Biographical fiction; Cyrus, King of Persia, -529 B.C. -- Fiction; Education of princes -- Fiction
[8] His own position, to begin with, must be at the centre of the
camp, as this was the safest place, and next to him must come his most
faithful followers, as their habit was. Beyond these, in a ring, lay the
cavalry and the charioteers. [9] For Cyrus held to it that these troops
also needed a safe position: their equipment could not be kept at
hand for them, and if they were to be of any use at all they needed
considerable time for arming. [10] The targeteers were placed to
left and right of the cavalry, and the bowmen in front and rear. [11]
Finally, the heavy-armed troops and those who carried the huge shields
surrounded the whole encampment like a wall; so that in case of need, if
the cavalry had to mount, the steadiest troops would stand firm in front
and let them arm in safety. [12] He insisted that the targeteers and
archers should, like the soldiers of the line, sleep at their posts, in
case of alarm at night, and be ready at any moment, while the infantry
dealt with the assailant at close quarters, to hurl darts and javelins
at them over the others' heads. [13] Moreover, all the generals had
standards on their tents; and just as an intelligent serving-man in a
city will know most of the houses, at any rate of the most important
people, so the squires of Cyrus knew the ways of the camp and the
quarters of the generals and the standards of each. Thus, if Cyrus
needed any one they had not to search and seek, but could run by
the shortest road and summon him at once. [14] Owing to this clear
arrangement, it was easy to see where good discipline was kept and where
duty was neglected. With these dispositions Cyrus felt that if an attack
should be made, by night or day, the enemy would find not so much a
camp as an ambuscade. [15] Nor was it enough, he considered, for a real
master of tactics to know how to extend his front without confusion, or
deepen his ranks, or get from column into line, or wheel round quickly
when the enemy appeared on the right or the left or in the rear: the
true tactician must also be able to break up his troops into small
bodies, whenever necessary, and place each division exactly where it
would be of the greatest use; he must know how to quicken speed when
it was essential to forestall the enemy; these and a hundred other
operations are part of his science, and Cyrus studied them all with
equal care. [16] On the march he varied the order constantly to suit the
needs of the moment, but for the camp, as a rule, he adopted the plan we
have described.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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