12 Raining Blood

"Lord, the Swedish army is besieging Riga, lots of infantry, cavalry no more than 3000 and maybe 50 cannons." (Soldier)

"This is what I expected, watch their movements discreetly. They will probably send some cavalry troops to check the area ... The rest of the people on the horse and we move north towards Pärnu." (MC)

It was the best I could do right now. The Swedish army was near Riga, but some of their supplies still remained in Pärnu... We covered 150 kilometers in two days, we moved away from busy roads, and if it was possible we walked through forests, after a night of rest, we approached the city.

Everything looked normal, the carts and people were driving in and out of the city, I didn't see any Swedish soldiers either ... the only thing that was out of the ordinary are the Swedish warships that were in the port... I thought maybe I would sneak into the city and start fires, but I abandoned the idea, too much of a risk, and the effects may be less than I would like ... in this situation, all we had to do was wait for the right opportunity.

Two days later, eight wagons left the city, 80 infantry soldiers accompanied them as guards, the squad consisted entirely of musketeers and pikemen. The perfect target for my attack, we got on our horses and followed the Swedes, to be sure we kept the distance of two kilometers. Three hours later, the Swedes ordered a short stop.

I waited a moment longer ... Some of the Swedish soldiers started lighting fires, others were feeding the horses by the carts.

"This is our moment ... Attack!" (MC)

It could not be called a battle, a hundred cavalrymen rode into the unexpected enemy camp. Those who were lucky were killed by sabers, those unlucky ones were trampled by horses. I saw one of the soldiers fall to the ground, and a moment later the horse stepped on his chest ... blood flowed out through his mouth and nose. Near me, a group of Swedes grabbed their muskets and tried to resist us. I moved my horse towards them and ran among the surprised soldiers ... turning my horse around, I hit everyone who was within range of my saber... One of the opponents tried to hit me with a berdish, but I deflected his punch and hit him with a saber in the face ... cutting off his lower jaw. From what I saw my people were doing well too, of course it was not without casualties. A few Swedes stabbed one of my men with their pikes, another was shot by a musket. However, the surprise attack and the horses allowed us to dominate the battlefield. Half an hour later, the fighting was over ... I gave my next orders immediately.

"Tie the prisoners, kill the wounded, collect weapons and check the contents of the carts." (MC)

Two hours later, Ensign Olszewski gave me a battle report. We managed to catch 32 live Swedes, eight carts, 16 horses, 40 pikes and 40 muskets, but there were also some damaged ones. The carts contained mainly food and clothes, and only one cart contained gunpowder, 15 barrels of 10 kg each.

Our losses were not large, only five killed and eight wounded, but a few days of rest and they will be able to continue fighting.

"Lord, what are your next orders?" (Ensign Olszewski)

"Hang the dead on the trees, let the ravens eat well. Search the bodies for any documents, you can keep all valuables, and strip the captives naked." (MC)

"What about wagons, weapons and horses?" (Ensign Olszewski)

"Of course, we will return some of the food carts to Swedes... although I do not know if they will like it" (MC)

I was going to spoil Gustaw Adolf's mood ... after all my orders had been carried out, I ordered all the prisoners to be gathered and I spoke to them in German ... if they did not know the language, it was not my fault.

"I suppose neither of you wants to be here ... and neither do I. Therefore, I assure you that you will soon return to your homes and to your families ... but if I send you to Gustav Adolf, he will put you back into the army. He's a bad man... to avoid this and fulfill your dream, I will have to hurt you ... but you don't have to thank me." (MC)

Judging by the shouts and insults about me, several of the prisoners knew the German language ... they would be able to explain to their companions that I was doing them a big favor.

"Olszewski!" (MC)

"Lord?" (Ensign Olszewski)

"Throw the iron into the fire and when it warms up well ... each of the prisoners is to have their eyes burnt, their right hand cut off, and their tongues too." (MC)

"But you said they would come back home?" (Ensign Olszewski)

"Of course they will return ... the army does not need blind, one-armed mute soldiers ... are you reluctant to obey such an order?" (MC)

"No" (Ensign Olszewski)

"Then why are you still standing here?" (MC)

Moments later, several berdish and sabers were put into the fire ... The execution took longer than the entire battle, several Swedes died, many lost consciousness, they shouted, begged for mercy and cried ... because of them I could not eat my meal in peace.

I ordered a few barrels of fish to be emptied and the severed hands and tongues placed in them, then the barrels were loaded onto a cart, to which I harnessed the captives instead of horses, and sent them to Riga.

I was not sure if they would get there, but maybe they would be lucky... but I arranged for them to be released from the army. They also have to try a little themselves.

Now I had to think about the next moves, although my first battle was a success, its meaning was nothing ... The Swedes would not even feel the loss of 80 men.