On October 21, 1498, when the European autumn harvest was in full swing, Marin led the army and first arrived at the easternmost island of Schiermonnick.
It is already very close to East Frisia, but even so, there is a distance of nearly 50 kilometers from the pier on the east side of Schiermonnick to Krumhorn.
But in this era, the speed of sailing boats is very low, generally the highest is only seven or eight knots, that is, thirteen or fourteen kilometers per hour, and this is still in the case of tailwind.
But fortunately, the Wadden Sea is in the prevailing westerly belt. Therefore, Marin's fleet went to Crumhorn, and it happened to be a smooth journey. In the evening, Marin's army had re-boarded the ship, and then began to set sail.
Using the legendary rope speed measurement method, Marin found that the speed was as high as 7 knots, which is close to 13 kilometers per hour. So, nearly four hours later, the fleet approached Krumhorn.
At this time, there was only faint moonlight in the sky. Because the moon on this day is only a crescent moon, so the moonlight is very weak. Moreover, it seems that it will fall in the middle of the night.
Marin looked at the "pocket watch" which was about the size of an alarm clock, and found that it was already 11 o'clock in the middle of the night. On the shore at this time, Marin saw someone waving three torches—that was the signal agreed between Sauer and Marin.
This shows that Sauer and the others have long controlled the small fishing village of Krumhearn. Fearing that someone would leave the fishing village to report to Emden, Marin had arranged for Sauer to lurk into East Frisia with his scouting troops.
On the appointed night, Marin asked Sauer's scouts to control the two avenues leading to the outside world from Krumhearn. After finishing the control, just wait by the sea.
Sauer quietly controlled the road outside the village as early as 9 o'clock in the evening, and knocked out the night watchman arranged in the fishing village. Then, he asked 30 of his men to monitor the village, while he kept looking at the sea with a telescope...
Finally, around 11 o'clock midnight, Sauer saw the shadows of ships in groups on the sea... Obviously, this is the arrival of Marin's fleet. Because it is impossible for other fleets to have so many ships. Moreover, in this era, no one likes to sail in the middle of the night. Even if the boat is sailing in the middle of the night, the lights on the boat are brightly lit, unlike Marin's fleet, which deliberately does not light the lights and advances only by the faint moonlight. Fortunately, on this route, Marin arranged for several captains to walk quietly many times in advance. Therefore, even with the help of the faint moonlight, they were able to avoid the sandbar and arrive safely. As for the captains who have not gone through this route, it is enough to direct the ship to follow...
After approaching Krumhearn, under the command of Marin, several large ships loaded with horses and armor approached the two pre-repaired long bridge piers. The other ships approached the shore directly and arranged to land on the beach.
As for the possibility of the ship running aground, Marin didn't care, even if it did. Because, after the ship sends the personnel ashore, the task is basically completed.
Moreover, these fishing boats loaded with people are not large, generally no more than 100 tons. After the battle, send people to push those stranded boats into the water...
Sure enough, dozens of fishing boats ran aground unfortunately. But the stranded ships are convenient for the soldiers who landed on the beach. Because, when they got off the boat, they stepped on the beach by the sea.
Because of the long-term pre-training, they rolled up their trousers skillfully, stepped on the sand, and ran to the shore...
After about two hours of busy work, all the talents completed the assembly. Then, the horses and armor were basically unloaded from the pier, and everyone began to receive their own armor according to the number on the armor...
After putting on the armor, Marin gave an order, and the 6,000 troops quickly walked along the main road, led by Sauer's scouts, to Emden City...
Because it was a rapid march, with a distance of 15 kilometers, the forward troops arrived at the city of Emden in more than 2 hours. Among them, 100 veterans of the first phalanx, Marin's most trusted, arrived in a small courtyard northeast of Emden, and began to enter the city through the tunnel.
After a while, Marin's large troops gradually approached the city of Emden...
