And another one: Xenophon's Expedition of Cyrus

The Expedition of Cyrus

Xenophon

I decided to pick this one up for two reasons - first, I was told by my friend Kevin that Greek writer Xenophon wrote about the times of the book of Daniel (actually another Xenophon book - Cyropaedia); then I was told that another book I was reading (the Lost Fleet series) was based on the ‘expedition of the 10,000’ - which is this one, The Expedition of Cyrus… so I just had to read it…

This is the story of a group of Greek mercenaries that agreed to help a Persian prince, named Cyrus to overthrow his older brother - King Artaxerxes II - the current king of the Persian empire, around 400 BC. This is the vast and powerful empire that came to prominence after swallowing up the Babylonian empire under a previous Cyrus, Cyrus the Great, about 140 years earlier. (Well, they were a pretty big deal before that, but became a really big deal then…)

The story starts with Cyrus misleading the Greeks about the true objective - first, he tells them that they’ll be putting down a revolt in Anatolia, but he pays them well, and promises more. By the time Cyrus and the Greeks advance into the middle east, everyone in the army knows that the goal is to fight the Persian king’s army at Babylon. But they all agree, based on Cyrus’ promise of more riches. His reputation and record showed that he was reliable, so that’s why they agreed.

The Persian army was vast, and much larger than Cyrus’ army. Cyrus commanded the 10,000 Greeks (all infantry), as well as a larger number of Persians loyal to Cyrus (20,000+). Artaxerxes’ army numbered about 40,000, but may have been much larger. So they fought at the battle of Cunaxa.

The Greeks on the left put the Persians to flight, which opened up the center somewhat. Cyrus, seeing his brother directly in front of him, brashly attacked and wounded him, but in his reckless eagerness, took a spear to the head, and the battle was over. There was ambiguity concerning the results, though; Artaxerxes insisting that he was the victor, having killed Cyrus, and the Greeks insisting that they won because they dominated the battlefield.

In the end, refusing to surrender, the Greeks marched north to retreat, realizing that they could not go back the way they came (the southern route), because they would starve. They also realized that they would have to endure a fighting retreat no matter which way they went. All this is covered in the first chapter of seven, so the story is really about the retreat.

Artaxerxes’ army hounded the Greeks as they marched north - they had to manage a fighting retreat, while looking for provisions, for a marching army in 400 BC couldn’t carry much food and water (for 10,000 mouths…). The Greek army found that they were at a disadvantage - the enemy always had cavalry, and they didn’t; the enemy always had archers and sling throwers, and they didn’t. So early on in the retreat, they had to muster horses and weapons for archers, and to convert some small amount of infantry to cavalry (about 50) and archers and slingers (about 200). Those numbers couldn’t compare to the enemy, but could and did make a difference in their fighting abilities.

At one point, Artaxerxes asked the Greeks for a truce for the purposes of a conference, inviting the Greek leaders and company commanders. It was a ruse, they were all killed, leaving the Greek army with no leadership. However, the Greeks quickly elected new leaders, and Xenophon became a major player at this time. Before this, he was just along for the ride.

After out-running the Persian army in their northern retreat, the Greeks came upon many different areas with their own armies, loyal to the Persian king. As soon as they were able to win a battle and get on the move, another group would be ready to fight them. No group wanted an army of 10,000 to go through their territory, as that army would have to feed itself on local resources. So the locals always fought. (almost always)

The Greeks suffered from a lack of provisions, hazardous, often mountainous terrain, and winter snows, all while fighting their way north. Attrition played a role, slowly whittling away from the initial 10,000. Making matters worse, internal squabbling always threatened the discipline of the Greek army (an army like the Greeks could fight effectively, and indeed survive only with discipline).

Eventually the Greeks were able to fight their way to the coast of the Black Sea (a.k.a. the Euxine), where there were many Greek colony cities. They shouted “The sea! The sea!!” - thinking that their troubles were over. Alas, they weren’t. It all comes down to the cost of provisioning an army of 10,000 (maybe 8,000 at this point) - whether in enemy territory or in friendly territory.

