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territories of the barbarians. It follows logically and inevitably, therefore,
that the action against Valens's army at Adrianople will be recognized by such
men for what it was: an overwhelming victory against a supposedly invulnerable
force, won by the simple expedient of falling upon the Roman cohorts with
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sufficient speed to ensnare them before they could deploy on their own ground
and in their own battle lines, and then overwhelming them with a sheer mass of
men and horseflesh. Granted that realization, at some time in the future, if
not now, Adrianople will be emulated and repeated, and the day of the Roman
legion as it now exists will be over.
That phrase, Father, "as it now exists," contains a seminal thought. Flavius
Stilicho has the kind of mind that confronts potential disaster and
circumvents it. His propositions continue:
vii. That, accepting the inevitability of such a development, it is incumbent
upon the senior legates of the imperial staff to begin immediately searching
for effective means of precluding such a possibility, and to do so not by
staring gape-mouthed into the future but by searching diligently in the past
for an answer.
viii. That the greatest military genius of ancient times was Alexander of
Macedon, called The
Great, who refined the heavy cavalry techniques of his father, Philip of
Macedon, and used that heavy cavalry to conquer the world.
ix. That since the cavalry in general use today consists of light skirmishers
mounted on light horses, and the large, heavy horses used by Alexander and his
troops are unknown in Roman military life, every effort should and must be
made

immediately and without delay

to collect such horses, from wherever they may be found throughout the Empire,
and to begin a program of breeding them selectively while training and
equipping new, large bodies of troops to be the nucleus of a new form of
warfare in the Roman world. And

x. That within one decade, or two at the very most, fully 25 percent of the
fighting strength of every imperial legion in the field should consist of such
heavy, tightly disciplined, highly manoeuvrable cavalry.
Father, I had the privilege of being present when Stilicho outlined his
findings, his conclusions, and his recommendations to the Emperor. Theodosius
looked at him, frowning, and asked, "Do you really believe this ? " Stilicho
merely inclined his head. "So be it, " said the Emperor. "Let it be done. "
And the world as we know it a thousand years of military history and tradition


changed.
This has been a long letter, Father, but I have enjoyed the writing of it, and
I think I have but little now to add. I know you will give it serious thought,
and I know you will see the portent of it.
We began the task of conversion to cavalry that same night, although it has
been largely a paper task to this point. I am embroiled in it, and already we
make great progress. Our major difficulty has been finding men

officers senior enough and flexible enough in their thinking (strange how
those two seldom go together) to envision what we are about to do.
I shall write again, as soon as I have substance to report. Take care of
yourself, Father, and convey my respect and good wishes to all whom I hold
dear.
Picus
"Strange how those two seldom go together
..." It pleased me considerably that Picus should be so evidently the son of
his father. That one little observation, whimsical and acerbic at the same
time, demonstrated to me, more clearly than anything else I had read, that our
boy had a pragmatic and slightly cynical head on his shoulders. Pragmatism is
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all very well on its own, I find, but it is too often humourless.
When it is salted with a healthy and subtle hint of cynicism, however, the
result is often humour, wit and irony. Those who possess such a blend of
spices in their character are seldom boring.
I was rereading this second letter from Picus as I walked to a meeting with
Victorex, our Master of
Horse, and I was smiling at my thoughts as I turned into the huge yard that
fronted the main stables.
There I found a spectacle that made my smile even wider and my pleasure [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]