World on Fire

by Christian Kachel

  The two fiercely stared at each other for an uncomfortably long time before we turned and departed the headquarters tent. Our troop of escorts were waiting and quickly herded us out of the camp. Once outside, our arms were returned and we made our camp outside the army’s perimeter for the evening.

  ****

  We departed on our camels at first light ahead of the army’s march to deliver Ptolemy’s stern response.

  “Ptolemy’s army is bigger than ours and it is led by competent commanders. I will recommend to Demetrius we withdraw north to merge our force with his father before facing Ptolemy.”

  “And Orontes?” I asked.

  “I should have strangled him to death right then and there. That was a nice-looking scar across his face, though. Good work, Andrikos. If Demetrius agrees to withdraw, I will lobby Antigonus to put an assassination mission together – assuming Orontes is still in Ptolemy’s camp by then. If Demetrius chooses to engage Ptolemy’s army, I will be sure to include Orontes in any peace negotiations. That is all we can do for now. If our army is eventually victorious and all other Successor factions are defeated, then we can think about reintroducing Alexander as the legitimate heir. Until that time, it is too dangerous for anyone to think him still alive. You and Davos performed brilliantly in Amphipolis; The King’s Hand owes you an immeasureable debt of gratitude.”

  ****

  We pushed our camels hard and made it back to Gaza in one week – giving Demetrius about four days before Ptolemy’s army would arrive. We took up audience with him immediately upon entering our army’s encampment and were led directly to his private quarters. He was with a woman at the moment of our arrival so we waited a quarter-hour outside his tent before an attendant granted us entry.

  “Vettias, my trusted advisor, welcome,” Demetrius greeted, wearing a long, silk robe. “What news of Ptolemy? Did he listen to reason?”

  “Unfortunately our overtures were rebuffed, sir,” Vettias responded directly. “Ptolemy’s army marches north as we speak and will arrive in four days’ time. Andrikos and I were granted access into his camp and observed the size and disposition of his forces. From what we observed, it is my recommendation our army withdraw from Gaza and link up with your father in Asia Minor to combine our forces and face Ptolemy from a position of strength. I fear our Gazan contingent cannot blunt Ptolemy’s counter-attack on its own.”

  “Withdraw? Cede Judea and Phoenicia? This is not the Macedonian way. This is not what Alexander would have done. He never ran from a fight and he was massively outnumbered by his enemies on several occasions.”

  “His staff gave the same advice I am giving to you now before many of those battles as well. It is up to you whether you wish to heed it, sir. In this instance, we are outnumbered by a Macedonian army led by a Macedonian general, not some chieftain leading a horde of dirt farmers assembled from around the empire.”

  “And he offered no counter to my propositions?”

  “He demands you and your father’s army abandon Judea and Phoenicia and return to Syria where you must also reinstate Seleucus as the Satrap of Babylonia.”

  “That Egyptian swine!” Demetrius shouted out in rage, throwing a decorative marble bust to the ground. “My father and I are the ones who defeated Eumenes and brought the eastern satrapies back under the control of the empire. And we are to be given nothing for it? Cutting our holdings in half by granting Seleucus control of Babylon will make our position untenable in Asia. Ptolemy thinks he can march out of his Egyptian hole and dictate terms to the army of the Lord of Asia? When he wasn’t even a signatory at the Triparadeisus Summit! Well, he’s about to find out things have changed and I am not someone to dictate terms to!” Demetrius finished while calling for an attendant to enter his quarters. “Call a staff meeting at once!” Demetrius barked as the scared youth ran out of the tent to execute his orders. “Be at the headquarters tent in ten minutes. This army isn’t going anywhere,” he concluded while turning to his bed chamber and dismissing us.

  CHAPTER 43

  When the sun rose on the fourth day after our return to Demetrius’ encampment, two Greek armies, one originating from Egypt, the other from Asia, stood opposite each other on the field of battle near the Judean city of Gaza. Vettias and I were on horseback beside Demetrius and the majority of his battle staff. He chose to lead the left flank of his army, which included his elite cavalry, a contingent of light infantry and thirty Indian war elephants. In the center was his phalanx, bolstered by a contingent of thirteen elephants placed in front as a screen to mitigate our deficiency in number. On the right was his main cavalry corps.

