Sippos seemed thoughtful.
Milo, a native of Croton, reminded him: "The Tachinardi River can be forded, but be careful, the Syracuseans are not just focusing their attack on the left wing."
Tolmides laughed and said, "We have already conducted a strict reconnaissance beforehand. As far as we know, it is still quite difficult to ford the upper reaches of the midstream of the Tachinardi River, so King Davos has ordered that the marching position of the Seventh Legion at the far right of the formation must not cross the midstream of the Tachinardi River."
Tolmides' explanation made Milo and Sippos' expressions even more solemn.
"The Syracusean heavy infantry is not weak, and they have a large number. Moreover, they will definitely deploy those foreign cavalry on this side to attack us. Although we Crotonians are not afraid of death, but—" Milo looked embarrassed. Although he did not participate in the Battle of the Lamato River, he personally witnessed the Syracusean infantry breaking the city in one day during the siege of Croton. Moreover, from the soldiers, he also learned about the power of those hired cavalry: "Once we can't resist the Syracuseans' full-scale attack from the left wing, it will inevitably affect the success or failure of the entire battle!"
At this time, Sippos interjected: "Since King Davos has deliberately set up such a formation in advance to guide the Syracuseans to focus their attack on the left wing, he must have corresponding countermeasures."
"That's right." Tolmides said sternly: "Daonia's strongest First and Second Legions will support the entire left wing together with you. I believe that no matter how many enemies there are, they will not easily defeat you! And on your left, there are also more than 1,500 Daonian cavalry legions to block the enemy's cavalry from attacking our flanks. Most importantly—" Tolmides' face showed a strange look: "Behind you will be deployed a spear battalion, they will be responsible for defeating the enemy's cavalry and counterattacking the enemy!"
A battalion of only a thousand people will decide the victory or defeat of the left wing?! Milo and Sippos were both confused, because they both knew Daonia better. They knew that the Daonian army's organization was relatively fixed, unlike ordinary Greek city-states, where the number of troops and organization of the army assembled for each battle were very different. So they could be sure that they had never heard of a spear battalion in all the legions of the Daonian League before: Could it be a unit that was just formed after the outbreak of the war? If so, will it have strong combat effectiveness?!
The two looked at each other, their eyes full of doubt.
Tolmides smiled mysteriously: "You'll know when the battle starts."
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
As the Daonian army steadily moved forward, the Syracusean mercenary cavalry also began to retreat rapidly.
The distance between the two armies of Daonia and Syracuse was no more than nine miles.
After more than an hour of marching, they were getting closer and closer to the Syracusean army.
When the sun in the sky began to slant westward, Dionysius, in the front of the center of the formation, heard the sound of "Crash! Crash!..." coming from the front, louder and louder, and even the ground had a slight tremor…
The warhorse under his crotch began to become restless and neighed non-stop. Dionysius angrily patted its neck, signaling it to calm down.
The attendant beside him saw this and hurried over to appease the warhorse.
"The Daonians are coming…" He said softly to the attendants with a solemn expression.
After a while, he saw a hazy cloud of dust rising from the far end of his sight, slowly drifting towards them. As the dust cloud advanced, it became more and more vast, and extended infinitely to the east and west ends, with no end in sight. It was as if the dark clouds in the sky before a storm were getting thicker and thicker, pressing lower and lower. It was overwhelming and suffocating, making people unable to stop thinking about how terrible the power it was Pregnancy was about to erupt…
Although Syracuse had more troops, the soldiers who had hastily completed the formation had not had time to experience and integrate into this huge phalanx. Therefore, facing the Daonian army that was pressing down like mountains and tides, they all felt nervous.
Dionysius frowned and said urgently: "Quickly go to the right wing and urge Phibidas to complete his plan as soon as possible, the enemy is probably about to attack!"
"Yes, sir!" The messenger galloped away.
Dionysius stared ahead with a solemn expression.
The huge dust cloud had stopped advancing six or seven hundred meters away, and then he could hear the intermittent short bugle calls, drum sounds, shouts, and the rustling of footsteps and the clanging of armor and spears coming from the opposite side…
Dionysius knew that the Daonians were reorganizing their formation, so he was very anxious. Although the messenger had only left for a while, he felt like he had been gone for a long time.
Time passed, and the sound from the opposite side gradually decreased from the initial noisy and deafening volume until it disappeared. Finally, it was as quiet as if the sound just now was from a hallucination, as if it never existed from the beginning. Only the dust cloud in the sky was gradually dissipating…
"Sir, General Phibidas has completed the formation. He hopes you can delay for a while so that the soldiers can catch their breath." The messenger rushed back, panting.
Dionysius understood.
He looked ahead. At this time, the dust cloud had dissipated, and what appeared in his field of vision was a vast Daonian army. Under the sunlight, the tightly arranged soldiers' armor and spears reflected dazzling cold light, like an endless steel wall.
But unlike the last Battle of the Lamato River, what Dionysius saw was not only black, but also yellow and cyan. Several colors were intertwined in the huge phalanx, which just showed that although Daonia had pieced together an astonishing number of troops, it could not guarantee that every soldier could obtain their so-called "standard equipment." This gave Dionysius a little more confidence. He said to the adjutant beside him: "Go tell the Daonians that I want to talk to their new king in front of the battle!"
The adjutant nodded to show that he understood, rode his horse out, and headed towards the opposite army formation. At 50 meters away from the Daonians, he reined in his horse and shouted loudly: "King Davos of Daonia, General Dionysius of Syracuse wants to talk to you in front of the battle! King Davos of Daonia…"
A messenger had already told Davos, who was in the rear of the army formation, about the Syracusean's shouting.
Davos pondered for a moment and said to Tolmides next to him: "What do you think Dionysius wants to talk to me about?"
"Your Majesty." Tolmides thought for a while and said: "…Dionysius may be curious about what his headache opponent looks like."
Davos smiled dumbly at Tolmides' implicit flattery: "I don't have time to play this kind of childish game with him."
Davos paused and asked: "Is the spear battalion fully in place?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. And according to your instructions, they did not raise their spears," Tolmides replied.
"That's to prevent those roaming Syracusean mercenary cavalry from discovering anything unusual. Don't underestimate that tyrant of Sicily, he is very vigilant!" Davos did not dare to underestimate the enemy, but he was equally confident that since the enemy had indeed concentrated heavy troops on their right wing, he hoped that the spear battalion could give them a surprise.
Davos stared intently at the dark enemy formation in front of him and said passionately: "Tolmides, go tell the legion commanders to tell their brothers that the time has come to avenge the sacrificed Legion Commander Drakos, the fallen warriors, and the Daonian people who were brutally murdered! Let them sing the Hades hymn and prepare to attack!"
"Yes!" Tolmides responded loudly.
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
Milo finally saw the spear battalion he had been curious about.
In the army organization of ordinary Greek city-states, a battalion has about a thousand people, but this spear battalion, which is lining up behind their formation, has a full 6,000 people, which is almost enough for a legion unique to Daonia.
Moreover, when Davos first said the word "spear battalion", Milo felt strange about the name. Except for light infantry, almost all Greek infantry held spears (the pike is a kind of spear), is it necessary to emphasize it specifically! When he saw the weapons in the soldiers' hands, he finally understood why it was called "spear". Although the soldiers did not raise it, but held it flat, he could clearly see its style. Although it was very similar to a pike, the length was obviously much longer! Moreover, the soldiers were not wearing armor, but single clothes. The 6,000 people were located behind the Crotonian and Trina soldiers, but they did not thicken the front formation, but adopted a column formation to connect with the front.
Extra-long pikes, unarmored soldiers, column formation… Milo's heart was full of curiosity and doubt, and he couldn't help but think: What is Davos planning to do with such a strange unit?
Just as he was guessing, the Hades hymn rang out in the Daonian formation: "I piously praise you, Hades with black hair and black eyes!
You are the king of the underworld, the master of the night!
You are the just judge, the strict supervisor!
… …"
Every soldier sang attentively and devoutly, hoping to receive the blessing of the mighty Pluto. Countless voices gathered in the sky above the Daonian army formation, gradually becoming uniform and consistent in rhythm, echoing on the battlefield for dozens of miles around, echoing with the wind and water, extremely solemn and grand!
Dionysius heard it very clearly in front of his own formation. His face changed drastically: "Damn Daonians, they are going to attack! Quick! Quickly go and inform the soldiers of each unit to pray to Apollo immediately and prepare to attack!"
After saying that, he turned his horse back, passed through the gaps reserved between the phalanxes, and went to the rear.
… … … … … … … … … …
The singing on the Daonian side had ended, and the prayer on the Syracusean side had just begun.
Davos clearly didn't have the patience to wait for the other side to finish, and immediately gave an order: "Attack!"
Dozens of buglers, evenly spaced behind the massive array, successively blew the military horns in their hands.
"Ooh!!!..." The powerful sound of the horns soared into the sky.
"Avenge Commander Drakos and our fallen brothers!" The soldiers of the Fourth and Fifth legions, located in the middle of the massive phalanx, were the first to shout. This quickly garnered a response from the other units. Shouts of revenge replaced the calls to Hades. As the sound of shared hatred rose as one, the morale of the Daonian soldiers reached its peak.
