Maurice started to say something, but his commander cut him off. Belisarius had relied on boldness throughout this campaign. His instincts told him to stay the course.
“I’ve made up my mind. We’ll follow Abbu’s proposal. Take Uch in a lightning strike, smash that small Malwa army there, and then use the ships to ferry our army into the triangle. We’ll set up our lines across the triangle, as far down into the tip as we need to be to have enough of a troop concentration. Then—”
He straightened. “Thereafter, we’ll be relying on the courage of our cataphracts to hold off the Malwa counterattack. And the courage of Menander to bring the supplies we need to hold out. Simple as that.”
He scanned the faces of the men at the table, almost challenging them to say anything.
Maurice chuckled. “I’m not worried about their courage, general. Just . . . These damn newfangled contraptions of Justinian’s better work. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Sittas, like Maurice, was not given to challenging Belisarius once a decision had been made. So, like the excellent officer he was, he moved directly to implementation.
“Leaving the logistics out of it, the position in the fork is the best possible from a defensive point of view. We can design our fieldworks to provide us with continual lines of retreat. The more they press us, the more narrow the front will become as we retreat south into the tip of the triangle. As long as we can provide the men with enough to eat . . .”
Suddenly, he burst into laughter. “And they’ll demand plenty, don’t think they won’t! Ha! Greek cataphracts—half of them aristocrats, to boot—aren’t accustomed to digging trenches. They’ll whine and grouse, all through the day and half the night. But as long as we keep them fed, they’ll do the job.”
“They won’t have much choice,” snorted Abbu. “Even Greek noblemen aren’t that stupid. Dig or die. Once we cross the Chenab, those are the alternatives.”
“I just hope they don’t argue with me about the details,” grumbled Gregory. “Those hide-bound bastards of Sittas’—on the rare occasions when they think about fieldworks at all—still have their brains soaked in legends about Caesar. The first time I use the words ‘bastion’ and ‘retired flank’ and ‘ravelin’ they’re going to look at me like I was a lunatic.”
Sittas grinned. “No they won’t.” He gestured with a thick thumb at Belisarius’ chest. “Just tell them the Talisman of God gave you the words. That’s as good as saints’ bones, far as they’re concerned.”
Gregory still looked skeptical, but Belisarius was inclined to agree with Sittas. Even the notorious conservatism of Greek noble cataphracts could be dented, on occasion. And all of them, by now, were steeped in the Roman army’s tradition of awe and respect for the mysterious mind of Aide.
“If I need to,” he chuckled, “I’ll give them a look. Aide can put on a dazzling show, when he wants to.”
Great, muttered Aide. I travel across the vastness of time in order to become a circus sideshow freak.
Belisarius was back to scratching his chin. And his crooked smile was making an appearance.
“I like it,” he said firmly. “Let’s not get too preoccupied with logistics. There’s also the actual fighting to consider. And I can’t imagine better defensive terrain than the triangle.”
“Neither can I,” chimed in Gregory.
All the men in the tent turned their attention toward him. Other than Agathius—who was far to the south in Barbaricum, organizing the logistics for the entire Roman army marching north into the Sind—no one understood the modern methods of siege warfare better than Gregory.
The young artillery officer began ticking off on his fingers.
“First—although I won’t be sure until we get there—I’m willing to bet the water table is high. Flat terrain with a high water table—those are exactly the conditions which shaped the Dutch fortifications against the Spanish. Whom they held off—the most powerful army in the world—for almost a century.”
The names of future nations were only vaguely familiar to the other men in the tent, except Belisarius himself, but those veteran officers could immediately understand the point Gregory was making.