by Griff Hosker
We waited on the high ground to the west of Thiberville. We had been there long enough to prepare the ground. The fields to the left and right of the road had been prepared with pits and spikes. The limited number of archers and crossbows we had were behind sharpened, fire hardened stakes. We had brought lances and spears from Caen for we intended to use our knights to destroy this enemy host. This would be one battle to decide how Normandy would look over the winter. If we won then we would retain control of the Seine and with it the life blood of Rouen. If we lost then we would have to retreat to our line of castles and plan for a spring offensive.
Our scouts brought regular reports so that we knew when the Norman army left Elbeuf. The Earl of Gloucester brought his forces in the day before we expected our enemy. The scouts we had sent kept us well informed as to the enemy's movements. Our numbers were not as great as they might have been but we had enough. There were sixty knights with their squires and three hundred men at arms. The archers and crossbows were an insignificant number; just a hundred of them. They would guard our flanks. The levy were left, all two hundred of them, as a reserve and to guard the horses.
Rolf came to the Earl and the Count, "My lords I know that you plan to use dismounted men at arms to tempt the enemy on. I beg you to let me lead them. They need a knight and we Swabians fight as well on foot as we do on a horse. With my men at arms in the centre we will be a rock on which the enemy will shatter their spears."
"An excellent idea, Rolf!"
I shook my head, "Let me do it lord. Rolf has still not fully recovered from the poison which killed your father."
Rolf laughed, "Alfraed, old friend, I will not let that witch who now rots in hell have the satisfaction of knowing that she kept me from a battle." He lowered his voice. "This is meant to be and this day will be long remembered. This Sir Hugo will remember the courage of Rolf and his Swabians." Raising his voice he said, "And I will claim a boon when we are victorious!"
"You shall have anything you desire Rolf! I shall give you a manor!"
"Thank you Count. I shall fight even harder with that reward in mind." He turned and clasped my arm, "Do not be too reckless eh, old friend."
"And you take care too."
"I am with my Swabians! We will be a solid wall!"
From out scouts we knew that we faced eighty knights and squires as well as over three hundred and fifty men at arms. They had brought far more of their levy. The scouts estimated four hundred of them. It was a daunting number but we relied upon the quality of our men. When the scouts told us, towards evening, that the enemy was on the other side of Thiberville we sent our men to sleep where they would fight. Fifty of our best men at arms, commanded by Rolf, would fight on foot in two ranks between our pits and traps. Behind them would be our forty archers. I rued not bringing Dick and his men. They would have slowed down the enemy attack. We would have to use what we had. Our knights would be mounted and would be led by the Earl. The men at arms would absorb the enemy attack and brunt it. Our job would then be to become the hammer which would smash them apart.
It was Gilles first real battle and I took him to one side. "You need not carry my banner tomorrow. I would have you keep three spears with you and a spare horse. When my spear is shattered find your way to me and give me a fresh one. If my horse falls then bring my spare. When we break the enemy then follow close to me and watch my back."
"You are confident that we will break them, lord?"
"Not confident but hopeful. We plan for success, Gilles, not failure. If we do not break them then we try something else. Now sharpen our swords and daggers. By mid morning they will be as blunt as an iron bar!"
We rose before dawn. It was so dark that Gilles thought it the middle of the night. We had heard our enemy arriving during the previous evening. I thought that the Normans would scout our lines out but would not attack. I was proved correct. Our own sentries caught and killed four such scouts. There would have been others of that I was in no doubt. The priests we had brought with us as healers now blessed us we prayed in the dark for success. I knew that our enemy would do the same. We each believed that God was on our side. We ate cold meat and cheese washed down with the beer we had brought with us. And we waited for dawn to break. We had the advantage that we were in the darkness of the west. Although the sun would illuminate us it would highlight and silhouette the Normans as they advanced from Thiberville.
Gilles was nervous and did as many men did on such occasions, he talked. "Lord why have we made them a present of Thiberville? They will have food and they will have shelter."
