Chapter 607 The Battle of Tamworth

Even Tamworth, the capital of the Kingdom of Mercia, has a permanent population of only five thousand people during peacetime.

In the eyes of local people, the capital city is actually a big city with such a population.

The strange army came fighting along the river. People in more than a dozen villages near the capital saw the fleet going upstream with their own eyes. Out of fear, they poured into the city with limited resources, hoping to Tall stone walls can provide enough protection.

It is for this reason that Tamworth suddenly becomes crowded. Because of the influx of refugees, the population easily reached the level of 15,000 people.

The wet streets were full of people taking refuge. They endured the mud and the smell of feces and urine all night. When the sky lit up again, the light in the east meant that the rain had finally ended, and the sunshine made the refugees feel better. I feel better, but those inexplicable troops are still outside the city.

A group of soldiers stood on the wall of the outer city, and the circular city wall further diluted the small number of defenders.

It is very expensive to supply a standing army. Even in peacetime, the standing army of the Mercian royal family is only two thousand people. The main force of the army is never stationed in the capital. The military camp is in the village of Birmingham to the west. However, the capital always maintains a garrison of 500 people.

Weapons in the warehouse were distributed, and Botwulf, the "prince in charge of the country", actually pulled out an army of 3,000 people overnight. This army only obeyed the orders of the prince!

If it were not restricted by the dogma of faith, recruiting women as soldiers would make the army stronger.

Botwulf is more sober-minded, or more conservative, than his father. He did not dare to take the initiative to challenge the unknown enemy, so he stayed put for the time being. Instead, he set up royal flags on the city wall and let armed men climb the city. At least he showed the people under the city the determination of the city defenders and the strength of the defenders. bluff.

The Kingdom's capital Tamworth is located on the right bank of the Tam River, a tributary of the Trent River. She has a clear road from the Birmingham Military Camp, which is only eight Roman miles (about 23 kilometers) away. This distance is not short. If Birmingham's army rushes to rescue urgently, the crisis in the capital will be alleviated.

If Steiner attacks, everything will be fine. But Steiner didn't do it. He had just been defeated in the past battle, and he couldn't launch an attack with a non-existent army.

All these situations are really the situation faced by King Wiglaf of Mercia and his expeditionary force. Wiglaf indeed walked to the Birmingham barracks with his exhausted division, unaware that the highly mobile Vikings had already arrived at the royal city and launched a strong attack.

Botwulf did not know about his father's failure. What he knew particularly well was that the army stationed in Birmingham had long been led to the northern border by his father himself.

Now that the enemy has obviously destroyed the wooden bridge and controlled the Tam River crossing, the capital has lost a huge opportunity in sending communications troops.

A group of people with news of the crisis in the capitalThe signal corps sneaked out of the city overnight. They were going to report to the territory to the east and ask for reinforcements from the local lords. As for the lords of the kingdom's western territories, since transportation is interrupted, don't expect them to know the news and serve the king.

For a period of time, the capital can only rely on its own strength to defend the city. After this most difficult moment is passed and the situation escalates, King Qin’s army from the lords from all over the country will definitely gather in the capital.

Looking at the enemy camp outside the city, the captain of the guard was worried: "They have so many soldiers. The weather is fine now, I can't see what they have to do with the Wessex army."

"There are many of them, so maybe they don't have strong combat effectiveness." Botwulf sighed deeply and asked again: "Have the soldiers been assembled?"

"It's basically completed, the strength of the troops is about There are three thousand people. There are many young boys who are willing to fight to the last breath to defend the city."

The captain of the guard tried his best to speak inspiring words, and Botwulf patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. , and said: "This alone is not enough. It seems that the enemy is not in a hurry to attack. I will use this opportunity to execute those who spread failed remarks yesterday to calm people's hearts. Don't just guard the city wall. Send people to negotiate with them and ask questions." What do these guys want?"

"Your Highness, this... may be necessary."

