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Anno Domini, 831-October-15
''Move, the sarakenoi are attacking our eastern camp!'' I shouted while mobilizing our available cavalry and infantry toward the eastern area of our siege camps.
The pressure from the sarakenoi had begun, and the numbers they had gathered were alarming. What was expected to be a force barely larger than half of our army seemed to be something quite close to the entirety of our forces, though I very much doubted that their quality was at the same level.
In the last few days, our scouts had seen that some sarakenoi units were little more than soldiers with a single piece of body armor, a spear and a shield, so although they had numbers, it seemed they might not be very well trained.
That was the only good news that could be taken from the presence of our enemy in great numbers, since, in theory, in the greater theater of things, our numbers were still superior according to our estimates, besides having better equipment quality.
But on the strategic map, that was not how things looked, since, to our misfortune, we had many of our forces scattered, controlling the new conquests, and that was why we had the problem of being outnumbered. We only depended on our fortifications giving us the advantage necessary to make up for the lack of numbers.
Spurring my horse and listening to the galloping of thousands of horses, I could also hear the clash of metal coming from our camp to the east.
''Be careful with the stakes and the blockades of our siege. Continue close to the walls. Leave the horses inside the kastro and close the gates in case the sarakenoi make a sortie aimed at our horses'' I said, pointing to the entrance of the kastro of the eastern camp.
Turning to look at al-Fusṭāṭ, I could not see any movement, so we simply entered the kastro while the sounds of many fights could be heard in the surroundings.
Upon entering the fortification, we dismounted and, taking out my pole hammer, began moving through the area between the many tents, until finally reaching where the sounds of combat were clearer.
The screams could already be heard, as well as the sound of steel striking steel. When we passed through the gates to the outside of the camp, there was enormous chaos.
The sarakenoi had already crossed the first ditch, and a fierce fight was taking place between our forces and the sarakenoi who had penetrated the fortifications of the first ditch.
''You, guide your men to support that sector that looks like it is collapsing'' I said, pointing to the left, where the defenders were being overwhelmed by a large number of poorly armed sarakenoi.
''Sigurd, do you see those sarakenoi who entered there?'' I said, pointing to a small group of heavily armed sarakenoi.
''Yes'' said Sigurd, lifting his visor to see better.
''Then I no longer want to see them there'' I said, giving him a pat on the back, the blow of the steel of my gauntlet against his cuirass ringing out.
''It will be a pleasure… COME ON, FOR THE ALL FATHER!'' roared Sigurd, and all his men began to run through the second ditch toward the fighting.
''You, with me'' I said, pointing at them with my hand while we went to support the place where the sarakenoi were pushing through the center.
The camp had three entrances to the east, and all three eastern entrances were open. An attack at dawn seemed to have caught my men off guard, and the sarakenoi had been able to advance unseen until they were quite close to our first line of defenses.
This had delayed most of our reaction, besides forcing us to prepare for possible further attacks, since that was what they had to do to try to break the encirclement of the city.
''Make way, we are going in'' I said, looking at the soldiers of the themata who were fighting hard against the sarakenoi.
The soldiers turned for a few seconds while resisting and quickly began to fall back to make way for our men, who, like a hammer, crashed into the sarakenoi. In a matter of seconds, the push of the Muslims had been cut off, and slowly, they began to be forced back out.
I looked in every direction of the battle, making sure they did not manage to keep penetrating and ready to react with a group of Varangians that was prepared to enter the fight in case of an emergency.
But slowly, my men began to turn the battle around, pushing the attackers back toward the broken gates of the fortifications.
The sound of weapons clashing and the screams was deafening, to the point that it was difficult for me to concentrate on everything that was happening while being so close to the fighting. Besides, the smell of blood, shit and urine was also disorienting. With all the dead there were, that smell did nothing but grow stronger.
''Constantinople has nothing to envy this place for'' I said while pressing my lips together.
''Strategos!… Strategos!'' someone began shouting behind me after sounding a horn to get my attention, and even so, I could not hear very clearly what else he was shouting.
Returning toward the kastro, a rider received me, panting and sweating heavily.
''Problems?'' I asked while looking at him.
''An attack on the southern camp. A great host of troops is approaching, and the defenders of al-Fusṭāṭ are also carrying out a sortie. We do not know which camp they are heading toward, but the scouts have seen a lot of movement in the area''
I turned to look at the fighting and, seeing that the sarakenoi were falling back and that, despite their numbers, they were not managing to push forward, I made a decision.
''Have Sigurd return with me once they stop the advance'' I told one of my hird so he could inform Sigurd.
Without saying a word, he began running toward where Sigurd had started fighting.
''Let us go'' I shouted to my men.
I still had almost a thousand Varangians under my command, so we took the horses and left the camp to help in the fighting that was already taking place in two sectors of the siege.
Riding between the ditches, we saw how the troops of the city's defenders soon began moving in the direction of the southern camp.
''They are going to break the south. One of you go to the western camp to ask for reinforcements, and have the northwest camp launch an assault against the city. We have to take advantage of the fact that there is no one who can defend it if they are carrying out this sortie'' I said while riding and looking at the messenger who had informed me.
