Byzantiad - the Pecheneg Raid 1

 

"The raid of the Pechenegs into Eastern Thrace proved eventful and destructive, the Skythians almost reaching the Gates of Constantinople before finally being turned back. Twice had Isaac Salonikos been in the cusp of victory before suffering defeat; in the final battle was on the verge of defeat, his personal bodyguard scattered and fled, before he emerged victorious. Such were the harrowing three weeks in Thrace.

The Army of Salonikos first encountered the raiders not far from the Imperial frontier, upon a bare plain west of Anchialus..."
Michael Psellophanes Byzantiad

Battle of Anchialus.

In the following battle accounts - eventful as they are - I will try to keep the narratives brief and let the pictures tell most of the story.  The battle of Anchialus was the first of three, and twice during its course, the Byzantines seemed on the verge of victory. They even began by drawing not only first blood but the second as well.  With an army seemingly the more powerful, this was looking perhaps too easy. But events flattered to deceive.

To begin with, the Byzantine provincial army lacked the stamina of the more regular Imperial forces:

 Byzantine Provincial (Thematic) Army:

1 x Commander: Isaac Salonikos Thematic Heavy Cavalry unit (Average)- 3SP 
2 x Thematic Heavy Cavalry regiments - @2SP = 4SP (one 'Average' the other 'Poor')
1 x Protected Bowmen - 2SP
1 x Bow Light Horse - 2SP 

1 x Loose Order Spear/Javelins unit (poor) - 2SP 

6 units, 13SP

3.Pechenegs:
1 x Commander: Khan Torol with Noble Heavy Cavalry - 3SP (elite)

4 x Bow Light Horse @2SP = 8SP
1 x Bowmen @2SP 

6 units, 13SP

As the attackers, the Pechenegs opened the ball; thereafter all turns began with an 'initiative roll', the high scorer going first.  I'll have something to say on that topic during the course of the narrative!

Opening the battle by pressing the raiders back with heavy loss, the Byzantines began to find Pecheneg resistance stiffening. Their own casualties began to mount. At the same time a feature developed among the following events that spoke of the Khan Torol's energy and cunning (He kept winning the initiative rolls. In the course of three battles I think the Byzantines 'won' the initiative rolls maybe as many times: three). Although the cavalry routed the Pecheneg left flank light horse, with victory in sight, the skoutatoi in the centre collapsed shortly after. 

Suddenly the Byzantine horse found themselves isolated on the right flank, before Salonikos himself could intervene. Assailed front and flank, barely half the cavalry broke clear. The peltastoi on the left also fell back when the enemy bowmen in front of them fell back to discover a band of horse archers peppering them with arrows. The rout that followed was as complete as the surprise. Only the light horse hyperkerastai remained to hold this flank.

As the Byzantine line fell back to regroup, the Pechenegs also reorganised themselves for a final attack. The light horse formed on the left, to face the Byzantine cavalry; the bowmen faced off the Byzantine light horse; his own entourage of nobles squared up against Salonikos himself.

So impetuous was the Khan's onset that he almost broke through and drove Solonikos's band almost altogether from the field. Only barely did the latter remain in action. Returning to the charge, the Byzantines  refused to be shifted any further. (Although driven from the field of battle proper, as the initiative passed to the Byzantines at the end of the Pecheneg turn, they had the opportunity to strike back. They didn't quite succeed in forcing their way back, as the subsequent pictures reveal, but nor were they driven off. The close combat was to continue unresolved until the Byzantines were defeated elsewhere on the field).

Meanwhile, the Byzantine flanking forces had broken off from their own adversaries. The chance to fling themselves upon the flanks of the Khan's isolated bodyguard was not to be missed. And now, faced momentarily by odds of three to one, surely it was all up for the raiders?

Not a bit of it. The Pecheneg heavy cavalry stood fast - long enough for help to arrive. Although the Byzantine right flank cavalry routed the band of light horse that tried to attack them in flank...

...  and even attempted an enveloping attack of their own, ...

  

...  Dame Fortune cast her dice in favour of the Barbarians. The Byzantine light horse were driven under a hail of arrows from the field. The last of the heavy cavalry broke and fled. So heavy had been the losses, that the Byzantines could no longer maintain the field. As the sky clouded over in the late afternoon, the Byzantines, such as remained, drew off to the south. 

The Pechenegs were free to resume their burning and plundering...

This one was quite a scrap, the Pechenegs losing 8SP in winning the battle, the Byzantines 10SP. The thing could so easily have gone either way.

To be Continued: Pecheneg Raid 2 - Battle of Adrianople.