Hands grasped the injured auxiliary and hauled him off the fighting platform. An instant later another man had taken his place, javelin raised and ready to throw. On the other side of the wall, the ground was strewn with wounded and dead, but the survivors had reached the wall and, as someone shouted the time, they swung the ram back and then forward with all their might. Cato felt the platform quake beneath his feet and a section of the breastwork in front of him fell away.

‘Get them!’ he shouted to his men desperately. ‘Get them!’

The auxiliaries responded to the order with a frenzy of hurled javelins that struck down so many men that the enemy could no longer hold the ram and it sank to the ground, until more Judaeans rushed forward, snatched up the rope holds and swung the ram back, and forwards into the wall. This time the impact nearly knocked Cato and Macro off their feet and another large chunk of the makeshift wall collapsed. Macro grabbed Cato’s arm and pulled him down behind the breastwork.

‘The wall’s going to give way soon. Get down and get some men ready to hold the breach. You have to keep them out. Go!’

Cato jumped down from the fighting platform. Glancing back as he felt another blow from the ram he saw loose chunks of stone leap from the wall. He turned back to the reserve force, and became aware that a line of casualties was being treated by medical orderlies by the side of the nearest barracks block. He turned to the closest optio. ‘What are the wounded doing here? Get them to the hospital.’

The optio shook his head.’Can’t, sir.The fires have cut us off from the centre of the fort.They have to be treated here.’

Cato looked beyond the optio, down the street between the barracks blocks. At the end of the buildings flames and smoke barred his view. Just then a couple of men from Centurion Parmenion’s fire-fighting party emerged from the smoke and bent over coughing. They carried smouldering mats in their hands and a moment later they went back to try to beat the flames out. Cato turned back to the optio.

‘Find Centurion Parmenion. Tell him he has to clear a way through. I don’t care how he does it, but it must be done, or we’re going to be caught between the fire and the enemy.’ Cato thrust the optio on his way and turned to the other auxiliaries standing to behind the wall.

‘Reserve units! On me!’