Acies Contra Alanos

The cavalry scouts are to lead the whole army, drawn up two abreast, with their own commander. Behind these the mounted archers, the Petraeans, these too two abreast. Let the decarchs lead them. Behind these let there be posted the men of the squadron whose name is the Aurianoi. Drawn up with them are to be the men of the fourth cohort of the Raeti, whose commander is Daphne the Corinthian; and behind these the men of the squadron whose name is the Colonoi. Drawn up with them are to be the Ituraeans and the Cyrenaeans and the men of the first Raetic cohort.

Of all these let Demetrius be in command. Behind these the Celtic cavalry, these too two abreast, and let a centurion lead them, as on campaign.

Behind these let the infantry be posted, holding their standards raised before them—the Italians and those of the Cyrenaeans who are present. Of all let Pulcher be in command, the man who commands the Italians. After these let the Bosporan infantry go, furnishing as their leader Lamprocles, and after them the Numidians, subordinate to Verus, their own commander.

Let the formation be four heavy-armed men deep. Of these same, let those who are archers lead. Let the sides of the formation be guarded on each flank by the Acean horsemen. Behind these let the picked horsemen go, and behind them the horsemen from the legion, then the catapults, then 5. the standard of the fifteenth legion, and about it the commander of the legion, Valens, and the legate, and the tribunes to whom it has been assigned, and the centurions who command the first cohort. And before the standard, again, let the javelin-men of the infantry be posted. The infantry themselves are to go drawn up four deep.

Behind the fifteenth legion let there be posted the standard of the twelfth legion, and the tribunes about it and the centurions. Four deep likewise let this legion too march, drawn up.

Behind the legionaries let the allied troops be posted—both those from Lesser Armenia and from the Trapezuntians, the heavy-armed, and the Colchians and the Rhizian lance-bearers. Posted behind these are to be the Aplanian infantry. And of all the allied troops let Secundinus be the commander, the man who leads the Aplani.

Behind these let the baggage-train follow. And let the squadron of the Getae and its squadron-commander bring up the rear.

Let centurions and those appointed to this duty keep order on the sides of the infantry; and, for the sake of guard, let the Allactic squadron ride alongside, drawn up in a single file on each flank, and the cavalry of the Italians. And let their squadron-commander go to and fro along the flanks.

Let the commander of the whole army, Xenophon, for the most part lead in front of the infantry standards, but let him go to and fro along the whole formation, and watch that they march in order, and bring back into order those who are out of order, and praise those who march in good order. In this way are they to march, drawn up.

And when they have come to the appointed place, the whole cavalry is to be set round in a circle in a square formation, and the scouts are to be sent to the commanding ground for the sake of spying out the enemy. There, at a signal, they are to arm in silence, and when armed to set themselves in order.

Let the formation be this. Let each wing of the infantry hold the commanding ground of the place, since the deployment will be on such ground. Posted on the right wing are to be the Armenians under Vasaces and Arbelus, holding the most commanding part of the wing, because they are all archers. 13. And drawn up in front of them are to be the infantry of the Italic cohort. Of all let Pulcher be in command, who also commands the Italic cohort. And to him let Vasaces himself and Arbelus be entrusted, and their cavalry and infantry.

And on the left let these too be posted, holding the most commanding part of the wing: the allies from Lesser Armenia and the light-armed of the Trapezuntians and the Rhizian lance-bearers. And drawn up in front of these are to be the two hundred Aplani and the hundred Cyrenaeans, so that the heavy-armed may be a screen before the javelin-men, and these latter may shoot over them from the commanding ground.

