A Visigothic Saga: Part Two More 'Stumbling to Victory.'

Viewpoint of a Player in "Justinian's Wars"

Once again, I took the filed in the our editor's "Justinian Wars" campaign. It is the 6th Century A.D., and the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire has dreams of reviving the Glory of Rome. However, numerous "Barbarian" kingdoms have ruled the Western Mediterranean for generations, and as witnessed so far, they have no desire to relinquish power to the effeminate Emperor of the East.

The World

The world is in flames, as war rages from the Baltic to the Sahara, from Gaul to Persia, with a few kingdoms rising to glory, while many others have been consumed by the greedy flames of conquest. For most, the immediate concern is the Byzantine alliance between Narses and Belisarius. Together, they have overrun much of Africa and have also pushed far into the Northern steppes annihilating the Hunnic menace. Having also forged an alliance with the Italian Ostrogoths, their power reaches to nearly every corner of our world.

Far to the East, The Persian are beginning to slowly gobble up huge tracts of land, after a futile campaign against the Alans. The North now belongs to the Slavs, who have overrun the Saxons and now control the entire Baltic coast. The West, though, is mine! After securing most of the Iberian peninsula through annihilation of the Suevi and an alliance with the Basques, I pushed on into Gaul conquering a Frankish province. After the battle, I met with the Frankish King and hammered out a truce based upon a joint campaign against the Burgundians. I took a Burgundian province, but the Franks were thrown back in disarray. In desperation, they broke our truce and attacked. The war has been long and bitter. I have offered a truce on numerous occasions, only to be answered by yet another invasion. Two years of tough campaigning and now Gaul is mine, with the Franks reduced to one trembling province. Mercy is no longer a word in my vocabulary.

Power Politics

During my tough war with the Franks, the Byzantines were slowly grinding the once-powerful Vandal kingdom (vague allies of mine) into bits and pieces. Fearing I would be the next Byzantine victim, I sent gold to bolster the beleaguered Vandals. The enraged Byzantines, not wanting a war with yet another kingdom (me), pursued the same policy by turning their puppet allies, the Italian Ostrogoths, against me. Their first invasion was aborted to face an attack by the Vandals but the damage had been done, it would be WAR!

Luck and Glory

Following my triple victory against the Franks that effectively ended that war, it was time for retribution against the Ostrogoths. Wedged between the recoiling Franks and menacing Ostrogoths, was the sole remaining Burgundian province and its swollen army. I offered a final truce to the Franks, invaded the Northern Italian province of the Ostrogoths, and launched an untried warlord and his small army against the Burgundians.

It was a very lucky and fortuitous move. The Ostrogoths, through marriage and bribes, allied themselves to the Burgundians and hurled their immense army against my frontier, while the Franks launched a desperate counterattack in the North. Luckily, the Burgundian army was slow to move. My young warlord's cavalry army swept out of the foothills of the Alps and met them on the open plains of their own province.

Furry Barbarian Horse Fodder

Surveying my army before going into battle, I am amazed at its transformation. Our ancestors had fought, all on foot, in a dense undisciplined mass of impetuous warriors. Now, many of us are armored horsemen, supported by swarms of skirmishers, tough light infantry, and a smaller wall of impetuous warriors. The vast majority of the Franks and Burgundians still fight on foot. In both battles, the cavalry was launched on a flank attack, while the light infantry and skirmishers harassed and delayed the enemy's main battleline. The Burgundian general was killed by an arrow just before the cavalry hit the flank of his army. Without his leadership, the Burgundians dissolved. For the Franks, it was the same. Their warbands grasped at elusive skirmishers while mounted troops turned their flanks and disintegrated their army.

Against the Ostrogoths it was a different battle. In the confines of the Alps, our armies maneuvered with difficulty. The cavalry fought a see-saw battle on the flanks while, in the center, my warbands and a few cavalry clawed at the spearmen and a few cavalry of our enemy. The battle was close until the Ostrogoth general simply lost control of his troops. They hesitated while redeploying. My own, long-neglected furry footed warriors annihilated the opposing spearmen and routed the enemy.

Rise of the Evil Empire

With accession of these provinces, my limited goals of securing the Iberian peninsula and conquering Gaul have changed. I now greedily dream of a vast Empire. I have ruthlessly destroyed the Suevi, Bretons, and Burgundians and relish the thought of grinding the Franks and Ostrogoths under my heel until none are left alive and free.

The following season saw even more success and good luck. I once again crushed the Franks, leaving them trembling refugees in a sole remaining province, while also slaughtering another Ostrogothic army in the Alps. My swollen coffers, to the disgust of the Byzantines, helped sustain the Vandals for another season. The enraged Emperor Justinian is reluctant to declare the war against me he so longingly desires as the Vandals remain defiant, the Persians are attacking, and rumor has it, the Arabs are stirring. So, his Eastern provinces have turned to flames once again.

These are the good times. I am sure they will not last and that enemies known and unknown are plotting my demise. Until that day, though, the Visigothic warlords shall have only one order -- raid, pillage, plunder, and conquer, be victorious or let no man come back alive!