"Cunning Davos! Damned Davos!" Dionysius cursed in anger. The Syracuse army, with its superior numbers, was repeatedly forced into a reactive position by the Daonians. This frustrated him, as he had been enjoying smooth sailing on land ever since landing in Magna Graecia. The Syracuse soldiers hadn't finished their prayers, yet the enemy was already attacking. Due to the tactical arrangements, he couldn't wait for the soldiers to finish praying before advancing, which would inevitably impact their morale. He could only console himself: that young man only knows how to play petty tricks; the true determinant of victory will still be strength!
"Attack!" he shouted, his face contorted with fury.
On the afternoon of the last day of 394 BC, on the Croton Plain, a major battle began that would determine the hegemony of the Greek city-states in the Western Mediterranean.
The Daonian League had the First Legion with over 5,000 men, the Second Legion with over 7,000 men, the Fourth and Fifth Legions with over 12,000 men, the Sixth and Seventh Legions with 14,000 men, a spear battalion with 6,000 men, 5,000 Bruttian warriors conscripted by Hieronimus, 5,000 reinforcements from Croton and Terina, plus a cavalry legion of about 1,500 men, a mountain reconnaissance battalion of 1,000 men, and a guard of 300 men, bringing the total Daonian force to over 58,000 men.
Davos placed the Seventh Legion, led by Matonis, on the far right wing, close to the Tachinadi River, and then arranged the others to the left in sequence: the Sixth Legion of Olivos, the Bruttian warriors of Hieronimus, the Fourth Legion of Epitenes, the Fifth Legion of Philisius, the Second Legion of Amyntas, the First Legion of Antonios, the Croton-Terina reinforcements, and the cavalry legion of Lydes on the far left wing. The spear battalion led by Capus was positioned behind the Croton reinforcements, arranged in a column perpendicular to the phalanx. The left wings of the Croton reinforcements, the First, and Second Legions formed a line 15 ranks deep, as per Davos's special instructions, while the remaining units had a formation depth of 8-10 ranks.
The cavalry legion was the most unique. They spread out to the left and rear in a loose formation, trying to occupy a large area. This was to shield the enemy from observing the Daonian army's subsequent movements, while also achieving another goal before the battle.
On the Syracuse side, when they landed in Magna Graecia, they had 80,000 infantry, 2,000 Numidian cavalry, 800 Celtic cavalry, and 1,000 Sicilian allied cavalry.
The battle of the Lamato River resulted in a loss of about 4,000 men. Later, Caulonia surrendered and provided 4,000 soldiers. In addition, some troops from the Locri alliance successively joined, so the Syracuse army actually exceeded 90,000 men.
However, the two newly conquered city-states of Sybaris and Terina needed to be garrisoned, especially Sybaris, as the logistics supply base for the army, required a significant number of troops to prevent Daonian attacks from the Bruttian direction and naval raids from the sea. Furthermore, the camp facing the city of Asprustum also needed to be guarded to prevent the enemy from attacking the army's rear during the battle. In this way, nearly 13,000 men were diverted.
After capturing the city of Croton, later statistics showed that the Syracuse army had about 7,000 soldiers killed or seriously wounded. In the battle of the Croton Sea, the Daonian navy, due to Leptines taking Dionysius's advice and sending 9,000 elite soldiers to fight on the warships, suffered a crushing defeat, losing about 7,000 soldiers. Therefore, the final Syracuse infantry participating in this battle totaled 62,000 men, plus 3,500 cavalry (having suffered some losses in the battle of the Lamato River and the plunder of Daonian territory), for a total of 65,500 men, a full 7,500 men more than the Daonian force. Among them, the cavalry was more than twice the size of the Daonian cavalry.
Therefore, after Phibidas initially understood the Daonian army's disposition, he discussed with Dionysius: The weaker allied forces from other Sicilian city-states, plus the Locri alliance troops, about 18,000 men, were commanded by Fasipeisas and deployed on the left wing; 10,000 Campanian mercenaries and 9,000 Syracuse citizen soldiers were personally led by Dionysius to hold the center; and the right wing consisted of 15,000 elite soldiers who had followed Dionysius in battle for many years (mainly mercenaries, who were later granted Syracuse citizenship and land by Dionysius, making them most loyal to Dionysius) and 10,000 Syracuse citizen soldiers led by Phibidas; the far right wing was 3,500 cavalry. Because the mercenary cavalry had not acted according to the prior plan in the previous battle, before this battle, Dionysius repeatedly warned the two foreign leaders and had the irritable and fierce Astagoras serve as the temporary commander of the cavalry from three different forces, to facilitate the execution of the plan.
As the Daonian attack horns sounded, the left, center, and right armies advanced steadily at the same time. The light infantry of each legion's seventh battalion quickly passed through the gaps in the "chessboard" style small phalanxes and came to the front, charging towards the enemy in a loose line. The reason they advanced so quickly was also to force the enemy cavalry, which was scouting in front of the formation, to retreat, so they could no longer observe some of the Daonian army's subsequent movements. The mercenary cavalry, as they wished, retreated to the far right wing of the Syracuse army, taking a short rest to prepare for the upcoming attack.
The Syracuse light infantry had already been deployed in front of the array, fearlessly meeting the charge.
When the main heavy infantry forces of both sides were still 500 meters apart, more than 10,000 light infantry had already engaged. For a time, along this eight- or nine-li-long line from west to east, arrows rained down, javelins hailed, constantly crisscrossing and colliding in the air, then piercing the soldiers' bodies, taking their lives…
Compared to the Daonian army's left, center, and right armies advancing at almost the same speed, the situation in Syracuse was different. The advance speed of its left and center main force formations was slower, while the right wing advanced by leaps and bounds.
Phibidas was at the forefront of the right wing, leading this powerful right wing of 25,000 Syracuse elite soldiers, 25 ranks deep, towards the enemy at a pace twice as fast as the soldiers in the center, gradually separating from the center.
And the cavalry on the far right wing was even faster. As the signal sounded, more than 3,500 cavalry accelerated forward across a wide front of more than a li. The steeds quickly picked up speed.
The 800 Celtic cavalry were at the forefront. This fierce race, hailing from the foot of the Alps and living on the Po River Plain, had cavalry tactics different from the swift and elusive Numidian cavalry. They disdained using tactics of luring, harassing, and throwing javelins to kill the enemy, preferring face-to-face charges and melee combat, especially driving chariots to attack the enemy's tight formations. Only because they were hired by Syracuse, the journey was long, and it was inconvenient to transport chariots, did they not bring them. But even without chariots, the Celtic cavalry's impact was still terrifying. Most of their cavalry wielded greatswords instead of spears, making it easier to cut through the opponent's neck in cavalry battles. Therefore, Astagoras placed them at the forefront, using their powerful lethality to disrupt the enemy's cavalry formation.
The following 1,800 Numidian cavalry then provided the first wave of support, followed by the Syracuse banners. Under the leadership of Astagoras, they only cleaned up the remnants and then restrained these mercenary cavalry, preventing them from pursuing, and instead attacked the rear of the enemy's left wing together. Thousands of warhorses galloped, stirring up dust and mist again, with hundreds of war drums thundering simultaneously, making the earth tremble constantly.
The Daonian's 1,500 cavalry were also advancing, but not as fast as the enemy. Especially noteworthy was that the warhorses at the rear had branches dragging from their tails, making it easier to stir up dust on the ground.
When they were still more than two hundred meters from the enemy cavalry, the cavalry legion commander, Lydes, looked back at the dust and mist that had begun to spread behind him, and shouted slightly nervously to the few bugler cavalrymen close beside him: "Retreat!"
Even if several horns were blown at the same time, the sound could not be guaranteed to be heard by all of the Daonian cavalry, which was also in a loose formation with a front line nearly a li long, in the thundering battlefield. Fortunately, they had undergone multiple training sessions before, and the cavalrymen were always paying attention to the movements of their nearby teammates.
Just as the Daonian cavalry all turned to flee, the Syracuse cavalry had already closed in to within a hundred meters. The rumbling hooves behind him beat on Lydes's nervous heart. He spurred his horse forward, keeping a close eye on the front. When he saw that wall of men, his heart suddenly hung in the air: "Turn!" he shouted, spurring his horse to the left.
There was no need for him to shout. All the Daonian cavalry who could see this scene quickly separated to both sides according to the training they had received before.
The cavalry in the rear were constantly watching the movements in front. When they saw their comrades change direction, they immediately followed suit.
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
When the Daonian attack horns sounded, the spear battalion did not immediately advance with the other troops, but quickly lengthened the column and immediately moved to the original position of the cavalry, forming a phalanx about a li long and ten ranks deep, trailing behind the entire army alone.
Capus, who was at the rear of the phalanx, was already a battle-hardened general, but at this moment, he was also very nervous: Although this time's tactics against the enemy cavalry were similar to those in the Trionto River battle, the scale of the war was several times larger, and the enemy's cavalry was even more powerful, but the quality of the soldiers he led was not as good as that of the soldiers from the Persian expeditionary force back then. Could they withstand the charge of several thousand enemy cavalry head-on?!