He nodded, and we kept riding, just as the fighting in the south had begun and they were trying to break through the fortifications of the perimeter ditches.
Entering the kastro, we prepared the men and divided the forces to resist the assault until reinforcements arrived.
I climbed onto one of the walls of the kastro and saw that, for the most part, they were crowds of sarakenoi soldiers who did not have much armor. Apparently, they were using the plethora of poorly armed soldiers to wear down our forces.
We had barely managed to organize the defense on the two fronts while the sarakenoi tried to fill the ditches and climb the earthworks when an enemy force began pressing against our rear.
The defenders of al-Fusṭāṭ were coming out with everything they had to the south. Probably all the defenders who remained inside the city were attacking us and doing the same thing as the Abbasid force.
The projectiles did not take long to be fired while we tried to buy time.
With a crossbow in hand, I began helping the troops that were trying to defend the sections while we were being overwhelmed by the sheer number of sarakenoi warriors throwing themselves at us from both directions.
''Good, your turn. The themata cannot hold'' I said, pointing to an area that had collapsed, where a mass of troops was overflowing through the entrance.
''Valhalla!'' shouted one of my hird, who began directing the rest of the Varangians I still had available.
Left with only one hird, I continued bringing down some attackers with the crossbow every time I had the chance to hit someone who came too close.
Where the enemy advance was being most devastating was from the internal attack, since the troops we had in the south were, for the most part, poorly trained troops, but numbers had a quality of their own.
''Fall back. There is no point in continuing to fight there. We have no way to keep resisting the battle. We have to reduce the width of the fight in our favor'' I said, signaling that the first defensive line in the south was giving way and that more and more attackers were entering.
Someone went to deliver my message while I moved along the wall to look at the other sector of the battle. It was worse there. The themata were losing, while the archers who were bombarding the sarakenoi with arrows released projectiles as fast as they could, but we were clearly fighting against far more than we should have been.
Finally, I could see on the horizon how help was beginning to arrive from another camp, noticing that the Slavic cavalry was leading the attack.
While I watched my men fall in the north, the support had finally arrived.
The Slavs, far from throwing themselves directly into the battle, began firing arrows from their horses against the formations of warriors from al-Fusṭāṭ, harassing them at every moment while skirmishing with the defenders' archers.
Climbing down from the walls, I began to descend to support the defense.
Moving through the different defensive levels of the kastro, I reached where the fighting was. Closing my helmet, I swung my pole hammer as I advanced against the defenders with my hird closing formation around me.
I began blocking a small breach the attackers had made against our formation.
Arriving with momentum, I drove the point of the pole hammer into the chest of one of the sarakenoi and tore it free with force, bending the blade. Hearing the groan of pain from the sarakenoi, I freed my weapon.
Raising it over my head, I let it fall with great force and felt it split a skull when I noticed the resistance of the head of the man I had struck.
Again, holding my weapon close to the head, I swung it once more in a long motion, hitting someone in the neck and watching him begin to scream like an animal when I struck him.
When I looked to my left, I saw one of my armored men breaking the ribs of one of the poor bastards who had the bad luck to stand in front of him.
Without stopping, I kept pushing, stabbing and striking everything that stood before me. On two occasions, they managed to hit me with something more than a spear, and they left me with some pain when they struck me with an axe on the shoulder. An arrow also shattered, sending a shower of splinters that found my eye, which bothered me greatly.
''Shit, these splinters'' I said, panting while looking over the blood-filled field.
Falling back a little, I opened my visor and tried to remove what was bothering my eye while everyone continued fighting.
Managing to calm the pain and discomfort, I looked back at the battle and noticed that the attackers were retreating. Only the stragglers who had been trapped remained.
In the area separating our camp from al-Fusṭāṭ, there were only dead, while the Slavs were killing the defenders who were trying to return the way they had come, but the Slavs avoided getting bogged down in hand-to-hand combat, preferring harassment.
I tried to leave the formation and give the order to finish off the enemies by forcing the fight, but I felt a hand behind me.
''We are almost collapsing in the south. The enemy is crossing the second ditch, and we have them at the gates of the kastro'' one of my officers shouted at me, appearing like a ghost behind me.
I clicked my tongue and could only watch as the defensive forces of al-Fusṭāṭ seemed to manage to escape back to their city, but with severe losses, instead of us having eliminated them in the field.
Moving back to the camp, I noticed that it was no longer only a plethora of attackers, but that some kind of better-armed troops had arrived and thrown themselves against our weakest flank, against the themata troops, who did not take long to collapse.
The Varangians on the left had almost been trapped, but the archers of the second defensive line had opened the gate of the ditch without removing the bridge, allowing the troops to withdraw before being trapped, at the cost of giving the enemies free passage and almost having them at the gates of the kastro.
Again, I went down to try to provide support, but the reinforcements we had requested did not take long to arrive. Several thousand themata soldiers and some of my Slavs had arrived to support us once the cavalry had driven away the defenders.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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