A Viking in Sicily

A Mini-Campaign from A Viking in the Sun

Previously, we followed the adventures of Harald Hardrada in the Holy Land (part 1 and part 2).

Now we turn to the second mini-campaign, using Dominion of the Spear rules to conduct the battles.

Background

The Byzantines launch an expedition to reclaim Sicily from its Muslim conquerors.

Harald commands part of the expeditionary force.

Harald's Command

Harald command consists of the following units:

• A contingent of the Varangian Guard (elite melee infantry)
• Archers (missile infantry)
• Byzantine heavy infantry (melee infantry)
• mercenary knights (armored melee cavalry)
• Byzantine cavalry (melee cavalry)

Battle 1 - The Landing

The Byzantine commander, Georgios Maniakes, decides to make a landing near Palermo. He hopes to catch the Muslims by surprise and seize the city by assault before the defenders get organized.

Harald's command lands on the beach of Sicily. A Muslim force (consisting of 2 units of missile infantry, 2 units of missile cavalry, cavalry, and spears) bars the way. Harald's cavalry is dismounted in reserve.

Harald leads a charge against the enemy archers. A hail of arrows cuts down the Varangians.

Then the Muslim archers pepper Harald's heavy infantry and dismounted knights.

The Byzantine heavy infantry charges the archers and wipes them out. But then they get flanked by more archers. The infantry does not last.

The remnants of Harald's force rush back to the boats. Maniakes's hope for a quick victory are dashed.

Rolling lots of 6's is a really effective way to win with missile troops. 😉

Battle 2 - Seize the Gate

The Byzantines settle in for a siege. After learning of a secret tunnel into the city, Harald proposes a bold stratagem. He will lead a force through the tunnel then rush the gates. His force will hold open the gates until the main army can relieve him.

Harald enters the city. His Varangians, the dismounted knights, and archers form the front line. Muslim heavy and light infantry contest Harald's assault.

Again, archers cut down the Varangians. The dismounted knights have better success.

And they continue to cut down archers.

The Byzantine spears take up the offensive in the center.

The knights fall! But Harald's archers clear out the right flank.

The reserve dismounted cavalry then clear the other flank.

Rushing past the remaining defenders, the flanking forces secure the gate.

The first part of Harald's plan succeeds!

Battle 3 - Hold the Gate

After seizing the gate, Harald manages to rally some of his force. Alas, his command his smaller due to casualties. Actually, I reduced both sides to reflect casualties.

The Muslims launch a counterattack to retake the gates.

The Muslim spears overrun Harald's archers.

The Varangians manage to check the spears, but are exhausted in the process. Meanwhile, Harald's infantry scatters the Muslim archers.

Harald's men close up to protect the gate. I know, not in the rules. It just made sense in the context.

The Byzantine spears take out their counterparts but then get flanked and defeated.

Note: The marker is on the wrong Muslim spear counter.

This leaves the dismounted knights alone. They are forced to retreat through the gate. The Muslims then shut the gates before Byzantine reinforcements arrive.

With this defeat, Maniakes abandons his campaign.

NOTES

• Harald loses this campaign with 1 victory and 2 losses.
• I had a turn limit for the last battle. Harald needed to hold for 2+D3 turns. This came out to 5 turns. I ended up forgetting to count turns, engrossed as I was in the narrative. Nevertheless, I don't think Harald made it.