Watching the churning dust ahead and listening to the approaching hoofbeats like rolling thunder, Capys' heart was also pounding violently, because he knew that this battle was the key to the victory or defeat of both sides, and it lay in the spear battalion he led. Victory would eliminate the greatest advantage of the Syracuseans, thus opening the door to victory for the entire army's attack; defeat could make the enemy's already powerful right wing even more powerful with the help of the cavalry, and the entire army would be in trouble.
Capys felt a great responsibility, but there was no time for him to be nervous and uneasy. His own cavalry had already entered his field of vision…
"Raise spears!!" He vented the fear in his heart with a roar.
"Raise spears!" The squad leaders also shouted in trembling voices.
"Advance and live, retreat and die!!! Advance and live, retreat and die!!!..." Tappilus, as the company commander, heard the neat shouts coming from behind. He and the soldiers beside him knew that behind the spear battalion were two thousand light infantrymen drawn from various legions. They not only prevented enemy cavalry from disrupting the spear battalion and served as the last line of defense, but also had the power to kill spear soldiers who deserted. During the past few days of drills, King Davos had very seriously reminded all the spear battalion soldiers.
But even with the threat and reminder of the light infantry behind them, Tappilus and his teammates' hands holding the spears were still trembling. Although the Daunian cavalry had been asked to play the role of enemy cavalry charging many times in advance to allow these recruits to adapt, it was, after all, an exercise, and few people would die. But now it was a real battlefield, and the huge momentum created by thousands of enemy cavalry was far more terrifying than during training.
Every spear soldier's body trembled with the shaking of the earth, causing the spears held at an angle to shake constantly, colliding with each other and making a "crashing" sound...
At this moment, neat shouts came from behind again: "For citizenship!!! For land!!! Become heroes who save Daonia!!!..."
The shouts pierced through the noisy battlefield and drilled into the hearts of every spear soldier, awakening their greatest desire. The power generated by this desire gradually stopped their teeth from chattering and their tongues from trembling, allowing them to shout along with the light infantrymen. With each shout, their volume increased, and their hands holding the spears became more and more powerful. When their shouts turned into roars, almost drowning out the sound of horses' hooves, the spears were firmly pointed in the direction of the approaching enemy.
At this time, Capys' mood finally settled. He secretly praised the mental victory method taught by His Majesty Davos as being really useful, while closely monitoring the situation ahead.
It would take time for nearly two thousand Daunian cavalry to completely withdraw from both sides and clear the battlefield of one mile in front of the spear battalion, but Capys knew he didn't have that time to wait. The enemy might retreat or bypass the front as soon as they noticed something unusual ahead, so he couldn't wait for his own cavalry to completely withdraw before taking action.
"Attack!" He waved his arm resolutely.
The entire spear battalion had to meet the enemy head-on, directly resisting the rapidly approaching enemy cavalry, instead of staying in place like in the Trionto River battle. This was what Capys was most worried about.
This was also what Leodes was worried about. He was afraid that his cavalry would directly crash into his own spear formation due to tension or insufficient speed, causing unnecessary losses.
"Advance!" Tappilus, as the company commander, like other squad leaders, still sounded slightly trembling when reminding his soldiers.
The soldiers were still shouting the slogans that made them excited, and began to move forward steadily with small, quick steps. The soldiers in the rear row were close to the backs of the soldiers in the front row, one against the other, and the spears extended from the right shoulder of the soldiers in front. From the side, the spears of the 15 vertical rows of soldiers formed a continuous "spear wall" with a small inclination from front to back.
This gleaming, heart-palpitating "spear wall," although beginning to become crooked as the forward movement speed increased, still maintained its tightness. This tightness made every soldier in the formation feel the power of the collective and become more and more calm; at the same time, this tightness made it impossible for every soldier, even if afraid, to escape the battlefield. He couldn't even turn around. The only thing he could do was move forward! Keep moving forward! Until he stabbed the enemy!
...............…
When riding a horse quickly forward, it is easy for a person's spirit to enter a state of excitement, especially for these sturdy Celtic cavalry. They had long been prepared for a stimulating fight with the approaching enemy, but they did not expect the enemy to turn around and run away, which made many people roar in anger. They repeatedly urged their horses, vowing to catch up with these cowardly enemies, behead them, strip off their beautiful armor, seize their warhorses, and cut off their heads to hang on their horses. Even when the mercenary cavalry running on the far left passed by the Crotonian-Trinar reinforcements, a few overly excited foreign cavalrymen went forward to attack and throw javelins, but were repelled by the Daunian light infantry who arrived later.
The Celtic cavalry at the front were getting closer and closer to the enemy, and many Celts had already drawn their long swords. At this moment, the faint sound of neat shouts coming from the dusty front startled them: Was there an ambush ahead?!
Just as they began to be a little suspicious, the enemy cavalry in front suddenly turned to the side, causing some cavalrymen to choose to continue chasing, while others began to slow down their galloping horses. The cavalry in the rear were enveloped by the excited shouts of their comrades and the "rumbling" of horses' hooves, and had not yet noticed the abnormality in front.
Tappilus, located in the center of the spear phalanx, could already see the enemy cavalry in front: some had disheveled hair, some wore pointed leather helmets, wore dark striped cloth clothes, waved greatswords in their hands, and made strange "woo woo..." cries, driving tall horses straight towards them...
"Hades bless!" Tappilus couldn't help but pray to the King of the Underworld, causing the surrounding soldiers to shout along. Some soldiers even closed their eyes in fear, only instinctively pulling their spears tighter. This was the weapon that could protect him and give him psychological comfort in this terrible, inescapable battlefield.
They were afraid, and the enemy was equally afraid.
When they discovered that the enemy cavalry had turned, some Celtic cavalry followed in time, while others were still thinking of slowing down their horses. On the empty battlefield in front, shadowy "walls of people" suddenly appeared in the midst of the dust. The charging horses quickly made them see clearly: it was not a "wall of people," but a "wall of spears!"
Those long, sharp spears stretched out towards them densely, not only making them feel creepy, but also making the warhorses under their crotches neigh constantly. However, inertia still made the Celts crash into them with their men and horses...
Instantly, people screamed, horses neighed miserably, blood splattered, and spears broke...
Fortunately for the spearmen, the dense spear wall formed by the four-meter-long spears prevented the enemy cavalry from rushing to the soldiers before being stabbed. And because they had heard the shouts of the spear battalion in advance, most of the Celtic cavalry had consciously slowed down, and the length of the spears also weakened the force transmitted to the soldiers after the cavalry collided. Therefore, most of the front-row soldiers, supported by the strength of the rear soldiers, offset the impact, and only a few staggered back with the rear soldiers. As a result, one Celtic cavalryman after another crashed into the spear phalanx, causing some chaos in the formation, but did not break the formation apart.
Of course, if the subsequent cavalry continued to charge, the Daunian spear phalanx would inevitably be broken open, leading to the collapse of the soldiers. However, this era did not yet have specially trained heavy cavalry used to disrupt dense infantry phalanxes head-on. Even the fierce Celtic cavalry only dared to attack the flanks and rears of infantry phalanxes or rely on horsepower and speed to attack loose light infantry formations. They would not be stupid enough to use their lives to directly charge the front of heavy infantry phalanxes, let alone the terrifying spear phalanx in front of them. Even if people dared, horses would not dare, unless the warhorse's eyes were covered, otherwise it would jump and shout, throw the cavalry off, and then turn around and run away.
After the subsequent Celts discovered the abnormality in front, they hurriedly reined in the galloping warhorses, and the reins suddenly tightened, making the warhorses feel extremely uncomfortable. Some of them fell into mania and threw their masters off their horses; a small number of them fell forward because their necks were suddenly compressed and lacked oxygen, and the riders were thrown towards the approaching spear wall due to inertia, and their bodies were pierced by the sharp spear tips...
Gabba, the leader in the rear, and many Celts managed to stop the charging warhorses. At this moment, Gabba couldn't care about being angry at the tragic death of his subordinates. Looking at the approaching dense spear wall in front, he panicked and shouted: "Retreat! Retreat!..."
There was no need for him to shout. Every surviving Celtic cavalryman wished he could have two wings under his ribs and immediately fly away from the rapidly approaching terrifying spear phalanx. But just as they turned their horses to retreat, the second wave of attack—the Numidian cavalry—rushed in. It was not easy to immediately stop nearly two thousand galloping warhorses in the dust and make evasive tactical movements.
For a time, cavalrymen exclaimed, warhorses neighed, and the two sides collided...
Some riders fell off their horses, and before they had time to get up, they were trampled by countless hooves and died without even making a scream; others were pushed back towards the front with their men and horses, directly crashing into the advancing spear wall...
The Numidian and Celtic cavalry, more than two thousand people, were mixed together, and the warhorses stopped as if they were stuck in a quagmire. The riders who realized the danger wanted to immediately escape this completely chaotic battlefield, but the cavalrymen were entangled and squeezed against each other, and there was no extra space for the warhorses to start. Obviously, it would not be possible to restore order and allow the cavalry to retreat smoothly in a very short time.
