Franar’s platforms had first been constructed months ago, then disassembled and taken to one of the supply depots north of Akkad. Muta had already chosen smaller bowmen who could work their weapons in close quarters. He placed them under Mitrac’s orders. All were excellent shots at close range. They would unleash their shafts at any threatened breakthrough, as well as target enemy commanders.
“We’ll be ready as soon as Franar and his workmen are finished,” Mitrac said. “Meanwhile my archers are ready, too. They’ve come to like shooting at such close range.”
Eskkar nodded. He’d watched them train. At Eskkar’s signal, Muta spoke next, then Drakis and Alexar. But the two infantry commanders had done little in today’s fighting.
“Today’s battle was a good victory,” Eskkar began, “but I think we made a mistake. We hurt the Elamites, hurt them badly, and now they are forewarned about our strength. When they come tomorrow, they will be fully prepared.”
“Our position here is very strong,” Drakis said. “As long as they can’t flank us, we can fight them man to man.”
“When their cavalry broke and turned,” Eskkar said, “we missed an opportunity. I know you and Alexar have prepared and trained your men to hold the line, but I want you to ready your men for a counterattack. The next time the Elamites look ready to break, I want to hurl our spearmen down the slope. If they crowd up again, as they did today, we should be able to slaughter hundreds more.”
Alexar laughed. “Twenty-four hundred men against twenty-five thousand. Charging downhill, over a battlefield filled with the dead and dying. My men will love that.”
“Your men won’t be the only ones surprised. It’s the last thing the Elamites will expect,” Eskkar grinned. “As we’ve learned, anytime you can surprise your enemy during a battle, you can break him. Surprise leads to confusion, which turns to fear and spreads.”
“You want us to charge them after their next attack?” Drakis sounded dubious.
“No. I want them to attack and retreat, attack and retreat. Let it settle into their heads that they can retreat in safety. Only when I think we can really hurt them will we counterattack.” Eskkar looked at his commanders. “So talk to your leaders of ten and twenty. Prepare them to attack with everything they have. When the spearmen go down the slope, we’ll need everyone to move as one, with the archers and slingers following behind. If we can beat the Elamites, hurt them badly, they’ll find an excuse to retreat all the way back to Elam.”
Drakis laughed. “We’ll give them the excuse, what’s left of them. After today’s fight, they won’t be so eager to attack Akkad again.”
“Captain, is there any word from the Jkarian Pass, or Sumer?” Mitrac asked the question that lingered in every man’s mind.
Eskkar knew Mitrac had kin riding with Hathor.
“No, only that Hathor and Naxos have reached the sea. No matter what happens at Sumer, they will make sure that Chaiyanar is too busy to move north. Nor have any reports arrived from Draelin at the Jkarian Pass. As soon as I learn anything, I’ll pass the word.”
Everyone understood. All of them had friends or kin fighting with the other forces.
“And after we drive this scum back to Elam,” Eskkar said, his voice suddenly hard, “we will march down to Sumer and finish off Grand Commander Chaiyanar.”
Chapter 29
Sargon and Garal rode side by side, each leading a spare horse. In the last two years, Sargon had often led a second horse. Each time always reminded him of his first battle against the Carchemishi invaders and then the wild ride to the Alur Meriki caravan.
Since those days, Sargon had proved his competence as a horseman. Months on horseback with his friends had toughened his legs and thighs. Today he sat astride his horse with the same ease and assurance as Garal or any of the Ur Nammu and Alur Meriki warriors surrounding him.
In less time than the three and a half days that took Eskkar from Akkad to the mouth of the Dellen Pass, Sargon and Garal had ridden almost twice as far. The barbarian war party numbered over thirteen hundred well armed fighting men. Traveling light, with food and supplies awaiting them along the trail, the fast moving steppes warriors covered long distances with each day’s journey.
Sargon and two hundred and fifty Ur Nammu warriors had joined with eleven hundred Alur Meriki fighting men. For this campaign, Chief Subutai of the Ur Nammu had placed himself and his men under Chief Bekka’s command. That decision was not made lightly. Honor and pride aside, Subutai was the older and probably wiser war leader. But in battle, only one can command, and Bekka led a far greater number of men.
Both leaders had recognized the significance of the gesture. For the Alur Meriki, it acknowledged their leadership and the role they would play in honoring their blood oath to Sargon’s father. For the Ur Nammu, it declared their willingness to honor their debt to Chief Bekka and the Alur Meriki for saving their Clan from the Carchemishi.
In addition, another hundred or so young Alur Meriki boys and older men rode with them, carrying extra food and supplies, and leading forty more spare horses. Last night, those too young or old to fight had handed over their sacks and horses, and turned back to the west, leaving only warriors to continue their journey eastward.
But the old and young men who returned to the west still had one more task to perform. They would gather additional food and fresh horses, and once again ride back into the mountains, to this very place. Here they would wait until Chief Bekka and the warriors finished their raid.
On that day, all the returning warriors would likely be in desperate need of food and fresh horses. Even more likely was the possibility that an avenging force of Elamites might be right behind, chasing the warriors.
In the last year, Sargon, Eskkar, Subutai, and Bekka had worked together preparing for the coming war. Almost eight months ago, the Great Raid, as Eskkar called it, had taken shape. In Eskkar’s absence, Sargon helped guide the planning and coordination with the Alur Meriki and Ur Nammu.
For the first time in a campaign, the steppes warriors received the benefit of Akkad’s efficient supply masters. Sargon assumed command over all the clothing, weapons, food, and tools that during the last six months, quietly and without fanfare, had trickled north to Akkad’s outposts. He made sure the supplies were distributed or stockpiled, and available at a moment’s notice.
Meanwhile, a small Alur Meriki scouting party had ridden back through the mountains into Elamite territory, quietly marking out likely campsites, grazing grounds, and watering holes. These scouts, after reaching into Elam’s lands, returned by way of the Jkarian Pass.
With the routes mapped, the leaders knew in advance what routes to take, where to make camp, and the best watering places. Just as important, the warriors knew exactly how much distance they needed to cover each day.
As the looming Elamite invasion drew near, the wagons of the Alur Meriki moved closer to Eskkar’s northern outposts, to place themselves under their protection. With plenty of food in storage for their women and children, the steppes warriors awaited only the final delivery of weapons and grain.
During those months, Bekka and Subutai had improved Eskkar’s basic strategy, adding the wisdom of the steppes and its tactics. With Sargon’s help, the chiefs calculated the precise number of days of riding needed to reach the Elamite supply village. Trella’s maps had aided that process greatly.