Chapter 131: Trapped within Vienna
While Berengar and his armies were at war in Southern Tyrol, Count Lothar was surrounded by his enemies. At the moment Lothar and his armies were sandwiched in between Count Otto"s forces who besieged the city, and the Castle"s garrison who valiantly continued to defend the Castle"s walls against Lothar"s onslaught.
Worse yet, right before he was trapped within the confines of the city, he was informed that his army that was sent to Kufstein had been completely obliterated. Though, he did not know the extent to which Berengar had put down his rebellion within his home territory, for if he did, the man would truly lose all hope of survival.
As such, Count Lothar was currently surrounded by his va.s.sals who had traveled with him to Vienna, where they were engaged in a discussion about how to move forward. They were not in a good position; Count Otto"s armies though depleted by attrition, still greatly outnumbered his own forces now that they had lost a quarter of their army in Kufstein and had been fighting a siege for over a month.
As the n.o.blemen spoke about their situation, blood-curdling screams erupted from the walls, as the defenders continued to die by the dozens defending their position within the city, thus adding a great degree of intimidation to the hearts of the n.o.blemen who had followed their liege seemingly into the gates of h.e.l.l itself. One such n.o.bleman was addressing the gathering of Lords as he voiced his opinions about their options.
"It has become increasingly clear that there are only two options, stay within the city and continue to lay siege to the Castle while simultaneously protecting the city walls! If we can succeed, we can use the Duke"s family as hostages to negotiate Otto"s surrender! The only other option is to sally forth in a desperate attempt to break through the besieging forces and make our way back to Tyrol, where we can hold our ground against the Duke"s forces when he returns from his conquest of Bavaria!"
After saying this, the gathering erupted into chaos as two factions were formed those who supported staying in Vienna and fighting for what they had worked so hard to achieve, and those who wanted to return to Tyrol and resist Wilmar"s rule as they conserved their strength. Of course, those who wanted to return to Tyrol had no way of knowing that by the time they arrived, it would be in Berengar"s hands, and key cities would be staffed with large garrisons of men, with their walls armed with cannons.
Count Lothar was entirely unwilling to give up on Vienna; he knew in his heart that if they fought their way out of this mess and returned to Innsbruck to lick their wounds, they will have lost the war, they might be able to survive for a few years in a desperate struggle against the Duke"s forces, but in the end, they would be brought to ruin. Their families would pay the price for their defiance.
Eventually, the Count raised his hand to silence his Lords, and only after their arguments had completely ceased did he voice his decision.
"I will not concede defeat! I will not retire to Tyrol and live out the rest of my days fighting a defensive war against the Duke and his Armies! We will take Vienna, or we will die trying! If we abandon our siege, only death and destruction await our households. Tell the men at the city wall to defend it with their lives, as for the siege of the Castle, double our efforts. We must not fail!"
When Lothar announced his decision, a variety of expressions appeared on the faces of the Va.s.sals loyal to him; some of them were beginning to regret their decision to back his efforts to claim the Duchy of Austria for himself. Many of them wondered how Berengar was faring in his reconquest of Tyrol; if he had managed to take Innsbruck during this time, then there was no point to continue this war any further.
Ultimately every Lord who was present for the siege agreed with Lothar; they would remain trapped in the city until a point where the enemy forces were exhausted, or until they had taken the Castle, where they would then use the Duke"s family as hostages to enforce their demands. It was a risky option, but Lothar was right; if they returned to Tyrol and ended their campaign, ultimately, only death would await them and their families.
As such, the siege of Vienna continued, with Lothar"s armies trapped between enemy forces, fighting a two-front battle. With the arrival of Otto"s forces, the Castle"s defenders became emboldened, and their collapsing morale had been restored to its peak. If they could hold out just a little longer, Lothar"s army would collapse, and they would be saved. For now, it was a battle of will to see who"s lines would break first.
As such, Gautbehrt, the son and heir of Duke Wilmar, gazed from the ramparts above down onto the city below with a smile on his face. Soon enough, this battle would come to an end, and at the moment, it was heavily in his favor. The young Regent wished he could see the look on Lothar"s face when he realized he was trapped within the city, with no way out.
Just now, he noticed the increase in the intensity of the siege of his family"s castle and therefore began sliding his visor down to protect his face from the oncoming missile fire. The young man shook his head as he voiced his thoughts aloud.
"It appears that Count Lothar has realized he is running out of time!"
As such, Gautbehrt unsheathed his sword and raised it in the air as he shouted to the defenders with a heroic speech of defense.
"Men, you have all worked hard this past month to ensure the Castle of your liege, the rightful Duke of Austria, and his family remain unharmed. Over the course of the next few days, Lothar will throw everything he has at us, but we can not allow this Castle to fall! For if the Castle falls, the suffering of the citizens of this city will be in vain! Hold the line! Hold the line as if your very soul depended upon it!"
With these words spoken, the defenders rallied behind the Commander of their forces. They screamed into the air, allowing all of the anxiety and misery they had endured over the last month to escape from the confines of their hearts. With this speech, a new sense of zealotry was formed among the defenders, which would hopefully allow them to endure through the hards.h.i.+p that would follow and successfully defend their position until Count Lothar"s forces were broken by Otto"s. With these events, the Siege of Vienna had reached its climax and would soon be coming to an end; who won the battle was solely determined by the Castle"s garrison and their will to continue defending its mighty stone walls.