But the Daonian's spear phalanx was closing in, and the Celts at the front were directly facing the terrifying threat of the spear wall. They were already annoyed by the Numidians' earlier charge. Now, in order to escape, some of the more irritable Celtic warriors simply brandished their greatswords and brutally attacked the Numidians who were blocking their way. This aroused the Numidians' anger and resistance, further delaying the entire cavalry's escape.
The leaders and officers of the Acirii and Gaba tribes shouted loudly and even blew the retreat horn, but their efforts were in vain on this battlefield, which was several miles in circumference, filled with dust, deafening noise, and utter chaos…
…
As the massive forms of the Celtic cavalry, men and horses together, crashed towards Tapyrus and his men, Tapyrus couldn't help but tense up, close his eyes tightly, and instinctively grip his spear, preparing to withstand the enormous impact.
He heard the miserable neighing of horses, and a powerful force was transmitted to the shaft of his spear, making it almost impossible for him to hold on. The soldiers in the front ranks also crashed into him, pushing him violently backwards.
"Hold steady, brothers! Hold steady!…" The soldiers behind him tried to brace his body, giving him strength while also encouraging them loudly.
The 15 ranks of the spear phalanx, plus the light infantry bracing behind them, provided nearly 20 ranks of thickness, giving Tapyrus and his men enough support to hold their ground.
Tapyrus opened his eyes and saw that the warhorse's hind legs were on the ground, its front hooves raised, and eight or nine spears were simultaneously piercing its neck and chest, holding it suspended in mid-air, but it was not yet dead and was still wailing. The enemy rider, however, had already had his left and right chests pierced by two spears and lay dead on the ground. Horse blood and human blood flowed down the spear shafts…
The soldiers struggled to pull out their spears.
Tapyrus was surprised to find that although the enemy cavalry had come on fiercely, the soldiers had not suffered major casualties, and the formation was still relatively intact, with only a few soldiers' spears broken. After this cavalry charge, the enemy did not dare to continue the attack, but instead urgently reined in their horses and frantically tried to escape, their front lines a chaotic mess…
Tapyrus and the other soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, and the enemy's timidity boosted their courage.
"Brothers, keep moving forward!" Tapyrus shouted, and the soldiers responded with roars.
They stepped over the enemy's corpses, bypassed the dying warhorses, and continued forward.
Kapus, at the rear of the phalanx, was pleasantly surprised to see that the entire phalanx had successfully blocked the advance of the enemy's large number of cavalry, and the confusion of the enemy made him realize that this was an opportunity not to be missed.
He decisively ordered: "Charge!"
Yes, the soldiers of the spear battalion could not only advance steadily. Without wearing any armor, they could charge like heavy infantry. This tactic had been the focus of training for the past few days.
The bugle sounded urgently and continuously, boosting the soldiers' morale.
"Attention! We're going to charge!!…" Tapyrus shouted hoarsely.
The company's soldiers then stopped sticking so close together, but instead opened up some distance between them. Their feet were still moving with small steps, but the pace was gradually increasing…
The phalanx moved forward faster, and enemy riders were stabbed off their horses one by one, with screams rising and falling.
At the same time, the entire phalanx became less continuous, with many gaps appearing. The light infantry poured into the ranks through the gaps, cooperating with the spearmen to kill the stationary enemies on horseback.
During the previous turn, a few of the Daonian cavalry who were luring the enemy accidentally crashed into the spear phalanx due to nervousness. Some cavalry at the rear of the formation were injured or killed by the pursuing Celtic cavalry… After suffering some casualties, they withdrew relatively smoothly from both sides. Just as the spear phalanx sounded the charge, the Daonian cavalry, after quickly reorganizing, immediately turned back from both sides and charged back, bravely blocking the passages on both sides.
"Avenge Soburkos!!" Lydes shouted loudly, giving the order to attack.
The infantry had the indomitable hero Drakos, and the cavalry also had the fallen hero Soburkos. At this time, the Daonian cavalry, determined to wash away the humiliation of their previous defeat to the Syracuse mercenary cavalry, desperately fought the enemy, regardless of their own lives.
On a battlefield where warhorses could not gallop, the difference in horsemanship could not be displayed or used, which allowed the Daonian cavalry to fight the Celts and Numidians on both sides to a standstill, and also made it impossible for the enemy to escape smoothly from the battlefield on both sides, thus compressing the space in the central battlefield and preventing them from retreating from the rear for a time, thereby creating conditions for the spearmen and light infantry to eliminate a large number of enemies.
…
"Your Majesty, the spear battalion has blocked the enemy cavalry's charge and is now counterattacking!" Hearing Tolmid's excited report, Davos' uneasy heart calmed down, but his expression remained solemn: "Now it depends on the First and Second Legions and Milon and their men!"
…
Phibidas, located in the midst of the army formation, did not know the battle situation of his own cavalry. He was now focused on leading the Syracuse right wing to advance, and at the same time, he was paying attention to the line of the entire right wing. As he had expected, the entire formation was gradually tilting to the left.
The Spartan infantry's best tactic was the "leftward rotation tactic." During engagements, the Spartans used the characteristics of heavy infantry holding shields in their left hands, bodies leaning to the right, and the formation gradually deviating to the left during movement, designing the tactic of having the soldiers at the far right accelerate forward. After reaching the enemy formation, the right wing would naturally rotate to the left as a whole, thereby directly attacking the flank of the enemy's left wing, causing the untrained enemy to be the first to be defeated when their flank was subjected to a fierce attack. Most of the time, the other two routes had not yet made frontal contact, and the battle was already over.
At such an important time of great engagement, Phibidas, who was also feeling nervous, chose his most familiar tactic. Although the Syracuse army could not achieve the same neat and consistent leftward strike in battle as the Spartan warriors who had undergone rigorous training together since childhood, the Syracuse army also had advantages that the Spartan army did not have. It had a large number of infantry and cavalry, and their number of soldiers was greater than that of the Daonian, and their cavalry was greater than that of the Daonian. After roughly understanding the Daonian's formation situation, Phibidas was delighted to find that he could completely concentrate his forces on the right wing, first defeat the enemy's left wing, and lay the foundation for the victory of the entire battle!
Because the left end of the right wing was connected to the middle route when starting to move (the cavalry connected to the right end had already rushed to the front), according to previous habits, the soldiers were instinctively slower in pace than the soldiers on the right side without friendly forces. Coupled with the characteristic of heavy infantry leaning to the right when moving, this Syracuse right wing, which was more than two miles long, had a clear tilt in the entire formation after advancing for a while.
Phibidas was happy about this and was pleased to see it happen. He calculated that when he came into contact with the Daonian's left wing, the tilted formation should be able to cut into the enemy's flank. By then, the cavalry should have already solved the Daonian's cavalry, and then turn to attack the rear of their left wing. The Daonian's left wing would be attacked from three sides. Even if the heavy infantry was strong, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to resist it!
Phibidas was able to discover the abnormality of the formation, and the officers with rich combat experience in the Daonian First and Second Legions on the opposite side also noticed it. The two legion commanders, who were constantly receiving reports, immediately realized that the situation was not right, and at this time, the two armies were only less than 400 meters apart.
Antonios immediately sent messengers to Amyntas and Milon and Siplos at both ends to convey his suggestion: immediately stop advancing and reorganize the formation to deal with the enemy in front.
He soon received the consent of Amyntas, the commander of the Second Legion.
Antonios could no longer wait for the response from Milon and Siplos, who were still hesitating, and decisively sounded the bugle for "Stop Advancing," and then the Second Legion also issued the same order.
The First and Second Legions were worthy of being the Daonian legions with the earliest establishment time, the most veterans, and the strongest combat effectiveness. The strongest combat effectiveness also meant the strongest ability to execute orders.
The bugle sounded, the flags waved, and the officers and soldiers, despite their doubts, stopped advancing one after another.
The two Daonian legions stopped advancing, leaving the Crotone-Trina reinforcements at the far left at a loss. Milon and Siplos, who were still hesitating, had to immediately order: Stop advancing!
Their city-state citizen soldiers did not have the systematic military training and complex army regulations and organization of the Daonian, and even had no bugle call for "Stop Advancing" at all. They could only send many messengers to convey orders loudly in front of and behind the formation, so the entire formation seemed somewhat chaotic. Fortunately, they were connected to the First Legion. The First Legion did not move, which naturally affected the neighboring Curtian reinforcements, who hurriedly stopped advancing.
At this time, the First and Second Legions had already begun to turn the entire formation without panic. The Curtian Allied Forces could only follow suit, which was somewhat difficult. Because the Daonian legions used a checkerboard formation of dense small squares of companies when marching, which had strong flexibility, coupled with capable officers and rigorously trained soldiers, they smoothly swung the queue over, so that the front of the formation faced the enemy again.
The Curtian Allied Forces' formation was a whole block of dense formation, about half a mile long and 15 columns thick. The soldiers were all heavily armored, and the thick, airtight Corinthian helmets made it a bit difficult to receive sound commands. It was not easy to make an in-situ turn in peacetime training, let alone on the battlefield with deafening shouts, facing the rapidly approaching enemy army. It was even more difficult for the Curtian reinforcements to complete such a complex tactical maneuver.
