‘But are we deceived?’ Flavius added, entering a note of caution. ‘Is Gelimer waiting to strike, knowing full well where we are and the likely spot at which we will come ashore? We must guard against that, so the first thing to do on landing is to give ourselves a secure base. We will throw up an earthen rampart behind which we will be secure and we will turn that into a fortress, as well guarded as would be an old legionary camp. For the vessels anchored offshore the fighting galleys must be manned, and employed in rowing guard too. You know why.’
The expedition he had just mentioned had been destroyed by Vandals sending in among them fireships while they were at anchor. The losses sustained to that tactic ensured that the battle ended in defeat.
‘Rowboats too, General,’ suggested Calonymus. ‘As far from the anchorage as they can without losing sight of our masts. An early warning if they have torches and flints with which to ignite them.’
‘A good idea. Gentlemen it is time to pray. We land at dawn.’
With the sun at their backs they hit the open beach just south of a settlement known as Caput Vada, the infantry disembarking first. Half set to digging and throwing up the earthwork Flavius wanted, the rest hauling the horse transports beam on to the beach and securing them with ropes and stakes so their wide gangplanks could be lowered over the side. Both the horses and those landing them took pleasure in the time spent in the warm sea, the animals, even if they had been continually groomed, carrying the filth of accumulated travel and confinement, causing a great amount of splashing that turned the sea light brown by disturbed sand.
Much shouting in various tongues ensued as the commanders sought to organise their troops of cavalry and it was far from smooth. But it was heartening to Flavius, watching from the deck of his command ship, to see it being less of a melee than had attended any of the previous disembarkations. Not long after, midday patrols were out scouring the surrounding countryside for any evidence of an enemy but there was none. Belisarius and the Roman army were ashore and secure, now with a wooden stockade under construction and a fleet to which they could retreat at will behind them.
Next he must go ashore himself and lead the march on Carthage. If Gelimer was not in his capital it made no difference where he lay, for with a Roman army on the way to besiege it he must hurry to secure his base. He who held the city held the region and that had been the case since the time of Hannibal and Scipio Africanus. The only worry was the lack of knowledge of the whereabouts of any forces out in the countryside and that dictated his tactics from now on.
The Vandals, once they found the Romans had landed, would not be organised into a composite army ready for battle and thus, being dispersed, they must coalesce in groups of varying sizes according to previous arrangements at certain key locations. There had to be another plan for them to unite and his aim was to prevent such a union so that he would always outnumber whoever he faced.
There was one other consideration and it was important, the attitude of those the Vandals ruled: what would they do when they encountered the Roman army, welcome them and provide aid and intelligence, or stand aside and wait to see who was more likely to triumph? The nearest town of any size was called Syllectus, a place large enough to have both a local forum and an amphitheatre.
Flavius selected one of his best bucellarii commanders to go there. Boriades had a cool head and a shrewd mind, but more importantly he was, like his general, a native Latin speaker, for that was the language of the province. The instructions were clear: whatever happened, no harm was to come to the indigenes.
‘Even if you lose men in the process you are to retire in the face of any resistance.’
‘Not an easy order to obey, General.’
‘But obey it you must.’
The day was spent in more organisation, though the troops were given some freedom to roam and that led to the first flogging, administered to a quartet of infantry to drive home that it was not acceptable for any of his men to help themselves to food and drink without payment, which was what had occurred, though in this case it was merely picking fruit without asking.
That had him call his entire force together and harangue them; the local population had been under Vandal rule for a century but he thought them still to be Romans at heart. Such people could be their friends or, exposed to unprincipled behaviour, at best indifferent and at worst actively resistant. Treated well they might provide valuable information on the Vandals, for whom they should have no love, treated badly they might join with the enemy. Then there was food, which would be abundant only if paid for; stolen on the march, those ahead of the army would hide their stored produce.
He reminded them they were alone on a hostile shore and without driving it home too forcibly, alluded to the vicissitudes the men had suffered just to get here; did they want to be forced back aboard those ships to return defeated to Constantinople? It was then made plain that any more incidents of such a nature would be more severely punished and the men were reminded of those two Huns publically hanged.
‘Pay for what you need,’ was the blanket command.
Boriades did not return in person but sent a small detachment back to the main camp to report that having bivouacked outside Syllectus the men had entered the town by just following in the morning carts proceeding to market; no violence and no parleying had been necessary. Finding Romans in their midst, albeit from the east, the leading citizens had bid them welcome and promised aid.
‘Freely given or out of fear?’ Flavius asked. ‘Faced with a body of mounted fighting men they may be just being cautious.’
‘Impossible to tell, Excellence.’
‘Your impression will suffice.’
‘I think them pleased, but with worries that should we not prevail their overlords will take a stiff revenge.’
While they were talking another messenger came in from Syllectus, to say that Boriades, with the help of the overseer of the local post house, had taken into custody a messenger on his way to alert Carthage to the landing, the fellow having stopped to change mounts. This revealed that the Vandals were still using the same method of fast-mounted messengers on the roads they inherited from Roman rule and that would be used to get their forces organised. Discussing what to do with this messenger, Flavius was politely interrupted by Procopius.
‘Is our cause against Gelimer or the Vandals as a people?’
The man he served was quick to get the drift of that suggestion, which seemed to confuse the other senior officers present. The messenger, sent on his way, might provide an opportunity to separate those who still supported the imprisoned Hilderic from Gelimer, and the majority of those would be in Carthage where such a message might have an effect. He spoke while Procopius wrote, saying who they were and more importantly whom they represented.
The message stated that the Emperor Justinian had no desire to make war on the Vandals as a people, just to see their rightful ruler, a man with whom he had corresponded and with whom he was about to sign a treaty of friendship, placed back on his throne. That accomplished, the invasion force would re-embark and sail for home.
‘Justinian would brand us for such a falsehood,’ Procopius ventured.
‘The opposite is true; when it comes to spinning lies our Emperor is a past master. This is mean stuff to him and would scarce warrant a reward.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The Romans having no idea of the whereabouts of their enemies or their mode of fighting, Flavius split the army into separate detachments prior to the march to Styllectus, their first destination. Three hundred bucellarii were placed under an experienced commander, John the Armenian. They were sent ahead of the main body at a distance of one league, that to be maintained.