The history of the Normans in Italy is invariably linked to the progeny of Tancred d'Hauteville. D'Hauteville's major claim to fame is through the 10 sons he sired who trekked to Italy to carve out their fortunes. Two of his sons, Richard and Robert, won lands at the expense of the Lombards and Byzantines that assured Norman control over all of Italy south of Rome. His youngest son Roger wrested Sicily from the Saracens and provided the foundation for the greatest medieval Emperor, Frederick II Stupor Mundi and his capital at Palermo.
The Normans' initial appearance in 1018 was as mercenaries in the Lombard army that was attempting to bring Byzantine rule in Italy to an end. Although the Lombards were defeated, and most of the Normans were killed at Cannae, the Byzantines gained a lasting appreciation of the Normans' military talents and recruited them into their own service.
The Normans added to their reputation over the next 20 years, but when Byzantine political factionalism weakened their strength in Italy, the Normans quickly seized upon the occasion to turn upon their erstwhile masters and accelerate their departure from Magna Graecia.
By 1040, the Byzantines were reduced to their last stronghold, the fortified city of Bari. Further opportune alliances with and against the Lombards and the Papacy confirmed the Norman hold over Apulia and Calabria.
Norman power dwarfed their antagonists: they became the chief threat to the local balance of power. In 1053 the issue was resolved through the Norman victory over the Papal host at Civitate. In addition to the political significance of that victory, the annihilation of the Papal bodyguard of Swabian mercenary infantry anticipated the similar victory of Norman cavalry over Saxon Huscarls at Hastings 13 years later.
Papal Peace
The Pope soon made peace with the Normans, and even though Robert Guiscard (the cunning) would be excommunicated 3 times during the sway of events, the Normans became the Papacy's champions against the Empire. The Normans went on to expel the Byzantines from Bari, extend that campaign into Illyria, cast the Saracens out of Sicily, and were the mainstay of the First Crusade at the end of the century. Their political alliance with the Pope also had the unfortunate effect of precipitating the sack of Rome in 1084.
Norman military methods are relatively well known. The power of their cavalry charge proved irresistable to Lombards, Byzantines, Saracens, and Saxons alike. They slaughtered not only the prime of opposing cavalry formations, but the most renown infantry of the day including the Swabians at Civitate and the Varangian Guard at Durazzo in 1081.
Anna Comnena who wrote in 1145 described the Norman mercenaries of her childhood (1107) with feared but profound admiration:
- "...is a coat of mail, ring
plaited into ring, and the iron fabric is so
excellent that it repels arrows and
keeps the wearers flesh unhurt . . . the
charge of the Normans had become
both feared and famous. It was held to
be almost irresistible, and its impact
was such as might make a hole in the
walls of Babylon."
The amount of Norman cavalry in Italy was very small. No more than 1,000 horsemen accompanied most expeditions, augmented by other cavalry forces of allies and auxiliaries. When Robert Gusicard sacked Rome, his army was composed of 6,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. Roger won the battles of Enna and Cerami in Sicily with scarcely 100 300 cavalry and 500-1500 infantry.
It was not only weight and quality that decided most battles, however, but a disciplined combination of horse and foot. Add to that combination a powerful religious fanaticism against the infidel and Saracen divisiveness, and 120,000 could not contain 3-5,000. Guiscard also incorporated the best of his vanquished antagonists' armies into his own and imbued them with Norman discipline and leadership.
Curiously, in one sense, Gusicard's army could not receive the blessing of its Papal benefactor on several occasions because of the presence of huge numbers of Saracen troops within its ranks. Like his contemporary in Spain, El Cid, Guiscard fought alongside the Infidel as much as against them.
Land and Sea Operations
The Normans also combined land and sea operations, getting knocked about at times by Greek Fire and Venetian treachery, so that they eventually mastered amphibious tactics as well. The later campaigns in Sicily and the Illyrian operations demonstrated how well they had mastered those skills.
The wargamer has many options among which to choose from this period. Byzantines fought against Lombards, both armies having Norman auxiliaries; Normans fought against Lombards, Byzantines, and Saracens; Germans from the Empire fought against Lombards and Normans, and in the last ditch, Byzantines and Saracens combined in a futile effort to save themselves from their common Norman enemy. The Norman Army contained a motley assembly of Italians, Saracens, and Greeks.
The era is replete with set piece battles, sieges, amphibious operations, along with a multitude of skirmishes on all kinds of terrain. Norman heavy cavalry should range between 10 and 20% of the army and morale should play a key role even over the military advantages of numbers and weight.
With all this in mind, members of the "Forlorn Hope" wargame group (New York City -- Ed.), Walter Schramm, Bob Lotus and the Author refought the battle of Durazzo using WRG 5th Edition rules modified as described below.
Historical background came from Ian Heath, Armies and Enemies of the Crusades: 1096-1291 A.D.; John Julius Norwich, The Other Conquest; and David C. Douglas, The Norman Achievement: 1050-1100.
Norman Army
The Norman Army was quite typical of this theatre of war, using Saracen archers as well as standard Italo-Normans. The Byzantine Army illustrated the poor state that had befallen it since the Battle of Manzikert, with a reliance on Barbarian allies, often of doubtful loyalty, and only one unit of Kataphractoi with only average morale.
The Byzantines drew up their army in three lines, with their most doubtful units in the second. Either the Varangians in the front line would blunt the Norman initial charge, or attrition would wear down the Normans so that by the time the Byzantine 3rd line engaged, it would contain the Normans. The Normans, as usual, relied on their heavy Knights to sway the battle in their favor, with infantry following up in support.
The Battle Of Durazzo (Replay)
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