Viking Voices (24 page)

Their first action is to stop the progress of our army to allow them to assess our strength and to allow them to take control from Agmundr and myself. This is contrary to our strategy and I think it is foolish to stop at this point. It makes me confident that the Angles will now try to join the battle with us. I have mixed feelings about the presence of the Jorvik kings for reasons of my own.

By being here they will avoid Ragnald's assault on their city. Although that makes Ragnald's success even more likely it also means that they will survive to cause future problems. Even more threateningly it leaves me in the hands of a potentially very hostile group of deposed Danir kings. I will become a hostage or the victim of their revenge. It might even be better for me if this army does need to face the Anglo-Saxon army. If they do not I will need to make an escape sometime late in the campaign, preferably taking my large group of Danir mercenaries with me if I can persuade them to come.

The addition of two kings has disrupted our command structure and Halfdan has now assumed control. He does not want any advice from either Agmundr or I, believing in his own ability to command. In effect we have been dismissed from our commands. Although we know the bulk of the men here and are aware of their strengths and limitations far better than he does he has dismissed our opinions as being of no importance. I have little or no knowledge of his ability as a war leader, but the initial signs are not promising. This does not seem too important though. In a campaign were no one opposes us any one can lead a great army. He is just here at the last minute, in order to claim the credit and steal the glory.

Instead of the mobile army of savage raiders able to manoeuvre easily and flexibly that we started with, we have become a vast lumbering train spread out over many miles and easily seen and tracked. In Fortriu I was always anxious to keep the army as compact as possible and even then we lost men to harassing Picts. Here the Viking host and the massive baggage we have acquired in the form of plunder has made that a hopeless task. Halfdan and Ivarr seem oblivious of any need to try.

This must allow the Anglo-Saxon army to find us if they choose to, but it is still not clear that they will want to engage us in a set piece battle. We are a huge formidable, well-armed albeit now badly organised force. Many of us are true warriors, trained and equipped for battle.

The combined army stays a few days to rest and to allow the change of leadership. I guess that Halfdan is thinking through his route, but I do not know what the delay is as I am not included in the discussions any more. He appears not to believe in the need for speed over the ground which was the major element of our original strategy. Clearly he thinks that the Anglo-Saxons do not have any ability to oppose him and, as we have not had any reports of any Anglo-Saxon army, he may prove correct. On the other hand he seems not to be scouting the ground around him very energetically so we might not know, even if an enemy army was nearby.

He might well change our route in order to move further east. Agmundr and I were committed to returning over the Mersam into the south west corner of Danelaw as that is near our homes, but Halfdan may well want to travel to ensure the plunder moves towards his own base in Jorvik. That would involve crossing hills rather than the easy passage through the plains that we had intended.

If he does that then he might, although he cannot know this, eventually find himself opposed by Ragnald's army, regardless of what the Saxons do. If so, I will need to take my men to join Ragnald against him. In preparation for this I spend my time among my own men, rather than among the Jarls where I am obviously less welcome now. I need to ensure that I keep in touch with them and maintain their loyalty. We need to retain a separate identity from Agmundr's army. One day we may need to fight against them.

Halfdan still has no knowledge of Ragnald's actions, but I expect that by now Jorvik may be taken, and then that news will reach Halfdan quite soon. When it does I will immediately be in great danger, but I cannot leave this Danish army now while we are in such hostile territory.

Over the next day things do move at last, and we soon find ourselves encountering continual harassing raids by groups of Saxons. This may be a sign that indicates they do have an organised army nearby and clearly they now know where we are. Halfdan's decision to stop and rest always looked dangerous to me and I fear it may have played into the hands of the Anglo-Saxons.

After a long march we reach a narrow gorge, through which the Seafern River plunges over a series of weirs, and here we suffer a great shock which changes everything dramatically.

The narrow valley is filled by a vast host of Saxons in front of us, not just a normal group but a huge and well-organised army. This is a great surprise to us, and not a nice one. It had not been part of my strategy under Agmundr to face a determined foe but to move quickly and thus avoid the need for pitched battle. I have no idea what Halfdan's strategy was, and I suspect that he has little idea either.

If necessary we will give a good account of ourselves but in recent fights the Saxons have been the more effective in a pitched battle. Having seen so much of their land ravaged, and so many men, women and children killed or enslaved they will be spoiling for a fight, desperate for revenge.

The prospect of the battle ahead is therefore a very threatening one. This new situation has changed our campaign from unlimited and unopposed success into a very serious and evenly contested war. It is time for a change in plan and a new route and so we turn away from the river and now move away from the Saxons, travelling east. We hope to outrun the Saxons and escape. We know that they will have the same problems in moving an army as we do, but at least we are already prepared and motivated to move quickly. They may be more effective in a pitched battle but we are probably better in a chase.

It is an exhausting process though and after just a day it is clear that we have not succeeded in shaking them off. It obviously calls for a new move but I have no influence on the decision making any more. It is up to Halfdan to devise our strategy now! I hope he does it well; my life and that of all these others depend on it. I find it very worrying.

The Anglo-Saxon army has pursued us vigorously and is able to continuously harass our rearguard. We are suffering substantial losses and Halfdan decides it is better to turn and fight them. I would not have done this and would have continued to fall back rather than confront them. I believe it is probably an error; certainly it plays to the Anglo-Saxons' preferred strategy.

This way Halfdan may believe that we at least get the chance to assemble our men and have our choice of battlefield. In practice, the latter turns out to be of little advantage since this is flat land; there are no high slopes to give us an advantage. Halfdan has chosen a place which we now name Woden's Field for the conflict, dedicating it to that god in the hope that he will inspire us and guide us. We make it our own by raising our pennants, I can show the black raven of Woden on my pennant, flying above my men. It may become the place where many of us will go to meet Woden as I cannot see what advantage we can gain from fighting here, it looks like a mistake to me. If I am right then it will cost many, many Scandinavian lives.