And so, the clumsy Cretan auxiliary hoplites jostled each other, clamoring, their formation becoming quite chaotic.
However, at this moment, Milon and Sipros were determined to complete the turn of the formation, because as the enemy approached, they, on horseback, had clearly seen the enemy's direction of attack. If the Cretan auxiliaries could not maintain alignment with the formations of the First and Second legions, then the flanks of the Cretan auxiliaries, protruding in front of the formation, would be completely exposed to the enemy's frontal assault, and their only fate would be destruction.
So the two men, with a large group of guards, quickly rode to the front of the formation, leveling their spears one by one, shouting loudly, and constantly urging their horses forward, forcing the soldiers to retreat and turn...
During his advance, Phibidas was shocked to discover that the Daunian army ahead had stopped moving. Just as he was feeling puzzled, the Daunian left-wing formation, which had originally been diagonally facing him, gradually began to face him directly...
Phibidas was greatly surprised: The enemy is performing a formation turn?! The enemy dares to perform a formation turn during a battle!!
Phibidas's surprise was justified: Once a hoplite battle began in this era, the enemy and us would advance towards each other according to a pre-arranged plan, making it difficult to make major tactical changes. This was because, firstly, the heavily armored hoplites were clumsy in their movements, making it difficult for them to make more flexible maneuvers; secondly, the citizen-soldiers of the city-states lacked training, which made them afraid to make complex tactical maneuvers while advancing in dense phalanxes, lest the formation become chaotic and vulnerable to attack.
This was also one of the reasons why Spartan warriors had an advantage in battle, as the professional soldiers of Sparta were able to perform tactical maneuvers in battle that the armies of other city-states could not. But even the Spartans, in large battles, only exploited the characteristics of hoplites advancing, taking the left-turning tactic to the extreme. They rarely made temporary tactical changes after the battle had begun, like the Daunians opposite them were doing now. This was because, like most Greek city-states, the Spartan officers and generals commanding the various armies, according to Spartan city-state tradition, had to be in the formation with the soldiers, fighting the enemy (the Spartan king did not, he could sit in command, but his subordinate generals were all in the formation, greatly weakening his command effectiveness). And democratic city-states even required generals to be at the front of the army, taking the lead, so as not to be criticized in the citizens' assembly. Therefore, when the battle's charge sounded and the army advanced, the generals almost lost command of the entire force, and the army would engage in battle according to the pre-determined tactics.
The temporary formation change of the Daunian left wing, clearly aimed at the Syracuse right wing's attack, did shock Phibidas. Of course, he also saw the chaos in the Daunian army formation (mainly the Cretan auxiliaries), which somewhat compensated for his disappointment at possibly being unable to attack the enemy's flank.
"Faster! Faster!!..." Phibidas shouted loudly as he quickened his pace. Unfortunately, his shouts could only motivate a small group of soldiers around him. For a huge phalanx of 25,000 men, it was like a pebble thrown into a rushing river, having little effect.
The Syracuse right wing continued to advance according to the previous plan.
But as the soldiers strode forward, the distance between it and the Daunian left wing was rapidly closing...
The Syracuse light infantry fighting in the center had already begun to retreat, while the Seventh Battalion of the First Legion led by Zipetes and the Seventh Battalion of the Second Legion led by Alpunis were still at the front of the phalanx, not only because the Daunian checkerboard formation left them with plenty of retreat routes, but also because they had to slow down the Syracuse right wing's advance as much as possible to buy time for the Cretan auxiliaries to complete their formation turn.
The approaching Syracuse army made the Cretan auxiliary soldiers nervous, but also forced them to speed up their formation change.
The efforts of the light infantry of the First and Second legions could not stop the Syracuseans' advance. They only managed to throw one volley of javelins and shoot one volley of arrows before being forced to gradually retreat to the rear under the pressure of the Syracuse formation.
At this time, the two armies were only about 60 meters apart, and the Cretan auxiliary formation had barely completed its turn. Milon and Sipros were covered in sweat when they returned to the rear of the phalanx, but they felt much relieved.
Milon said with a sigh: "Now I know how big the gap is between the Crotone army and the Daunian legions!"
Sipros said with lingering fear: "Fortunately, Lord Davos repeatedly asked us to break away from the phalanx and stand at the rear of the formation to facilitate command. Otherwise, even if we saw the Syracuseans' cunning actions, we would have no way to change them, and we would definitely suffer a big loss!"
"Yes! If it weren't for the Daunians' insistence, we wouldn't have dared to make changes to the formation because we were afraid of difficulties!" Milon sighed again.
At this time, the Daunian left wing and the Syracuse right wing formations were almost parallel, but almost perpendicular to the Daunian center, which was still advancing south.
The Syracuse right wing army was getting closer and closer to the Daunian left wing. The Syracuse soldiers began to clench the round shields in their hands. After fighting the Daunians once, they had a deep memory of the Daunians' unique tactical style.
When the Daunian soldiers opposite raised the javelins in their hands, they crouched slightly, holding the round shields over their heads. A rain of javelins, covering the sky and sun, struck the Syracuse army formation, splashing up flowers of death. The intermittent screams did not affect their determination to advance, but instead made them speed up their pace, forcing the Daunian soldiers to hastily throw a second volley of javelins, whose killing effect was much worse.
Now the two armies were less than 20 meters apart, and even Phibidas was a little breathless. He could hear the rapid breathing of the surrounding soldiers, not only because of the physical exertion caused by switching from retreat to attack, hastily forming the formation, and running hundreds of meters, but also because of the extreme excitement produced by the imminent moment of slaughter.
Through the narrow eyeholes of his helmet, Phibidas could see the dense rows of long shields, spears, and armor gleaming on the opposite army formation. The Daunian army's unique dark black color made people feel as if they were in a cold night, even in the daytime. He knew that the main force of the Daunian army was opposite him, but he was not afraid, but excited, and he firmly believed that the Syracuse soldiers would not be afraid either, not only because they were also the elite of the Syracuse army, but also because Dionysius had told every Sicilian soldier before the battle, 'They can only return to their hometowns smoothly if they win, otherwise they can only be buried in a foreign land!'
Without the urging of bugle calls, the Syracuse soldiers shouted "Apollo!!" one after another, striding forward and accelerating their charge. The entire Syracuse right wing phalanx was like a golden mountain crushing towards the enemy.
At the same time, the Daunian soldiers on the opposite side also shouted in unison "Hades!!!", also starting to charge. They were like a black tide surging in a sea storm, one wave after another, eventually converging into a huge wave peak, surging towards the Syracuseans like an overwhelming mountain.
And the Cretan auxiliary soldiers, holding onto their national hatred and family feuds, roared, wanting to turn their full of anger into infinite power, vowing to kill all their mortal enemies.
The feet of tens of thousands of people powerfully stepped on the ground, rumbling like thunder, and the earth was shaking.
With a loud bang, the hoplite battle began...
......
"Your Majesty, the left wing has fully engaged the enemy!" Tolmides loudly relayed the message reported by the scouts.
Davos nodded, his eyes fixed on the front. At this moment, he pointed to the enemy's army formation in the distance, sneered a few times, and said: "The Syracuseans are moving very slowly. It seems that Dionysius wants to wait for his right wing to achieve victory first!"
Tolmides flatteringly laughed: "But he never expected that the cavalry he was expecting has been trapped by the wonderful tactics you have devised, Your Majesty!"
Davos had no intention of mocking the enemy at this time. He said with a serious expression: "We can't let Dionysius be too relaxed! Order the various units to advance faster and engage the enemy as soon as possible!"
Tolmides did not immediately accept the order, but reminded him: "Your Majesty, if our right wing advances too quickly, I am afraid that it will reach the river section of the Tachinadi River that can be waded across. The enemy may send troops to cross the Tachinadi River and attack the rear of our right wing!"
Davos had already considered this issue. He immediately replied: "Judging from the current situation, Dionysius has invested enough strength in the Syracuse right wing, indicating that his focus of attack is on our left wing. I don't think Dionysius can spare enough troops to attack the rear of my right wing, let alone that I still have enough reserves to deal with his outflanking."
After the light infantry retreated, the Daonian phalanx soldiers on the right wing and center quickly hurled two rounds of javelins. Taking advantage of the slight confusion in the Syracuse army formation on the opposite side, they held long shields and spears, shouting the name of "Hades", and charged towards the enemy...
At this point, the two armies of Daonia and Syracuse were fully engaged.
.................
The news of the battle between the two armies was sent back to the acropolis by Croton spies, arousing the attention of all the people in the city. After all, the outcome of this great battle was not only related to the life and death of the thousands of Croton citizen soldiers who went to fight, but also to the survival of all the people of Croton. Therefore, many people, with uneasy hearts, wanted to go to the battlefield to watch the battle, including many members of the council.
After discussion, the remaining hundreds of citizen soldiers in the acropolis continued to stay behind to protect the women, children, and the infirm elderly in the city, while tens of thousands of Croton citizens, led by Lysias, Cissiprotis and other members of the General Executive Committee, descended the hill with trepidation and came to the ruins of Croton City, which were already in ruins.
