490 AD
Corinium
Cerdicus’ army was camped near Corinium. The march north from Venta had been plagued with difficulties. There had been a thaw and apart from the roads (which Cerdicus had his engineers examine as they were the match of anything left in Gallia) the ground had turned into soft mud which his army had churned up and was difficult to march through.
Added to which the Britannians were refusing to meet his army in a pitched battle. There were occasional skirmishes but they had hit his baggage train so hard and often that he had had to detach a good third of his troops to protect it and had also had to slow down his advance. Also his scouts rarely returned.
He was looking at a map of the area and planning his next move when he noticed his aide Geladius.
“What is it?”
“Venta has been taken by forces loyal to Amhar as have several other towns in the Lordship. Also bands of armed men have started to hit the rear of our baggage train which has not been attacked up to now. We are beginning to run out of supplies”
Cerdicus glowered
“And why have none of my generals told me this?”
Geladius did not answer. Cerdicus waved his arm irritably
“Because you do not bring bad news to the Augustus!
I thought that I had trained them better than that”
Geladius still said nothing.
Cerdicus shook his head
“No matter. If I place more troops to protect the baggage train then I weaken my advance force even more.”
Geladius coughed. Cerdicus sighed
“What else?”
“A force of Saxons has landed near Londinium and is marching up the Ermin Way. They are approaching Spinae”
“So some scouts do return!”
“Only from that direction and they are not reporting as frequently as they did probably due to the Saxons”
“How many Saxons?”
“About five hundred”
“Not that large a force but how did they get them there at this time of year? That’s twenty or so keels”
Geladius started to answer but Cerdicus cut him off
“What’s important is where they are not how they got there”
He looked irritably at the map
“They are sucking me north. They know that I need a pitched battle so that I can enforce my will and they are not giving me one. If matters continue as they are then I will run out of supplies and be at their mercy”
Cerdicus looked up to the heavens and swore softly.
“Time to make them fight on my terms rather than theirs, the question is how. My father is too good a tactician and strategist to fall for most things that I would try.
Call a meeting of the senior officers in an hour”
Geladius nodded and withdrew.
Once Cerdicus was sure that he was alone he grabbed a goblet raised it to the heavens then took a sip
“Congratulations Father, your reputation is intact. Your plan is working near perfectly, I would like to think that I would have come up with something similar if in your place. Now, how do I disrupt it?”
Cerdicus stood looking at the map. Then a smile began to play across his face
“Of course! It’s risky but not more than crossing the Mare Britannicum when I did. Time to roll those dice.”
Cerdicus’ army was camped near Corinium. The march north from Venta had been plagued with difficulties. There had been a thaw and apart from the roads (which Cerdicus had his engineers examine as they were the match of anything left in Gallia) the ground had turned into soft mud which his army had churned up and was difficult to march through.
Added to which the Britannians were refusing to meet his army in a pitched battle. There were occasional skirmishes but they had hit his baggage train so hard and often that he had had to detach a good third of his troops to protect it and had also had to slow down his advance. Also his scouts rarely returned.
He was looking at a map of the area and planning his next move when he noticed his aide Geladius.
“What is it?”
“Venta has been taken by forces loyal to Amhar as have several other towns in the Lordship. Also bands of armed men have started to hit the rear of our baggage train which has not been attacked up to now. We are beginning to run out of supplies”
Cerdicus glowered
“And why have none of my generals told me this?”
Geladius did not answer. Cerdicus waved his arm irritably
“Because you do not bring bad news to the Augustus!
I thought that I had trained them better than that”
Geladius still said nothing.
Cerdicus shook his head
“No matter. If I place more troops to protect the baggage train then I weaken my advance force even more.”
Geladius coughed. Cerdicus sighed
“What else?”
“A force of Saxons has landed near Londinium and is marching up the Ermin Way. They are approaching Spinae”
“So some scouts do return!”
“Only from that direction and they are not reporting as frequently as they did probably due to the Saxons”
“How many Saxons?”
“About five hundred”
“Not that large a force but how did they get them there at this time of year? That’s twenty or so keels”
Geladius started to answer but Cerdicus cut him off
“What’s important is where they are not how they got there”
He looked irritably at the map
“They are sucking me north. They know that I need a pitched battle so that I can enforce my will and they are not giving me one. If matters continue as they are then I will run out of supplies and be at their mercy”
Cerdicus looked up to the heavens and swore softly.
“Time to make them fight on my terms rather than theirs, the question is how. My father is too good a tactician and strategist to fall for most things that I would try.
Call a meeting of the senior officers in an hour”
Geladius nodded and withdrew.
Once Cerdicus was sure that he was alone he grabbed a goblet raised it to the heavens then took a sip
“Congratulations Father, your reputation is intact. Your plan is working near perfectly, I would like to think that I would have come up with something similar if in your place. Now, how do I disrupt it?”
Cerdicus stood looking at the map. Then a smile began to play across his face
“Of course! It’s risky but not more than crossing the Mare Britannicum when I did. Time to roll those dice.”