"Aye they will but we have height and a good soldier never gives away height, but more importantly it blocks their escape. I told you last night that we plan for success. When we force them from their positions they cannot run freely. They either use the road which will be congested or they use the fields and we hunt them down. In a month or so we shall go home and by then I want Normandy to be more settled than when we first arrived."
He nodded. He was of low birth but he was bright and he learned quickly. He would remember the lesson of the battle of Thiberville and it would help him in battles yet unfought.
Dawn broke and still Sir Hugo kept his army behind Thiberville. The Count of Anjou became worried. "Perhaps he will not take the bait and attack us!"
"In which case he loses Lisieux. They must be short of food. His people cannot even begin to harvest for our men guard all the roads. If he is willing to lose the castle then he does not attack."
"Suppose he tries to outflank us?"
The Earl smiled, "We chose this place because to go around would mean an extra twenty or thirty miles and our scouts watch those routes. He has not made that move yet. You can see his banners beyond the town. He will be working out a strategy to defeat us. He sees our dismounted man at arms and debates how best to counter that."
"Suppose he chooses not to use his knights. He could use his men at arms dismounted as are ours."
It was my turn to smile, "Then we will win."
"You are so sure?"
Robert of Gloucester said, "The Earl is correct. We can hope that he is foolish enough to try that. Dismounted men at arms charging uphill against Rolf and his Swabians would give us an advantage."
In the event, as the sun rose and our armour began to weigh down upon us, Sir Hugo chose to charge with a mixed force of mounted men at arms and knights. He was not going to oblige us by making the attack we wished. There were fifty men in the three ranks which came up the road towards us. He had a further fifty lightly armed Breton horsemen on each flank. They were armed with javelins. They were unexpected but not a difficult problem. They walked their horses until they were a hundred paces from us and then began to trot. At a hundred and twenty paces our archers began to loose arrows. The knights and men at arms held up their shields. Once again it was horses which were felled and not their riders. On the flanks the Breton horsemen discovered our pits, traps and stakes. The crossbows we had brought felled many.
At forty paces the lines of knights and men at arms charged. Rolf and his men suddenly presented a wall of shields three shields high and with fifty bristling lances protruding. Had they had archers making life difficult for Rolf and his men then the Norman charge might have had more success but, as it was, their horses could not breach the wall of steel. Our archers rained death on the horses at the rear of the line but the battle line itself was a stalemate. Swords were raised and crashed down on shields which did not break. Eventually a horn sounded the retreat. Our men were well trained and they did not fall into the trap of pursuing the enemy. I saw that there were gaps in our lines. Men had fallen. Rolf reorganised them and fresh lances to replace the broken ones were passed forward. The Bretons fell back too. In all their attack had cost them over twenty men. In addition I saw at least ten horses which were dead and many others who wandered around with arrows showing their wounds.
"Send water to the men at arms!"
Squires raced to the men who
had fought and passed water skins amongst them. Sir Hugo was not a leader to try and then retreat. As our men were watered I saw him organising a wedge of men at arms. It was every man at arms he had available. He had damaged our men at arms and now he gambled with his own. I had not seen one of those for a while and never one as big. It was a bold stroke. One man stood at the front and the rest formed up behind. I was grateful that it was Rolf who held the centre of our line. With his Swabians around him they would break against him. The Norman who led the wedge was a giant of a man. That was not always an advantage. Rolf had fought enough big men in the past for me to be confident about the outcome.
I nudged my horse closer to the archers. "Lay your arrows in the centre of the wedge! Force them to the side!"
The disadvantage of a wedge was that it was wide at the rear. So far only the Breton horses had fallen into the traps and they had been further away from the road. The wedge used the road. I wanted it to spill over into the fields. I hoped to cause more casualties with the wedge.
When I rejoined the Earl and the Count I said, "This may be our time, Earl. We caused casualties amongst their knights and see how they rest by their horses. They think we stay on the defensive."
"We will see. I am loath to lose the high ground."
