Strandhögg

The Strandhögg as old man Norrois was a form of combat of the Viking S, based on the espionage followed by a raid flash , kind of Commando on the coast. One of its significances possible, but nonexhaustive is " knack on sand or the plage" . Strandhögg were at the base a technique of Norwegian combat of the Vikings S, implemented when the populations met refused to supply them (1). Indeed the Norwegian Vikings did not lay out of important troops contrary to the Danish christianized, they thus privileged espionage, the diversion by the fires and the effect of surprised commandos. The exaggerations of the Christian Clergy for diaboliser the Vikings, were used in fact as dissuasion for the latter. Themselves supported readily these abominable stories on their accounts to frighten their victims which often preferred the escape rather than to face such a fear. The goal being to supply themselves, to grow rich, resist christianization with a minimum of engagements and losses.

The Vikings had since strong a long time the very developed spy networks, thanks to their many commercial counters (Vicus in Latin), which informed them about the customs and habits, dates of the Religious holidays, comprehension of the language, places to plunder and personalities to be removed and hold to ransom. It happened that Vikings achieve these raids flashes against their own compatriots Scandinave S. Harald Ier, known as Harald with the Beautiful Hair , prohibited Strandhögg on the Norwegian territory.

This strategy of combat exists since the Guerre S exist, the Vikings made a speciality of it. Strandhögg was taken again by many crack corpses military, in particular by the descendants of the Norwegian Vikings at the time of the Bataille of heavy water and by the resistant networks of . Strandhögg also strongly influenced the techniques of war of the Wehrmacht the such Blitzkrieg invented by Heinz Guderian with the whole beginning of the Second world war and which was later the tactics of reference for all the armies. However it should not be forgotten that Strandhögg formed integral part of the daily newspaper of the Scandinavians, of their lifestyle, compared to the exclusively military use of the Blitzkrieg and of its others derived.

The use of Strandhögg by the Germaniques probably goes up at the time where art to build the Drakkar S improved, but the expansion of the use came in answer to the campaigns of Charlemagne against the Noble S Saxon S and the King S from Norway (which finished with the destruction of Irminsul).

(1) source according to Pierre Barthelemy in his book “Vikings” ISBN2-226-03257-6 editions Albin Michel

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