The journey along the south coast of the Black Sea was no less arduous than the march north - in some ways worse, since discipline started to break down, which affected their ability to get help (in the form of provisions) from what should have been friendly coastal cities. So, often they were forced to march south from the sea to forage (steal) food, which resulted in more fighting, and more attrition - some of it unnecessary. 

In the end, Xenophon gets the army back to where it started in western Anatolia, where a Spartan commander took it over, adding it to his Greek army, to make war on the Persian allies in that region.

While the reader is meant to feel that the Greek army were the protagonists in the narrative (for the most part), one must keep in mind that this was a mercenary army that needed to sustain itself along its whole journey. They were pretty much unwelcome everywhere they went. If you’re interested in ancient history, I would definitely recommend this book.

7/10

And another book: Master and Commander

 This one's a lot more recent - about a month ago. Already have the next book in the series...

Master and Commander

by P. O'Brian

I decided to read this because I loved the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. And because I loved the Hornblower series of books (and of course the movie Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.). The book starts much earlier than the movie, and the main protagonist, Captain Aubrey, is as imposing a presence as Russel Crowe is physically, however much heavier… The book was hard to start, with all of the 18-19th century nautical terminology, but got easier as I got along in it. Although a very serious book, it is peppered with the humor one would expect to find in the company of men at sea… “Pray watch the beam. I must beg your indulgence for the smell: it is probably young Babbington here.” “[Our ship could go faster if the convoy we were escorting weren’t] determined to travel very slowly until full daylight, no doubt for fear of tripping over the lines of longitude.” As the ship;s surgeon anticipates a new voyage - “It is a great while since I felt the grind of bone under my saw, he added, smiling with anticipation.” “The senior post captains here [were shrivelled men], (shrivelled in essence: alas, not in belly).” - and many more. 

Make no mistake though, this is a serious book, very entertaining, with lots of action, as well as slower-moving at-sea and on-shore passages that are less action-packed, but no less interesting. The dialogue and description very convincingly place the reader into the Mediterranean Sea, at the very start of the 19th century. One might think that it was written in 1805 rather than in 1970. And while a work of fiction, the narrative holds very true to the events of the day. Even better, it nicely sets up the sequel, which is now high on my “up next” list.

8/10

 Another book: Farther Than Any Man

Doing a lot of reading during Covid, but still have a lot of catching up to do here. This one I read about two years ago...

Farther Than Any Man
The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook

by M. Dugard.

There have been many books written about Captain James Cook, but this is my first look at the life and times of Cook. It's an interesting perspective of an American writer's coverage of the life of British explorer Captain James Cook. I was hoping for a read as riveting as Lansing's Endurance - the story of Ernest Shackleton's big Antarctic adventure. Not really the same thing, but no less intriguing.

At first I was put off by the idea that an non-British author wrote the book, but maybe the result is a more honest, less worshipping account. That is my guess; I can't really say for sure, since I haven't read any other works on Cook (other than grade school history and Wikipedia).

He started out as the son of a farmer - James Cook Sr. - a farm foreman of a wealthy man's large farm in northern England near the North Sea. It was a decent life, very comfortable for a person of the lower class. The owner of the farm paid for his schooling, and then he spent some time working in a shop in a fishing village. From there he started a career in the merchant fleet, and worked his way up to first mate, and was earmarked to captain his first ship at age 26. 

But the lure of the Royal Navy was irresistible, so just as he was about to make the big time (and be set for life), he quit the merchant fleet and enlisted with the Royal Navy as an able seaman. However, because of his years of experience in the merchant fleet, his capability, knowledge, physical size and self-confidence, he rose through the ranks quickly. To his great disadvantage, his position in the British class system meant that there was a limit - he could never become an officer. That just never happened in the Royal Navy.

