Real Crusades History #125 (#124 has been deleted). And don't forget the Real Crusades History website!

In the early months of 1041, Ardouin and his three hundred Norman allies, which included William Ironarm and his brother Drogo, occupied Melfi, and secured the surrender of Venosa, Lavello, and Ascoli. Although the Normans spent some time pillaging the countryside, they were able to achieve a fair amount of support from the Apulian locals, who were eager to rid themselves of rule from Constantinople. Apulia was the wealthiest province in Byzantine Italy, with prosperous trading and fishing ports all up and down its coast. Inland the great landowners produced grains, olives, wine, vegetables, and fruits. 

Constantinople had often relied on the fighting spirit of the locals to ward off Arab pirates, but the independent-mindedness of the locals meant that they were never too pleased with Byzantine overlordship. The local Byzantine governor acted quickly to suppress the Norman rebellion, marching an army before the walls of Venosa by mid-March. The Normans were badly outnumbered – assembling an army of some 300 knights and perhaps 600 infantry. The Byzantines had around two thousand troops, including an elite Varangian division. The Byzantine governor sent a rider to the Normans with an ultimatum: return at once to Lombard territory, or face annihilation at the hands of the Byzantine army. The Norman response was characteristically violent and bombastic. When the Byzantine emissary finished offering terms, one of the Norman knights, called Hugh, stepped forward and, making a fist, struck the head of the emissary’s horse, killing it instantly according to some sources. While the idea of a single blow from a human hand slaying a horse may be mere medieval hyperbole, the story nevertheless perfectly illustrates the Norman attitude toward the terms offered, and when the emissary returned to the Byzantine camp, the governor had no doubts and prepared for full on battle. The following day, the Byzantines and Normans fought their first battle since Cannae twenty-four years earlier, but this time the Norman cavalry carried the day, smashing the Byzantine lines despite being outnumbered. While the Byzantines retreated, the Normans returned in triumph to Melfi, then sent raiding parties to pillage Byzantine-held territory. By May the Byzantines had sent reinforcements from Asia. The Normans elected William Ironarm as their leader, who gathered another army to meet the Byzantines. Once again, the two sides met, this time at Montemagiore. Here the Normans faced even more daunting numbers, and yet once again Norman cavalry tactics carried the day. The Byzantines were defeated.

The Byzantines would try to reverse the situation one more time, but once again the Normans won a battle near Montepeloso in September. Once again, William Ironarm’s leadership proved an asset. The Byzantines retreated to the coast, while the Normans and the Lombards controlled virtually the whole of the Apulian interior. Yet again, a Lombard prince came to the fore of the Lombard/Norman alliance: one Argyrus of Bari, who became overlord of the newly conquered Apulian territory.

These victories by the Normans in the field were nothing short of astounding. The Byzantine army was one of the best in the world, and the fact that the Normans managed to best them when so desperately outnumbered was owed strictly to their skill as fighters: in particular, their cohesiveness and strength in the cavalry charge made all the difference.

The Emperor in Constantinople took quick action to counter the Norman gains, releasing from prison the fearsome George Maniakes and appointing him governor of Apulia. Maniakes landed at Taranto in April, 1042. The Normans tried to besiege Taranto, but Maniakes drove them off, and proceeded to brutally raid every city and town that had so much as shown sympathy toward the Norman/Lombard rebellion.