27. Poseidon and Kratos

  “Today is the 20th of February!” Zethos said, “today is the day you make the Normans taste the bolt shooters. If any of you impudent fools charge out of formation, you will die. You stay put and wait for the bolt shooters to do their job, thankfully we have 1000 crossbowmen, you do your job or we face doom. Guiscard does not know will hit him, he is overconfident, he thinks flying a flag with a cross means you will win. He thinks horses can out charge spears, my glaive men will teach them humility! My maces will teach their infantry fear!”

  Gocelin got a proper piece of plate armour, put on his helmet, then took it off, looking at the army arrayed ready to sally out and give Guiscard’s Christian army a taste of the Western Roman Republic. He looked at them silently, and they looked at him, and he could sense their fear, some men’s legs shook, even as mercenaries they were not indomitable, and they heard the odds.

  “I am a Norman!” He began, “so I know how they fight. And they die like anyone else, their horses are formidable, and expect tricks with that, they will run away, let the bolt shooters do the work, stay put and guard those damn things! Many of you aren’t convinced about Helios, and that’s fine, but today you will see the light, today you will see what Poseidon and Kratos can achieve together! Every one of them will rue the day they met us on the field! To the Normans on our side, I would like to say, we fight as one, we will show the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor all of them who is truly deserving of the title of ‘Romans,’ do not make a single cheering or jeering sound when we face them! Our silence will unnerve them. When we win, we cheer. Save your energy, and protect those around you with all you have! For the Republic!”

  The banners were lifted, green banners with golden thunderbolts.

  “Let them taste the iron thunderbolts!” Zethos added, adding grim determination to the army.

  13,800 men sallied out.

  There were small wet patches, muddy bogs every now and then. 9000 infantry, and 4800 bolt shooter operators, they brought wagons intending to use them, to make portable defences. On the other side 19,500 troops on the Christian side readied themselves to fight.

  “Look at that dog!” Guiscard shouted.

  “Pay no attention to his barking,” Gocelin said quietly to his people, who merely smiled.

  The Christians roared, their cavalry smacking swords on their shields, the sound of metal hitting metal intimidating, but as per Gocelin’s instructions the Republic’s army remained silent simply staring at their enemy.

  Why are they not making a sound? Guiscard thought.

  “They are scared of us, look at how they whimper at us in silence!”

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  Still no one dared defy the order of silence, unnerving the Christian army. The light infantry had swapped light spears for pikes, wrapping around the bolt shooters. Zethos hid his glaive forces and the maces in the flanks, a surprise he would reserve for when the enemy came too close; 500 on each side, he intended for the enemy to find out about it a little too late. Zethos nodded to his bolt shooters who got into position and even at this early part of the battle took pot shots at the Normans who were still intending to intimidate Gocelin and Zethos’s army. Riders and archers were were skewered, Guiscard absolutely fuming.

  “Annihilate that traitor! For god! For the Saints!”

  Guiscard had 2000 levy archers, but they were promptly shot by a withering volley of crossbow fire. Withdrawing as Guiscard timed his cavalry charge to be at that moment, Zethos timed his bolt shooter fire perfectly, aiming for this precise window when the cavalry charged.

  Adaneus is a genius for coming up with this.

  A bunch of riders falling off their horses, but the charge continued, Zethos looking to his co-commander.

  That devious Norman of mine.

  The pikemen lifted their pikes just in time to catch a bunch of heavy knights off their horses. Spears then skewering the riders, as the papal and Holy Roman Imperial soldiers used shock cavalry tactics, withdrawing as the infantry now all charged.

  “Aim for the cavalry, crossbowmen, aim for the mass!”

  Gocelin had 3000 pikes to hold a formation, Zethos impressed at how it discouraged the cavalry to close the gap, but they came again, this time nearly smacking on the western flank, Zethos’s glaives showed themselves, slicing the horsemen and sending them running, spears returning a static position. Again another salvo of bolts came flying, Guiscard narrowly avoiding death, riding to the East to help the mercenary cavalry and his knights. He had lost 2000 horsemen, and at least 1000 archers, now his infantry were going to crash into the infantry formation. The gentle rolling slopes giving the bolt shooters a slight edge as they shot down at the charging infantry. Crimson banners with crucifixes fell, and the Christian soldiers attempted to rush their positions. 1000 more cavalry were felled alongside 1000 infantry, Guiscard feeling the losses already, as he saw the bolts tear through perfectly good men.

  What the hell, what is this absurd Saxon strategy? And what the hell is that?

  “Are you a Saxon or a Norman Gocelin!” Guiscard shouted with fury.

  The broad shouldered brute, crashed 3000 cavalry into the eastern flank, and to his astonishment, 1000 pikes and 500 glaive-men tore through them, sending the horses whinnying, as crossbowmen clicked their crossbows at the lighter armoured infantry. Meanwhile the bolt shooters turned and shot at the riders further back and their accompanying infantry who were coming around in that direction to reinforce break the Republic's formation. The Eastern flank situation looked critical so Zethos donned his mace and his chainmail armour and a circular shield rushing to the line.

  “Maces,” he beckoned, “break them!”

  The pikes were perhaps going to be engulfed, when another volley of bolt shooters picked off the cavalry and the pikes formed the distance once again striking the riders and the infantry with men dropping down. Maces smashed impetuous infantry, cracking their bones and breaking their shields and arms before smacking them down. Flanged maces bloodied, their men covered in blood, retreating into the porcupine that had formed around the bolt shooters.

  “Damn him!” Guiscard seethed, “son rally the west, if we put maximum pressure we can break him!”

  The Christians were confident with their superior numbers, but they had lower quality troops, their infantry levies, their knights countered, and the bolt shooters establishing absolute missile superiority.