The fact that they walked without horses and held shields above them meant that the men at arms suffered fewer casualties than the mounted men. However it also meant that they were struck by far more arrows. Inevitably some arrows found a gap and men fell. When men fell holes in their lines appeared and more men died. It was not sudden but slow; it was like a man bleeding to death, slowly. Men at arms rushed to fill the gaps and to gain the protection of their fellows. As they did so the rear of the wedge widened and some of those fell into the traps. And then the two sets of warriors met. There was a clash and a crash as men and metal met men and shields.
The archers continued their work. Those in the centre of the wedge were the ones who fell. The heart of the wedge, the part where they should have had all their strength was hollow. Rolf and his Swabians at the centre were being forced back. It was inevitable. Our line bowed and surged around the giant. I saw Rolf's sword rise and fall. The giant was no more. The front lines ebbed and flowed. Had this been my men at home we would have interchanged the ranks but these did not know each other and I knew that Rolf and his men would be tiring.
Suddenly I could not see Rolf and his men rushed forward. Their line became a circle. Rolf had fallen. His men at arms were oathsworn. They were a throwback to the days of my father and they fought to the end to protect the body of their fallen leader. They all died but the enemy paid such a heavy price that I saw our line, reinforced from the rear, pushing forward.
I turned to the Earl of Gloucester, "Now lord. They are pushing back the men at arms. Their line is thin."
"I am not certain."
"Commit only the Count's men with me and my son at the head. Let us use my name to sow fear into their hearts. You still have your knights and men at arms if we fail."
He smiled, "But you do not believe you will! Aye, do so." He nodded, "Avenge your friend!"
I took my lance. The Count was keen for this was what he craved, a glorious charge. For me this was not about glory it was about hitting them when they least expected it. Sir Hugo and his knights were not ready for a fight. They were resting and watching their men at arms bleed. We formed up behind the men at arms. I saw, in the distance some of the Norman knights as they viewed our arrival. The Earl's herald sounded the trumpet three times and our men at arms suddenly broke and fled back up the slope. I spurred my horse and we moved down the road even as our men at arms passed between us to form a line behind us. The Norman men at arms had their heads down and when our men at arms fled they surged after them. All order was lost. Our archers released another shower of arrows and then we charged.
There were only thirty two of us. A paltry number in the scheme of things but as we thundered down the road the men at arms found themselves without their fellows protection. It was like sticking static pigs. I pulled my arm back and punched my lance into the face of a sergeant at arms. He fell backwards and I allowed his body weight to pull it from my lance. I pulled it back as another man at arms braced himself with his sword and his shield. I feinted to his head and as he raised his shield changed my aim and gutted him. This time he broke my lance.
I raised my hand and shouted, "Lance!"
Gilles must have been close by my horse's rump for he was there in an instant. I took the lance and saw that we had broken their line. They were streaming towards their knights who were hurriedly trying to mount. It was too late for the men at arms impeded any chance they had of charging us and the men at arms were broken. I was not the only one to have bloodied his lance. I spurred my horse and he leapt at the knight who was struggling to turn and face me. He failed and I punched with my lance and struck him in the right shoulder. My horse was both heavy and powerful. My blow was delivered with all of my strength and it penetrated deep into his body. The blow knocked him and his horse to the ground. His fall took the lance from my hand and I released it.
As I reached for my sword I glanced to my right and saw a spear coming at my own unprotected right side. I was a dead man. Then Gilles thrust my last lance into the helmet of the knight. It was a good blow and it pierced his coif and his neck. The lance fell from his dead fingers. I nodded my thanks and kicked on. This was not the time to pay compliments. I swung my sword at a knight who was trying to control his rearing horse. I thrust my blade into his side. It had been freshly sharpened and had not been used. It came out to the other side. I ripped it out and he fell from his horse.
William appeared at my left. His sword was bloody. "We have outrun the Count's men. We must hold!"
Shaking my head I said, "Look, Sir Hugo's standard. If that falls then we win!"
