Chapter 117: Siege of Vienna
At the moment, Count Lothar was currently sitting in his siege camp outside of Vienna. While the defending and opposing forces slung rocks at one another through their trebuchets, Count Lothar was sitting in the rear of his forces, safely watching the progress of the siege from afar. At the moment, the siege towers were once more attempting to get to the walls of the enemy formations; unlike Berengar"s efforts in Tyrol, this was a true medieval siege in every sense of the word. The prevalence of firearms had not yet become widespread in Europe outside of Berengar"s forces. As such, crossbowmen hid behind ramparts and pavise alike as they fired upon each other from a proper engagement distance of over 300 yards.
Seeing the siege towers heading towards the location, alongside men with ladders, the defending forces focused on taking down the invaders. Among the ramparts clad in full plate armor was Duke Wilmar"s oldest son Gautbehrt who personally led the efforts to defend the city walls. Despite the siege ongoing for weeks, the invading forces were just now starting to make progress on their attempts to get past the mighty walls of Vienna.
With an arming sword in hand, Gautbehrt stood along the ramparts as an act of morale, the moment those siege towers were within distance to unleash their hordes; he would begin to cut them down. Soon enough the first siege tower dropped its bridge onto the ramparts allowing for Count Lothar"s forces to cross onto the city"s walls swiftly. Instantly Gautbehrt collided with the enemy forces alongside several of his allies. A chaotic melee broke out between the defending and opposing forces on multiple sections of the walls.
Gautbehrt deflects an oncoming blow before gripping the blade of his sword in a technique referred to as half swording and precisely dug his blade into the gaps between the enemy man-at-arms shoulder armor. Though it was not enough to kill the man, it gave him a position of control where he continued to press the man forward and over the edge of the wall, where he swiftly fell to his death. Before Gautbehrt even had time to catch his breath, another attacker rushed towards him with a mace in hand, which he swung desperately at Gautbehrt, whom the attacker recognized to be the enemy commander.
Swiftly evading the attack, Gautbehrt flipped his sword upside down and repeatedly struck the man in the skull with his pommel; after several strikes, the man collapsed with his skull bashed in from the blunt force trauma.
Gautbehrt screamed to his troops over the sound of the ongoing carnage
"Hold the line! We must defend the walls!"
As such, the defenders of the city of Vienna struggled with all their might to defend the city walls against the invading force. Unfortunately for the defenders, they were not nearly as well equipped as Count Lothar"s forces. Many of the men within the garrison were wearing the more primitive coat of plates over a mail hauberk and gambeson jacket. Their helmets were primarily open-face bascinets with a mail aventail, and their limbs were either left unprotected or protected by a combination of the splint and plate armor.
Compared to the man at arms of Lothar"s army, which was covered from head to toe in a mixture of brigandine and plate, the defenders had many more exposed areas where they could be gravely wounded or even killed. After several hours of b.l.o.o.d.y struggle, the defense of the City walls began to collapse, and the city"s defenders brave as they were found themselves on the brink of defeat. Ultimately Gautbehrt was forced to give the order to his surviving men.
"Retreat! Retreat to the Castle!"
With that, the once valiant defenders of the city fled from the walls and ran back to the Castle for a last line of defense. Leaving the city for the taking of Count Lothar and his forces. Immediately upon taking the walls, the attackers opened the gates and allowed for the rest of the army to enter the city, where a combination of looting, ****, and murder began to take place as the soldiers under Lothar"s command began to sack the city for its worth.
The heavily armed soldiers killed those who resisted, women and girls were taken from their homes and ravaged by the invading men, and entire city sections were burnt to the ground. It was truly an uncivilized time for warfare, and the once-proud city defenders could only watch from atop the Castle as their city was lit aflame from below. Praying to G.o.d that some form of relief would come soon, or else even they would suffer at the hands of Count Lothar.
Count Lothar gazed upon the scene of his forces raiding the city with a malicious smile; while drinking from a chalice of wine, a messenger came to report the situation from the frontlines.
"My Liege, the City, has been seized, Gautbehrt and his men have fled to the Castle where they are currently holding on. It will be some time before we can break through its gates and truly claim Vienna as our own. What are your orders?"
Count Lothar said in a completely vicious voice as he gazed upon the messenger.
"Continue to raid the city; I want to see how long the defenders can withstand the sight of their precious capital being ransacked."
A s.a.d.i.s.tic grin appeared on the messenger"s face as he responded to Count Lothar"s orders.
"As you command, my Lord!"
With that said, Lothar continued to gaze upon the fires that began to spread across the city and the screams of the victims of his army. Soon enough, Vienna would be his, the Duke"s family would become his hostages, and he would be able to force the old b.a.s.t.a.r.d to abdicate and place him as the new Duke of Austria. Once that was the case, he would rally his forces and end Berengar"s little rebellion. Everything was going smoothly.
After arriving within the safety of the Castle"s walls, Gautbehrt cursed loudly as he detached his great bascinet and hurled it into the corner in a fit of fury.
"G.o.ddammit!"
When his commanders saw his reaction, they could not help but ask what they should do now that they were stuck in the City"s Castle.
"My Lord, what are we going to do now?"
Gautbehrt sighed heavily in an attempt to calm his nerves; after several moments of deep breathing, he opened his eyes, and with a solemn expression, gave his orders.
"We will wait until reinforcements arrive; by now, my father is aware of Count Lothar"s betrayal and has sent an army to lift the siege. We have to hold on until then..."
One of the commanders looked at Gautbehrt with a complex expression as he voiced his concerns.
"What about the city?"
Gautbehrt covered his face with his steel-clad hands before saying what his troops feared the most.
"Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about that now. Hopefully, relief will arrive soon so they can end this madness!"
Unfortunately for the City of Vienna, Count Otto"s forces had been caught in a blizzard within the Bavarian Alps. They were unable to come to their aid for the foreseeable future. Only time would tell if the Castle of Vienna could hold on long enough for support to arrive or if the family of Duke Wilmar would fall into the hands of the wretched Count Lothar. During the duration of the siege the citizens of Vienna would suffer immensely under the pressure of Count Lothar"s forces, but that was the price of war.