"The order is that the first phalanx will attack the east gate of Emden, with 700 Frisian warriors as the vanguard; the second phalanx will block the north gate, prevent the enemy from escaping, and wait for an opportunity to attack the city; the third phalanx will block the west gate , to prevent the enemy from escaping, and also wait for an opportunity to attack the city; as for the fourth phalanx, go to the south of the city to seize the port and prevent any ships from escaping!"
"Yes, I understand!"
"Okay, the troops who seized the pier will set off first, and extremely demand that no ship be let go!"
"Yes!"
"The first phalanx comes with me and wait outside the east gate!" Marin ordered.
"The main force of the second phalanx, follow me to the north gate!" Schwartz ordered.
"Third team, follow me to the west gate!" Frundsberg ordered.
"Fourth phalanx, come with me!" The trainee knight Stadt of Earl Mark, who was temporarily appointed by Marin as the acting leader of the fourth phalanx, took the fourth phalanx and quickly went south to control Emden. The port went.
After arriving at their respective positions, the commanders of the one, two, and three phalanxes did not call for an attack, but waited for the south of the city...
At this time, there was no moonlight in the sky, and the light of morning had not yet arrived. Once the fourth phalanx has succeeded, they will light a fire in the direction of the pier to show that they have succeeded...
After more than an hour, a fire was raised in the direction of the pier, and the signal for the general attack was finally launched...
The 100 pioneers in the city also put on a full set of plate armor and picked up two-handed swords...
These 100 people were selected from the 400 people who followed Marin first, and they all had good physique. Wearing full-body plate armor, there is no problem in short-term combat. Moreover, the person who led the team was Marin's trustworthy brother Kahn...
Moreover, Marin didn't want to expose the authenticity to other fighters. Because, this trick Marin was afraid that others would use it against him after learning it. Therefore, there are only a small number of Marin's cronies who know the existence of the tunnel. Even the Lanxiang excavation team is a very trustworthy person for Marin.
After seeing the flames rising from the south of the city, 100 soldiers, led by Kahn, attacked the east gate...
Kahn waved his mace, and quickly smashed away several city guards who came out from the direction of the city gate, and then led people into the city gate...
Because the people of Emden had no idea that they would be attacked tonight, there were no stones, big tree stumps or other things that blocked the city gate.
So, after defeating a dozen guards guarding the city gate, Kahn successfully rushed to the back of the city gate, then took out a hammer, and violently broke the copper lock on the inside of the city gate...
After that, amidst a "creaking" sound, the East City Gate was opened by Kahn and others...
Most of the troops outside the city were a little stunned. Originally, they thought it was a strong attack, and they were all ready to climb the city wall. But they didn't see Marin preparing any ladders, nor did they bring artillery for siege.
Just when they were a little puzzled, they saw the east gate was opened. So, they suddenly realized that Master Marin had already prepared the internal response...
At Marin's order, 700 Frisian fighters, led by 200 heavily armored swordsmen, entered the city gate first and walked up the street to Emden Palace.
At this time, the garrison in the city finally reacted:
"Someone is attacking the city! Someone is attacking the city!"
"The East Gate has been forced!"
"The East Gate has been forced!"
When such a cry sounded, the sleeping people in the city were finally awakened...
At the same time, the sky has begun to gradually brighten, with a hazy color...
However, before entering the city, Marin ordered Sauer:
"You take 400 cavalry and block off all the main roads. If anyone comes, they will be detained and they will never be allowed to take the news away. In addition, send someone to the south of the city to inform Stad, and ask the soldiers to change their military uniforms and pretend to be The appearance of sailors is all over the pier, but they must carry swords. If there are foreign merchant ships calling at the port during the day, they will be detained quietly to prevent these merchant ships from bringing the news out... "
"Yes, my lord!" Saul hurriedly led the people away.
Then, Marin ordered again:
"Listen up, everyone. After entering the city, try not to set fire!" The reason for this is that Marin is afraid that the billowing smoke rising in the city will be seen by the crew on the Ems River. There was thick smoke in the city, and smart people must have imagined that there was a battle in the city, and it was easy to leak news.
After giving this order, Marin rode his horse and led the first phalanx into the city...