"We are really stupid. The war is about to break out. I don't even know who the enemy is. , what is the intention?”

The city walls of Tamworth’s outer city are made of rammed stone and earth, and their foundations come from the city walls of the old Roman era. The entire city wall appears to be incomplete. Green grass has grown in the area, and there are many slopes behind the city wall for people to quickly climb up the wall.

Of course, its average height is only equivalent to four meters, which is not really high.

Only the walls of Tamworth Castle in the inner city are higher, and the overall appearance is more regular. The polished granite fortress makes it thicker.

More than a hundred warriors holding bows stood on the city wall, and a batch of stones and wood were also transported to the city wall.

Relying on the protection of the city wall, Botwulf did not worry about the enemy being able to break the city.

The sunshine dispersed the morning mist, the rain stopped, and the Ross and Balmok coalition woke up in the morning light.

As for launching a full-scale attack this morning, Rurik still refused. Unfortunately, his father-in-law could not persuade him, and his cousin was also eager to try.

"Son of God? Are they really just a reference to my identity?" Rurik laughed at himself for a second, convinced that the stability of the alliance must be based on the consistency of interests and demands.

The Balmoks have their own Kingdom of York, and their morale is so strong that even the old Magnute feels like he has regained a new lease of life!

The Balmok warriors got up howling, the golden light of the morning sun shining on their golden heads, and their whole bodies seemed to be plated with gold. They held their axes and swords high and roared with great momentum. Biyongni, Geiger and other Balmok warriors were actively preparing to climb the city wall.Prepare.

Help them? That's a must.

Due to what happened yesterday, Rurik felt that if he became extremely proactive, it would actually reflect his indecisiveness.

Seeing their cousin Arik sharpening his sword, the men of the First Flag Team were eager to give it a try. Rurik simply called his cousin and all five centurions to his side, and deliberately made a non-negotiable decision somewhere on the secluded riverside.

"If they want to fight, we will help. The First Flag Team is not allowed to attack the city first. If everything goes well, we will attack. If things go wrong, we will cover their retreat."

Ali Ke fully understood what his brother meant, curled his lips and shook his head: "This is not glorious."

"It is not glorious. I feel that the situation is very wrong. This should be a revelation from God, and victory must be ours, but This morning's attack was too hasty."

"Okay."

"I will send out shooters to support them, brother, and stay put. , remember, you must not launch an attack without permission."

Aric didn't say much, and his eyes indicated that he would do so.

More and more Balmok warriors were gathering. In order to build momentum, Magnut raised his sword and ax and yelled in front of the crowd in person.

Seeing that this army was about to launch an attack, the Mercian defenders on the city wall were frightened. The priests who climbed up the city wall also held up crosses and called on the soldiers to stay calm.

The closed city gate reinforced with iron chains opened, and five envoys walked toward the unknown army tremblingly, holding the flag of the King of Mercia.

The Mercians sent an envoy?

Biyongni, who had done warm-up exercises before the war, twisted his neck and walked to his father with a sword: "Here comes a fool who wants to die. They want to negotiate with us. In my opinion, kill them."

"Yes. There is nothing to negotiate. Go ahead and make the brothers happy."

Biyongni nodded and immediately walked over with more than a dozen brothers.

The poor messenger died in the chaos of swords before he could react.

This horrific scene was seen by soldiers from both sides. The Mercian defenders trembled in shock, and then were overwhelmed by anger.

Looking at the Balmoks, they all let out a Viking war cry in unison, and the majestic momentum caused the Russians to roar too.

Magnut raised his ax and swung it suddenly, shouting in an old male voice: "Warriors, go forward! Go and plunder everything you like!"

Balmok The army takes action!

They have blond hair and fair faces. They are dressed in gray-black coarse cloth, or a layer of black leather jackets. Some even temporarily put on the orange clothes of the Northumbrian Army. Their clothing can be described as diverse, and at least a hundred of them were shirtless, showing off the horrific tattoos on their chests and backs.

