Review by Martin Koenigsberg
In the 6th Century, Emperor Justinian I in Byzantium felt he might be strong enough to take back the western half of the the Roman Empire – Europe and North Africa west of Egypt. To this end, among other moves, he sent a modest force of Infantry and Cavalry, both regulars and auxiliaries , under the command of the General Belisarius. The target were the Vandals, a people who had settled in North Africa in the former region of Carthage after their profitable visit to sack Rome a century earlier. Belisarius won two battles against the Vandals, using his heavy cavalry to devastating effect to bundle the Vandal Chiefs out of the region and cow other members of the tribe to become his allies. Then , when internal Byzantine politics (really- we use the term for complex situations because their politics were just that) demanded the General’s return to Constantinople, and the Governor he left proved unable to deal- Belisarius returned and fought more battles – defeating former allies as he had the Vandals. I absolutely loved learning about this “Vandalic War”, as I had totally forgotten that the Later Roman/Byzantines came to rely on Cavalry over the classic Legionary Infantry that built both ends of the Empire. Belisarius seems to have been the Master of the Heavy Cavalry Charge- knowing exactly When to send it- and Where to direct it. In each battle, he tried to maintain some sort of initiative – and then threw his whole weight of shock into a strong charge. Murray Dahm, a freelance historian with a focus on the conflicts of the Ancient World, tells the story as directly as possible with a myriad of conflicting sources. Photos, graphs, diagrams and maps are sprinkled all throughout the text that help the reader follow the material. There are few adult themes, and no graphic violent passages , so this is a good read for the Junior Reader over 12/13 years with a historical interest. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this book is a very useful resource, especially as extant colour resources are so rare. The Gamer gets four battle scenarios fully explained , as well as two whole campaigns. The Modeler gets a lot of build /diorama ideas, as well as Guiseppe Rava’s great colour plates. The Military Enthusiast gets a close look at a war that is not a focus of classics teaching. I think the General audience reader may find this an interesting topic as well.