Before they had even reached the north city wall, their hearts filled with sorrow, and the deafening sound enveloped them like a blanket. Many people turned pale and their legs trembled, needing the support of others to move forward.
Due to the burning of the fire and the wanton destruction of the Syracuseans, sections of the collapsed north city wall were like the teeth of an old man, with gaps everywhere. Only the section connecting the city gate still stood relatively intact...
Lysias and the others, with heavy hearts, stepped on the stone steps and climbed onto the city wall, holding onto the battlements, anxiously looking out: in the far distance, densely packed soldiers were fighting together, filling the vast plains of Croton, and the huge, terrifying sound they made seemed like the earth was roaring, stirring up dust and sand, and even the sky and earth changed color...
.................
On the southern sea of Croton City, more than 80 raven warships led by Mydorades were facing off against nearly 40 remaining Syracuse warships led by Leptines.
What gave Mydorades a headache was that once his fleet approached the Syracuse warships, the Syracuse fleet would quickly retreat, and the special structure of the raven warships made it impossible for them to catch up with the ordinary Syracuse warships in terms of speed; but once the Mydorades fleet approached the coast, the Syracuse fleet would force its way over...
Just as Mydorades was hesitating, the Syracuse reserve camp sent hundreds of soldiers, who brought thousands of Sicilian freemen, who were usually responsible for transporting supplies, to the seaside with weapons, foiling Mydorades' attempt to send sailors to land and disrupt the rear of the Syracuse army.
.................
Since Terina was occupied by Syracuse,
There were 1,000 Syracuse soldiers, more than 1,000 Hibernian soldiers, and 1,000 Caulonian soldiers stationed in the city, totaling more than 3,000 people. Because they were far away from the front line, the Terina garrison lived a leisurely life, until Dionysius sent two orders from the Croton camp in the past two days: to strengthen their defenses and pay close attention to the movements of the city of Knepetia to the north!
The garrison generals immediately perked up and stepped up reconnaissance to the north.
This afternoon, the scouts brought shocking news: a fleet had landed on the beach of the Euphimia Plain, and about five or six thousand Daonian soldiers had landed. After landing, the Daonian troops were marching towards the city of Terina!
Then came more news: more than a thousand Daonian soldiers had come out of the city of Knepetia and had entered the Euphimia Plain!
...
The news made the Syracuse general in Terina uneasy. Although he was eager to make meritorious service, the attacking enemy of six or seven thousand people was obviously beyond the strength of the troops in his hands. He immediately ordered: to close the city gates, raise the drawbridges, and the soldiers of each unit to go to the city walls to defend according to the previously rehearsed deployment, and at the same time immediately prepare sufficient arrows, javelins, stones, asphalt...
In addition, he also sent two messengers to rush to Siris and the Croton camp to report the news.
After Hiros led his troops to the city of Terina and carefully observed the Syracuseans' city defenses, he did not immediately launch a siege. In fact, time did not allow it.
He ordered: the army to start building a camp in the northwest direction one mile away from the city, waiting for reinforcements from Knepetia to arrive and join forces.
At the same time, in order to prevent the main Syracuse force in the east from sending troops to attack, he sent out the few cavalry squads and mountain reconnaissance squads in the army to scout the movements of the Syracuse camps in Siris and Croton.
.................
"Attack! Attack!!..." Martonis, standing at the rear of the phalanx, wished he could personally go into battle and have a good fight, but unfortunately he was already a legion commander and was restricted by the Daonian Military Law, so he could only order the drummers to beat non-stop to urge the soldiers to intensify their attack.
Although the Seventh Legion was newly built and most of the soldiers were new recruits, the great victory of Heraclea gave them victory and honor, and also gave them more confidence. They fearlessly launched a fierce attack on the enemy.
Four years ago, Cregenis was just a freeman who had just arrived in Thurii, but he was fortunate enough to become one of the five thousand freemen who made up the light infantry in the Battle of the Trionto River, contributing to the defeat of Croton's partial division. Finally, he also participated in the triumphal parade, which gave him a goal to strive for.
At the beginning of this year, he had become a full citizen. In recent years, the Daonian army has been expanding, but when the instructors of the Military Affairs Department in various places were selecting new recruits for the legion, he was always eliminated, on the grounds that he was thin and not suitable for close combat infantry, and the instructors suggested that he become a light infantryman. But he had always dreamed of becoming a heavy infantryman, so he was always a legion reserve soldier, but he was not discouraged and continued to exercise his body and hone his combat skills, and finally waited for the outbreak of war and the establishment of a new legion.
Originally, according to his identity and qualifications (full citizen, three years of legion reserve soldier), Legion Commander Martonis was going to let him serve as a company commander, but he refused, because he felt that he had never served as a squad officer and was suddenly promoted to a mid-level squad officer. He had no experience, and he could not fight on the front line and show the results of his hard training. In the end, he became a squad leader of the Seventh Legion.
Now, he was fighting in the front line, his left hand holding his long shield tightly to protect his body, and the spear in his right hand was suspended above his head, almost motionless, but once the enemy showed a flaw, it would stab out like lightning. Every stab was fierce and accurate, bringing great threat to the enemy. In a short period of time, he had stabbed several people.
He rarely shouted and issued orders like some squad officers, but his leading role greatly encouraged his soldiers and boosted their morale...
Olyphus, who had always been unconvinced by Martonis and always wanted to compete with him, certainly would not let the Seventh Legion monopolize the glory. Under his strict orders, the Sixth Legion also attacked fiercely...
More than half of those facing these two new Daonian legions were soldiers from the city-states of Sicily, such as Catania, Leontini, Gela, Camarina... These city-states were said to be Syracuse's allies, but in fact they were vassals, and the rulers of their city-states were directly appointed and supported by Dionysius, so attacking Magna Graecia was not the intention of these soldiers. However, they had won consecutive victories during this period and had captured a lot of spoils, so their morale was still good. Because of the encouragement of "only victory can bring you home", their fighting spirit was second only to that of the Syracuse soldiers.
But there were also soldiers from Syracuse's allies in Magna Graecia in the Syracuse left wing: Locrians, Medmaeans, Hibernians, and Caulonians. Especially the Caulonians, they surrendered to Syracuse under duress and were unwilling in their hearts. Dionysius was of course well aware of this, so he left a thousand Caulonians in Terina and a thousand in Siris to replace his own troops. He also had two thousand Caulonian soldiers, whom he dispersed and deployed in the front ranks of the left wing, forcing them to fight for survival, but their morale was conceivable.
Originally, Dionysius saw that the Daonian right wing was basically composed of soldiers wearing Corinthian helmets, holding round shields and spears, and thought that they were not the main force of Daonia, so he dared to make such an arrangement.
Who knew that these two new legions, a newborn calf not afraid of tigers, with a total of 14,000 soldiers, attacked so fiercely that the Syracuse left wing, although it had 20,000 men, but with a complex composition and weak fighting spirit, was forced to slowly retreat...
.................
The Syracuse left wing was retreating, and the center was also retreating.
The soldiers of the Daonian Fourth and Fifth Legions had experienced the Failure of Siris and witnessed the tragic death of the legion commander and their comrades. Today, they were fighting the enemy with the purpose of washing away their shame and avenging their comrades. Therefore, they were not only brave, but also somewhat Madness. Everyone had a ferocious expression and desperately wanted to get close to the enemy and engage in close combat.
The Bruttian soldiers fighting alongside them were also infected by them and displayed the ferocity of the mountain people. The unrest in the Bruttian region some time ago greatly affected the impression of other Daonian people on the Bruttians. Today, they needed to use their performance to show their loyalty to the alliance.
The front ranks of the Syracuse center were Campanian mercenaries. These mercenaries, who were rich in combat experience, understood the power of Daonian heavy infantry in close combat after the last battle, so they tried to keep some distance from the Daonian soldiers and used spears to block the enemy from approaching. At the same time, they knew that the heavy infantry's reckless attack was very exhausting, and they were patiently waiting for the moment when the Daonian people's strength would be exhausted before launching a counterattack. The result was that the Campanian mercenaries and another 10,000 Syracuse citizen soldiers were both forced and deliberately retreating.
If it had been before, Dionysius wouldn't have cared too much about such a retreat, because the key to Syracuse's victory in this battle was on the right wing. As long as the center and left wings could hold back the enemy and maintain a balance during the enemy's attack, all that was left was to wait for news of the right wing's victory.
However, when Dionysius learned from his scouts that "Syracuse's greatest advantage—the cavalry—had been ambushed by the Daunians and temporarily held back," his initially relaxed mood quickly turned anxious, and he became worried about the continuous retreat of the left and center wings. He not only ordered the buglers to sound the charge behind the phalanx, but also had messengers shout loudly behind the lines, warning: officers and soldiers must not retreat any further, they must attack!
After this series of actions, the Syracusan citizen soldiers in the rear of the center no longer retreated, but instead forced the Campanian mercenaries in the front to engage in fierce fighting with the approaching enemy; as for the soldiers on the left wing, their retreat speed only slowed down slightly, indicating that they were indeed at a disadvantage in the confrontation.
