A fleet came from the north and saw the ships floating in the blue sea. The raised white sails were all marked with diagonal blue stripes.
Arik, who was arranging the team, was surprised and then ecstatic.
He asked his men to step back, and couldn't help but mutter: "It's not the appointed day yet, and you can't wait any longer? My brother."
Arik stood directly at the head of the wooden fortress, and with a closer look he could identify the most familiar pattern.
"No, why are there so many people here? Huh? Are there only thirty or forty ships? Where is that big ship?"
He hurriedly got off the wooden wall, urgently summoned the Ross warriors under his command, and rushed to the north side of the island to meet with the tribesmen who were far away.
Soon, the soldiers stationed on the island saw a large group of people dressed in white.
It's so weird, who are they? Is it the tribesmen? Their clothes were so unfamiliar, but the pattern of the sails was not fake.
On the other hand, Harold Zuosen had already seen his brothers on the shore from a distance.
He wore a striking white cloth gown with a secure belt, and the blue stripe on his chest was clearly visible.
He quickly recognized Arik on the shore. The boy seemed to have a longer beard and was dressed as before. So Harold Zosen, who was now wearing neat new clothes, was already a little bored with the previous image of his brothers.
Look at the people on the shore. They are too casually dressed, their hair is disheveled, and their appearance is really a bit stretched.
The two natural bays between Tombstone Island were overcrowded, and new ships had to find a random beach as a landing site.
As Arik and his brothers watched, the longships rushed onto the beach one after another and deliberately ran aground on the shoal.
They skillfully put away the oars, and looking at the movements, there was no doubt that they were Russians.
A warrior carrying a shield and wearing a white robe jumped out of the boat carrying their leather and metal helmets, and stretched out their hands to greet their tribesmen.
Look at them, they actually display the symbol of Ross very uniformly on their bodies? Whose idea was this? Aric's eyes widened, he was dazzled. It’s true that they are members of their own tribe. This glance is really familiar and yet strange.
A familiar old guy walked happily holding his iron helmet, and behind him, there was a soldier carrying a flag in a high-profile manner.
right! It is just a flag. In addition to having the symbolic pattern of the Russian people, it is also marked with "Warrior II" in rune characters.
It's Harold Johnson here? ! What a novelty.
Arik ran over in a hurry: "Uncle, you are here. What is going on? These are our soldiers."
"What do you think?" Haro Zuosen smiled and opened his arms and asked deliberately: "This is my army, are they strong?"
"They...look. Really majestic."
Arik rarely showed timidity. He didn't know what to say. Now two groups of Russian troops were gathered together. One side was wearing dark colors and various styles, while the other side was wearing beautiful and uniform clothes. By comparison, it was obvious that the one with the better clothes was the one with the best clothes. More noble.
Even though there are obviously a number of young faces among the newcomers, they are by no means the most elite.
"Your clothes are really beautiful. What's going on? Where is my brother? Where is the army of three thousand people?" Arik asked hurriedly.
"There is indeed an army of three thousand people, and they are still in the rear." Haro Zuosen still wanted to continue to show off, "Let's take a look at my people and my flag."
Taking advantage of the good opportunity of all the elites of Ross being present, Harold Zuosen took the opportunity to introduce the major events that happened in his hometown, the uniform uniforms, the flag team system, the large amount of material reserves, and the preview of Ross's sure victory in this battle. One after another, the attackers The minds of the residents of Tombstone Island.
With so much news crammed into him in an instant, Arik's mind was a little confused: "Oh, we are the first flag team, so we also have flags? Can we also wear the same clothes as you?"
"Of course." Haro Zuosen immediately ordered the people around him. In a moment, a new flag was trotted over by soldiers.
"Take it, this is your flag. Arik, your brother Rurik is the commander of this war, and you are the most important flag captain. You and I, we command the most elite warriors, must be the leader of this war. The backbone of the decisive battle. Are you ready?"
Looking at his flag, Arik actually didn't have much emotion. After all, it was a very novel thing. If he had to say it, he thought it was really beautiful to have a flag with a ferocious beast on the flagpole depicting the symbol of Ross.
The neatly dressed soldiers of the Second Flag of the Warriors took off their long robes, just like their brothers on the island. There is no clear distinction between sloppy and sloppy, because if given the opportunity, people will change into new clothes as soon as possible and discard the old ones on the spot.
Everyone rushed to try on these beautiful robes, but the thought of the enemy's blood splattering on the robes was disturbing.
