Standing there I saw that two of the Teutonic Knights had already been slain but the other six had managed to gain a foothold. I stepped forward and even as I watched the crossbowman take aim at me, he was plucked from the walls by a red-fletched arrow. That was one of my men. It gave me confidence and I hurried across the gap. We could not risk more than eight men on the bridge at any one time. Roger of Chester had strengthened it but the weight of mailed men would inevitably weaken it. Another knight was hacked in the side by a Lithuanian knight wielding an axe. Another knight was bleeding heavily from wounds. I was swinging my sword as I jumped to the fighting platform blocking the axe of the Lithuanian. He was about to butcher the wounded knight. I caught the axe’s haft on my shield and the axe head was stopped. I punched him in the side of the helmet with the hilt of my sword. As he reeled, I punched with my shield. There were still bolts sticking from the shield and one found his eye hole. As the feathered bolt tore into the orb he screamed. His hands went to his eyes and I found that I had enough space to bring my sword up and under his raised arm. My blade came out of the other side of his neck and his falling body fell from my sword as he tumbled to the ground below.
We had our bridgehead but more men, armed with pikes and spears, were racing towards us. Worse they had heated oil ready. There were stone gullies which would bring it to the tower. We had made the tower damp but heated oil could kill mailed men “Roger! With me!”
We ran to the men who were kneeling with levers beneath the smoking cauldron. Two Lithuanians, not wearing mail, came towards us. Without breaking stride, I brought my sword over to hack into his shoulder. He turned and reeled. God smiled on u
s that day for, as he fell, he hit the cauldron hard. The burning liquid splashed up and into the face of the two men who were trying to lever it. The man behind was holding the torch with which he would ignite the oil. Instead, it ignited the two men. Their faces and hair erupted in fire. The man holding the torch stepped back into nothing and fell to the town below. In their panic, they ran towards a second man with a second torch. The torch fell on the fighting platform and the three of them tumbled, screaming and burning, to the town below. The torch was still burning. I shouted, “Roger! The levers!”
We grabbed the two levers and, placing them under the cauldron, we heaved. Even as I did so I saw that the Swedish tower had still to reach the walls and the Polish tower was burning. We heaved and the cauldron suddenly toppled over. The oil swam down the fighting platform. It hit the torch and a wall of flame leapt into the air. The defenders who were advancing towards us were either burned or forced back. Just then I heard a horn. It sounded as though it was in the distance.
Roger’s voice was urgent, “Sir William, that is the recall. Come, this fire will soon reach our tower.”
As I stepped backwards, I realised that five of the knights who had attacked lay dead and Edward and the Earl were pulling Sir Walter’s body back into the tower. As we stepped into the tower the bridge was pulled up. While we descended, I thought of how close we had come to success. The accident with the cauldron might have allowed us to secure the wall but the failure of the other two towers had doomed us.