FLAVIUS VEGETIUS RENATUS "MILITARY MATTERS" BOOK THREE Dispositions for Action Table of Contents | The Library | Next CHOICE OF THE FIELD OF BATTLE Good generals are acutely aware that victory depends much on the nature of the field of battle. When you intend therefore to engage, endeavor to draw the chief advantage from your situation. The highest ground is reckoned the best. Weapons thrown from a height strike with greater force; and the party above their antagonists can repulse and bear them down with greater impetuosity, while they who struggle with the ascent have both the ground and the enemy to contend with. There is, however, this difference with regard to place: if you depend on your foot against the enemy's horse, you must choose a rough, unequal and mountainous situation. But if, on the contrary, you expect your cavalry to act with advantage against the enemy's infantry, your ground must indeed be higher, but plain and open, without any obstructions of woods or morasses. Table of Contents | Next Home | The Library | The Temple | Top of Page Site Map Copyright © 1999 - 2004 Sonshi.com. All Rights Reserved.