Belisarius led armies from the Byzantine (or Eastern Roman)
empire in the 6th century AD. He fought the Persians on the eastern
front of the empire and eventually fought a long war to reclaim Italy from
Gothic tribesmen. The subject of interest here is the Vandal war in North
Africa. The Emperor Justinian, taking advantage of a revolt against Vandal rule
and a peace with the Persians, sent Belisarius with a small force of ten
thousand men to attack the formerly held territories of the Roman Empire in
North Africa.
One the invasion landed on the beach; Belisarius marched
towards the Vandal’s capital at Carthage. He ordered his soldiers to pay for
their supplies and forbade them from pillaging. As a result, they had the
support of the people and moved “as if in their own land.”[1] Gelimer, the Vandal king, planned an ambush along their likely route. At Ad
Decimum, Gelimer planned a three-pronged attack. His brother, Ammatas, would
attack the advance of Belisarius from the front. Another force under Gibamundus
would attack Belisarius from the left flank. And Gelimer would use his local knowledge
of roads to take an interior route to attack Belisarius from the rear.