The King, undiscovered by us, had accompanied our march from the time
of our landing. The place where he suddenly attacked us had been wisely
chosen long before. Belisarius says that not even his great rival,
Narses, could have made a better plan of battle. As soon as we left our
last camp outside of Decimum, we lost, as I wrote in my former letter,
the protection of our fleet. If a superior force assailed us here
from the west, it would hurl us, not--as along the whole previous
march--upon our sheltering galleys, but directly into the sea from the
road running along the steep hills close to the coast. Just before
Decimum this road narrows greatly; for lofty mountains tower at the
southwest along the narrow highway. Over the loose sand, heaped on the
mountains by the desert winds, neither man nor horse can pass without
sinking a foot deep. Here, attacked from all three sides at the same
moment, we were to be driven eastward into the sea at our right.

A brother of the King, Gibamund, was to rush with two thousand men from
the west upon our left flank; a Vandal noble with a still stronger
force was to attack us from Decimum in the front; the King, with the
main body, was to fall upon us in the rear from the South.

Belisarius had carefully planned the order of our march through this
dangerous portion of the way. He sent Fara with his brave Herulians and
three hundred picked men of the bodyguard two and a half Roman miles in
advance. They were to pass through the Narrow Way first alone, and
instantly report any danger back to the main body led by Belisarius. On
our left flank the Hun horsemen and five thousand of the excellent
Thracian infantry under Althias were thrown out to guard us from any
peril threatening in that quarter and report it to Belisarius, to
prevent a surprise of the main body during the march.

Then, to our great good fortune, it happened that the attack from the
north, from Decimum, came far too early. Prisoners say that a younger
brother of the King, scarcely beyond boyhood, taking part in the
battle against Gelimer's orders, dashed out of Decimum with a few
horsemen upon our ranks as soon as he saw us. The noble wished to save
him at any cost, so he also attacked with the small force at his
disposal,--four hours too soon,--only sending messengers back to
Carthage to hasten the march of his main body. The youth and the noble
made the most desperate resistance to the superior force. Twelve of
Belisar