Receiving his orders, Ivar drew his men together, reformed the ranks, and turned north to strike at the Frankish main force where Charles the Bald held command.
Ivar's unit — the spearhead of the campaign — numbered a thousand armored men. He himself wore a cuirass sewn with plated scales over a layer of mail, and, with his iron helm, the total weight of his armor came to an astonishing fifty jin — roughly twenty-five kilograms.
Under the gray wolf banner the heavy infantry marched with ponderous, inexorable steps toward the Frankish shield wall. After a short, sharp clash, the Frankish line began to withdraw northward of its own accord.
By instinct Ivar did not try to smash through in a single, reckless burst. He pressed steadily, driving the enemy back, inch by measured inch, toward the banks of the Seine.
