Varangian

by Griff Hosker

  “Thank you Droungarios. Did you lose many men?”

  “Twenty but that is a small price for over a hundred of their warriors lie dead and others will carry wounds but the biggest injury will be to their pride and their confidence. They rode here to flick us away like bothersome flies but instead they have a bloody nose. If we can make it to the town in the next day then I think we will have achieved all that could have been expected of us. And you? Many losses?”

  “Eight dead and three wounded but they are grievous losses for they cannot be replaced. The Saxon Housecarl is no more. When we die we are the last.”

  He looked crestfallen. “I did not know.” He watched as they began making the pyre for the dead. “They do not look sad.”

  “No they are not for their comrades had died in a shield wall with a sword in their hand fulfilling their oath to the strategos. When they are burned their spirits will rise to join all the other Housecarls who fell before them.”

  The camp was made defensible and we all ate a meal which was hot and which was enlivened by each man’s tale of their own part in the skirmish. Eric could have made many songs up. I sat with Ridley and Aidan while Andronikos went round his men and horses to see how many would be fit for the last part of journey. “They did well today.”

  “Aye Aelfraed, especially as we had not had time to allocate the places.”

  “I do not understand my lord. Why does it matter where a man stands? Surely any place is good enough for a man to die?”

  “Explain Ridley.”

  “You see Aidan I stand to the right of Aelfraed because my shield can defend his right side; prevent others from attacking that side. The man to Aelfraed’s left does not need to be as skilled for Aelfraed will protect him. The best warriors stand where we stood but the next in skill stand on the far right. There you need your most dependable men, men who will not panic; for, if the right falls, then the line folds up and we all die.”

  “Ah. And it is normal for infantry to charge cavalry?”

  I laughed, “Good point and the answer is no but if the horses are tired and you have a slope then yes, you can charge. You choose your moment well. But we will not be so lucky the next time for they will bring archers and foot. The combination of all three means we have to stand and take our punishment. When we do that your skills will be more in demand.”

  Aidan had shown great skill as a healer. The main army boasted doctors but we were just a detachment and did not merit one. Still the few wounds we had sustained would soon heal. Andronikos joined us. “The men are in good spirits. The Normans are a force that, before today, my men feared. They have now seen they can be beaten.”

  “I have said many times that a cavalryman without a horse is easy prey. Your men should shoot the horses.”

  “I know but it goes against the grain for a horseman to deliberately kill a horse.”

  I held up the piece of meat I was chewing. “I don’t know why, this meat tastes good!”

  Andronikos shook his head, “I am learning much on this journey Englishman.”

  We rose early knowing that we were within half a day of our destination. The cavalry were spread out in a thin screen well ahead of us for we pushed on hard the men buoyed by their success. Andronikos himself brought us the news that we were less than a mile from the hill which lay to the south of the main road into Ankara. He had placed scouts there and he told us we would be there within the hour. I was relieved as I had dreaded another encounter with the Normans. We had surprised them the first time, the second time they would be warier had I been Roussel I would have sent out a stronger force to deal with us but it seems he had been too busy or deemed us too insignificant for him to bother with. I wondered what the survivors had reported. I suspected we were a dilemma to their leaders, what Saxons were doing in Asia and he delayed; whatever the reason I would not look this gift horse in the mouth.

  We still had plenty of fresh horsemeat and cooked horsemeat so I put the men to digging a ditch while others cut down small trees to make a rampart to surround us. I made it big enough for all one thousand of us and horses. Alexios was following us but he would not do the journey in four days. I suspected we would have at least five days to hold until they arrived. Aidan found a small spring which we used to fill the water skins and we had the three things vital to our survival: drink, food and protection.

  Andronikos rode up to us. “I will keep half of my men on patrol and I have sent a Kontoubernion to the walls of the city to spy out the land.”

  By the time night fell we had a ditch, albeit shallow yet and we had the ramparts up. Andronikos had returned with his men. They had suffered eight losses when they went too close to the walls and archers sortied after them but they were able to report many banners on the walls and the ramparts filled with men. Our presence had alerted them; so Roussel had assumed that we were the vanguard of a larger army. What he did not know was that we were an isolated group and he could have swatted us away easily had he not been cautious. It was a good sign and bode well for the coming campaign.

  The next day the cavalry continued to act as a screen with half of them resting ready for night sentry duty. Ridley and I organised the shield wall and wedge and we practised what we knew would be crucial in the coming days moving from one to the other quickly. Aidan had been standing at the rear during the battle and had seen which warriors took charge; he identified them and I gathered the five of them around me.

  “You all distinguished yourselves the other day and I will reward you. You are all Kentarches.”

  They all beamed happily. Unlike serving a lord it meant more money and a better uniform. “Cnut, you will stand on the right of the front rank. Egbert, the right of the second and Edward the right of the third. Ethelred you will stand on the left of the first rank and William to the rear of the three lines.” They all knew that each position demanded different skills and they were all pleased in their own way. “The Komes and I will be in the centre. You will need to organise the warriors near you. I would do this but I barely know you.” I looked each of them in the eye. “Know this. I have given all of you promotion which means I trust you. But we are Saxons and I know the oath you took to the strategos will mean you will behave well.”

