“True enough,” I said pleasantly. “Just like the stink of the latrines is going to be with you for more than the month you’re going to be cleaning them out.”
The grin fled from his face as he looked intently at me, trying, I am sure, to determine whether I was joking, which I was, though I was not going to let him know that for a while. Turning back to the fighting, I saw it was little better than a brawl between mounted men and those on foot and that despite the efforts of the Centurions, the enemy cavalry was steadily eroding our cohesion.
One of the many threats that cavalry can pose to infantry is by virtue of the amount of space a man on horseback takes up. Therefore, the goal of the cavalryman is to force the body of his horse into the midst of a tightly packed formation, the horse’s body acting as a wedge that pushes the men on foot out of position in the formation, thereby allowing another horseman to push himself into the crack to disrupt matters even further. Just like a wedge of iron is used to split wood, that is the nature of the cavalry attack on an infantry formation. Men have a natural fear of any beast larger than they are, making it a natural reaction on the part of any man, no matter how well trained, to get out of the way when something bigger approaches. It takes the iron-hard discipline of the Legions to make that man stand firm instead of move. Whether he stands steady for his comrades, or because he fears the consequences of being charged with cowardice if he turns to flee, provided he survives, matters not. The fact that he stands is what counts. So far, my men were standing but only by the thinnest of threads. Another way a cavalry charge can break a formation is when, as odd as it may sound, the men on the ground successfully defend against the charge by doing what I had just done in attacking the horses. As distasteful as I and a lot of men find attacking essentially innocent creatures, it is the most effective method of nullifying a cavalry charge. The problem is that when you kill or maim a horse, and that horse falls to the ground, it takes up a great deal more space than a fallen man. If the horse and its rider manage to penetrate the first rank of a formation before being struck down and the horse falls where it stands, that is a problem. When it is just one horse it is a manageable problem, but when it is several, the officer in charge often has to make a decision whether to relocate his formation, either in front or more usually behind the pile of dead horses. If he does not do so, then there will be gaps caused by the corpses of horse and rider, which could endanger his unit just as much as if the cavalry wedge is successful, at least if the cavalry is attacking in sufficient numbers. Of course, a commander can also turn the heaps of horseflesh to his advantage by using them as a makeshift parapet, and that is what I did now. During a lull, when the Pompeian cavalry withdrew a few paces to regroup, girding themselves to launch another assault, I had men muscle as many dead horses that we could drag into place in the time allowed, forming a wall of dead animals, using the bodies of a few men as well. This would give my men the space they needed to use their javelins as lances, in the same manner as at Pharsalus, rather than having to rely on their swords while being pressed by animals many times their size. There was a risk that the Pompeian cavalry would simply back away to get a running start, then try jumping the wall to come crashing into us. To counteract this possibility, I had the second rank kneel, with their javelins pointing upwards, ready to thrust them into the bellies of any horse whose rider thought this would be a good idea. By this time, Scribonius had moved the rest of the men into position, and I risked a quick glance around to see that the Cohorts had managed to plug the gap in our rear, but there was still fighting in a number of spots where the enemy was trying to create a breach. However, I had seen enough, so I began to walk about, talking and joking with the men like I did not have a care in the world, acting as if we had already won the battle, which in one way we had. Caesar might not be able to claim this as a victory, but I was now sure that we would survive the day. I called Scribonius, Camillus, and Maecius over to me, and I could see that Scribonius had an expression that was a mixture of puzzlement and worry.
“Primus Pilus, isn’t it a little early to be celebrating?” he asked.
I laughed, clapping him on the back as I replied, “No, and you of all people should know that, Scribonius.”
He still looked puzzled, shaking his head at my jibe, clearly not understanding.
“Don’t you remember back in Spain, when we were tirones? That time on the hill?”
“You mean when Didius got hit in the head? And you won your first set of phalarae?”
I nodded. “Don’t you remember how upset I was when I heard Calienus and Crastinus laughing about something, when we were surrounded?”
Scribonius laughed, his face changing as the memory came back to him. “I remember Calienus saying something about you being a girl,” and I felt my face flush a little, though I had to laugh because that is exactly what he had called me.
“But he also pointed out that the time we should worry is when the enemy concentrated his forces instead of trying to encircle us, remember?”
I indicated our position, turning all the way about as I pointed. “Which is exactly what these idiots have done. Oh, at first they were just trying to get around us and force Caesar to put us into an orbis, but now do you see anywhere a concentration of men sufficient enough to break through?”
After looking around, the others agreed that they could not see any spot in our lines where there was an enemy force in sufficient numbers to not only effect but exploit a breach.
“You’re right, Primus Pilus. But I remember also that the Lusitani did figure that out later that night, and almost overwhelmed us. Hopefully these men won’t, but until they leave and we’re back in camp, I'm going to hold off on celebrating.”
If this gentle rebuke had come from anyone but Scribonius, I would have been very angry, but he had a way of saying things that made it hard to take offense, because he was invariably right. “True enough, Scribonius. So let’s see what happens next.”
~ ~ ~ ~
With the army now formed into an orbis, albeit more of a rectangle than a true circle, the Pompeians were forced to stand off again to hurl missiles at us. The day was passing, and it was mid-afternoon when the bucina called an assembly of senior Centurions to attend to Caesar. Leaving Glaxus in charge of the Cohort, I made my way with Scribonius and the other Pili Priores to Caesar’s standard, which was now thrust into the ground roughly in the middle of our large formation, well out of range of even the most ambitious of archers. Caesar was standing bareheaded, as was his custom, even though his hair was now visibly thinning, talking matters over with Hirtius.
Once we were all gathered, he began speaking, his voice hoarse from all the shouted orders he had been giving since the beginning of the battle. “I've decided that we can’t stay out here any longer,” he announced. “We don’t know how long it will take, but we can be sure that Labienus sent for reinforcements, and those reinforcements might be here at any time. And given that there will probably be Legionary infantry in their numbers, I think it's best that we withdraw back to Ruspina.”
I shot a look at Scribonius, who simply shrugged as if to say it mattered not what we thought, this was what we were to do, which was true enough.
“We're going to march in our current formation.”
I had to stifle a groan at this. Being on the side of the formation while having to keep an eye outwards for any enemy thrusts was a tricky proposition under any circumstances, but Caesar seemed oblivious to the desire of one of his Centurions for an easier lot in life.
“But before we can begin, we’re going to have to do something to get some breathing room. So when you hear the attack signal, I want every Cohort to spring forward and go after the enemy across from you. You will engage the enemy and drive them off as far as you can without risking yourselves from being cut off. If we do it in a coordinated manner, the enemy will be too busy to try and exploit any Cohort that strays too far, but just in case, keep an eye on each other to avoid getting out too far. Are there any questions?”