“I understand your position, Longinus, but my mind is set. We have revenged the wrong they have done Rome. Fronto saw to that by the banks of the Saone. They must be broken for the good of our allies, but by no means am I expecting, or even desirous of, genocide. To eliminate all vestiges of the tribe would be to leave no one to rule, and no one to act as a buffer against the Germans. No, we need to break the Helvetii for good and put them back where they belong.”
Caesar looked around the tent at the gathered officers. Attendants and servants went about their various tasks, almost invisible to the commanders. The general regarded the servants and made a gesture towards the doorway.
“Out. All of you.”
The officers dithered for a moment, unsure as to whether the general was referring to the servants or themselves. As the various attendants left the tent, Caesar leaned through the doorway and addressed the guards.
“You two, move the guard line ten yards down the hill and keep everyone away from this tent.”
The soldiers saluted and made their way down the slippery bank. Once they were well and truly alone, Caesar took his seat again.
“Gentlemen, I would have preferred to have kept some of this under wraps as yet, but I suppose you’ll piece things together soon enough, probably wrongly, and I’d rather you had all the information than filled in the gaps with guesses. With the likelihood of a final encounter with the Helvetii looming, I need all of my officers to be prepared for subsequent action.”
As the officers looked at each other questioningly, Fronto paid particular attention to Tetricus. The man looked tired, but he certainly didn’t look surprised. Whatever was afoot, Tetricus was already in the know. He looked round as he realised the General was talking again.
“Once we have defeated the Helvetii, I intend to send them back to their lands near Geneva. That does not, however, herald the end of the campaign. The following information goes no further at this time, of course.”
Nods and affirmative noises filled the tent. A redundant phrase, Fronto thought. Caesar had enough presence and power over these legions that the officers would betray the confidence of their own family before they would betray the General, whether that be through respect or through fear. He looked back across at his commander as the man continued.
“There has been a great deal of movement on the German border over the past few months, while we have been campaigning against the Helvetii. In much the same way as the Helvetii have invaded lower Gaul and moved west, a number of German tribes under a man named Ariovistus have crossed the Rhine and settled in the lands of the Sequani to the west.”
Caesar leaned forwards and unfurled the larger campaign map on the table once more.
“These German tribes have been used as mercenaries by the Gauls for many years now, fighting for the Sequani and the Arverni against our allies the Aedui. That they have turned on their former employers and settled on their land is no concern of ours, but we cannot ignore the threat that they constitute to the stability of our alliances in Gaul. I anticipate a request for aid from certain quarters very soon.”
The general paused a moment to allow all this fresh information to settle in.
“Just as we will not allow the Helvetii to threaten our allies, nor will we give the Germans free reign. They must be kept on their own side of the Rhine. So, gentlemen, barring a miraculous turnaround by Ariovistus, we will be continuing our campaign in the field for the foreseeable future.”
The muttering began once more. Caesar waited a minute longer, and then stood.
“Gentlemen, I shall require your presence in two hours when we shall prepare our strategy for tomorrow and attend to the disposition of troops. In the meantime, find your legions and go about your duties. I want the entire army ready to manoeuvre into position by the time we have finished our next briefing. Dismissed.”
As the officers made their way respectfully out of the tent, Caesar sat back once more.
“Fronto? Stay a moment if you would.”
The legate waited until the last of the staff had left and then closed the tent flaps for the general. As he turned, Caesar gestured to a chair.
“Marcus, I need your advice.”
“Sir?”
Caesar shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“I am concerned over Geneva, Crassus, and the wisdom of long-term troop command and I want your honest thoughts.”
Fronto sighed. It was going to be one of those conversations. He hadn’t had this kind of talk with Caesar for some time now.
“Firstly, sir, if you really want my honest advice, I’m going to have to speak quite plainly and openly with no fear of reprimand. Are you happy with that?”
Caesar nodded.
“You know I’ve always allowed you a measure of independence that I don’t extend to the rest of my staff.”
Fronto shuffled in his seat and unhooked his cloak, letting it fall to the ground. He reached out and took the jug of wine from Caesar’s table and filled two glasses, offering one to the general, who accepted it readily.
“As far as Geneva is concerned, how many units are stationed there again?”
Caesar rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
“There should still be four auxiliary units, two infantry, one cavalry and one mixed. They’re commanded by individual prefects under the general auspices of the decurions of Geneva.”
Fronto furrowed his eyebrows.
“Unless there’s a full-scale German invasion, that should be sufficient. I don’t think the Germans will come across the Helvetian territory any time soon. They’re too busy crossing the Rhine to the north. Besides, if the Germans launched any kind of large scale operation, even ten times that number would be unlikely to stop them.”
He sighed.
“Just in case, however, I would be tempted to send a message to Aquileia and raise the same number of troops again. I’d have a proper military officer assigned to them from the base at Aquileia and send them all to Geneva. That way you’d have a sizeable force under a proper commander that won’t cost too much to raise and won’t dig in to your reserves of regular soldiers. I’m intrigued to know why Tetricus is here with most of the force?”
Caesar sighed.
“A courier arrived a while back during our time by the Saone, when you were off trying to defeat the Helvetii on your own. Tetricus had received word of Ariovistus’ crossing of the Rhine and thought I would need to know. He also believed that Geneva was in absolutely no danger with the absence of the Helvetii and with the German tribes pushing northwest, away from there. He requested permission to rejoin the army, so I sent him a message telling him to join us with all speed and to set the auxiliaries off on the way. It was his idea to leave a small defensive force at Geneva. I didn’t think we particularly needed Tetricus there in command, so I brought him here. I gather that during his short stay in Geneva he was healing very quickly from his wound, but I see now that such a long journey has perhaps set his recovery back again. Perhaps in retrospect I should have told him not to come.”
Fronto shook his head.
“Now he’s here he’ll be fine. It’s a long and gruelling journey from Geneva, particularly for someone who isn’t fully healed.” He looked down at his arm. “Believe me. Tetricus will be fine now. You’re probably right about Geneva being secure, but I’d prefer to play it safe.”
Caesar frowned and put his hand to his temple, a sign Fronto recognised that heralded one of the general’s numbing headaches.
“Then my big problem is probably Crassus. Do I even need to ask what you make of him?”
Fronto grimaced.
“Disregarding my personal dislike for him, I think he’s a jumped up, arrogant, nasty little politician riding on the back of his father’s fame.”
The general rubbed his temples again and continued.
“Disregarding your personal dislike?”