Varangian

by Griff Hosker

  “We are to head south and meet the new Emperor.” Since we had left Dyrrhachium we had travelled far to the north winkling out the last of the unruly tribes. Even had we not been recalled it was difficult to see how we could have remained on campaign for long; our weapons, armour and supplies were in need of replenishment.

  We trudged south for two days and were less than a hundred miles from Dyrrhachium when the scouts reported the presence of the Emperor. It spurred us on for we were all looking forwards to seeing the soldier who had served with us in Asia. It had only been a few months but he had made a great impression upon me. When we crested the rise and saw the camp I was amazed at the number of tents which I beheld. It seemed as though the new Emperor had brought every soldier he had. I wondered why. He could have waited for us to reach Constantinople and then greet his new commander. This suggested to me that there was trouble ahead. As we rode into the camp I was delighted to see Saxons and even more delighted when Ridley, resplendent in new armour waved at me. I wondered where he had been for the past few months but I supposed we would discover all soon. Glancing behind me at the sorry sight of the troops who followed us I felt that we looked like the remains of a defeated army rather than one which had subjugated the northern border regions. We had left many men dead on various fields and garrisoned other towns. Even had we not been recalled it is hard to see how we could have survived in the field for much longer.

  Leaving the men in the charge of their officers the three of us, looking incredibly dirty and dishevelled approached the Emperor’s tent clearly marked by the Varangian guards who stood outside. Nicephorus came out and we dropped to our knees. He came and raised us up, kissing first Alexios, then Andronikos and, finally, me on the cheeks. “Come, I owe much to you three for you have worked miracles here but come inside and take refreshment for I had dire tidings to impart.”

  Once inside his servant poured us wine and then left. “We have no time for pleasantries. You visited Dyrrhachium earlier in the year did you not?” Alexios nodded. “How were things there?”

  “There was no threat from the Normans my lord and the garrison was well equipped to deal with an attack.”

  “And therein is the heart of the problem. It was not the Normans we should have feared but the rebels.” Alexios looked as though he was going to say something but the Emperor held up his hand. “Not the truculent tribes Alexios but Nicephorus Bryennios. He has suborned the local Thema and raised his standard in Dyrrhachium.” He pointed towards the tent door. “These are the only troops we have in the west commander. I will take my Varangians back with me and you will need to defeat these rebels with what you have. The fate of the Empire is now in your hands.”

  “And now, gentlemen, I would like a few moments alone with my new commander. Thank you again for your efforts on behalf of the Empire. We are grateful.” I began to leave but he held my arm. “Thank you Aelfraed Godwinson for Ridley has told me it was your decision to capture the fort and had it not been for the prompt attack then my niece would now be dead. I am in your debt.” He smiled. “Your friend is both loyal and a powerful advocate on your behalf.”

  When we left Ridley came up and picked me up in a bear hug. The soldiers who waited around the camp were amazed. “I wondered what had become of you old friend. I thought, perhaps, you had gone back to England.”

  “I wanted to come back sooner but the Emperor made such a fuss and kept me there. Of course he was not Emperor then but I think he kept me close by as a sort of bodyguard.”

  “I am pleased to see you.”

  Andronikos also hugged him. “As am I. We missed you; especially on the battlefield.”

  Ridley became serious. “I see our ranks are depleted.”

  “We did not do so badly but we could do without another campaign now.”

  He brightened a little. “I have brought more recruits. Two hundred of them and the wagons have some spare armour and weapons.”

  “Good,” I turned to Andronikos. “I will see to my men I suspect you will be doing the same?”

  “I had better.” He scanned the officers he could see who were nearby. “I am just wondering which old man they have brought out of retirement to be our Strategoi.”

  I shrugged. “It matters not; we will keep doing as we have done. Winning!”

  I put my arm around Ridley, “It is good to see you old friend. That is the longest I have been without you in battle since we started as warriors.”

  “I know. I preferred it when we made the decisions for I did not want to be a bodyguard for no matter how elevated a man when I knew you and the men needed me. But, “he suddenly looked sheepish, “there were compensations.”

  “Anna?”

  He looked at me as though I had the gift of second sight. “Yes but how did you know?”

  “I remembered the silly look I had when I was with Gytha!”

