Part 1: The War In The Shadows, Chapter 3: Be All My Sins Remember'd, the War Against the Sassanids Reaches its Climax, Part 19
Of course, Galerius quickly realized that this rescue would be more difficult than the ones that he’d done before, but it was also an opportunity. After all, if he killed Kavadh, then the Sassanid force would be left without a commander and lose almost all of its organization. That would make an Eastern Roman victory far easier.
He drew his sword, but he didn’t do anything with it quite yet. As far as he was aware, none of the Sassanids knew that he was near them, and he intended to keep it that way.
If they didn’t know where he was, then he could surprise them. Surprised enemies were always easier to defeat than enemies that knew where you were.
At first, this idea worked perfectly. He managed to get to the very small gap in the Sassanid lines without being spotted by either side. Unfortunately, his plan quickly lost its viability after that.
The first people to spot him were the people he was trying to rescue. That wasn’t the problem. He put his finger to his lips so that they didn’t accidentally alert the Sassanids of his presence. Thankfully, the commander of his fellow Eastern Romans seemed to get the message.
He began to attack the Sassanids. Unfortunately, Kavadh quickly noticed that some of his soldiers around the small opening were dying. Galerius was quickly faced with an onslaught of Sassanid attacks from both sides.
Galerius cursed. Of course! This was a trap for the Eastern Roman forces if they ever attempted to escape, but it was also a trap for any Eastern Romans who attempted to rescue them. That meant that he’d been outsmarted, and he was now surrounded. If he didn’t do something, then he would perish in battle. He didn’t want to do that, especially considering that his death would likely harm the Eastern Roman war effort overall.
How did he get out of this, though? He was trapped in an ambush, and, at the moment, he only had one sword drawn. That meant he would have to focus on one of the two armies currently attacking his position, at least until he had breathing room to draw another weapon. That was going to be difficult, but, if he could kill or capture Kavadh, then the Sassanid army would become disorganized. This portion of it would be especially disorganized, which would allow him to rescue the army trapped here and then escape.
Where was Kavadh? He frowned. Commanders were usually near the center of their armies, so that was his best bet as to where Kavadh was. The small “gap” was on the army’s right, so Galerius decided that he would focus his attention on the soldiers who were attacking him on his left.
He quickly realized that his idea was… not great, to say the least. Just because he had decided to focus on one direction from which his enemies were attacking didn’t mean that his enemies that were attacking him from the other direction would stop attacking, or even that they would attack with less ferocity.
As such, his back didn’t feel great. He gritted his teeth. “Ignore the pain, ignore the pain,” he chanted to himself. That was easier said than done, and he didn’t get used to the pain, exactly. However, it did stop affecting him as much as it had been initially. Still, he desperately wanted it to stop.
The quickest way he figured that this goal was achievable was by getting the Sassanids that he was focusing on to retreat, at least for a small while.
He drew his sword, but he didn’t do anything with it quite yet. As far as he was aware, none of the Sassanids knew that he was near them, and he intended to keep it that way.
If they didn’t know where he was, then he could surprise them. Surprised enemies were always easier to defeat than enemies that knew where you were.
At first, this idea worked perfectly. He managed to get to the very small gap in the Sassanid lines without being spotted by either side. Unfortunately, his plan quickly lost its viability after that.
The first people to spot him were the people he was trying to rescue. That wasn’t the problem. He put his finger to his lips so that they didn’t accidentally alert the Sassanids of his presence. Thankfully, the commander of his fellow Eastern Romans seemed to get the message.
He began to attack the Sassanids. Unfortunately, Kavadh quickly noticed that some of his soldiers around the small opening were dying. Galerius was quickly faced with an onslaught of Sassanid attacks from both sides.
Galerius cursed. Of course! This was a trap for the Eastern Roman forces if they ever attempted to escape, but it was also a trap for any Eastern Romans who attempted to rescue them. That meant that he’d been outsmarted, and he was now surrounded. If he didn’t do something, then he would perish in battle. He didn’t want to do that, especially considering that his death would likely harm the Eastern Roman war effort overall.
How did he get out of this, though? He was trapped in an ambush, and, at the moment, he only had one sword drawn. That meant he would have to focus on one of the two armies currently attacking his position, at least until he had breathing room to draw another weapon. That was going to be difficult, but, if he could kill or capture Kavadh, then the Sassanid army would become disorganized. This portion of it would be especially disorganized, which would allow him to rescue the army trapped here and then escape.
Where was Kavadh? He frowned. Commanders were usually near the center of their armies, so that was his best bet as to where Kavadh was. The small “gap” was on the army’s right, so Galerius decided that he would focus his attention on the soldiers who were attacking him on his left.
He quickly realized that his idea was… not great, to say the least. Just because he had decided to focus on one direction from which his enemies were attacking didn’t mean that his enemies that were attacking him from the other direction would stop attacking, or even that they would attack with less ferocity.
As such, his back didn’t feel great. He gritted his teeth. “Ignore the pain, ignore the pain,” he chanted to himself. That was easier said than done, and he didn’t get used to the pain, exactly. However, it did stop affecting him as much as it had been initially. Still, he desperately wanted it to stop.
The quickest way he figured that this goal was achievable was by getting the Sassanids that he was focusing on to retreat, at least for a small while.
- 1