Count Belisarius

They admitted that there had been talk of this sort, because the Syracusan sailors in the food-ships had told frightening and incredible yams about the Vandal fleet – how it consisted chiefly of fast vessels of 1,500 tons burden and five banks of oars that could carve their way through our fleet as a knife through cream cheese. But they swore that they themselves were not afraid, and undertook to induce their men to fight as bravely on sea as on land.

Belisarius then spoke: 'Comrades, I trust that you will not regard what I have to say as the words of a master, or fancy that I have delayed them to the last in order to close the discussion and compel your acquiescence. We are now aware of all the chief factors in the problem and, if you permit me, I shall sum up like a judge and deliver my verdict. But it will not necessarily be a final verdict. If any flaw in my reasoning is pointed out, I shall be most willing to consider an amendment.

'In the first place: it seems that the troops have given fair warning of their refusal to fight the Vandal fleet if it comes out against us, but declare themselves perfectly ready for any battles that may be fought on dry land, whatever the odds. You know as well as I do that one cannot compel men to fight against their will; and if they will fight bravely on land at least, that is as much as it is fair to ask of landsmen. Next: I do not agree that we need forfeit the clement of surprise by disembarking our army here. If we send a few fast galleys well ahead, disguised as Egyptian pirates, to seize any vessels that they encounter, we can protect our main fleet from observation. Similarly on land, our cavalry scouts can ride well ahead and prevent any information of our approach from reaching Carthage by road. The argument that a storm might scatter or wreck the ships has to be considered; but surely if a storm came it would be safer to have the troops and horses safely ashore? Worse than a storm, from a military point of view, would be a calm, which would give the Vandals time to prepare. The map shows me, moreover, that to reach the Lake of Tunis we would have to round Cape Bon, at the end of a long promontory with precipitous cliffs, and suddenly alter our course from north-east to southwest. If we had Odysseus's famous bag of winds with us, so that we could release first one and then the other, or if all our vessels were galleys, it might be a different matter; but I think that we cannot risk being delayed by a calm or a contrary wind at the turning point.

'My advice therefore is that we disembark; that the fleet accompanies us slowly as far as the neck of the promontory, from which it is only fifty miles to Carthage by land, but 150 by sea; that we then make straight for Cartilage across the hills and around the Lake, and capture it; and that the fleet round the promontory as quickly as possible and join us there as soon as we signal that we need it. As for walled cities: the infantry has been trained by me in the art of digging entrenched camps, which are better than walled towns in a way, because they contain no troublesome civilian problems. Lastly, our men and horses must regain their shore-legs before they fight: a nine days' march is just what they need. Ever)' plan has its drawbacks and dangers, but the great numerical superiority of the Vandals suggests the advantage of a plan as unsuspected as the one I have proposed. Remember, too, that the Roman Africans are Orthodox and that Geilimer's Vandals are regarded as Arian oppressors. If we behave boldly and sensibly we shall have the entire civilian population on our side and not want cither for water or for provisions.'

These arguments were unanswerable. We all disembarked, but for a guard of five archers left behind in each ship, and the crews. My mistress Antonina could not be persuaded to remain in the flag-ship, being a woman of outstanding courage.

CHAPTER II

DEFEAT OF THE VANDALS

IN most histories that are published nowadays, one battle reads very much like any other. It will be a test of my historical skill henceforth if I can tell you enough about those battles fought by Belisarius to indicate their difference in character one from another, without wearying you with too much heroic military detail: as a host may give a guest famous old wines to taste without attempting to induce intoxication in him. I must show, for example, that the Battle of the Tenth Milestone differed from the two Persian battles of Daras and the Euphrates Bank in its extreme disorderliness and geographical complexity.