  He suddenly burst out, “And I am wed! We married last month.”

  He looked at me expectantly as though uncertain of my reaction. I was of course delighted for him. I clapped him on the back. “That is the best news I have heard in a long time. When we are back in civilisation we will have to celebrate. Now let us get these new men sorted and the equipment apportioned. Edward! Officer’s call!”

  It took all the rest of the afternoon to allocate the new men to existing Kontoubernia and equip the men with damaged weapons and armour. We then spent some time appointing the new officers. We were so engrossed that it was only the men before us standing to attention which alerted us to Nicephorus’ presence behind me. We whirled and dropped to our knees. “Apologies you…”

  He waved his hand as though a magician, “Stand, it matters not and you are doing as I would wish, preparing for war. I will see you both when you reach Constantinople when I can properly reward you. And, nephew, I will look after your wife in your absence.” I almost burst out laughing at the confused expressions on Ridley’s old comrade’s faces. I mouthed ‘later’. The Emperor mounted his horse. “We will return to the capital. Good hunting. “

  It was as they left that I saw the look of pure hatred upon the faces of Olef and his Varangians. As he passed he leaned down to speak to me quietly. “There is only one Varangian Guard.” He waved a dismissive hand at my men, “these Saxons are no Varangians. We will have words when you reach the city.”

  I stared back at him. “You will find me and my men ready with blows as well as words Viking!”

  His hand went to his sword but he thought better of it. Each man glared at me as they rode past. Andronikos had seen it all. “I see you are still making friends and influencing people.”

  “He is an arrogant bastard who, as far as I can see has never pulled a sword from its scabbard in anger.”

  “That is as may be but they are the Emperor’s bodyguards and you cannot fight with them on pain of death.”

  An old memory of Scotland came into my head and I said, enigmatically, “We shall see.”

  The last of the Varangians had barely left the camp when the new Commander of the West summoned us. “Aelfraed, Andronikos and Ridley your officers can continue to see to their men, come to the command tent; we have work to do.”

  Once inside he bade us be seated. “Things are even worse than we thought, however the good news first. The new Strategoi…”

  Andronikos sighed and interrupted, “Don’t tell me, they have found some in a dusty cupboard and they have sent them west.”

  Alexios ignored the rudeness. “Well surprisingly I rate them and I asked the Emperor for them although he had already suggested one of them to me anyway.”

  Andronikos realised he had gone too far. “Sorry commander. It has been a long campaign and I….”

  “If you would let me finish, the new Strategoi are Aelfraed Godwinson and Andronikos Tassius.”

  Ridley clapped us both on the back and I turned to Andronikos. “What size shoes do you take old friend and would you like a hand to get them out of your mouth.”

 
He grinned and reddened as Alexios continued. “Of course we need a new Droungarios for the Varangian Inglinoi and I am pleased to say that is you Ridley. I will leave it to you two to find Komes and, Andronikos, as you will be in command of the cavalry you will need a new Droungarios. Now the bad news. We are outnumbered. Not only have the local garrisons gone over to the rebels but they have Pecheng mercenaries on their side as well. We have one Thema of foot plus the remnants from our campaign, the Inglinoi, ten Kontoubernia of cataphracts, three Droungoi of horse archers, plus your remnants and a Droungoi of light cavalry. Not enough, I fear, and certainly not enough to assault the port of Dyrrhachium.”

  We spent the next hour going over the lists of officers and men we had at our disposal and planned a route to Dyrrhachium. I already had ideas in my head but I found that they became firmer as we trudged along the road. The Saxons were doubly delighted with my promotion and Ridley’s. They saw it as a vindication of their success and prowess. They had grown since we had first walked into their barracks such a long time ago and, as I looked at the moon rising over the hills and mountains thought that they would probably have been similar to Alexander’s Macedonians who travelled across the known world following their star.

  The first sight which greeted me the next day was a magnificently dressed Andronikos, dressed in full cataphract armour. He looked a little embarrassed but he looked, somehow more like a general. I had refused any other armour for mine felt comfortable and they all knew who I was on the battlefield without a feather in my helmet. Ridley, however, had not been idle in Constantinople. He handed me a leather covered tube and when I opened it I saw that he had had a Red Horse banner made for me. “I thought it was time we showed them all who we were.” My men loved it and many remembered it from the battlefields of England where it had enjoyed so much success. “It will be a rallying point on the battlefield eh?”