As for the whole centre: let the fifteenth infantry legion hold the right of it, beyond the middle of the whole ground, because these are far more numerous; and the remainder of the left let the infantry of the twelfth legion fill out, as far as the edge of the left wing. 16. Let them be drawn up eight deep, and let their closing-up be dense. And let the first four ranks be of pike-bearers, whose pikes have long, slender iron heads projecting. And of these let the front-rank men hold them ready for a screen, so that, if the enemy should draw near them, they may set the iron of the pikes against the breasts of the horses especially; 17. but let the second-rank men, and those of the third and fourth ranks, hold their pikes out ready for casting, wherever they may chance, both to wound the horses and to kill the horseman, or, the pike being fixed in shield and breastplate and bent by the softness of the iron, to render the rider useless. Let the ranks next in order be of lance-bearers.

The ninth rank after these is to be the foot-archers, those of the Numidians and Cyrenaeans and Bosporans and Ituraeans.

Let engines stand upon each wing, so as to shoot at the enemy as they approach from as far off as possible; and let these be behind the whole phalanx.

Let the whole cavalry, drawn up by squadrons and in eight troops, stand behind the infantry—the part on each of the two wings having the heavy-armed and the archers as a screen before them, two troops; the part behind the central phalanx, six troops. 21. Of these, let all who are mounted archers stand near the phalanx, so as to shoot over it; and let all who are lance-bearers or pike-bearers or sword-bearers or axe-bearers look to the flanks on each side and await the watchword.

Let the picked horsemen be about Xenophon himself, and about two hundred of the infantry from the legion, the bodyguards, and as many centurions as are drawn up with the picked men, and the leaders of the bodyguards, and the decarchs of the picked men. 23. And let there be about him a hundred light lance-bearers, so that, going to and fro along the whole phalanx, wherever he should observe anything wanting, he may see it and remedy it.

Let Valens lead the whole right wing, together with the cavalry, the man who is also commander of the fifteenth legion; and the tribunes of the twelfth the left.

When they are thus drawn up, let there be silence until the enemy come within range; but when they are now drawing near, let all raise the war-cry to Enyalius as loud and as terrible as possible, and let missiles be discharged from the engines, and stones, and arrows from the bows, and let the lance-bearers hurl their lances, both the light-armed and the auxiliaries. Let stones too be cast at the enemy from the allied troops on the commanding ground, and let the whole be a skirmishing from every side, as dense as possible, for the confusion of the horses and the destruction of the horsemen.

And there is hope that, by reason of the indescribable multitude of the missiles, the Scythians charging will not draw near to the infantry phalanx; but if they should draw near, let the first three ranks, locking their shields together and pressing with their shoulders, receive the onset as stoutly as possible, pressing together with the densest closing-up as forcefully as may be; and let the fourth rank cast its lances over them; 27. and let the first rank strike or hurl with their pikes unsparingly at the horses and the men themselves. And when the enemy have been thrust back, if a clear flight should ensue, let the infantry ranks now part and let the horsemen charge—not all the troops, but the half; 28. and let those be posted first who are also to charge first. Let the other half follow the chargers, but in order and not employing a full pursuit, so that, if a strong flight should hold, they may take over the first pursuit with their horses fresh, but if any rallying should overtake them, they may fall upon 29. those who rally. At the same time let the Armenian archers, charging, shoot, so as not to give the fugitives a chance to turn back, and let the light-armed lance-bearers follow at a run. Nor is the infantry formation to remain in place any longer, but to advance faster than a walk, so that, if anything stronger should come against them from the enemy, there may again be a screen before the horsemen. Let these things be done, if from the first onset 30. flight should hold the foe; but if, having wheeled into circles, they should wish to ride past beyond the wings, let the wings be extended up to the still more commanding ground by the light archery itself; for I do not approve that, seeing the wings ever become weak by the extension, they should thrust through them and cut up the infantry. 31. And as they ride round either wing, or one or the other, it is now wholly necessary that their horses become sidelong to them, and their pikes sidelong. Here then let the horsemen charge into them, no longer with javelin-throwing but coming to grips with their broadswords, and others with their axes. And the Scythians, being unprotected themselves and having their horses unprotected . . .