The Defense of Scotland, Part 3
Southern and Central Scotland were filled with Fatimid men, and Duke Ottar Crovan's southern strategy backfired. His armies and what mercenaries could be hired headed to sea to find a better place to battle the enemy and to take some time to see the bigger picture. In the end, Ottar decided to try rescuing counties close to the Western Isles: Sutherland and Ross. Rebels rose up in Ross against the Muslim oppressions and so Ottar landed at Sutherland in late 1177.
Pål reached a peace agreement with the Emir of Consenza around the same time, but was still faced with Lecce. Benevento was safe, but Pål's county of Reggio was lost to the Muslims. With the Fatimids distracted by England to the south, Ottar was able to conquer Sutherland without resistance, and proceed to Ross where he put down the rebellion. Only a few months later, Ross joined the Western Isles as well, and for the first time, Ottar saw a positive side of the war. If he could hold onto his newfound counties, even if Man remained lost to him, it would be a gain. Under Scottish control, Sutherland and Ross were unavailable, but now they were his since Scotland was no more. Scotland was once a nation, but now it would be a battleground and a land of many rulers.
Ottar's next step was the invasion of Moray. Declaring war on that Emir as well as Buchnan, Ottar defeated the local regiment of Moray and began the siege. King Simon, seeing the opportunities in the North, joined the siege and claimed the conquered land for himself. Despite this, when unrest was revealed to Ottar regarding England, he give up the plotters to the King, declaring unequivocally that he would not betray the man who had turned the tide of the war. As with Scotland, Ottar felt that England had a chance against the enemy. This time he was right as the English had not lost a single county and had gained at least three (Mar, Moray and Angus).
Moray would become the crucial battleground separating the Christian counties in the North from Muslim counties of the south. Though the Fatimid Empire could have bypassed Ottar at Moray and landed anywhere on the coast of Northern Scotland, they preferred to rush forward into the county. Thus the defense of Scotland came down to the defense of Moray. Desperate yet confident, Ottar and Erik Munso fought off several minor attacks as mercenaries occasionally arrived to reinforce their position.
Yet the most reknowned battle at Moray was yet to come as Erik's army of 2400 (85% being mercenaries), faced an invasion of over 4500 Fatimid troops. Erik kept his forces from fleeing against the might of the enemy, holding onto a position that seemed lost several times, but in the end intimidating the enemy into fleeing. All this was at the cost of a vicious wound inflicted by the enemy in one of the most desperate minutes of the battle. Some of Erik's troops were able to rally despite his absence from command and they made a last counterattack that pushed the Muslims back.
Meanwhile, Ottar relocated his operations to Sutherland, which gave him a much improved ability to send hired mercenaries into battle quickly. Neopolitans were hired in Sutherland in January and arrived in Moray three weeks later, just in time to once again repulse an invasion from the Fatimid Empire.
After all this, in April of 1181, Ottar decided to press his luck and advanced his forces from Moray into Atholl. There they defeated another Muslim army. Chasing down small Fatimid armies, Ottar's mercenaries won battles in Argyll and Buchnan before retreating once more to Moray to stop a siege there. Wishing for peace and the gains already made, Ottar offered it to the Fatimids, but they refused.
Ottar's ducal coffers had been drained from 6600 ducats to 1600 in a matter of years. So, shocked at the rapid expenditures, Ottar declared that no more mercenaries would be hired, and now the forces of the Western Isles and what mercenaries were left would have to make due. With under 2000 troops after all the battles of the past months and years, Ottar desperately hoped he could hold on to Sutherland at least. As he was quickly discovering, the county was far richer and more populous than Sudðreyjar or Iceland.
In Italy, Pål, once child-count of Benevento, had become a strong 21-year-old, prepared to take over the duchy in due time. He finally had peace, as Lecce gave up its war. And his wife was pregnant with their first child.
Whereas in Ireland, the war with Ulster was over. Despite all the victories Ottar had there, the sudden war against the Fatimids allowed Ulster plenty of time. Peace was signed between the powers, making the Irish campaign a singularly unproductive use of mercenaries.
Finally, the overwhelming Fatimid attack came, and Moray would serve as the battlefield yet again. A Fatimid force of 5500 troops soundly defeated the 1800 Sudðreyjar soldiers. Erik Munso had died over a year ago and his inspiration was missing and sorely needed. Additionally, the enemy troops were able to prevent many of Ottar's soldiers from fleeing, leaving the Duke with only a few hundred left.