  While Demetrius’ prowess as a tactician was unproven, there was no denying his command presence on the battlefield rivaled that of Alexander himself. His stature overshadowed all around him and he was easily recognized by the opposing army. His confidence and skill inspired his army and instilled doubt in his enemies. As the two armies jockeyed for position, Demetrius regularly rode up and down the front line to rally his men and taunt our adversaries. His efforts motivated our army to a fever pitch as the advance guards of Demetrius’ left cavalry and Ptolemy’s right cavalry joined in initial skirmishes.

  Demetrius’ advance cavalry successfully drove Ptolemy’s from the field which further encouraged our forces and demoralized the enemy. Seeking to capitalize on this momentum, Demetrius ordered a complete charge of his left cavalry. The full weight of his left flank lurched forward with horse, elephant and light infantry all moving toward Ptolemy’s right flank. Like Alexander, Demetrius led from the front and required his staff to stay close to him. He also kept a cadre of messengers on horseback who could be sent to give orders to other parts of the army and relay information back to him. Despite Ptolemy’s initial setback, we found ourselves charging at a determined enemy that confidently rode out to meet our charge.

  As our pace picked up, our ranks began to open, making it easier to maneuver as the space between riders increased. As our front line slammed into the enemy, a murderous roar could be heard and our pace quickly halted, bunching our riders together once again. Our front line began spearing our enemies and within moments I found myself rapidly closing with my first Ptolemaic rider. Combat while riding on horseback is a different business than on foot since one must temporarily let go of the lance’s shaft at the point of impact lest the attacker become unbalanced and pulled off his horse by the contortions of the victim or the breaking of his shaft. Once the blow has been dealt the attacker must rapidly remove the lance and prepare for their next attack. A successful lance attack on horseback requires much skill and concentration to execute properly. Combat through sword or spear on a horse not moving requires intense concentration of one’s weight and momentum while always maintain a strong grip of your mount with your legs. A rider who falls from his steed will certainly be crushed by hooves of surrounding beasts within moments.

  I readied my lance and thrust it at my first adversary’s chest while galloping as fast as our bunched formation allowed. My attack pierced my victim’s stomach through his linen cuirass, causing him to hunch over and grab the shaft. I regained my grip and violently pulled the point from his torso, the force of which ripped him off his mount where he fell to the ground and was brutally trampled. As soon as my lance became free, another rider appeared opposite me and I thrust my lance once more. Since I did not have sufficient time to ready my second attack, my blow did not land effectively and glanced off my opponents right shoulder. The man adjusted his seat to maintain his balance and rode out of my range. I regained a strong hold of my weapon and readied for my third attack on the next rider which landed true; but when I pulled the lance back, the shaft broke, almost throwing me from my horse.

  Demetrius’ initial momentum and violence of action caused considerable damage to Ptolemy’s front line and we crashed through several rows of his cavalry before our charge was finally blunted. Broken lances, injured horses and trampled bodies now littered the ground as I unsheathed my swo
rd and made ready for close combat atop my horse. I looked over to Vettias who was still wielding his lance and shared a quick nod to indicate we were both all right.

  Our Indian elephants now clashed with Ptolemy’s North African elephants. Indian elephants are a larger breed and succeeded in intimidating their smaller adversaries, giving us the initial advantage and momentum. These large beasts locked tusks while their mahouts reigned down javelins and arrows on the men below. The elephant contest was occurring on the opposite side of the left flank to my position, thus I could only make out the occasional shriek or kick-up of dust.

  We continued to push hard behind Demetrius, who gave a valiant and effort and was making considerable ground against Ptolemy’s right flank. He then signaled to bring his elephants arrayed in front of our center phalanx forward to crush Ptolemy’s center phalanx. Since our left cavalry had made considerable gains, we were now far ahead of our center and right lines, thus I could catch glimpses of the coming battle in the center of the field.

