"It was a winter of woe for the Lombard king. His armies reeled back on four fronts, smashed by the Thuringi, Slavs, Gepids and Byzantines. Only the former Bavarian province of Savia remained in his grasp -- all the recent conquests and ancestral lands were gone. Emperor Justinian shed no tears for him, though, saying prayers in thanks for General Maurice whose seizure of Dalmatia opened communication again with the Empress, trapped in the Alps. Attacks by the Alans in the eastern steppes were turned back -- doubtless Persian silver was behind their assault. However, his own client kingdom of the Basques was again unsuccessful in its assault on the Visigoths. In Greece, General Heraclius turned in a less-than-Heruclean effort to dislodge the Vandals from Achaea. A further irritant was news that the city of Rome had finally surrendered to the Vandals. In Arabia, though, a simultaneous invasion by Byzantine and Persian armies succeeded in forcing the surrender of the desert tribes. Equally happy news came from North Africa, which had pretty much slipped completely from his control in the year and a half. The Vandal attack on the resurgent Berber kingdom was a complete failure. Justinian rejoiced in their -- and the Lombard king's -- woes."
Thuringi retain independence, drive off Lombard invaders
The Lombard warlord Ildigisal led a force west into Raetia, to conquer the last enclave of the Thuringi. His foe, the Thuringi warlord Hermenefridas, stretched his battlelines between thick forests, creating an unbreakable wall for the Lombard horsemen. Cavalry proved no match for infantry in the woods, and the Lombards were routed, their general slain.
Slavs roll southward out of forests
After more than a year of consolidating their conquest of the forested north of Europe, the Slavs were again on the march. They streamed south into the rolling hills of Valeria, overwhelming the outnumbered army the Lombard king sent to stop them. With this fresh conquest, the Slavic warlord Krak proved his warriors were deadly outside the forest, too.
Lack of Lombard veterans loses Pannonia to Gepids
Too many veteran Lombard leaders and warriors had fallen, recently, to handle the three-pronged attack upon the kingdom. And no Lombard tale of woe would be complete without inclusion of a disaster at the hand of their old foes, the Gepids. The canny Gepid warlord Elemendus provided this element of the story with his violent seizure of Pannonia from the much younger Lombard commander, Rotharis.
Byzantines retake vital passes of Dalmatia
With no communication with Constantinople, General Maurice knew it could be doe or die for him and the Empress in the Alps. His army descended rapidly, driving through Lombard outposts and into Dalmatia. When he met their warleader Pandulf, the Byzantine cavalry and spearmen charged into battle, routing the Lombards and retaking the province, control of which was vital for the War in the West.
Persian-backed raid by Alans fended off in steppes
Successive doses of Persian silver had turned the Alans from former enemies to willing allies, as their army raided into the Byzantine-held steppes of Utigur. The local governor, Julian, marched a much smaller force to meet them. By striking hard and fast, his regular troopers were able to destroy the center of the Alan battleline before his wings caved in to the pressure of the tribal light cavalry.
Basque raid into Lusitania tarnished by defeat
The Basques had hoped for surprise in their raid into Lusitania. The Basque cheiftain Victorix felt that the Byzantine silver that backed the thrust wasn't enough to fight a standup battle against the formidable Visigothic army, but that is what he got. His men were no match in the open against the Arturvidic's Visigothic cavalry, and quickly retreated back to the hills to lick their wounds -- and count their silver coins stamped with Justinian's likeness.
Loss at sea does not mean defeat on land for Vandals
When word arrived that a Vandal fleet had foundered in the winter seas off Macedonia, Governor Heraclius felt the time was ripe for him to carry out his orders to dislodge the Vandals from Achaea. He was met not by waterlogged survivors of shipwrecks, but by fresh reinforcements led by the warlord Heleric. The outnumbered Byzantines took a stand on a ridge, but their cavalry was ridden down by Vandal charges and Heraclius slunk back northwards after a less-than-Herculean effort.
Byzantines rout Arabs, proving old legend
Local legend said the hardest part of defeating the Arabs in battle was simply finding them. General Maurice discovered this to be true, when after weeks of marching through the hills of Hidjaz, he finally brought their chieftain Arethas to battle. The lightly-armed Arab infantry was ridden down by his troopers and the desert tribes were quickly brought to heel as the emperor's newest subjects.
Persian banner advances into the Desert
The Persian general Nabedes was having a similar experience against the Arabs in the near-empty sands of Al-Nafud. It took weeks of riding to pin down the Arab army, but once discovered, it was quickly routed. One by one the oases fell, and the banner of the Persian King of Kings was flown over new lands and peoples.
Berbers maintain independence, chase off Vandal invaders
For months, the Vandals had kept an uneasy peace with their old subjects, the Berbers. With the Byzantine border looking more secure, the Vandal warlord Guthamund rode into Tingintania intent on reestablishing control. The rebel leader, Jugurtha, showed him how he'd cast off Byzantine control by routing his Vandal troopers, and sending them fleeing back into Libya.