Alan Military Tactics

[Michael Kerr]

In regard to the settling of Alans by both Rome & China in different time periods. Although 30,000 Alans were settled in China, do you think the various 5th century Alannic groups were resettled in Gaul with a similar number? Somehow I doubt it but how many core Alan cavalrymen would Sangibanus have had under his command at Chalons? A few thousand, a few hundred. If they were veterans of the Roman army their horsemen would probably be organized like other Roman cavalry & trained to act & fight like Roman cavalry or at least understand Roman tactics, not the old style swarm tactics of the Steppes but possibly a hybrid of both. But although the original Alan group under Respendial that joined with Vandals invading Gaul & then Spain may have been quite large, even after Goar's Alans defected from this group but I don't think the Alan groups in Gaul in Aetius's time would be as large. Only surmising of course.
Constantius mentions that when Germanus travelled to meet Eochar's army to try & stop this warlike people & their "idol worshipping" king when he neared the Alan army, he noted that the people had already started off and the armoured cavalry had filled up the entire route. This seems a sizeable force but maybe the traffic included wagons, families, herds & of course a flood of refugees fleeing the oncoming Alans with their remaining possessions loaded on to any wheeled transport they could get their hands onto sending a clear message to rebel Amoricans that the Alans were here to stay, but in a late Roman context would a force of a few thousand Alans be feasible or would it have been a much smaller core force consisting of mounted archers & lancers with a mixed force of retainers as well as new allies, who owe them allegiance as their new overlords,or family through marriages etc. from their newly settled lands. It was a common military tactic to get part of your army to drive herds to raise dust clouds creating the impression of a much larger force. So could they have been in smaller groups at first as it was mentioned earlier in this thread that after Eochar died Sangibanus took over both groups & if true then Aetius must have approved of merger. But I doubt if Alan groups in Gaul numbered more than a few thousand.
Regards
Michael Kerr