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made up his bodyguard and were in the cavalry: Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Seleucus, Hephaestion, Leonnatus, Perdiccas and even Eumenes, who continued to attend meetings in full military dress – breastplate, greaves and wide belt. He seemed to be enjoying playing the part.
    ‘As soon as darkness falls,’ began the King, ‘an assault group of light infantry and auxiliaries will cross the river and move as close as possible to the Persian camp to keep them under observation. One scout will come back to let us know how far away the river is, and should the barbarians change position for any reason during the night, others will return to bring us news.
    ‘We will light no fires and tomorrow morning the battalion commanders and team leaders will give the wake-up call without trumpets just before the end of the fourth watch. If the coast is clear the cavalry will cross the river first, line up on the opposite bank and when the infantry has also crossed, they will all set off.
    ‘This will be the crucial moment of our day,’ he said, looking around him. ‘If I’m right, the Persians will still be in their tents, or in any case they will not be lined up in formation. At that stage, our distance from the enemy front lines calculated, we will unleash our attack with a cavalry charge that will wreak havoc in the barbarian lines. Immediately afterwards, the phalanx will let fly with the final hammer blow. The auxiliaries and the assault units will do the rest.’
    ‘Who will lead the cavalry?’ asked Parmenion, who up until that moment had listened on in silence.
    ‘I will,’ replied Alexander.
    ‘I advise you against it, Sire. It is too dangerous. Let Craterus do it – he was with me during the first expedition into Asia and he is truly very good.’
    ‘General Parmenion is right,’ Seleucus intervened. ‘This is our first clash with the Persians, why should we risk jeopardizing the King’s safety?’
    Alexander lifted his hand to mark the end of the discussion, ‘You saw me fight at Chaeronaea against the Sacred Band and on the River Ister against the Thracians and the Triballians – how can you imagine that I might behave otherwise now? I will lead the Vanguard personally and I will be the first Macedonian to come into contact with the enemy. My men must know that I will be facing the same dangers they face and that in this battle everything is at stake, including our lives. I have nothing else to tell you, for now. I will see you all at supper.’
    No one had the courage to protest, but Eumenes, sitting alongside Parmenion, whispered in the old general’s ear, ‘I would put someone particularly experienced next to him, someone who has fought against the Persians and knows their techniques.’
    ‘I had already thought about it,’ the general reassured him. ‘The Black will be at the King’s side – everything will go well, you’ll see.’
    The council was brought to an end. They all left and went to their divisions to give the final briefing. Eumenes remained behind and approached Alexander. ‘I wanted to say that your plan is excellent, but there is still one unknown factor, an important one.’
    ‘Memnon’s mercenaries.’
    ‘Exactly. If they lock up into a square formation it’ll be a hard job even for the cavalry.’
    ‘I know. Our infantry might well find themselves in trouble, perhaps it’ll come to hand-to-hand combat – swords and axes. But there is one other thing . . .’
    Eumenes sat down, pulling his cloak over his knees, and the gesture reminded Alexander of his father, Philip, whenever he was losing his temper. But for Eumenes the gesture was different – simply the result of his feeling the cold in the cool evening; he wasn’t used to wearing the short military chiton and had goose-bumps all over his legs.
    The King took a papyrus scroll from his famous box, the one containing the edition of Homer’s works which Aristotle had given him, and he unrolled it on the table. ‘You know The