They followed closely behind the black raven flag on a white background, carrying all the long ladders and battering rams (justis a large tree trunk) and launches an all-out attack with sword and shield.

Even the Wessex army once attacked Tamworth, and the siege formation was not so crazy.

Behind him was a large group of neatly dressed people.

That was the first flag team of the Russian army. Arik was forced to stand still. He arranged the team into a matrix. From a distance, it looked like a blue and white square.

Rurik also shouted: "Shooting flag team, let's go!"

Thirty torsion slingshots were installed on each two-wheeled trolley. There were also ten bull trebuchets that were carried manually.

Fifty wooden-armed crossbowmen and one hundred Suomi archers were responsible for covering the enemy's arrows.

Because of such armaments, Magnute actually felt that his son-in-law was speaking out of integrity and was talking about covering up. It seemed like the Russians were planning to give it a go.

He was full of confidence, vowed to seize the treasury of Mercia, reward the army, and became a hero forever praised by the people of his hometown.

The army was getting closer and closer to the city wall. In response to its majestic power, Botwulf in the city immediately suspended the execution of those who spread unfavorable news and urgently took his attendants to supervise the battle.

But when he arrived at the wall of Waiguo City, the battle had already broken out.

The Ross and Balmok coalition forces are violently attacking the west gate of Tamworth facing the Tam River, which is also the main entrance of the entire city.

Stones and javelins fell from the sky, some refugees had suffered casualties, and the houses were smashed to pieces. People began to flee, and the crowded roads suddenly became empty. In fact, they all fled to the east of the city.

That was a blow from a torsion slingshot and a trebuchet. Cast iron projectiles, stones and javelins crossed the city wall and smashed into the rear of the defenders. As for the number of casualties caused by the Mercian army, Rurik was unable to estimate.

The only thing he can be sure of is that these weapons will definitely bring panic and force the enemy's follow-up reinforcements to be unable to continue to support the city wall defenders. It is said that once the Balmoks scale the city wall, more than half of the victory is achieved.

Rurik ordered free fire, and the city wall defenders were fighting to the death, risking deadly projectiles.

"They built a ladder! Stone them to death!"

After that, the captain of the guard shouted to the soldiers below the city: "Quickly find a wooden head to hold the door bolt."

p>

He loudly asked the special guard troops how well the secret weapons were being prepared.

At least twenty pairs of ladders have been set up. The Balmok warriors holding wooden shields hold handaxes in their mouths and are struggling to climb up against the stones and arrows thrown by the enemies.

Byony also brought the steel-armed crossbow he borrowed from Rurik, and sniped at the city defenders very obscenely.

Those who were hit in the head by rocks basically died on the spot, and some twitched and became motionless. Some Balmoks were injured by arrows. They screamed and pulled out the barbed arrow clusters, letting blood spurt out from their bodies., still climbing the ladder trying to fight against the city wall.

Another long piece of wood was thrown down, causing the soldier to fall off the ladder and vomit blood. Even those who use slings use this weapon with limited damage to harass the people below the city.

But the situation here is not good for the Mercian defenders. They braved the arrows, projectiles, stones and javelins of the Russian army to resolutely attack Balmok who climbed the city wall.

The Mercian warrior wearing chain mail was directly smashed in the guts by the torsion slingshot projectile and fell to the city. Someone blocked the gap with a blank mind.

Some soldiers were shot through the head with a crossbow and died on the spot, while others took over their posts.

Because they can see that the enemy is not Wessex. Although they still don’t know their identity, everyone can only be sure of one thing - once this unprecedentedly cruel army breaks the city, the tens of thousands of people in the city will be killed. People will die.

Ordinary kingdom soldiers no longer only fight for the royal family, but armed civilians also have a very simple reason to fight. They fought for everyone's lives. When His Royal Highness the Prince came to the city in person to supervise the battle, the Mercian army would not retreat even if they suffered heavy losses.