Cook became a master's mate in just a month. Aboard HMS Eagle, he served under a Captain Palliser, who just happened to come from the same area as Cook in the north of England. Palliser saw that Cook was trained as a surveyor and cartographer, and was promoted to Warrant Officer, and soon after that to Master - the highest possible rank of an enlisted man in the RN.

But Cook didn't stop there; he was thrust into large events, and served aboard HMS Pembroke to fight the French in Quebec - where he mapped the St. Lawrence in preparation for the attack on Quebec City. While under threat from French guns, he provided the maps needed for the sneak attack at the Plains of Abraham - and even gave suggestions to General Wolfe. He returned to England a hero, and was given the task of mapping the island of Newfoundland, and after that came the perfect opportunity.

First command was HMS Grenville, in which he surveyed and mapped the island of Newfoundland over the course of 5 summers. So accurate and complete, the map was used commonly until after World War 2.

Cook had a handful of allies and rivals, including:

Palliser - Royal Navy captain during the seven-years war, War of the Austrian Succession and the American War of Independence, and later governor of Newfoundland. A very important ally for Cook.

Sandwich - politically powerful long-time supporter of Cook - twice First Lord of the Admiralty. Arranged a commission for Cook as First Lieutenant. Another key ally.

Banks - a rival of Cook - aristocrat, scientist, playboy, president of the Royal Society for decades - wanted to lead Endeavour’s first mission as a civilian, with authority over Captain Cook, but did not get the authority he wanted.

Dalrymple - a rival of Cook - Fellow of the Royal Society, and writer/geographer for the Admiralty - wanted to have authority over Cook as well, but was refused.

Cook’s second command was Endeavour - he supervised the refitting and provisioning for the entire time it took. The ship was in excellent shape, well provisioned, and well crewed. Cook was a technically excellent captain, and a benevolent leader, rarely resorting to corporal punishment. On the first voyage, Cook and crew in Endeavour sailed to discover the “unknown southern land” and to view the transit of Venus across the sun on 3/4 June 1769 from Tahiti in the southern hemisphere.

The Venus transit part of the expedition was a success, and while searching for the “unknown land”, he surveyed New Zealand in great detail. Conditions were unfavorable in the quest to determine if Tasmania was part of the “unknown land” and they had to sail north around Australia. Another victory was the absence of scurvy due to the provisioning of fruit and sauerkraut. Unfortunately, some 30 crew died of malaria and dysentery during maintenance and provisioning lay-overs in the West Indies.

Cook’s second voyage (on Resolution) was intended to sail as far south as possible to find the “unknown southern land” that many in the Royal Society thought must exist. On this voyage, he discovered the South Sandwich islands, which he named after his supporter - he did his best to go as far south as possible to discover what lay down there. Unfortunately he picked the wrong latitudes to try - he made quite an effort, sailing as far south as the ship could bear (on two occasions), but had to quit the effort or lose the ship to pack ice.

Cook’s third and final voyage took place after his fame had gotten the best of him. While for the first voyages he took great interest in the preparations undertaken on the ships, for the third voyage, he was quite lax in that area, paying more attention to his social status. The result was a poorly prepared (and leaky!) ship that had to stop more than once for repairs. His temperament had also changed by the third voyage - while earlier, he was very interested in the welfare of his crew (one of the first Royal Navy captains to completely eliminate scurvy on a long voyage), now he was less interested in the crew’s welfare, and far more interested in achieving goals, and topping his previous two highly successful voyages. He became short with the crew, and grew quick to temper, lashing out at them (literally), where he rarely did before.

Cook died on the last mission, while attempting to force his will on the Hawaiian natives when a shore-party sortie went sour. His men had superior weapons of course, but were overwhelmed. He was killed, his body taken, and his hands returned the next day - he was cannibalized. In a variety of ways, he lost focus on this voyage, and paid the ultimate price. A very unsuitable ending for such a great and accomplished man. 

Dugard’s book is what the title says - the rise and fall of Cook, and that is what happened. It was a terribly good read; highly recommended if you’re interested in this period in history.

8/10