There was still confusion in the enemy ranks. I heard the trumpet as it kept making the new call. It was the signal for the whole army to attack. I need not turn around. The Earl was bringing all of our mounted men against the Norman knights! I rode at the standard bearer and the squire of Sir Hugo. He was busy trying to control his horse. William leaned forward and brought his blade against the squire's shield. It was a powerful blow and he reeled. Gilles still had his lance and he punched it at the standard bearer who tried to use the banner as a spear. It was brave but doomed to failure. The head of the lance glanced off the standard and struck the standard bearer in the eye. He could not help himself and he dropped the standard as he put his hand to his face. I had chosen Gilles for his skills on a horse and he showed them by leaning down and catching the standard before it reached the ground.
Sir Hugo roared in rage and spurred his horse towards Gilles. My horse was tired but he had enough energy to leap when I spurred him. Our beasts met in a tangle of mane and teeth. I swung my sword at Sir Hugo. It was not blind but I knew I would not cause a wound. He had to use his sword to deflect it and that gave Gilles time to turn and take the standard back towards our lines.
Sir Hugo tried to hit me with his shield but I pulled my horse's head around so that Sir Hugo hit fresh air. I lunged at him for the punch with the shield had opened up his side. He barely had time to use his own sword to block the blow. Behind me I heard the wail as the Earl's men struck the disorganised men at arms and knights. I head cries of "Mercy!" Sir Hugo whipped the head of his horse around and joined those of his men who had been able to extricate themselves. He fled and the field was ours. We had won. There were no faces before me only the fleeing backs of men who had broken.
The men of arms of the Earl pursued the survivors while we tended to our own. I rode back, with William, to the last stand of the Swabians. He had been my friend but he had also been William's guide. The bodies had been hacked and slashed so that they were barely recognisable. They had been faithful until death. Gilles, with Sir Hugo's standard, made his way to us as did William's men at arms.
I dismounted and lo
oked at Rolf's body. He was beneath his men. I saw that it had been a slash to the neck which had felled him. The huge bloodstain on his surcoat told me that he could have lived only for moments after the blow.
"We bury Rolf and his oathsworn here at the side of the road. Gilles, take the standard you captured from the pole. We wrap him in the banner. It was his victory."
William dismounted and sent men back to get us tools. The rest of the army was busily looting the dead and despatching the wounded men at arms. In the middle was peace and calm as we honoured our dead. All ten of us set to work with silent fortitude. Some of William's men had fallen also and they, too, would be placed in this one grave. The soil was both soft and sandy and we made good progress. We were just laying the first body in the grave when Geoffrey of Anjou and Robert of Gloucester rode up. Geoffrey was ebullient. "Come Alfraed! It is time to celebrate our great victory. We defeated them easily!"
I looked up at him. Each time I thought he had changed and become the man the Empress and I hoped he would be he said something like that. "First we bury our dead and do them honour."
He looked perplexed, "But your men can do that!"
I pointed at Rolf's body, now wrapped in a shroud made of the Elbeuf banner, "This is the last of the warriors who protected the Empress Matilda. They never faltered in their duty and all have now died in the service of Anjou. I know my duty, Count. He was my friend and I shall see him to the Otherworld and then I will mourn for him. When that is done I will celebrate this victory but if you thought it was easy then look at these men who paid for that victory with their lives."
There was an edge to my voice and Robert of Gloucester said, "Come brother, Alfraed is right. There will be time to celebrate but it is not yet."
By the time we had finished and the dead had been laid in the grave, we covered them in soil and finally lined their grave with turf. We were the last ones on the battlefield. It was silent. The wounded had gone and the enemy dead still lay where they had fallen. We stood with heads bowed and I spoke, "Rolf and his brothers, Sir William's men at arms, we salute you. You were warriors to the end. Now you will be with those who have gone before and you will have great tales to tell. The last stand of the Swabians will be told and retold for it was a deed of great courage. Farewell my friend."