However, a smart guy pointed out: "We don't have to worry about the enemy's dirty blood contaminating our robes. Can we just wash it off with soap?"
On July 27 of the Julian calendar, a larger fleet appeared in the sea north of the island.
At the same time, the small Tombstone Island was already overcrowded, hosting more than a thousand Russian warriors and five hundred Slavic warriors.
Couriers sent to the East to carry news of the war received an enthusiastic response from Novorosberg and some from the Novgorod region.
Three hundred more Slavic men arrived on Tombstone Island and underwent several days of training. There were also a hundred Russian immigrants who settled in New Roseburg who responded to the call, but these people were generally too young and immature.
Everyone is eager to launch a general attack on the Gotlanders and solve the problem once and for all.
The Russians are not monolithic on the issue of Gotland. Of course, there is a large group of people who are eager for revenge, and there is also a large group of people who are loyal to fighting for the honor of warriors. Of course, whether it is revenge or honor, everyone cannot hide their desire for wealth. Gotland's lust for wealth.
Now, the army of three thousand people has finally completed its assembly!
The Aurora and all the cargo ships were anchored offshore. The cargo on the ship was not moved, and all the people disembarked in small boats.
The long voyage against the wind came to an end, and it was really hard for those on the ship, especially the female warriors, who had to endure some additional difficulties.
At noon that day, the fleet basically completed the landing, and the small Tombstone Island turned into a huge military camp with more than 3,000 people.
Not only the people, but also twenty strong reindeer landed on the island together with their reindeer owners. These people are actually equipped with some pullable two-wheeled carts, which are used to transport those "silver scale breastplates". One cart can carry five pairs of armor, which is how Rurik planned it.
The flat land on Tombstone Island was filled with people, and they began to build tents and wooden sheds on a large scale. Fortunately, there were many trees on the island, which could withstand people's destruction.
A large number of new clothes were shipped to the shore in packages. On this day, the distribution of new clothes was completed.
Almost instantly, the Ross army changed the color of their clothes.
The First and Second Banners of Warriors enjoyed nearly 1,200 robes.
Although the flag-shooting team was only allocated a hundred pieces (mostly worn by the Kewen archers in the end), the children in the team had already unified their uniforms, and their clothes were now all sewn with blue strips of cloth.
The remaining clothes were basically handed over to the Slavic flag team.
Rurik also had to accept a new piece of good news, which was that the strength of the Slavic Flag Army had now expanded to 800 people. He didn't know whether to be ecstatic or worried. No matter what the Slavs were, the first five hundred people had gone through a total of two months of Viking-style training. They also lived according to the standards of Russian men, and their physical fitness and The technical and tactical level, as well as the key organization level, have surpassed the tribesmen in their hometown.
Now that three hundred "recruit eggs" have arrived, the Slavic flag force has more people, which means it has more combat power...
Rurik couldn't say anything in front of Medvet. When he learned that the three hundred men who came recently, they basically cut off from their own manors and came to work for the Russians. It was equivalent to saying that these guys were threatening Rurik: We fight for the Russians, and we must be settled after victory.
They do not want to be slaves, nor do they want to be serfs. They currently have nothing, and it is impossible for them to become free farmers. Rurik knew what these guys wanted to do, which was to finish the war, for example, go to New Roseburg, take the farm tools and seeds distributed by the Russians, open up new farmland, and become tax payers protected by the Russians for generations.
Only when he reached this point did Rurik laugh at himself with a wry smile: Do you think I am giving you benefits? That can only mean that your life in your hometown is too miserable.
After finally gathering, the strength of the Russians has exceeded Rurik's estimate.
The huge army wore uniform clothes on a large scale. As the Duke of Ross, Otto saw the huge army composed of his people and the densely packed ships docked off the coast of Tombstone Island. He was so excited that night that he couldn't sleep at all. He ate his fish and drank his treasured liquor, laughing at the prospect of victory in the battle.
Although there is no runoff on the surface of Tombstone Island, it is connected to the continental shelf with hundreds of surrounding islands.
After all, the Slavs were more advanced than the Russians in agriculture. Medveit who landed on the island really didn't want to take a boat to the estuary of the stream on the east coast to transport fresh water, so he led his people to dig a hole on the spot. The result was about eight meters deep. It was a shallow layer of fresh water dug out. It actually still has a bit of saltiness, but the saltiness is so weak that it's hard to detect unless you taste it carefully.
The flag captains gathered together and immediately reached an agreement on the future operations.