The battle has been going on for a while, and the changes in the situation have made Magnute, who is full of self-confidence, increasingly confused.

He saw Biyongni leading a group of brothers to carry a big tree trunk (acting as a battering ram) to hit the door. They hit it no less than fifty times. How could the enemy's door stay still? !

He didn’t understand. He heard from his son-in-law Rurik and his son that they all went smoothly when they attacked other cities. For example, the siege of York, which Magnute personally participated in, went extremely smoothly.

"Why? I kicked down the iron plate here?"

Magnut stood in a fairly safe area, but his own people were suffering unprecedented casualties. He watched helplessly as soldiers fell from the ladder, and he also saw enemies being shot down by arrows.

"These enemies are so tenacious? But I easily killed a thousand of them in that village. How come they have become stronger here?"

Magnut really doesn't want to. I know that because the person guarding the city is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Mercia, Botwulf's attitude has also changed drastically due to the changes in the war situation. He no longer expects this battle to gain much merit for his family and himself. This is the decision. In the life-and-death battle for city residents, the Mercians have never been so united as they are today. He will lead the army and the people to fight the enemy to the death.

The anxiety of the battle also surprised Rurik. The facts were exactly as he predicted. This battle was the most serious obstacle the coalition forces encountered after landing in Britain. He was not at all happy that his prediction was correct, but was resentful when he saw friendly forces suffering losses and his siege weapons failing to break the enemy's will.

"Attack! Attack!"

"No! My attack was just what I wanted, and I was impulsive. No, I should dissuade them from retreating temporarily."

The battle situation is really instantThe situation was changing, and the two sides were engaged in a fierce battle, but a large amount of boiling water fell from the sky. Jar after jar of boiling water was poured onto the Balmok warriors who rushed to the gate. Even with shields, the boiling water was still so hot that people screamed.

The soldiers evacuated subconsciously, and even Biyongni ran away without suffering the immediate consequences.

Steam filled the air under the city gate. Looking at the backs of the escapees after the steam dissipated, the captain of the guard couldn’t help but laugh wildly, and stretched out his right hand to point at those whose backs were instantly burned red. Curse and not practice.

Suddenly, a crossbow arrow shot directly through his palm, and two fingers were also knocked away. The captain of the guard screamed and fell, and was immediately helped up by the soldier. He looked at his incomplete right hand with tears and a dull smile.

Biyongni temporarily retreated. When he called his men to rush back again, he picked up the big tree trunk and continued to smash the door, he saw his men rolling on the ground and screaming.

Their severely burned skin had blisters, and the tattoos on their upper bodies became distorted.

"Idiot! What are you doing! Follow me and fight back."

Geiger, whose arm was splashed with boiling water and was not seriously injured, pessimistically shouted: "Biyongni! Keep attacking. They are looking for death! Think about the whale oil and seal oil we make in our hometown. If they use the oil next, they will all be burned to death."

"Geiger, are you a coward?"

After saying that, Geiger really withdrew with the men from his Washobi Farm. Not only this one, but the troops of other Balmok family leaders also retreated with the wounded with various injuries, including the corpses.

To this day, Rurik's shooting flag team is still providing fire support. He did not hesitate to consume a large number of projectiles and arrows for the friendly forces, but all he got was a defeat.

The Balmoks withdrew one after another, and the Ross Shooting Flag Team was also retreating.

It was such a tragic battle that made Arik and the soldiers of the First Flag Team, who had been watching the battle, clearly realize that even if they also participated in the battle, they would still face a tough battle.

Is Britain an island of cowards? No! At least the residents of Tamworth are a force.

Aric's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but laugh when he saw the Balmoks of the Alliance evacuating.

A centurion asked him: "Are you mocking them as cowards?"

"No! Brothers, we have encountered a strong enemy. This is an opportunity given to us by God. Ah. I like fighting strong enemies best."

"But it's difficult to capture this city."

"That's true, but Rurik will take care of it. wall."