Dionysius was somewhat annoyed: before arranging the formation, he had learned about Daonia's right wing through scouts. It was clearly not Daonia's main force, and the number of troops should only be less than his own left wing, but why was the result like this? Could it be that those Great Greeks didn't fight seriously at all? Or were they colluding with the enemy?…
Dionysius's paranoia struck again, and he even began to suspect his ally, Locri, but he also knew that now was not the time to worry about this. The cunning Davos had trapped his cavalry, and now he could only hope that Phibidas, leading the right wing, could quickly defeat the enemy in front of him and lay the foundation for victory in the entire battle!
The reason why Dionysius still had confidence in the battle was that, compared to the other unfavorable performances, the right wing's current performance met his pre-war expectations.
The huge and thick phalanx formed by 25,000 men pressed tightly against Daonia's left wing. Out of vigilance against the Daunians' close combat, the Syracuse's elite soldiers were more tightly packed in the front and rear rows, and the spear formation was even denser, making it so that the Daunian left wing soldiers fighting in the front not only had to avoid the attacks of the Syracuse soldiers in the front row, but also had to be wary of the thrusting spears of the soldiers behind them. Moreover, they had to laboriously resist the huge pushing force of the Syracuse, so the power of the Daunian heavy infantry's close combat was greatly reduced.
However, the soldiers of the First and Second Legions were all veterans. Although they felt some tension due to the enormous pressure exerted by the enemy in front of them, because the officers had already roughly understood King Davos's tactical arrangements before the battle, they understood that in this situation, the first thing they had to do was to ensure that the formation would not be broken by the enemy, hold back the enemy, and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
To this end, the Daunian soldiers used the elasticity of the formation based on squads to alleviate the huge pressure generated by the enemy's attack with an orderly retreat, while at the same time seizing the opportunity to use their long shields to cover themselves and their short swords to stab the enemy.
Phibidas was almost seriously injured twice: the first time was after the charge,
just as he collided with the enemy, shields against shields, people sticking together with shields between them. In his eyes, the long shield completely protected the enemy in front of him, so he tried his best to push forward with his round shield, trying to break through the enemy's defense and let the thrusting spear exert its power. He did not expect that the enemy's right hand, buried in the long shield, suddenly protruded from above the long shield, and the short sword stabbed down like lightning, hitting his Corinthian helmet directly, causing him to feel a burst of dizziness.
The second time was after he stabbed down the enemy in front of him, instinctively following his previous combat habits, squeezed into the gap in the opponent's formation. Before he could take the next step, two cold and shiny short swords stabbed at his ribs at the same time. Although he reacted quickly, he was still cut through his linen armor by the sharp short swords, cutting a gash in his right waist.
This injury finally made him realize the power of his opponent, and he no longer easily took risks, but maintained the same formation as the surrounding Syracuse soldiers.
Compared to the steady defense and counterattack of the Daunian First and Second Legions, the Cretan auxiliary soldiers at the far left were much tougher. Although their phalanx was not as thick as the Syracuse, they stubbornly withstood the squeezing of the Syracuse, and did not retreat easily. Hatred gave them great courage and strength. Even if they were seriously injured, as long as they could still stand, their thrusting spears would not stop stabbing. Even if they fell, as long as they had a trace of strength, they would hug the feet of the enemy who stepped over them, causing them to fall, or tear with their teeth. Such a tragic scene was staged many times in front of the Cretan auxiliary army, which made the Syracuse, who had a large number of troops, somewhat panicked, feeling that the fallen opponents were more terrifying than the standing ones, and they dared to move forward only after repeatedly confirming the opponent's death, which made their advance speed not much faster than their companions.
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
Behind this battlefield was another battlefield. After withdrawing from the main battlefield, the Daunian light infantry, led by Zipetes and Arpuns, rushed to the left wing, wanting to participate in the encirclement and suppression of the enemy's cavalry, but encountered the Syracuse light infantry who had the same purpose, and had to continue the light infantry battle in front of the main formation to the end.
The main troop types on both sides were archers and javelin throwers, with the addition of slingers for the Daonians. Both sides adopted a loose formation, with javelin throwers in front and archers in the rear, engaging in ranged attacks. Although the battle lacked the grandeur of hoplite clashes, its brutality was no less severe. Due to their inferior protection compared to hoplites, soldiers on both sides were constantly wounded and falling on the battlefield amidst the rain of arrows and javelins.
The Daonian light infantry were well-trained and had better tactical coordination, while the Syracusan light infantry had greater numbers and were under the strict command of Dionysius. For a time, it was difficult to determine which side would prevail.
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
Of course, the most brutal fighting was taking place on the easternmost part of the battlefield.
Trapped in the middle and unable to escape, the Celtic cavalry watched as their steeds and tribesmen were struck and fell, heard the cries of the horses and the screams of their comrades, and faced the relentless advance of the spear formations. Most of them dared not remain mounted and await certain death, so they were forced to dismount, wielding their greatswords and fighting on foot.
But this was undoubtedly a futile gesture. Not only was it difficult for their greatswords to get close to the enemy when facing a spear phalanx head-on, but also, in their hasty response, they often fought individually and quickly perished under the thrusts of the spears.
Just like the strong Celtic warrior in front of Tapyrus. He roared and swung his greatsword, and although he managed to sever the heads of two spears, he was forced back by the dense spear array. When he accidentally slipped, exposing a flaw, a spear seized the opportunity and pierced his thigh. In the instant he instinctively bent over, three more spears simultaneously struck his head and chest, killing him instantly.
Continuously killing the enemy boosted the morale of the spearmen, and their speed of advance increased.
The company led by Tapyrus in the front rank did not encounter significant resistance, and their advance was even faster, creating a large gap with the neighboring companies.
At this moment, a Celtic warrior suddenly charged into the formation from the side in the chaotic battlefield. The entire company was caught off guard, and he managed to wound several soldiers in quick succession.
The advancing light infantry promptly stepped forward to block him, but the Celtic warrior, disregarding his encirclement, fiercely cleaved the light infantryman's leather shield in two with a single blow. Four or five light shield-bearers surrounded him and finally eliminated him, but not without paying the price of two severely wounded light infantrymen.
This served as a warning to Tapyrus, and he had to shout loudly, telling the soldiers of the company not to advance too quickly and to wait for the adjacent companies.
Although the Celtic cavalry were fierce, they had no chance of winning in this crowded battlefield against the dense spear phalanx. In addition, their numbers were already small, and many cavalrymen had directly crashed into the spear wall at the beginning. Therefore, Tapyrus and his men soon discovered that the enemies blocking their path were no longer tall and strong Celts wearing thick striped cloth, pointed helmets, and wielding greatswords, but rather Numidians with disheveled hair, dark skin, slender bodies, wearing simple clothes, and wielding javelins and spears. Their fighting spirit was much inferior to that of the Celts. Apart from a few who threw javelins at them, most quickly jumped off their barebacked horses and fled into the chaotic battlefield…
Capus didn't need to send out scouts to know that his spear brigade was progressing smoothly, because he was stationed in the rear, following the phalanx as it advanced.
At this moment, a cavalryman galloped up: "General Capus, the cavalry led by Legion Commander Lydes is under attack from enemy cavalry from both the front and rear, and they hope to receive reinforcements!"
It turned out that the one thousand Sicilian allied cavalry led by Astagoras were not advancing very quickly, and they were at the rear of the formation, so most of them quickly broke free from the congested and chaotic battlefield.
In theory, this battlefield was no longer suitable for cavalry combat, but Astagoras knew the importance of these foreign mercenary cavalry to this battle, and he could not abandon them, otherwise Dionysius would not spare him. Therefore, he painstakingly reorganized the scattered Sicilian Greek cavalry and led the hastily assembled force of over 800 cavalrymen back into the left side of the battlefield.
On the left flank, Lydes was leading half of the cavalry legion to block the enemy cavalry from escaping, and desperately trying to squeeze them towards the center.
At first, the mercenary cavalry's attacks were still relatively fierce, especially the Celts, who inflicted some casualties on the Daonian cavalry. However, as the spear phalanx advanced, the Celts suffered heavy losses. While the Numidian cavalry were highly skilled in horsemanship and javelin throwing, once they lost these two advantages and were simply fighting opponents at close range on horseback, without any protection and riding barebacked horses, they were no match for the Daonian cavalry.
The Numidians were beginning to falter, and some cavalrymen began to flee, trying to squeeze into the chaotic center and then retreat from the rear.
Astagoras's cavalry suddenly attacked, and their main attack direction was towards Lydes, because his towering, purple and crimson crested helmet was too conspicuous. If it hadn't been for his guards desperately resisting, Lydes would have been seriously injured in the first moment.
However, once Rhodes reacted, he disregarded the danger and immediately charged forward with his spear and horse, engaging the enemy cavalry that was attacking from the south. At the same time, he shouted loudly, "Brothers of the cavalry legion, hold on! We must not let the enemy escape from here!"
