Viking: Master of the Icy Sea

Chapter 350: Surprise Attack

Late at night on December 10, 867 AD.

Due to the severe cold wave, the usually turbulent Little Belt Strait, which separated the Jutland Peninsula from Funen Island, had completely frozen over.

Under the dim moonlight, the sea had transformed into a hard, pale, and deathly silent expanse of ice that stretched all the way to the blurred opposite shore. The biting wind howled, whipping up flurries of fine snow.

At a certain moment, countless specks of firelight flared up in the darkness. Carloman, wrapped tightly in a thick fur coat with a dim whale-oil lamp in his right hand, led over six thousand Franks onto the ice.

Bundled in bulky winter clothes and carrying their packs and weapons, they trudged across the frozen surface. The freezing wind sliced across the open sea like a blade, stinging their cheeks and turning their breaths into white plumes.

The frozen sea was far from an easy path. Some patches were as smooth as glass, causing a fall with a single careless step, while others were covered in jagged chunks of ice, making the march incredibly arduous.

To ensure the smooth transport of their supply carts, the Franks laid down dry grass and branches over the slicker sections. Many soldiers pushed and pulled the heavy wagons together. The dull creaking of wheels crushing the fragmented ice echoed with startling clarity across the vast, silent expanse.

"By Odin, have these Franks lost their minds?"

On the shores of Funen Island, two Viking sentries stared in bewilderment at the thousands of slowly creeping silhouettes. The Little Belt Strait had indeed frozen over in past winters, but this was the very first time anyone had dared to march an army across the ice.

After a moment of shock, the sentries lit three nearby bonfires, then sprinted toward the military camp two miles away to wake the sleeping Halfdan."The Franks are here? Hah, are you joking with me?"

Halfdan shoved aside the maidservant next to him, suspecting his subordinate had frozen his brain and was hallucinating.

With a dark expression, he donned his armor, threw on a fur coat, and rode toward the western coast. He was utterly dumbfounded by the sight, a scene that almost looked like a dark miracle.

"I only raided you a few times. Is this really necessary?"

Halfdan spurred his horse back to the camp. The Vikings were currently like a flock of startled sheep; many had misplaced their weapons and armor, entirely unprepared to engage the enemy in battle.

Left with no other choice, he set fire to the barracks and supplies, then led his troops in a hasty retreat toward the northeast. After detouring through several patches of woods, they successfully shook off the pursuing Franks.

Funen Island was indefensible.

Halfdan spent a full day fleeing to the port on the northeastern side of the island. Facing the panicked crowds, he announced that he and his personal guard would cover their retreat, convincing the soldiers to board the ships in an orderly fashion to prevent them from slaughtering each other over the limited vessels.

Watching the first batch of soldiers set sail, Halfdan could not help but roar, "If you still have a shred of decency left in you, remember to send ships back to pick me up!"

Surprisingly, the Franks did not attack the port where Halfdan was stationed. Instead, they marched straight down the road to capture the island's largest settlement, Odense, before continuing eastward until they reached the eastern coast of Funen Island.

Ahead lay the Great Belt Strait. The water was much wider here, but it too had formed a layer of sea ice. A courageous Frankish knight strapped on a pair of snowshoes, taking the lead to test the ice. The following soldiers likewise used hastily crafted snowshoes, slowly making their way toward Zealand Island on the opposite side of the strait.

As they neared the shore, a hundred Viking archers had already gathered on the banks. Arrows whistled over the Franks' heads, yet they failed to halt this unprecedented expedition.

"Deus adjuva!"

The first twenty-odd knights to reach the shore shouted their war cries, drawing their longswords as they charged the archers and easily routing them. Subsequently, more and more Franks landed, continuing their eastward march in an attempt to replicate their previous maneuver and strike directly into Sweden. Upon hearing the news of the Frankish army's landing, the Earl, who had been idling his days away in Copenhagen, was terrified.

Following the end of the Second Frankish-Danish War, Zealand Island had become an overseas territory of Britain. With disaster looming, the Earl instinctively pleaded for the military's assistance in defense. "Colonel, what should we do now? Should we ask the garrison in Gotland for help?"

"They cannot help. The combined garrisons of Gotland, Bornholm, and Vilyanka only amount to one thousand three hundred men. We can only rely on the Northern European Allied Forces."

Hadava patiently urged the Earl to organize the defense. Copenhagen boasted a five-meter-tall wooden palisade, more than sufficient to withstand this horde of Franks.

In the afternoon, news of Halfdan's plea for reinforcements reached Copenhagen. Hadava led a fleet to assist with transport, ferrying Halfdan's troops to the southwest of Sweden to guard the eastern side of the Øresund Strait.

Compared to the Great and Little Belt Straits, the Øresund Strait had the lowest probability of freezing. Even the oldest residents had never witnessed a time when the ice over the Øresund was solid enough to walk across.

Two days later, Carloman's army arrived on the eastern coast of Zealand Island. To accelerate their march, many soldiers in poor condition were left behind at settlements along the way, leaving him with only five thousand men.

Unfortunately for them, the Øresund Strait had not frozen. He attempted to forcefully assault the island's largest settlement, Copenhagen. However, due to the severe cold slowing his soldiers' movements, the Frankish army failed to breach the five-meter wooden palisade.

As time passed, the cold wave neared its end, and the temperature began to slightly warm. Realizing he had lost any chance of crossing the sea, Carloman was forced to halt the offensive and rest his troops in the center of Zealand Island.

After waiting for over a month, the Øresund Strait remained unfrozen. The coldest part of the season was passing, meaning the Great and Little Belt Straits could thaw at any moment. Numerous nobles advised the King to withdraw the army.

"Your Majesty, you have accomplished an unprecedented feat. It is time to retreat. We did not lose to the Viking barbarians, but to nature itself."

They were not entirely wrong. During their stay on Zealand Island, a hastily assembled Viking allied force of over seven thousand men attempted a counterattack, only to be easily crushed by the Frankish knights. Since then, the Viking allied forces had huddled inside Copenhagen, allowing the Franks to ransack the various settlements across the island.

"Retreat," Carloman commanded. He did not go against the collective will of his army. Before departing, he ruthlessly plundered the two islands, dragging a massive hoard of loot back to the Jutland Peninsula.

In February 868 AD, Wigg's mood slightly improved upon learning of Carloman's withdrawal.

When he first received the news of the Frankish army crossing the Great and Little Belt Straits, he had been genuinely frightened. It instantly reminded him of the war in the mid-17th century, specifically 1658, when the Swedish army exploited the frozen sea to swiftly cross the two straits, forcing Denmark to cede territory and pay massive indemnities.

However, in the end, Carloman failed to cross the Øresund Strait and land on the Swedish mainland.

To summarize, it was a successful tactical operation that failed to achieve strategic victory—invading Sweden and Norway to force Wigg to deploy his expeditionary force for relief.

'Actually, Carloman overestimated the importance of Northern Europe to me,' he mused. 'Even if he captured Gothenburg, Oslo, and Uppsala, he wouldn't be able to force me to divert my expeditionary force.'

After musing over the matter, Wigg turned his full attention back to West Francia. As long as he dealt with this premier power of Continental Europe, the remaining factions would never be able to stir up trouble again.