  When we were ready to march I took my place at the head of my men. I noticed Alexios and Andronikos laughing at me. “Am I incorrectly dressed?”

  “You could say that.” Andronikos whistled and an aide brought a black horse. “You are a strategos now. No more walking for you. You ride.”

  My men gave an ironic cheer as I reluctantly mounted. My horse was no Sweyn, but he was a magnificent beast and they were right, a general should be seen. The aide made sure I was seated well and then said, “My name is Isaac sir and I am your aide and standard bearer.”

  “Welcome Isaac. I suspect I will have to get used to this now.”

  “Yes indeed my lord. I am but one of your aides and servants.” He gave a sympathetic nod to my men. “I believe they will miss you to my lord.”

  “Never worry about that Isaac. They will always be in the thick of the fighting as will I.” His face almost went white with shock. “I am afraid, my friend, that this strategos leads from the front.” I leaned over and said quietly, “You will need a good sword and an even better shield.”

  We were lucky, the weather began to improve and our clothes dried out. Even more importantly, the roads became much easier and we made good progress. Our new strategos of cavalry was able to use his light cavalry as scouts for losing horse archers was unthinkable if we had the Pechengs to worry about. I still remembered those fierce warriors from the river and how nearly we had come to grief. We would need a good plan to defeat them. I found that I could think as well riding as walking and I came up with a plan. As with all my thinking the plan I presented to Alexios was not the plan which started in my mind but was the one which evolved.

  “Our weakness is our lack of numbers is it not?”

  “Yes but how does that help?”

  “We use that weakness. Let the enemy know how weak we are.”

  “Why?”

  “They will try to attack us and then we ambush them. Remember the Thracians who outnumbered us? Well they were over confident but we won because we planned for that. We can do the same with this Bryennios. Make him attack but we choose the ground.”

  They all liked the plan but Andronikos asked, “How do we let them know that we are outnumbered?”

  “That is up to your scouts. I want them to capture a couple of men and bring them to the camp. Let them see our numbers but keep your cataphracts hidden. We tell them we are sending them back to Dyrrhachium demanding the surrender of Bryennios.”

  “Which they won’t do.”

  “We don’t need them to although if they do then we have an amazing victory. They will be asked how many men we have and when they report how few we have then he will attack us. Your scouts can follow the captives back so that they will know when they leave the citadel.”

  As with all plans this one depended upon human nature and the enemy doing what we hoped. Most of it worked out but, unfortunately, not all.

  The first part was easy enough. Our scouts were looking for the rebel scouts; they were looking for our army. The four men were brought in to the camp; we discovered later that three others had been killed in the skirmish. They were brought before the Commander. “You have been spared your lives so that you can take a message to your leaders. Tell them to surrender Nicephorus Bryennios unconditionally and hand over Dyrrhachium and the rest of the town will be allowed to live. They have seven days to comply.”

  The four men gratefully galloped towards safety, no doubt delighted to be alive. The troops who had been in camp were the ones who had been campaigning over the winter and the cataphracts and fresh troops were hidden. We had given them a week in the hope that they would become over confident and assume that we would wait in camp. As soon as they left we broke camp and head quickly to be within a day’s ride of the city. Alexios called us all together for a briefing. “I have decided to use the Varangian Saxons and the cataphracts in the centre where they can hold the line. The Thema will be divided into two; one on each flank. The horse archers will be held in reserve to counter the Pechengs and the light cavalry will be placed with the cataphracts in the middle for they will be the last to arrive and I want them to lead Bryennios to our trap.”

  I looked at Andronikos who looked as appalled as I did. ”But Commander we need the horse archers close to the Thema to give them protection.”

  He shook his head. “No, for the Pecheng warriors are the bigger threat. You, strategos, will command the centre for they will have to bear the brunt of the attack and I know how resolute you are in defence. Tourmache Cassius will command the left Droungoi and me the right. The strategos of horse will command the horse archers for I know that he knows how to get the best out them.” He paused, “We need to nip this rebellion in the bud and do it quickly. Whenever they come we must destroy them quickly.”