Rhodes took the lead, ensuring that the Daonian cavalry, even when attacked from two sides, did not lose their fighting spirit and resisted bravely.
The Sicilian League cavalry, Numidian cavalry, and Daonian cavalry were entangled in a fierce battle.
Capus had anticipated this situation before the battle and had made arrangements. Therefore, he did not hesitate to send out the 500 light infantry reserves that were by his side.
The light infantry, with their leather shields and armor, quickly arrived on the left side of the spear phalanx and immediately launched a fierce attack on the Syracuse cavalry. Now it was the Syracuse cavalry's turn to be attacked from two sides.
Astargalas also refused to be outdone, calling on the cavalry to fight bravely.
The four teams were intertwined, fighting fiercely, becoming the most tragic area of the battlefield.
In the end, the Numidians on the inside were the first to be unable to withstand the pressure. Moreover, they saw that the rear battlefield was becoming less crowded due to the continuous withdrawal of their Numidian comrades in the central rear. At the same time, the spear phalanx soldiers kept stabbing their tribesmen off their horses, so their fighting spirit began to wane, and they turned to flee.
The Sicilian League cavalry, which was already struggling, found itself in an even more difficult situation. Astargalas saw that the situation was not good and wanted to retreat, but the Daonian cavalry and light infantry clung to them relentlessly. In the end, only over 300 Sicilian League cavalry escaped.
The Celtic cavalry was almost completely wiped out in the battle, and their leader, Gaba, was also killed. Their resistance bought the Numidians some more time.
Nearly a thousand Numidian cavalrymen managed to escape contact with the spear phalanx. These tribesmen from the African desert, who were usually arrogant, were clearly frightened out of their wits this time. Even though only over 600 Daonian cavalrymen from the right side of the spear phalanx were chasing them, they did not dare to turn around and fight or throw javelins. Instead, they fled south in panic, including their leader, Axilița, who was in the lead.
As soon as the battle on the left ended,
Rhodes fell off his horse. His subordinates rushed to help him, only to see him covered in blood, with multiple injuries all over his body. In particular, there was a date-sized wound on the outside of his left leg, pierced by a spear, and blood was flowing non-stop.
The guards hurried to bandage his wound, but he weakly called out, "Quick… quick, go call Cocius… call Cocius here."
Cocius, the former young and vigorous cavalry squad leader, now a cavalry captain with rich combat experience, immediately rushed to Rhodes' side upon hearing the legion commander's summons.
"I order… I order you to lead the remaining cavalry (that is, the Daonian cavalry fighting on the left side of the spear phalanx) to continue chasing… chasing the enemy, and don't give… them any chance to breathe."
"Yes!" Cocius gave a strong military salute, turned to leave, but stopped and said with concern, "Legion Commander, take good care of yourself and recover. Wait for my good news!"
Rhodes waved his hand impatiently, "Go… go…"
Cocius jumped on his horse and shouted, "Brothers, follow me to kill the enemy!"
The remaining 400 or so cavalrymen, although exhausted, were injected with new strength by the victory. They shouted in unison and followed Cocius to pursue the fleeing Syracuse cavalry.
… … … … … … … … … … … …
"Company Commander, we won! We repelled the enemy cavalry!" The soldiers' cheers rang in his ears. Tapirus looked at the blurry figures of the fleeing enemies in front of him, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. He felt his arms holding the spear were sore and swollen, and the sweat all over his body had soaked through his clothes, sticking to the dust, sweaty and uncomfortable. But he knew that this was not the time to relax. According to the pre-war deployment, there was still a battle to fight.
"Reassemble! Everyone reassemble for me!…" Just as he was loudly calling out to his subordinates, the high-pitched bugle sounded, stopping the spear soldiers who were somewhat excited and wanted to pursue.
Messengers galloped back and forth in front of the phalanx, calling out to the senior officers to reorganize the formation.
At this time, Capus had arrived next to Rhodes, paying attention to his injury.
"Don't worry… I won't die." Rhodes tried to force a smile, but the vibration when the guards lifted him onto the stretcher still made him frown and show a painful expression.
"Gently! Gently!" Capus shouted with dissatisfaction.
"Capus." Rhodes' face was pale. At this moment, he didn't even call out the rank of this old comrade-in-arms. He said softly, "Our cavalry… has completed our mission… You can rest assured that the Syracuse cavalry will not come again… The rest is up to you…"
Capus nodded solemnly and gave him a military salute as he mounted his horse: "Take good care of yourself. Victory belongs to Daonia!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
The spear battalion finally completed its re-formation. At this time, the battle line was no longer facing south, but directly facing the rear of the Syracuse right wing, a hundred meters away.
Capus ordered the soldiers whose spears were broken to withdraw from the battle, so only nearly 4,000 soldiers remained in the entire phalanx. At this time, Tapirus' company, which had originally had 200 men, had only 170 left, and only 112 spears remained intact.
"Woo!!!…" The attack bugle sounded quickly, and the military flag waved, pointing forward.
Tapirus and the other officers all shouted loudly, "Advance!"
The soldiers moved forward steadily. Victory gave them enough confidence. This time, their opponent would be heavy infantry.
On the left side of the spear phalanx were two thousand light infantry, who would do their best to protect the flanks, the greatest weakness of the spear phalanx.
As the battle continued and the number of casualties increased, the Cretan reinforcements were no longer able to hold their ground against the enemy as they had at the beginning. The thick ranks of the Syracusans began to display their power, and the force of their forward push and squeeze made the Cretan reinforcements feel more and more strained, forcing them to retreat to relieve the pressure. However, forced to retreat, they were unable to control the rhythm of the army's advance and retreat as skillfully as the Daonian First and Second Legions, and the result was that they were subjected to ever-increasing pressure.
Under the loud shouts of Milon and Sipros, the soldiers struggled to support themselves with their courage…
At this moment, the sound of a clear bugle suddenly rang out from the rear of the right end of the Syracuse right wing in front of them.
Milon and Sipros asked each other uncertainly, "Is that the sound of the Daonian bugle?"
Antonios, who was a few hundred meters away from them, had accurately judged that it was the Daonian charge bugle. Knowing Davos' battle plan, he understood that the spear battalion must have repelled the Syracuse cavalry and was preparing to attack the rear of the Syracuse right wing. He was immediately invigorated.
Immediately, the attack bugle of the First Legion sounded.
Following that, Amintas, the commander of the Second Legion, even spurred his horse close to the rear of his own legion, shouting loudly, "Brothers, attack! Attack! It's time to let the Syracusans know how powerful we are!…"
In fact, the attack of the spear phalanx could not cover the entire rear of the Syracuse right wing, and could only directly help the Cretan reinforcements. However, the attack of the First and Second Legions could contain the enemy in front of them, preventing them from drawing too many rear soldiers to block the spear phalanx.
"Enemies! Enemies are attacking from the rear!…" The soldiers at the far right end of the Syracuse right wing heard the bugle, and then heard the unison roar from behind them. They all looked back in panic, and the officers hurriedly organized them to turn around and fight.
Just as the organization at the rear right end of the Syracuse right wing was somewhat chaotic, the soldiers of the Daonian spear battalion began to increase their pace. The originally upright spears began to be laid flat in sequence: first row, second row, third row, fourth row, fifth row… forming a dense wall of spears in front of the phalanx.
"Apollo above, these pikes are too long!" The Syracuse soldiers looked in horror at the approaching enemies, who stopped three meters away from them. Countless shaking spear tips had already stabbed into their bodies, but their pikes could not reach the enemies at all. The Syracusans, who were encountering this situation for the first time, were in a panic.
"Shield wall! Raise the shield wall!…" Some Syracuse officers shouted in panic. In such a chaotic situation, the Syracuse phalanx lacked unified and effective command, and also lacked emergency measures.
The pressure on the Cretan reinforcements suddenly eased.
How could Milon and Sipros let go of this good opportunity? They immediately issued the order to charge. The soldiers, with the fire of revenge, once again charged towards the enemies who had burned their homes.
The Syracuse soldiers in the front row of the phalanx heard the noisy shouts of their comrades behind them, and at the same time did not feel the support of their strength. They couldn't help but think in their hearts: What happened? Are we surrounded? Are they going to run away?…
Their morale was declining, and they were no longer able to fight wholeheartedly.
… … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Your Majesty, the spear battalion led by Capus has repelled the Syracuse cavalry and is now launching an attack on the Syracuse right wing!" Tolmides reported excitedly to Davos.
Davos breathed a sigh of relief. The tension he had been feeling was relieved. He calmed down slightly and immediately issued an order: "Tolmides, you immediately notify Lizams to lead the reconnaissance battalion and those two thousand light infantry to cross the Tacina River and attack the left flank and rear of Syracuse!"
Tolmides was stunned when he heard this order. He knew that in Davos' original plan, this reserve force of 3,000 soldiers was intended to be deployed to the left wing in case the Daonian left wing could not withstand the heavy enemy attack, in order to strengthen its defense; or to be deployed to the left wing at the same time as the spear phalanx attacked the enemy's flanks and rear, in order to accelerate the defeat of the enemy's right wing. But now he was going to take this force to attack the Syracuse left wing?!