"...All along the lands on either side of the mighty Rhine river, Germanic chieftains debated what was best to do for their villages. Two mighty nations were marching on their borders, closer every season. In the East, the Slavs had conquered the Saxons and pillaged the Bavarians. Only the stubborn revolts of the Saxons seemed to be holding up their advance, as they took time again to crush the rebel armies. In the West, the Visigoths from Spain had smashed the Frankish kingdom and swallowed up the Burgundian nation. Now, they were marching into Italy, routing their Ostrogothic cousins in every clash. Frankish envoys spoke around the campfires of the Frisians, Thuringians and Bavarians, preaching an alliance against this menace. Meanwhile, far to the east, the Emperor Justinian hurled a wine goblet against the marble floor in rage. The Persians had broken the treaty and marched all along the eastern frontier. Cappodokia had fallen to them, but Syria threw back the invaders. News from the West was not good, either. Both Belisarius' and Narses' assaults on the tottering Vandal kingdom had been hurled back. Rumors abounded of an impending attack by the Arabs, too. Justinian prayed that Belisarius and Narses would hurry, because he felt their armies would soon be needed in the East..."
"Franks fear final assault"
For it seemed as long as they could remember, the skies in the west were red with flames. The Frankish villagers drove their livestock eastward to escape the flames and the Visigoth invaders. Soon, the news ran up and down the muddy roads
-- the Frankish warlord Eloi had met the Visigothic invaders in Lugdunensis. Once again, the devil incarnate, the Visigoth warleader Deodoric, had routed the Frankish army. The Franks continued their retreat into Belgica, their kingdom's last province. When the skies turned red with flame, again, they knew it would mean it was time for their final stand.
"Ostrogoth Kingdom Sundered"
As the Ostrogothic gentry cried out their lamentations at their pulpit, the Roman clergymen listened with irony. How similar they sounded to the Roman leaders of a couple generations ago. Beset on all sides, barbarians in the north, barbarians at sea, the Ostrogoths prayed for deliverance for their kingdom. Spring brought no aid from the Almighty, the Church knew, for monasteries in the Alps reported a great hosting and a massive battle. The Visigoths led by Prince Iadoric routed Usdrilas' Ostrogoth army sent to stop them, the refugees fleeing eastwards into Dalmatia. Now, the Alps of Venetia were firmly in the hands of the Visigoths. The Ostrogoth lands were split in two.
"Vandal Wave Breaks"
Perhaps the Ostrogoths' cries were not entirely in vain, though, for a hero seemed to have arisen to defend them. Totila, whose army guarded the Tuscan countryside, met and slaughtered an invading flotilla of Vandals. They had come over in small boats from Sardo, and Totila's army gave them no time to reorganize, falling upon them, and sending them fleeing back to the shore, their warleader Homeric with them. Although Totila was wounded in the fighting, he seemed strong as he rode his horse through the streets of Rome in triumph, acknowledging the cheers of the populace.
"Byzantine Tide Stemmed"
The Vandal population knew that their kingdom was in trouble. Two of Rome's mightiest generals, Belisarius and Narses, were tightening their coils around them. The garrison on Sardo saddled their horses when word arrived that the Byzantine fleet had landed on their island. They met the army led by Belisarius' lieutenant, Ammianus, in the plains. Spurring their horses, they charged into the Byzantine ranks. The battle swayed back and forth, till finally the Byzantines broke. It seemed the march of defeat upon defeat had been stopped, and they acclaimed their warleader Gelimer as a hero.
"Relief Force Turned Back"
The Vandal capital of Carthage had held out for half a year, while the Byzantine besiegers wore away at their walls and their will. When volunteers were called for at the war council on Sicilia, for the relief of the city, only the young lord Godegisel volunteered. His attack was a forlorn hope -- a small, hard-hitting force hoping to break the ring that Belisarius had personally drawn around the city. Godegisel's men sacrificed all in the attempt, and nearly broke through. However, the besiegers were too numerous, and Belisarius drove them from the field. However, the citizens of Carthage were inspired by the valor of their countrymen, and continued to hold out against the science and skill of the Byzantines with their own sweat and spirit. The siege dragged on.
"Vandals Cling to Africa"
Other than Carthage, the last possession of the Vandals in Africa was the province of Tripolitania. Narses sent his chief lieutenant, Martinus, to subdue this enclave. However, a new hope seemed to have arisen among the Vandals. Word had arrived of the Byzantine defeat in Sardo, and the valiant resistance of Carthage. Gaeseric spoke to the Vandal horsemen of their glory days, when all of the southern Mediterranean was theirs. Inspired, they rode down the Byzantines, and sent Martinus' army fleeing back into Libya. Not easily, they shouted, would they surrender their kingdom to the corrupt court of Constantinople.
"A Treaty Broken"
The peace between the empires of Byzantium and the Sassanid Persia had been crucial to Justinian's decision to reconquer the West. Now, the fire-worshipping Persians had ripped it to shreds, marching all along the frontier. In Cappodokia, their great general Chosroes met the border army of Constantianus in a mountain valley. The horsemen of both armies struggled to find room to deploy. They had to constantly watch out for enemy infantry streaming down the steep hillsides onto their flanks. Chosroes' men made best use of this tactic, turning the Byzantine left. Once their line was breached, Constantianus' men streamed away in rapid retreat. The Persians were across the border and soon made the towns of Cappodokia theirs.
"Border Holds in Syria"
When word arrived that the Persians were on the march, General Bessas knew what to do. He was an Armenian, his family schooled in countless generations of warfare against Persia. His army was drilled and ready when the outriders of the Persians arrived. Even the sight of the Persian elephants did not faze Bessas' army. His men held on every front, and though the Persian general Zames pressed them hard, it was the enemy who broke first. Bessas followed them up, pursuing them to the border. He went no further, fearing a trap, and sent for instructions from his lord.
Saxons Rise in Revolt, Again"
Determined to unloosen their conqueror's grip, the Saxons of both provinces (Rhenus and Germania) rose in revolt, again. Every farmer turned warrior, every shepherd a soldier, as the Saxons attacked the Slavic garrisons. By now used to the Saxon rebels' plan of attack, the Slavs quickly concentrated their forces and met them in battle. In Rhenus, the trial was close. At one point, the Slavs were on the verge of defeat. They held, though, and gradually forced the Saxons to yield the battlefield. In Germania, though, the Saxons less prepared. Not all men in the shieldwall had spears or swords, and they could not stand long to the swarming, speedy attack of the Slavs. They were chased from the field, the survivors hunted down in the recesses of the forests.