The moment has come when two great armies will clash head to head. It is going to be a far larger battle than we have fought before, either against the Picts or anyone else.

Both sides have drawn up their armies to confront each other, very close together with just a brook between us, and both must present a fearsome sight to the other. Flags and banners are waved on both sides, colourful symbols of faiths and families. Ravens, stags, skulls and boar's heads are displayed on our side, and many crosses, saints and bishops on the other. I can see my own black raven, Agmundr's red battle axe and Halfdan's grey wolf. There are so many different colourful tunics and so many men in mail, all with axes or swords in their hands.

The shouting and banging of shields creates an enormous noise as each side threatens and tries to intimidate the other. Each army is issuing threats and invoking their god or gods to defeat the god or gods of the other side. The sights and sounds of the impending battle are a great drama, and if we were not all so terrified then no doubt it would be a great thing to witness.

Although we did not choose to make this battle we are brave warriors and very determined that we will give a good account of ourselves. Our men are confident, strong and well-fed, and we all know that this is the defining moment of our lives. We must win this fight or we will certainly be killed far from home in the middle of a foreign and hostile land. It will be impossibly dangerous to take flight as part of a defeated army.

We are all frightened but we are also grimly determined. We gain huge energy from this desperation too; the adrenalin is flowing in our veins. We show all the ferocity and aggression that is always expected from Vikings. We are shouting and screaming insults and threats at the combined Angles and Saxons, who respond in the same way.

Once the two armies have assembled opposite each other the plan is to strike early and strike hard, hitting out at the main body of the Saxons. This time there is no Ragnald to inspire us, and there is no sign of Agmundr or the Danir kings either.

I finally see Agmundr alongside Bardr Ottarson on the far left flank. It looks like they have left me to lead the very centre of the main attack, looking for a less dangerous position for themselves. I can see now that Bardr has been quietly plotting with Agmundr against me all the time and this is what Agmundr has agreed to do, place me at the very heart of the fighting where I am most likely to be killed. In doing so he has gained himself a place on the flanks with a better chance of survival.

The Danir obviously look after each other and are happy to do so at the expense of a Lochlain, even though it is a betrayal of their alliance with Ragnald. Halfdan and Eowils seem to be in on the plot too, as they have gathered themselves on the far right flank. I am alone in leading the centre.

They believe Ragnald will never hear of this betrayal as they must expect that I will not survive the battle. This is not the time to ponder such things, however, as there is no time to waste now responding to their treachery and duplicity. My best response is to ensure that I do survive. The battle against the Saxons must be won first. They will be held to account for this, as I know that by now Ragnald will be in possession of Jorvik. By choosing to lead their army here, into the centre of Mercia they have removed their last chance of defending their own city and lost their crowns.

I am angry, very angry and although I will initially take out this anger on the Saxons, it will also be turned on the treacherous Agmundr and Bardr after that battle. I will wait until they are drunk and sleepy in the after battle celebrations and then strike them both down in the middle of the night. I will take my revenge in cold blood in the middle of the night.

I might not have chosen to be the great leader of warriors but that is what I must now be. I have never thought of myself as Ragnald but I have seen him in action from close quarters so many times and I know what must be done and how to do it. It must be done with the greatest courage, conviction and vigour. This is the greatest moment of my life, the climax of my career as a warrior.

I give a great shout, imitating those I have heard from Ragnald my king, and we form a solid shield wall and all throw ourselves together down the gentle slope, charging into the Saxon masses and clashing greatly with their shield wall and attempting to force our way through it. This tactic catches them by surprise. Normally the shield walls advance slowly, deliberately and reluctantly. It is the place of death and nowhere is as terrible, as terrifying. Not even the fiercest of warriors relish their place in the shield wall, and so most move cautiously into battle.

The first attempt forces them back but fails to break their wall and as they recover and hold firm they begin to push back. I have men at my back pressing me forward to resist the force of the Saxons, and I need their help though I feel I will be crushed in the middle of the mêlée. The two armies are right against each other now and hacking and flailing at each other around and under the shields. We are face to face with those who want to kill us, so close that we can smell the putrid ale on their breath. It is a terrible mess, a carnage in which no one is gaining the advantage, but swords and axes are flailing and many, many men are dying. It is a bloody stalemate in which we must continue to fight with frenzy and succeed or die.

The Saxons are trying to break our shield wall by throwing their battleaxes onto the tops of our shields; either coming down onto them to splinter the wood or hooking them over our shields so they can pull them down. Those that are pulled down are followed by our men behind us throwing spears into the Saxon ranks and they are returning those spears, throwing them into our ranks. I had wanted to assemble archers for this task but Halfdan had rejected my suggestion contemptuously. The Danes consider archery as a coward's tactic, but now they are dying in their hundreds for the sake of their foolish courage when they made that decision. The screams and gurgles of dying men ring all around me, but I can hardly hear them as my brain is totally focussed on trying to stay alive myself.

Both sides are stabbing and slashing frenziedly with their swords, around, above and below the shields. Those with short swords have the advantage in this close quarter work. There is no more room to swing a battle axe or a two-handed sword. Many men are falling on both sides, often with wounds to their ankles or legs. There are many dying and wounded but neither side has gained any real advantage.

Suddenly we become aware that there are Saxons behind us too, many of us have to turn, attempting to form a new shield wall to resist them but we are now in a desperate position, completely surrounded and trapped. We must now fight our way out, but we have not succeeded in reforming the shield wall around us. It is simply man against man in broken and chaotic fighting. I can see the wild staring eyes of the Saxon warriors, every bit as frightened and as excited as we are, all knowing that we now must triumph or die.