  As our center line elephants charged forward, several cavalrymen emerged from Ptolemy’s left flank, riding perpendicular along the length of the center line neutral zone directly in front of our charging elephants. It was a peculiar sight, given the impending elephant assault. They were kicking up dust behind them, as if they were dragging an unknown item that ran several hundred feet in length ahead of the elephant charge. As our elephants crossed over the line being run by Ptolemy’s horses, several of them shrieked and stumbled to the ground. Others halted their charge at the line and would go no further. The remaining elephants to make it past this unknown obstacle were met with an unrelenting barrage of javelins, arrows and slings from Ptolemy’s ground skirmishers. The elephants that did reach Ptolemy’s phalanx succumbed to these missiles as their depleted number allowed Ptolemy’s skirmishers to concentrate all of their fire on the remaining beasts, causing them to halt their advance while their crews were summarily murdered. The unknown devices towed by Ptolemy’s horses turned out to be several long, spiked chains, towed on horseback, and dropped directly in front of the elephant charge. Ptolemy’s ingenuity had succeeded in severely wounding the majority of Demetrius’ elephants, renderding them ineffective for combat.

  I didn’t have time to contemplate this disastrous occurrence as our cavalry was engaged in a fierce contest with both sides fighting to a bloody stalemate. Men on horseback were mercilessly hacking each other with swords, cursing and spitting upon one another while eagerly caving in skulls of their enemies on the ground beneath them. Whereas my time as a recruit prepared my stamina to ably wield my sarissa with both hands for long periods of exertion, I was not conditioned to constantly hack and block with a sword while gripping my mount with my thighs; thus my right shoulder winced with an intense sting of muscle exhaustion that grew worse with every blow I delivered on an enemy.

  I found myself having to dig deep within my constitution to summon the strength and intensity necessary to stay alive during the bloody melee. Because of the intransigence of the two cavalries, I found myself unable to move my horse in any direction due to the crush of cavalry around me. A particularly rabid cavalryman now faced opposite me and relentlessly hacked at me with his sword. It took all my remaining fortitude to effectively block his attacks. It was glaringly apparent I was not going to best him, so I viciously stabbed his horse in the neck, dropping his animal to the ground. The man was not willing to concede, however, and he jumped from his dying mount to wrap his arms around the neck of my horse, trying to pull himself up. Because there was no room to gallop, I could not easily shake him and it was going to be difficult to use my sword without hurting my animal.

  “Vettias!” I screamed, trying to get his attention through the chaos after he ended up beside me. “Vettias! Stab this son-of-a-bitch!” Vettias looked over to me, saw the situation, and stabbed the man through his armpit, severing muscle tissue and causing him to release his grip and fall to the ground where my horse stomped through his face.

  Suddenly, I felt the momentum begin to swing against our cavalry as my horse began moving backwards. I looked behind me to see much of our cavalry peeling off our flank in retreat. Word was beginning to travel quickly that our center elephants had been annihilated and our weaker phalanx was now engaged with Ptolemy’s superior phalanx without their assistance. We shouted word to the front to alert Demetrius of his cavalry’s retreat and he immediately led a small contingent rearward to personally stop the evacuation. Watching his vigor and command presence during the initial fighting, and now witnessing his herculean attempt to halt a full surrender, eliminated all doubts whether he was fit to lead men in battle. Observing his prowess must have been similar to what it was like to fight with Alexander. He was able to reconstitute much of his left flank into an organized withdrawal, as opposed to a full retreat. The efficiency and effectiveness of his actions deterred Ptolemy and Seleucus from pursuing their gains, thus ensuring our left flank had fought to a draw. All now rested on our Macedonian regulars in the center.

  Our left continued to hold and all eyes were fixed on the center where two powerful phalanxes were engaged in deadly combat. At first it appeared neither side had the advantage, but slowly our phalanx began being pushed back. It only took another half-hour before our center line collapsed and its remaining phalangites turned and fled the field toward Gaza proper where our army’s baggage train was secured. Mass chaos ensued as our phalanx was cut down or taken prisoner while our remaining left flank tactically withdrew from the field without suffering further casualties. Ptolemy and Seleucus claimed victory but Demetrius had survived to fight another day with the majority of his cavalry in tact.

