feared; Gaul ties down the might of the Rhine because he inspires terror; because the Vandal hosts and their relatives the Alans plundered me [Italy] bare, he himself then took vengeance by his own arms. But, for all that, he is only one man; who can only accept so many risks alone. Leo sent Anthemius to Italy with an army led by the commanding general of the Dalmatian Army, Marcellinus, a former rival of Ricimer. Ricimer must have initially viewed Anthemius' appointment as undermining his position, for unlike Libius Severus, Anthemius had a proven history of military success and had family ties to the Theodosian Dynasty. However, needing the support of the Eastern Empire, Ricimer was forced to accept him as the price for Leo's good will and for "eastern protection against the depredations of Geiseric". Soon after assuming the Western throne, Anthemius granted Marcellinus the rank of patrician in an effort to counterbalance the authority of Ricimer. Both Leo and Anthemius had seen the difficulty Western Emperors had in maintaining control over the Western military with the existence of a single unchallenged supreme commander. Despite these potential machinations, sources such as Ennodius attest to the power and influence of Ricimer, who once wrote that Ricimer was directing governmental affairs at this time and was "second only to the Emperor Anthemius". Campaign in North Africa In 468, Leo organized a grand campaign against the Vandals in North Africa, to which the East and West would commit substantial forces. The commanding general of the Thracian army, Basiliscus, brother-in-law of Leo, assumed supreme command over the joint East-West assault, with Marcellinus commanding the Western forces. The plan called for a three-pronged attack led by Basiliscus, Marcellinus, and Heraclius of Edessa, the comes militaris (Military Count) of Egypt. Basiliscus was to land at a distance from Carthage with the main army (transported by an armada of over 1,000 ships) and then link up with Heraclius, advancing from Tripolitania. Marcellinus was to invade Africa from Sicily. Ricimer, under the overall command of Marcellinus, commanded a large portion of the Western forces in the expedition, but their fleet never sailed—due to Ricimer's veto—despite the West having agreed to contribute one-fourth of the total expedition's costs. Despite the other prongs of the attack making good progress at the onset, at least half of the joint armada was destroyed by Geiseric's fireships, causing Basilicus to abandon the