  The plan looked sound and I could understand his need to watch out for the Pechengs but to keep our potent horse archers in reserve seemed too risky to me. The only saving grace was that I was, at least commanding the centre. Andronikos came over and confided to me that he too had reservations. Alexios seemed determined to prove that he was the supreme strategos but all of us benefit from some discussion. As we were choosing the battlefield I decided to improve my part of it as much as possible. My men were to be placed across the road close to the ford across the River Halmyros. On the other side of the river the commander placed both halves echeloned so that the enemy army would be drawn into my men and the river. He was using the scrubby trees and woods to disguise our numbers. The horse archers were arrayed behind me. As we waited, I was reminded of the battle close to Osmotherly except that it was I who played the Aethelward role at the rear of the army and our dispositions were not as secure as I would have liked.

  The first scout arrived just before noon announcing that the whole rebel army was heading towards us and the Droungarios was drawing them on. I rode to the river and turned to face the men. “Today we are the anvil upon which the enemy will beat and we must be as the anvil and take whatever punishment is offered. Cataphracts, you will be the reserve but when I order you forwards you must be decisive for we are the smallest
part of this army and yet the heaviest. So the heaviest burden will be upon us. No matter what the others do we cannot, we will not retreat one step. We stand and we fall where we are!”

  To the surprise of the armoured cataphracts my men began banging their shields and chanting, “Aelfraed! Aelfraed!”

  I saw Ridley grin and he looked like a boy again. The dark days following the loss of his beloved Coxold were gone and Anna had given him a new lease of life.

  The thunder of hooves alerted us to the arrival of the light horse. They rode straight into the river. The Droungarios reported. “They are behind us; there are fifteen thousand of them!”

  He was excited but before I could calm him Ridley said, “ Excellent ! More for us to kill!” The men roared their laughter and cheered.

  “Put your men on the flanks this side of the river.”

  When they crested the rise I could see that this was no tribe of barbarians. This was an army armed and armoured much as we were. They had spread out in a long line so that I could barely see the ir flanks. Alexios ’ plan was doomed from that moment. His plan had been to attack the flanks of the enemy but they had outflanked him. I turned to shout to Andronikos . “Take the cataphracts and the light horse, you will need to attack the enemy flanks, and drive them in.”

  “You are right but that leaves you with barely six hundred men.”

  “It will have to do.” He saluted as he rode off to divide his forces. I shouted. “Shield wall! Three lines.” I dismounted and handed Isaac the reins. “Watch my horse for me there is a good fellow.” There was a huge cheer as I took my place next to Ridley.

  The enemy had reached the other side of the river and they w ere adjusting their lines to match ours. I could hear the fighting in the woods and hoped that the Commander of the Army of the West was having a better time than the one I imagined him to be having. Suddenly everything happened at once . The line of spearmen trooped across the ford and the men of the Thema fled in terror across the water pursued by the enemy. I could see that Andronikos ha d divided the archers and cataphracts equally and he waited for as many of the army to retreat before attacking. When I saw Alexios and his staff fall back I knew that we had lost. As soon as they were across I heard Andronikos signal the attack from his cavalry; at the same time the line of spearmen crashed through the water to hurl themselves at us. They must have thought that they would have an easy victory for there were two Tourmai, almost five thousand men , attacking my six hundred but they had not met our axes before and the sharp blades tore through the spears leaving their owners struggling to get their swords out. We gave them no opportunity and hacked through their shield s which were thin and poorly made. Their bodies were hacked into pieces by two hundred men. Andronikos had not left us alone for, on our flanks were two Kentarchia of horse archers , who dissuaded the rebels from trying to flank us. I could see the enemy flooding across the river in pursuit of the Thema but our situation meant that we had to just keep killing. They must have hoped we would tire of swinging the deadly axes but we did not. Whoever was commanding them realised the futility of their action and he withdrew his men back across the river. The waters flowed with brown slurry which was the blood of their dead. I took the opportunity of placing the front rank at the rear and bringing the rear rank, which had seen little action, to the fore and we waited. I turned to Ridley. “If I were the enemy I would use my archers now.”