Eagle Byzantium

The Mosul soldiers escorting the siege vehicles advanced very quickly. Their steps were uniform, and the ranks of shieldmen, archers, artillerymen and light infantry were also staggered. They kept beating the thrilling drums and fork bells, like a black whirlwind, more like a black plague, rushing towards the defense line of the Orontes camp.

Between them and the sub-wall group, there was a trench of medium depth. This was originally the outer trench of Gawain's camp. According to Geddie's original idea, it was to be filled with water from the Orontes River like the inner trench to block the Turkic troops in Mosul. However, before the project was completed, Amasa sent a large number of cavalry to attack: After the Gawain Brigade won the defense yesterday, some soldiers and many laborers were sent to dig trenches, but they were only five or six feet deep, which was far from Geddie's requirements.

So amidst a shout, the Turkic soldiers at the front unloaded all the bundles of firewood they were carrying, and instantly filled up several sections of the outer trenches. Afterwards, the vehicles with leather curtains were first pushed under the sub-walls, where the few soldiers left behind began to clamor, shooting crossbows and throwing javelins at the vehicles and siege personnel, but the Turkic vehicles were also hung with leather: these shooting weapons could not hurt them at all. In addition, in the previous artillery battle, the small catapults set up under the Orontes camp were almost all destroyed and silenced, so the Turkic soldiers around the vehicles confidently raised their shields and continued to push the leather carts towards the sub-walls.

At the same time, another number of vehicles with iron hoods and inflatable leather bags also approached the rows of halberds between the sub-walls under cover.

"Don't fight back, they are used for arson, getting close to them will only cause casualties to our soldiers!" When this slogan was just shouted on the city gate tower, the Turks on the left and right of these strange vehicles braved the arrows, raised the flaming sickles and short spears, and ignited the iron bags hanging on the vehicles - they were full of flammable materials such as sulfur, dry wood, and lime, and instantly ignited a fierce fire - and then, the Turks behind the vehicles, holding the drawers of the leather bags, shouted and blew air back and forth into the pipes of the iron bags. In the whistling sound, the strong wind was mixed with fluttering red flames and rolling lime, forming a series of "poisonous snakes and pythons" that were poured on the chariot guns. The fire spread immediately, and the remaining personnel could not bear it, and they all ran back.

On the other side, the Turks began to push vehicles with grappling hooks, trapezoidal shovels and rectangular rakes one by one under the sub-wall. Then they pried the levers and turned them up and down while shouting slogans: the grappling hooks were used to pull and break the dog-foot wood, while the shovels and rakes were used to dig and destroy the earth wall. They were very busy, and the broken earth and dog-foot wood fell one after another...

Gawain stood silently behind the flat-top wall of the city gate, watching the battle below intently. It seemed that the Mosul army had transformed into a demolition team, destroying and leveling several wooden fences and earth walls he had built with a pile of earth. Around him, the soldiers of the Gimges Brigade had continued to deploy on the city gate tower and the high walls on both sides, and began to prepare for other defensive equipment.

After the "demolition team" was busy for about an hour, Gawain heard the earth-shaking cheers. They finally filled the outer trench, leveled most of the sub-walls, and burned the chevaux de frise. Countless Turkish soldiers were excited, standing around the vehicles, forming a dense formation, facing the Orontes camp that had been stripped of its outer defenses, thinking:

We will soon raise the banner of God and the scriptures, climb up! Attack! Rush in and kill everyone inside.

But soon, they saw the "breast belt wall" about 20 feet away from the city gate tower, which was parallel to it. It was much higher than the surrounding sub-walls, and even the dog-foot wood on it was specially made and raised, blocking the main gate of the enemy camp tightly. The Turkish officers and soldiers were stunned: Push the battering ram? This high wall is blocking the city gate, unless you knock down this wall first; take the siege equipment and go around the wall in a zigzag way? That means that the siege vehicle has to turn a corner when entering, enter the narrow mezzanine, and then turn another corner if it hits the door. Whether these two corners can be turned well or not is not the case. I am afraid that they will be smashed by the enemy before they are finished turning, because even if these siege vehicles are equipped with four wheels, they are only effective when they go straight, and the steering equipment is almost unknown at that time.

So the following situation is very interesting: thousands of Turkish attacking teams lined up, and after destroying the sub-walls and calvary guns, they approached the main city wall. They cheered at first, and then saw the chest belt wall in front of them, and they were immediately dumbfounded. How to deal with this thing?

The Gimages on the city gate tower were ready to fight, each holding their posts, and silently watching the Turks lined up under the city, thinking why don’t you attack?

Gawain, who was a little tired, put the blade back into the ground, held the hilt with both hands, and sat down in the city gate tower, with a spirit of coexistence and death with the entire camp.

Later, in other camps, thousands of Crescent laborers who were confined and monitored stood shoulder to shoulder and began to worship and chant. Some of the guards who knew Saracen shouted with their weapons in dissatisfaction, asking them to be quiet. Those who took the lead in chanting raised their hands and said, "We are praying for a beautiful peace. May there be no war in Antioch forever."

Finally, General Amasa, who was in the back, was more sober and shouted to the towering wooden tower beside him, "Issue the flag order and tell all the soldiers in front to divide into two groups. One group will use the ladder to climb, ignore the strange wall, and attack the two sides of the opponent's city gate tower; the other group will choose the side corner of the opponent's camp and attack under the cover of the catapult!"

The Persians on the wooden tower received the order and immediately waved the flag signal.

Amid the roar, the Turkic soldiers on the front line shouted loudly, abandoning the siege vehicles that had just worked wonders (strictly speaking, this group of expensive and time-consuming equipment only flattened some cheap earth walls, but was completely destroyed by Gawain's chest belt, no, the chest belt wall), holding axes, spears, and shields like a tide, scrambling to carry ladders, and rushed towards the walls of the Orontes camp. Their shouts and footsteps shook the dust in the gate tower and fell all over Gawain's head. The Grand Duke dusted it with his hands and complained.

The entire front wall of the camp was undoubtedly centered on the gate tower, and the gate tower was no different from the regular system: two large towers, with a city gate in the middle, with a connected battle road and flat head wall on top, and soldiers on guard on full alert.

"Raise your shields." When the Turks who ran to the wall looked up and saw the black iron stirrups of the crossbows (the parts located at the head of the crossbows) starting to appear from the shooting holes on the high flat walls of the Orontes camp, they shouted one after another. Amidst the noise, they perfectly raised their countless scaly round shields to cover their helmets and turbans. (To be continued ~^~)