  Cnut shook his head, “We took no oath. We were hired to fight.”

  I shook my head. “Saxons fighting for money are not Housecarls. We must have an oath.”

  William looked at the others and then at me. “We could swear an oath to you my lord and that would be more binding than gold.”

  I pondered that. What would the strategos think? I turned to Aidan. “How would that sit with the strategos, Aidan?”

  He laughed, “They have no concept of an oath. Their loyalty is not to the man but the office. When an Emperor dies a new one receives the same support, “he paused, “so long as he lives.”

  I looked at each face. They all nodded. “Then let us make an oath.”

  The horse archers were bemused as my men all chanted their oath, cut their palms and shook hands with me.”

  Andronikos came over afterwards and said, “It seemed a little barbaric to me but your men all took it seriously. What is the point of it?”

  Aidan answered, “It means they will never leave the battle field before their lord, even if he is dead.”

  “But that means they would all die with him.”

  I nodded, “As did the Housecarls of my father at Senlac Hill when the finest Housecarls ever, died to a man protecting their lord’s body.”

  Chapter 8

  The army of Alexios Comnenus snaked its way along the road. We could see them from miles away as they raised a huge cloud of dust. From our forward positions we could see the towers of the city and knew that they too would be able to witness this mighty army. Having seen what constituted a Norman patrol I suspected that we would be outnumbered but the one thing I had noticed about the Byzantine army was that it was well equipped and disciplined. The Normans thought they were well discipl
ined but, as their attack against us had shown, they were not. The strategos and Nicephorus rode up the hill to greet us. Andronikos had sent back regular reports and they knew the situation.

  The strategos was beaming when he dismounted and he embraced Andronikos and me. “I have made at least two worthy appointments. Well done.” He held me at arm’s length and looked up into my face. “So is it true you charged cavalry on foot?”

  I shrugged modestly, “It seemed the right thing to do.”

  Nicephorus shook his head. “I should like to have seen that and I hear you slew over a hundred of their men.”

  I waved my arm at Andronikos, “We slew over a hundred. It was a good combination of horse and foot working together.”

  Alexios nodded, “Which is the Byzantine way but it seems Saxons learn quickly.”

  The Byzantine engineers set to work making defences for the siege lines. We were observers but it was fascinating to watch. They used huge shields such as we had against the Pechengs to protect the men who dug the deep ditches and then placed the excavated soil as a barrier. The shields were then buried in the mound to provide an instant wall. Next they began to build the siege machines which had been brought by wagon and were assembled. All the while Andronikos’ cavalry provided a screen to deter any sorties from the city but Roussel seemed happy enough to watch from within and bide his time. As soon as the ditch was dug then Andronikos bade us farewell as he and his cavalry left to surround the far side of the city and prevent reinforcements raising the siege or the escape of any of those inside the city.

  For the next four days our role was that of an interested spectator. The siege engines were built and they began to hurl their missiles at the gates and the walls. The strategos was a cautious man and he did not wish to waste his men’s lives; here men were expensive while at home the poor fyrd were thrown into battle like chaff in the wind. Eventually I was summoned to the command tent. By now my Greek was passable and becoming better each day. Ridley had not made such progress and I left Aidan with him to improve my friend’s skills.

  “Ah Aelfraed. I think we are ready to begin the assault. Nicephorus, his second in command was with him and they had a model of the town built in the tent. “We are going to use a ram here.” He pointed to the gate. The archers from the Thema will cover the walls but I want a shield wall around them.” I nodded. I suspected more was expected of us than human shields. “When the ram has penetrated the gate you and your men will force an entry supported by the archers. As soon as you have control of the gate then we will send the rest in.”

  I nodded and looked at the plan. “What of this gate?” There was a gate on the opposite side of the city.

  “Andronikos and his men guard there.”

  “When we attacked the Normans in Jorvik many escaped through the gate which was furthest away from the gate we were attacking. Normans and Franks do not like to fight on foot. I would position some heavier armed men there.”

  Nicephorus pointed at the gate. “My cataphracts are of no use in an assault. I will support the archers.”

  “Good. Prepare your men. We will attack as soon as it is dark.” That made sense for our numbers would be hidden. The men were excited as I briefed them. “Leave your spears and cloaks here we will not need them. This will be axe work. I will lead the first wedge. Egbert will lead the second and, if we need it, Edward the third. Once we are inside we have to secure the gate. My wedge will form the shield wall while the others secure the entrance.

  We followed the ram out of our defences. The onagers were still hurling rocks to weaken the gate. Once the ram reached the gate they would shift their aim to the walls. “Keep your shields up. I want no dozy bugger peeping over the top!” Ridley and I led the men in two columns. We were better protected and I felt confident that we would reach the allotted position without injury. The archers on the walls concentrated their missiles at the ram and that allowed us to get closer than I had hoped. Night had cloaked us well. The Komes with the archers said, “Here is good.”

  “Shield wall!”

