Thanks to these experienced fishermen, Marine Battalion crossed the strait without any danger and came to the west North Sea shore of Euboea.
The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and a full moon quietly emerged.
The soldiers dragged Longboat onto the beach, hid it in a hidden bay, and took out their weapons from Longboat.
The organization of Marine Battalion is similar to that of Mountain Battalion. It adopts a mixed formation and is equipped with cold weapons and Matchlock, which is suitable for small-scale operations.
Under the bright moonlight, Musketeers opened the sealed wooden barrel and took out everyone's muskets and gunpowder. The other three wooden barrels in the boat contained dry food and kettles as their temporary supplies.
"Stop dawdling, move faster!" Under the urging of the sergeant, the soldiers randomly covered some branches above Longboat as a cover, and then gathered in the open space to stand by.
After a long time, the officers ended the meeting. Marine Battalion was split into multiple troops and began to penetrate the inland areas to detect whether there was an ambush nearby.
In the early morning of the next day, the sky on the east side was white with fish belly, and the sea breeze was cool and pleasant. A Marine Battalion officer climbed up the sea cliff and waved two small flags to convey the signal:
Our unit has completed its reconnaissance mission. The nearby area is safe and there are no enemies.
After a while, the other side sent a signal reply: Our troops are about to cross the sea, and we must cooperate with them.
When the sun rose, the two thousand soldiers of Hermes Brigade took the small and medium-sized Galley and sailed to the nearest small fishing village. Naval warships did not participate in the transportation work. They were distributed in the nearby waters as the periphery of the transportation fleet. Barrier. The sea breeze was warm, neat paddles stretched out from both sides of Galley, and it rushed towards the simple fishing boat dock ahead. There were hundreds of Marines soldiers standing nearby to maintain order, as well as some local people watching the excitement.
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Drive away the Latin barbarians!"
Amid the cheers of the people, the leading soldiers jumped off the Landing Craft. The water was up to their knees. The soldiers stepped on the soft sand and dragged the Landing Craft ashore. The Landing Craft carried prefabricated wooden boards and iron nails.
Later, they will build a dock for small and medium-sized Galley to berth, and then drag the Field Gun carried by Galley ashore to provide fire support for the landing troops.
The sun gradually rose, and a steady stream of troops crossed the narrow sea. At nine o'clock in the morning, Hermes Brigade completed the crossing, followed closely by Dragon Cavalry Brigade.
In order to pursue transportation speed, they only carried Harness Horse and 200 war horses this time. The role of Harness Horse was to tow artillery, and the war horses were distributed to officers and messengers. Most of the Dragoons did not have war horses and acted as the most common musketry infantry.
At 11 o'clock in the morning, a total of 6,000 soldiers landed ashore. Military Tribune of the Varangian Legion was the highest commander of this operation. He convened a meeting of two brigade commanders and battalion commanders to plan the next march route:
"The total distance from the northwest coast to Chalkis in the middle is nearly fifty miles. There are ten castles and three towns in the entire area. We need to clear the strongholds near the road to prevent the enemy from disturbing the supply routes.
Based on the information given by the public, these castles are in disrepair and the three inland towns only have wooden walls. Nine-Pounder Cannon is enough to cope..."
After the meeting, the officers ordered each unit to continue resting until all Field Guns were towed ashore.
... At noon, Hermes Brigade was heading inland, followed closely by Dragon Cavalry Brigade, and a small number of Militia that had just landed.
The terrain in the northwest of the island is relatively flat. The army marched along the ancient roads that have been in disrepair. Mountain Infantry was scattered in the outer area, alert to the ambush of the Venice army.
"It's such a hot weather, much hotter than Ryazan Principality."
Boranov marched on the right side of the queue, raising the backs of their hands to wipe sweat from time to time. Every time they passed a village, they always attracted onlookers and cheers from local residents. Some children jumped into the team, pretending that they were also members of the Rome army.
Suddenly, an eleven or twelve-year-old boy raised his head and asked this tall officer wearing a light yellow leather jacket, with a square face and light red hair and beard, "Are you Tuna Legion?"
"No."
The boy continued to ask, "Attica Legion? Varangian Legion? Or the newly established Field Legion? Uh, what is it called?"
Boranov's tone was a little helpless, "This is Dragon Cavalry Brigade, the front is Hermes Brigade, and the back is Militia."
The next moment, the children booed in disappointment, complaining that the emperor looked down on the people of Euboea and actually sent some miscellaneous troops to recover this place instead of the most loyal and reliable Field Legion.
The young man followed the team for a certain distance, but still did not leave, "You are Dragoons, why don't you have mounts, but are traveling like ordinary infantry?"
Before Boranov could answer, the boy was called away by his companions and ran to watch the heavy Harness Horse and artillery behind the team, ignoring these musketry infantry who called themselves "cavalry".
Not far away, reporters from "Roman Monthly" and "Golden Horn News" were busy. Someone was interviewing local villagers, focusing on the brutal rule of the Venice people. Someone was sitting on the grass, skillfully drawing sketches with charcoal strips. The core is the marching Rome soldiers, as well as Beta Flag and Double-Headed Eagle Flag held high by the flag bearers. On both sides of the road are endless wheat fields, and at the front is an evil castle hanging the Venice flag...
At five o'clock in the afternoon, a small town appeared in front of the road. Third Battalion, where Boranov was located, received the order and quickly outflanked South Gate in the town to prevent the defenders from escaping.
Before this, the mercenaries in the town had always thought that Rome soldiers had landed at Chalcis, and it was still safe here. Now a large group of soldiers suddenly appeared outside the city, frightening them into chaos.
Seeing the artillery being loaded, the morale of the mercenaries collapsed quickly, urging the officers to leave the city for negotiations. As long as the other side guaranteed personal freedom and personal property, the mercenaries were willing to surrender immediately.
After a short negotiation, witnessed by the chaplain accompanying the army and local clergy, the mercenaries gradually walked to the open space outside the city, handed over their weapons and armor, and obeyed the victor's disposal obediently.
"Is this the end?"
Boranov extinguished the match rope, ordered the soldiers to unload the tents from the carriage and camp outside the town.
In the next few days, he discovered a phenomenon worthy of attention:
The town defenders were mercenaries, and their will to resist was extremely low. The castle defenders had a relatively resolute attitude. Even under artillery fire, some people still persisted in resisting in the ruins until the last moment of their lives.
"If you guessed correctly, they are the descendants of Crusaders in 1204. The Crusaders nobles at that time divided Euboea into numerous feudal territories. More than two hundred years later, these Latins made Euboea their ancestral property."
Boranov has not experienced the war to recover Achaea, Cyprus, Attica, and Epirus, but he has read military textbooks and related war records. Especially The situation in Beia is the same as that of these territories, and it will inevitably face the same problems during the recovery. However, the protective performance of such old castles is insufficient. Even if all the Latin nobles insist on resisting, the impact will still be limited. The era of Latin Knights is over.