Without him, the entire battle plan was decided by Rurik.
No one questioned Rurik's plan during this battle, because the child made a simple sandbox directly on a wooden board using readily available soil, allowing everyone to get a glimpse of the macro battlefield in shock.
The most shocked person was actually Arik. He had some objections, but this time his brother actually accurately marked the places he had visited. Is this a miracle? At least it was due to the knowledge Odin bestowed upon his brother.
Rurik relatively accurately represented the relative position of the Åland Islands (where Tombstone Island is located) and Gotland, the exact shape of Gotland, and the locations of Saaremaa, Estonia, the Gulf of Riga, and Courland. , the geographical structure of many places is unheard of. I think Rurik would not describe them randomly, they are real.
Is it necessary for the army to take a roundabout route and attack from the south of the island like in the war three years ago?
The Russians have had too many dealings with the Gotlanders in the past few decades. The two sides basically started fighting when they met, and the chance of peaceful coexistence was very slim.
Everyone knows that in the northern part of the island, a group of local families have built some low earth and wooden walls. Their purpose is not to defend the settlement, but to prevent the army from landing.
Is it inappropriate to land from the north?
If a team of several hundred people forces a landing, the resistance from the enemy will be fierce.
However, the Russians had gathered more than 3,000 people this time, and they were well prepared with weapons, equipment and food. If they launched a strong attack, they would not encounter any trouble. I take it for granted that there shouldn't be any trouble, but...
In fact, everyone prefers to directly attack the enemy's densely defended areas. It is best to fight a decisive battle early and solve the problem in one package. But is this appropriate?
Fighting directly in the south, Rurik learned from those who surrendered and the Saxons that the so-called Visby, the largest settlement in Gotland, was located in the middle of the west coast of the island.
That is the enemy's largest settlement. As long as it is captured, the war against Gotland will be won. Doesn't the enemy know this? Therefore, the decisive battle must be fought around Visby.
Gotland is a long and thin "eggplant" running north to south. It seems that it is enough for the fleet to directly attack Visby on the seaside.
But wait! In any era, when troops carry out amphibious landing operations, it is a great test of the quality of commanders and soldiers.
Rurik did not think that the Ross people had good qualities in this regard. He had the military power of the entire Ross Principality in his hands, and he really should not have rashly launched a landing battle in a narrow sea area.
The army must complete the landing safely, even if it takes a little longer.
He chose the eastern coast of the island as the landing place, relying on the relatively gentle terrain there. Secondly, it was not the main residential area for the Gotland Islanders.
Future phased combat plans have been formulated.
Rurik made it clear:
The army gathered on the sea, with long ships guarding all the big ships, and the fleet sailed due south.
There are five ships as the vanguard. They are the permanent veterans of Tombstone Island. They know the southern seas very well, and they also shoulder the important task of being the leader.
After the fleet set sail, it did not stop at the southeastern Saaremaa Island and the European land coast. The fleet took a large arc, bypassing the possible defensive focus of the Gotlanders on the north of the island, and established a landing site directly on the eastern coast of the island's waist.
After landing all personnel and supplies, the fleet made corrections and then took the overland route straight to Visby to seek a decisive battle with the Gotlanders.
"Such a plan, we can definitely do it?" Otto needed a complete affirmative answer from his son.
"certainly."
"You...why do you think the Gotlanders will definitely take the initiative to fight us? Maybe they will scatter and flee when they see our army." Aric said disdainfully.
"Then let them escape! Fleeing to the south? They happened to be hit by Olegin and the others. Running to the north? Are they crazy? The Gotlanders have no choice. They surrender immediately or fight us decisively."
"Let's have a decisive battle! A decisive battle is the best!" Otto clenched his fists, and the people gathered also clenched their fists, including the newest member of the group, Herriger, a Melalen man.
On Tombstone Island, everyone is completely unified in their thinking.
A decisive battle in the wilderness was very necessary, although the information provided by the Saxons was that the residents of Visby did not build wooden fortresses, making the siege easy. Unbridled siege and destruction were not what Rurik wanted.
The best result he expected was to wipe out the enemy's effective forces on a large scale on the battlefield, so that the enemy's remaining forces would give up the idea of resisting, sign the name of the city's lord with the Russians, and then hand over the wealth he had hoarded consciously. come out. This is much more orderly than the chaos and robbery of the army! Besides, Rurik didn't think that his men would obediently take out the spoils and distribute them among themselves after the army robbed them randomly.
