Battle of Mons Lactarius
Template:Short description Template:Infobox military conflict Template:Campaignbox Wars of Justinian I
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The Battle of Mons Lactarius (also known as Battle of the Vesuvius) took place in 552 or 553 AD during the Gothic War between Byzantine forces and the Ostrogoths near Mount Vesuvius in Italy.
Byzantine forces led by General Narses confronted the army of the Gothic King Teias in the rugged terrain near Mount Vesuvius. After two months of stalemate, the two sides finally engaged in open battle. Teias was killed in the fighting, marking the collapse of Gothic leadership. The remaining Ostrogothic troops resisted for a short time but ultimately surrendered under negotiated terms. This victory ended Ostrogothic power on the Italian peninsula, allowing the Byzantines to reestablish their authority there.
Prelude
After the Battle of Taginae, in which the Ostrogoth King Totila was killed, Narses proceeded towards Rome, seizing in the process Narni and Spoleto. The city of Rome was recaptured without difficulty and continued to besiege Cumae.Template:Sfn
Teias, the new Ostrogothic king and former second-in-command, gathered the remnants of the Ostrogothic army and sent envoys to the Franks in hopes of forming an alliance against the Byzantines. The Franks refused, preferring to let the Goths and Romans wear each other down, which would ease their own eventual conquest of Italy.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Upon learning that Narses had laid siege to Cumae, Teias marched to break the siege, because Totila's hoard was stored in Cumae.Template:Sfn In response, Narses moved his army to block Teias near Vesuvius.Template:Sfn
Battle
Upon arrival, Teias positions himself at the foot of the Mount Vesuvius, near the site of Pompeii, on the left bank of the Sarno.Template:Sfn The Byzantines and Ostrogoths stood across a small stream for two months, with only minor skirmishes between them and single man combat at the single bridge of the stream.Template:Sfn The Ostrogoths had camped near the only bridge of the stream and erected towers with ballistas. However, the Byzantines were able to cut off the supplies of the Ostrogoths, forcing Teias to take action as his army would face starvation.Template:Sfn
Ostrogoths withdrew from their initial position towards the Mount Lactarius, where they lured the Byzantine army in rough terrain.Template:Sfn At this location, they able to launch a surprise attack that took place on 1 or 30 October, with the Byzantines holding their ground. Both armies dismounted, due to the terrain, and adopted a deep phalanx formation. Teias led his forces to attack the Byzantine lines but Ostrogoths could not break through them. The Byzantine troops attempted several times to kill Teias by (some thrown) spears, only for Teias's comrades to resupply him with new shields. After several attempts, Teias died in the fight. His head was peaked by the enemy and it was fixed on a stake to discourage the Ostrogoths from fighting.Template:Sfn The Ostrogothic troops continued to fight for another two days. In the end, they send an envoy to negotiate their surrender. The Byzantines wanted to avoid a prolonged engagement given the ferocity by which the Ostrogoths were fighting and they agreed under strict conditions.Template:Sfn
Aftermath
The Ostrogothic prisoners were released under the oath to leave Italy carrying only the money that had with them.Template:Sfn The battle marked the end of Ostrogoths in the Italian penisula. Only a thousand Ostrogoths managed to escape under the leadership of Indulf and to resist until 555. However, without a new king being appointed, demonstrated the weakness of what remained of the Ostrogoths.Template:Sfn Narses was able to complete the conquest of the rest of Italy in 553, seizing the cities of Florence and Volterra. The Gothic Wars ended in October 554, when Narses defeated an invasion of the Franks and Alemanni in the Battle of Volturno.