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Chapter 6
Roose Bolton
As he stared at the marching Lannisters, Roose couldn't help but reminisce about the day before he was sent with his army.
-FLASHBACK-
"Tell me, Lord Bolton." The young Stark's voice was ice cold, as always. "Why do you think I put you in charge of the second army?" He asks.
"I do not know my lord." But he had his suspicions, of course.
"It is because you can think beyond what is in front of you." He responds. "Many other men that follow me, experienced men who led many others, itch for battle, for glory, and for victory." He explains. "I have no need for those, what I need to lead the army is someone calculating, pragmatist, who understands the calculus of life. And I believe you are that person."
Bolton stays silent, yet Robb does not care.
"The day I met Howland Reed in Moat Cailin, I have charged the man with sending 200 crannogmen to lead another 800 of our levies with experience in professions that employ stealth." He says. "Weeks before we had reached the Twins, those men had already traversed the Green Fork, sneaking under the twins using barges covered with large, dark drapes. Those men should have reached Fairmarket, by now."
Roose's eyes widen in surprise, if what he says is true, then there is an advance force already present in the Riverlands carrying his orders. Simply 500 outriders led by the Mountain, were able to create chaos, Bolton couldn't imagine how much 1000 men –even if without horses- can do.
"As you well know, Fairmarket lays in the Blue Fork, and only the 800 hundred men are set to reinforce and renovate the town, and most importantly, its bridge. The remaining crannogmen are set to prepare for your arrival and to prepare however they can." He says. "I have sought to inform you of their capabilities and hope you'd make good use of them…"
What was left of the conversation was enlightening, to say the least.
-FLASHBACK END-
"They are marching on us, my Lord." Spoke Wylis Manderly from his side.
Roose nods. "Tell the men to begin."
"Of course." The Manderly heir, who acted as his aide and right hand man throughout his stint as commander, was a capable man, who while simply above average in combat prowess and tactics, had an aptly quick mind when it comes to strategy and logistics. His presence alone must have lowered their time to march by days, giving them further time to prepare.
Roose ignored the buglers trumpets as he thought on the plan.
He had arrayed their forces like so:
Their forces consisted of, simply put, mostly infantry.
15000 footmen and roughly 500 mounted ones, clearly not enough to win against Lord Tywin's forces.
And so, using what the young Stark's suggested, he aimed to create a situation where the least amount of casualties is achieved, yet makes the Lannisters bleed heavily.
He arrayed his forces against the river, making for juicy bait, and separated the infantry in three half circles (uneven ones, those are but levies, after all) arrayed around himself, naturally, at the vanguard were the mostly untrained ones, some 2000, set to retreat and scramble at the slightest opportunity, they would make the Lannister forces most eager to attack.
Second, were the undesirables, mostly Lord Frey's forces, the Dustin's (what little they proved to give), and minor lords and knights who proved too belligerent, who counted almost 5000, finally, there were his, the Ryswell's, the Manderly's, and the rest's force in a clumped ball, stood close enough to the flowing river to hear its flow, with himself being not even a foot away.
It was not Roose's preferred method, not only would he have preferred to put more… essential people in danger's way (it would behoove him if he were more valuable to his young lord.), but the plan –even if ingenious- carried a lot of unwanted risk.
But as he stared at the crannogmen arrayed around him –Young Lord's orders, apparently- he was sure that they were put to keep an eye on him, and if he overreached his way, to kill him. Would they blow a poisonous dart? Sneak into his quarters at night? He hadn't the slightest idea, but those crannogmen can be the sneakiest shits around, no one can predict how they can silently murder you.
But he digresses, he could notice the Lannister army getting dangerously close, they had marched sideways –a testament to their discipline- in order to push them more efficiently into the river.
"Their left flank seems awfully unorganized." Bolton noticed which Wylis nodded his head in agreement.
It became very obvious once he saw them march, groups of men would slowly inch away from the clump, absentmindedly going their own way, and as they got closer he noticed their disorganized equipment.
"Definitely a trap." Spoke Harrion Karstark from his other side. "It rankles me that we aren't to join the battle." He complains.
"Glory will come." Medger Cerwyn was soft spoken, yet no less of a warrior. "Let our other half get to it first." He advised, much to the Karstark's chagrin.
Yet their conversation was cut short by shouts of battle, and screams of their own soldiers.
Wylis shrugs. "I believe it is time." He says. "Should we get to it, Lord Bolton?"
Bolton nods, turning to the river. "Let's."
In the river were a series of barges, the same ones used to smuggle the soldiers in advance, connected through ropes, and the ropes to wood spikes piercing the ground, to make for a makeshift bridge.
These barges were relatively small, so they only had a width of 12 feet, yet three were put next to each other, making for roughly 36 feet of walking space, the river was also quite wide, so all in all these barges could hold a total of 1700 men at once.
Temporarily, of course. As Roose stepped down from the last ship into the other side, he saw that some wooden supports were already trembling from exertion.
"Strengthen the supports; we don't want our men falling into the river." The Green Fork at this point didn't flow strong, yet its waters were deep. A man in armor cannot swim in those conditions and cannot help but drown.
Their horses had already been placed on the other side, so Roose and company simply mounted them and made sure to make space for the coming men.
The panic caused by the Lannisters mostly helped their plan come into fruition, their men's haste caused many to fall on the way, which is sad, yet their desperation clearly caused the enemy to be eager in battle lust.
Even from across the river, he could hear the miserable screams of dying men, and the triumphant ones of newly made killers.
Roose helped himself to a tiny smile; the brat's plan seems to work splendidly.
Their last were getting close to begin crossing, so Bolton signaled for the archers to begin themselves.
Their army hadn't many archers, some 500 mix of hunters by profession and simple levies equipped with crossbows and taught a crash course into its usage, yet when your target scours the horizon, it becomes difficult to miss.
The Lannister men were but 300 feet over the river, and had covered the entirety of its opposing side, yet they only had one entry point, the series of barges stabilized by unstable wood, a makeshift bridge that they charged into mindlessly. Some of them attempted to swim across, but quickly learned otherwise.
That behavior was exasperated by his archers, whom were ordered to loose freely on the flanks of the bridge but not toward it, their targets fell in droves, some did manage to shield themselves, and those that survived either attempted to flee backward, getting pushed back by their own men, or they fled sideways, and much like water flowed toward a hole in the ground, those men headed to the barges.
At this point all their forces had already crossed or were left for dead, and their enemies were slowly crossing themselves, only to be met by a wall of his own fresh, unharmed pikemen.
'At this state.' Roose wondered. 'It isn't us who will declare the end of the battle, the sooner the Lannisters retreat the better for the enemy forces.'
And so he and the other noblemen simply watched ahorse as Lannister men fell upon their swords.
"They must be hoping for a breach!" Karstark jovially spoke.
"A breach they shall not have, our men are relatively untrained, yet they have the advantage in position and their spirits are renewed, this battle is won." Cerwyn and Karstark seemed to have established a dynamic at this point, and the former seemed to smile at the first's concertation. "Yet I must reluctantly agree, why are they not retreating?"
"The Old Lion of Casterly Rock cannot bear to retreat in his first battle against us northerners, misguided pride is my guess." Wylis wagered. "Anyhow, shall we send the reserves for Fairmarket? I'd wager they won't be needed anymore."
As if by the grace of the Old Gods, the floating body of a man filled with arrows floated into one of the barge's lines, causing the whole thing to collapse, taking down with it all the men stood atop it.
More than a thousand were lost for the Lannisters in a single moment, and so Roose made the signal for his infantry to make way.
The cavalry shall sweep the rabble away.