FALL OF DURRAZO, SUMMER 1122 AD
My lord, Durrazo has fallen! I will do my best to provide you with any details I can concerning the fall of the castle.
The Sicilian army besieging us was huge. Hundreds of Urban Spear Militia, supported by light and heavy cavalry along with a large contingent of levied Archers.
The Sicilian army marches towards Durrazo's walls.
Our general, Pamphronios Aliatis, did his best to deploy our men at the most important chokepoint, the right flank of the path leading to the castle center. His hope was that the enemy would become preoccupied with breaking through our Contarotoi there, while his Athanatoi, or bodyguard, used hit-and-run tactics on their rear.
Aliatis' troops getting into position.
The general had no illusion about this battle- Durrazo would, most certainly, be lost, and he would die at the hands of the enemy, one way or another. He only hoped to make the taking of Durrazo somewhat of a Pyrric victory for the Sicilians, and deployed his men as such. However, he did leave a regiment of Acontistae, skirmishers, on the walls, to hopefully inflict a few wounds and hold up the enemy just for a little while.
Within minutes, the Sicilian ladders and siege towers were at the walls. Their ram pounded our wooden gate into submission, and troops poured in as the battle on the walls began.
The Acontistae fight desperately while Sicilian Urban Spear Militia pour through the open gates.
Soon, the Sicilian troops made it to the inner defenses, and the true battle began just as the Acontistae broke.
The initial charge into the inner defences.
Aliatis brought up the remaining regiment of Contarotoi into the main battle, while his Athanatoi began racing through the city in an attempt to reach the enemy's rear, where their Levy Archers were pouring burning arrows into the Roman ranks. While our bodyguard prepared to charge one end of the battle, the Sicilian bodyguard charged into the other. In a bid to rout our troops quickly, the Sicilian general himself charged into the fray.
Sicilian general and his bodyguard fighting the Roman Contarotoi.
But, the arrogant Sicilian underestimated the valor of our men, and was forced to retreat after losing nearly a third of his bodyguard to Roman spears.
Hoping to catch the enemy off guard, Aliatis sent the now steady Acontistae to the enemy's right flank, hoping to draw the Sicilian spearmen away from the archers to open up an avenue for attack. Unortunately, the Sicilian general expected a move like this, and pulled off a detachment of spearmen at the last second to counter the Acontistae's charge.
Sicilian spearmen attacking the Acontistae.
As this was happening, Aliatis' bodyguard made it to the Levy Archers, but were quickly surrounded by enemy spearmen.
Initial charge into the Sicilian Levy Archers.
From here, the battle went downhill, quickly. The general made what he assumed would be a suicide charge into the enemy's flanking spearmen, but made it through the flurry of spears and retreated back to the castle center, where he witnessed his Contarotoi finally breaking against a fourth and final assault by the Sicilian cavalry and Urban Spear Militia. From what I could see atop the hill next to Durrazo, Pamphronios Aliatis met his end fighting against enemy cavalry, charging with what remained of his loyal Athanatoi.
[SS 6.3] RULING IN THE SHADOW OF THE GREATS:A Byzantine AAR
Reply With Quote
.
Originally Posted by Latin Knight
We're lucky that he's older than Ioannis and that he's no moron or the Byzantine Empire in 1220 would look worse in your campaign that in the actual late era starting position 
I read it precisely because it was short and to give feedback back as a way of showing gratitude. I'll try to do that with most of my comentors if they have their own AAR.
And hopefully SS 7.0 will be out soon...
