Belisarius was already turning. As he began giving the new signal, he heard Maurice mutter: “Oh, marvelous. The Rajputs are already starting their charge. God, I hate competent enemies.” A few seconds later, hissing: “Shit. I can’t believe it!”
Belisarius had been watching the musketeers climbing up the slope. Hearing the alarm in Maurice’s voice, he immediately turned around.
Seeing the speed with which the Rajput cavalry was charging up that side of the saddle, Belisarius understood Maurice’s shock. Belisarius himself had never seen cavalry move that quickly in mountainous terrain.
Silently, he cursed himself for an idiot. He had forgotten—it might be better to say, never understood in the first place. Belisarius was accustomed to Roman and Persian heavy cavalry, whose gear and tactics had been shaped by centuries of war on the flat plains of Mesopotamia. But the Rajputs were not heavy cavalry—not, at least, by Roman and Persian standards—and they were unfazed by rough terrain.
Rajputana is a land of hills, chimed in Aide. The Rajput military tradition was forged in expeditions against Pathan mountaineers, and battles fought against Marathas in the volcanic badlands of the Great Country.
“Like a bunch of damned mountain goats,” growled Maurice. He cocked his head. “You do realize, young man, that your fancy battle plan just flew south for the winter.” For all the grimness of the words, there was a trace of satisfaction in the voice. Maurice was one of those natural-born pessimists who took a strange pleasure in seeing the world live down to their expectations.
Belisarius had already reached the same conclusion. The weakest part of his tactical plan had been its reliance on close timing. The Rajputs had just kicked over the hourglass. Shattered it to pieces, in fact. Sanga’s forces would strike the Roman left long before Belisarius had expected them to.
“Get over there quick, Maurice,” he commanded. “Work with Cyril to get the Greeks reoriented. They’ll have to hold off Sanga now, as long as they can. Forget about any countercharge against the Ye-tai.” He pointed to the large force of Thracian cataphracts positioned halfway down the back slope, as a reserve. “And send a dispatch rider to the bucellarii, telling them to move left. We’re going to need them.”
“What about the Mamelukes?” asked Maurice. He looked southwest, to where the Kushans were holding the fords at the river half a mile below. “Do you want them up here, with you?”
Belisarius shook his head. “Not unless I’m desperate. I can’t risk having any of them captured. Even a dead Kushan body could give the game away.”
Maurice gave a skeptical glance at the musketeers who were nearing the crest.
“Do you really you think you can hold—” he started to say, but broke off. A second later, the chiliarch was scuttling down the trench, toward the Roman left. For all Maurice’s frequent sarcasms on the subject of Belisarius’ “fancy damned battle plans,” the Thracian veteran was not given to arguing with him in the midst of actual combat. A general’s willingness to command—instantly and surely—was more important in a battle than whether the command itself was wise. Maurice had seen battles won, more than once, simply because the commander had stood his ground and given clear and definite orders. Any orders, just so long as the troops felt that a steady hand was in control.
Belisarius peered over the parapet. The Ye-tai were very close, now. Their battle cries filled the air, thick with confidence, heavy with impending triumph. They had been bloodied by the Roman archery, but not badly enough. Several thousand would still reach the crest, where outnumbered and lightly armed Syrian infantry would be no match for them.
He rose, half-standing, and looked over the other parapet. The musketeers and the pikemen were almost at the crest, just a few yards down the slope. They had stopped, actually, to make a final dress of their lines. Belisarius saw Mark of Edessa watching him, calmly waiting for the general’s order.
Here goes, thought Belisarius.
He gave the signal. Again, the cornicens blew. As he turned back to face the enemy, Belisarius saw small figures on nearby hilltops frantically waving banners. The Pathan scouts had caught sight of the new Roman unit surging forward, and were signaling Damodara.