  We quickly formed three ranks. I dropped to my knees and felt the reassuring presence of a shield behind my head. With three rows of shield the archers were as protected as well as possible. Flight after flight flew over our head and then it became more sporadic as the archers chose their targets. We could hear the steady beat of the ram striking the heavy wooden gate. To those inside it must have seemed like the sound of a coffin lid being hammered shut for the gate was giving. A figure emerged from the back of the ram and I saw a white hand waved in the dark. It was nearly time.

  “Front rank! Wedge. Egbert take charge of the rest.”

  We formed a wedge almost instantly and I set off at a trot. The first two hundred paces would be the hardest. I had my shield held before me and my axe in one hand. The rowing and hauling the boat up the portages had built up my muscles and I could, for a short period, use the axe one handed. It meant I could still protect myself. The brave men in the ram heard our feet thundering and they pushed their ram through the shattered gates. If we were slow then the unarmoured men would be slaughtered. That would not happen. I could hear their screams as the defenders fell upon them but then we were there. I saw a knight raise his mace to strike a cowering soldier and Death Bringer struck to cleave his head and arm from his body. The grateful soldier ran out of the gate to safety. “Shield wall. The wedge was unnecessary as there was no force to meet us. The defenders were now pouring along in ones and twos. I heard Egbert leading the men behind up the stairs and the shouts, screams and clash of weapons as they took the gate. The men before us seemed in no hurry to attack us and I moved us towards them. “Forwards!”

  The effect was two fold, firstly more of Edward’s men could fill in behind us and the enemy retreated, actually, to be accurate most of them routed. The enemy melted before us and our deadly blades. When we finally captured Roussel’s capital we found out that the stories of our defeat of the Normans had been exaggerated but none were brave enough to try us. For us it was the end of the fighting. We had no blood lust for we had lost no-one and the defenders surrendered. It seemed strange to us until one soldier told us that Roussel and his knights had fled when the gate was assaulted. I just hoped that Nicephorus had been there to capture him!

  That night we ate well and slept well for we were inside the city. The strategos did not extract vengeance on the people for Roussel had deserted them. We ate, with the other commanders, in the Governor’s magnificent dining room. We were all in a good humour until an irate and angry Nicephorus stormed into the room, drank off a small jug of wine and then slumped into the empty seat we had left for him. There was a silence and then he seemed to see us for the first time. He jumped to his feet and gave a short bow to Alexios. “Apologies, strategos. They escaped.” He nodded to me. “You were right Aelfraed. They did come out but there were over two thousand of them and, although we killed many, they out ran us in the dark. We had too few to pursue. I ordered Andronikos to follow them with a bandon. I have retained the rest.”

  “At least you killed some and where will he go?” We now know that he has less than two thousand men. Once he has been found we will take the Thema and the Saxons with your cataphracts and defeat him. We will not need the siege engines again.”

  Nicephorus relented a little and actually smiled. Alexios was a good leader who was always calm. I never played him at chess but I suspect he would have been as good as Aethelward, if not better. However he was wrong. We did need the siege engines but by then they were two hundred and fifty miles away, still in Ankara. We left the siege engineers and a detachment of the Thema to manage the city and we loaded our war gear into the wagons and set off in pursuit of Roussel. We were a hundred and fifty miles from Ankara when a weary Andronikos reached us. “He has gone to Amasya.”

  Nicephorus and Alexios exchanged a troubled look. “Perhaps the people will eject him.”

  “No strategos. I followed him to the city walls and the pe
ople there have made him governor.”

  “What is the problem my lord? We just do as we did in Ankara.”

  Alexios smiled and Nicephorus shook his head. “Amasya is on a high mountain and the approach is difficult. It would be very costly to assault. In addition to that there is access to the sea so that he could escape there and cause us more trouble. No, this problem needs a little more thought but at least we know where we are going now.”

  “Should I send for the siege train?”

  “No Nicephorus, we need to strike quickly and the siege train would take over a week to reach us here and we are still only half way there. We will see what our minds can come up with.”

  As we trudged north along the dusty road I now understood my uncle a little more. I had assumed that he had been merely fighting in the east but he had been learning from the Strategoi who sometimes use other strategies to obtain their ends. The Norns were still weaving and had not forgotten me here in the mystic east; now, at last, all of my training was coming into play.

  After a couple more days on the road we saw the high citadel rising above us. I could now see what Alexios meant. Even without the local garrison the Norman could rain destruction down upon us as we struggled up the single road. It would take cunning to affect an entry this time. We made camp at the bottom of the road leading to the city. There were mounted guards at the head of the road but we knew we could chase them away when we needed to. Alexios ordered a fortified camp and we held a meeting to decide what to do. Aidan was present although my Greek was now adequate for such meetings.

  Alexios began, “We need to make the people throw him out.”

  “You mean throw him out to us rather than letting him escape.”

  “Quite, Nicephorus and the question is why would the people do that?”

  No-one had an answer. I spoke up after a few moments thought. “You say they love him.” Andronikos nodded. “Then we must make them fear us even more.”