Part 1: The War In The Shadows, Chapter 3: Be All My Sins Remember'd, the Battle of Ani, Part 1
Meanwhile, in Armenia…
Anastasios sighed. He wished to fight in battles, and, at the moment, his private army and the Legio IV Scythia were simply waiting. They were trying to ensure that no Sassanid army reached Anatolia, but most of the Sassanid armies had already been destroyed.
Now, Anastasios knew that battles weren’t won by rage alone. He knew that he had to have a strategy. His father had taught him that much. He also knew that from experience, but now was not the time to be reminiscing about past engagements. The leader of the Legio IV Scythia, Priscus, seemed like a reasonable man to Anastasios, but they hadn’t known each other for a long time, so Anastasios wasn’t going to assume anything.
Anastasios decided to send private scouts throughout all of Armenia. He doubted that they would find anything of note - the two Isaurian legions and the Legio I Armeniaca seemed to be doing extraordinarily well - but it couldn’t hurt to be certain. Knowledge was power, after all.
To Anastasios’s utter shock, his scouts did discover an army. Ten thousand men were camped in northern Armenia. Given that the three legions that were currently fighting the Sassanids seemed to be in southern Armenia, this army would probably be able to take most of northern Armenia unopposed - and, from there, to take Cherson through the Caucasus. From Cherson, they could potentially launch attacks on Pontus, Bithynia, or even Constantinople itself.
Anastasios knew that this army couldn’t be allowed to move unopposed. He decided that he would inform Priscus about it - and the threat it posed - in the morning. He might even have some ideas on what to do about it.
Morning arrived, and Anastasios informed Priscus about the army.
“Well, that’s a problem,” Priscus replied, “Why can’t we just attack them? That should keep them distracted at least.”
Anastasios sighed. “We don’t need them distracted,” he snapped. “We need them defeated. They outnumber our combined forces 5 to 3. If we attack them head on, it’s likely that we’ll get slaughtered.”
“Wait,” Priscus said. “Can’t we let the three other legions deal with it? They’ve been doing fine with literally every other Sassanid army in Armenia so far, so what makes this one different?”
“I wrote a letter to Galerius about it,” Anastasios said. “They know that it exists, but apparently large armies are present at Saokoros and Hasakah, and they’re more of a threat than this one.”
Priscus started pacing. “So, basically, we have an army that outnumbers us 5 to 3, and we can expect no aid in dealing with it in the near future,” he said. “Great. That’s absolutely fantastic.”
“Indeed,” Anastasios said. “However, we can’t just do nothing. If we do, this army could join the other Sassanid army at Hasakah. Apparently, the army at Saokoros was part of a delaying action - and it worked very well. If those two Sassanid armies merge, apparently all of our currently deployed military will be threatened. We can expect no aid from the other three legions, but there is hope…”
“What’s the silver lining?” Priscus asked, still pacing. “What are you planning? That situation sounds almost completely hopeless.”
“It is as you said before,” Anastasios said. “We probably can’t defeat this Sassanid army, but we can delay it. As long as we choose a battle where the terrain favors us, then our casualties will be minimized, and the time they need to meet up with their fellow Sassanids maximized…”
“Okay,” Priscus said, sitting down. “Where are we fighting, then?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” Anastasios responded, smiling. “Here’s the plan...”
Anastasios sighed. He wished to fight in battles, and, at the moment, his private army and the Legio IV Scythia were simply waiting. They were trying to ensure that no Sassanid army reached Anatolia, but most of the Sassanid armies had already been destroyed.
Now, Anastasios knew that battles weren’t won by rage alone. He knew that he had to have a strategy. His father had taught him that much. He also knew that from experience, but now was not the time to be reminiscing about past engagements. The leader of the Legio IV Scythia, Priscus, seemed like a reasonable man to Anastasios, but they hadn’t known each other for a long time, so Anastasios wasn’t going to assume anything.
Anastasios decided to send private scouts throughout all of Armenia. He doubted that they would find anything of note - the two Isaurian legions and the Legio I Armeniaca seemed to be doing extraordinarily well - but it couldn’t hurt to be certain. Knowledge was power, after all.
To Anastasios’s utter shock, his scouts did discover an army. Ten thousand men were camped in northern Armenia. Given that the three legions that were currently fighting the Sassanids seemed to be in southern Armenia, this army would probably be able to take most of northern Armenia unopposed - and, from there, to take Cherson through the Caucasus. From Cherson, they could potentially launch attacks on Pontus, Bithynia, or even Constantinople itself.
Anastasios knew that this army couldn’t be allowed to move unopposed. He decided that he would inform Priscus about it - and the threat it posed - in the morning. He might even have some ideas on what to do about it.
Morning arrived, and Anastasios informed Priscus about the army.
“Well, that’s a problem,” Priscus replied, “Why can’t we just attack them? That should keep them distracted at least.”
Anastasios sighed. “We don’t need them distracted,” he snapped. “We need them defeated. They outnumber our combined forces 5 to 3. If we attack them head on, it’s likely that we’ll get slaughtered.”
“Wait,” Priscus said. “Can’t we let the three other legions deal with it? They’ve been doing fine with literally every other Sassanid army in Armenia so far, so what makes this one different?”
“I wrote a letter to Galerius about it,” Anastasios said. “They know that it exists, but apparently large armies are present at Saokoros and Hasakah, and they’re more of a threat than this one.”
Priscus started pacing. “So, basically, we have an army that outnumbers us 5 to 3, and we can expect no aid in dealing with it in the near future,” he said. “Great. That’s absolutely fantastic.”
“Indeed,” Anastasios said. “However, we can’t just do nothing. If we do, this army could join the other Sassanid army at Hasakah. Apparently, the army at Saokoros was part of a delaying action - and it worked very well. If those two Sassanid armies merge, apparently all of our currently deployed military will be threatened. We can expect no aid from the other three legions, but there is hope…”
“What’s the silver lining?” Priscus asked, still pacing. “What are you planning? That situation sounds almost completely hopeless.”
“It is as you said before,” Anastasios said. “We probably can’t defeat this Sassanid army, but we can delay it. As long as we choose a battle where the terrain favors us, then our casualties will be minimized, and the time they need to meet up with their fellow Sassanids maximized…”
“Okay,” Priscus said, sitting down. “Where are we fighting, then?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” Anastasios responded, smiling. “Here’s the plan...”
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