  The entirety of Demetrius’ phalanx was either killed or captured however, and our left flank cavalry contingent rode north to regroup with Antigonus’ army in Asia Minor. Along the way, Demetrius skillfully and tirelessly organized his remaining forces into cohesive units capable of conducting defensive actions and guerilla attacks should Ptolemy decide to march further north. As it turned out, Ptolemy was content to recapture Judea and Phoenicia while allowing Demetrius’ forces to retain Syria. Our beleaguered contingent reached Antigonus’ army to learn he had negotiated an armistice with our rivals across the Aegean and the world settled into an uneasy truce. In the end, Cassander was master of Greece and Macedon and the recognized Regent of the missing Argeads; Lysimachus remained leader of Thrace; Ptolemy was master of Egypt; and Antigonus was still the Lord of Asia.

  ****

  When we reached Antigonus’ army in Cappadocia, Vettias and I sought out Davos and Hiro to discuss the state of affairs. We found a small tavern in town to settle in for the evening and enjoy each other’s company. The mood was serious and unsure. I felt as though we had accomplished great things in the years we served The Hand but the ultimate goal of placing Alexander IV on the throne seemed unlikely at this point. Like in many instances, I would wait to hear what Vettias’ assessment was before forming my final judgement.

  “Demetrius showed real promise at Gaza,” Vettias opined after filling Davos and Hiro in on the particulars of the battle. “He looked like Alexander out there. If he can learn strategic patience, there is no one who can defeat him on a field of battle. I would place my money on him as the leading candidate to eventually reunite the empire.”

  “Do you think such a feat can be accomplished anymore?” Davos asked.

  “It’s possible, but at this point, unlikely,” Vettias replied. “Orontes is still behind Cassander and his influence is growing, as evidenced by his collusion with Ptolemy. If anything, The Hand will exist to ensure that fiend is killed, along with Cassander.”

  “The Hand should stand for something more than petty vengeance on our enemies,” Hiro interjected with a sureness that denoted he had put much thought into The Hand’s future. “The Hand should stand for the ideals Alexander espoused; the ideals Eumenes fought for; the ideal that we are all Greeks – not Athenians, or Spartans, or Macedonians or Thracian
s, or Ionians or wherever you happened to be born. We are Greeks and our culture stands in stark contrast to the tyranny of the east or the savagery of the north. Alexander brought these ideals to non-Greek peoples and extended the benefits of Greek civilization to them. Eumenes fought endlessly to keep Alexander’s Empire intact and facilitate the transfer of power to Alexander IV. He spoke of these ideals on the day he was executed in Antigonus’ camp and there is no better way to honor him and Alexander than finish what they fought for.”

  “That was well said, Hieronymous,” Vettias declared while raising his cup in salute. “The world has settled into four lesser kingdoms, however, and there is little opportunity to exert our influence.”

  “We are still on the stronger side,” Davos opined.

  “Antigonus cannot be trusted to usher in Alexander’s ideals for this world,” I stated. “He is a tyrant and will rule no different than Darius himself.”

  “The son is the future,” Hiro responded. “Antigonus will be dead soon but Demetrius’ prospects are limitless. He will require the help of a close adviser who is familiar with The King’s Hand and the ideals of Alexander. I am the best positioned among us to fulfill this role.”

  “A strategic pause may be in order for the three of us – we have women anxiously awaiting our return,” Davos added.

  “And who’s waiting for you?” I asked sarcastically, looking at Davos.

  “The Queen of course,” Davos answered, “Who else? She’s a strong woman but the past ten years have been cruel to her. She expressed to me her wish that I remain with her in Ilandra while sailing on the Aegean Sea. I think I am ready for a woman again. Mara was right in her assessment; it just took the Queen of the Macedonian Empire to fill the role.”