| “ | You're not my brother, you never have been. One of us will die today. | ” |
–Ragnar to Rollo, The Last Ship | ||
The Second Siege of Paris is a decisive military engagement that is part of the Norse Invasion of Frankia. It depicts the confrontation between the Viking Army led by Ragnar and the Kingdom of West Francia. The event takes place in Season 4 Episode 10, The Last Ship.
Prelude
Coming soon...
The Battle
The battle begins upon the arrival of the Norse fleet. They are countered by a Frankish fleet. Ragnar had already planned the attack as he disposed many men inside huge rafts destined to have a certain advantage upon the Frankish army. The battle begins as Bjorn orders his archers to engage the enemy with 4 lines of archers. The Frankish reply with their crossbowmen and inflict moderate casualties to the Vikings. The Vikings use flamed arrows to inflict more damage to the Frankish soldiers. The first line of 12 to 15 ships sent by Rollo advances and soon Frankish soldiers emerge out of the boats to engage the enemy. A bloody battle then rages on, which slowly turns to the advantage of the Vikings. The Vikings cheer at this early victory, while a soldier advises Rollo to break off the attack, telling him that they already had sustained considerable losses. Rollo kills him suddenly and installs courage to his soldiers by improvising a speech which immediately has the effect on his soldiers. The remaining Frankish ships goes on an all-out attack the Vikings. Rollo tells his soldiers that they will try wave after wave to kill Ragnar and to win this decisive battle. Bjorn awaits him fiercely while Ragnar knows his brother's plan to attack with great force. The Vikings meet the incoming Frank soldiers with a volley of devastating arrows, while soldiers come pouring out of the boats. Lagertha and Bjorn join the battle and the Franks attack with great resolve, concentrating on the rafts holding the Viking leaders. The rafts are submerged by the intensity of the battle, which rages on between the two sides. The Vikings seemingly use their shield wall technique to fight back the Franks. Rollo joins the fight to confront Ragnar, who angrily declares that he has never been his brother. The battle continues to rage on around the two as it comes to a fist fight between brothers, which is indecisive. Lagertha is injured, stabbed next to her shoulder by a Frankish soldier, while Floki manages to fight off a soldier who had slightly wounded him near the stomach. Halfdan takes a bolt in his chest, which causes his brother Harald to attack more fiercely. The Franks and the Vikings both suffer heavy losses, but as more and more of the Viking leaders are injured or forced to retreat, the Franks gain the initiative. Bjorn carries Lagertha's body on the boat while Ragnar is pulled by his warriors onto the boat, seemingly ending the battle; although the Franks have lost far more men, they have succeeded in forcing the Vikings to retreat. The Franks cheer in joy as they see the Vikings leave in disarray.
Aftermath
The Viking defeat proved to be a critical blow to King Ragnar's pride, who ultimately went into self imposed upon his return and left the throne of Kattegat to be occupied by his wife, Queen Aslaug. Perhaps his most terrible defeat, the once proud and strong King Ragnar never reached again the summit of his power. His defeat emboldened his opponents and former said allies, King Harald notably, who sought to become King of Norway by taking the now prosperous city of Kattegat.
Trivia
- The first and second siege of Paris were forty years apart not one as portrayed in the show.
- In the Second Siege of Paris by the Vikings, Rollo was the besieger rather than the protector.