Since Leotychides had required the allied forces' camps to be built according to the Daonian camp style when constructing the camp, it added many difficulties to the Carthaginian army's attack, especially the Numidian troops. They had suffered a lot when attacking Minoia City before, with many casualties, and their morale was already low, so they acted very cautiously. Therefore, despite their large numbers, the pressure on the southern camp was not great.
However, the situation was not optimistic for the northern camp. Its hill was not large, and the terrain was relatively low, so the camp area was small and easier to attack. The 12,000 soldiers responsible for attacking the northern camp were mainly composed of Carthaginian civilians, with a small number of citizens from Phoenician allied states adjacent to Carthage, such as Utica. Compared to the Numidians, this army had much higher morale and better equipment, with most of them being heavy infantry.
Unfortunately, at this time, most of the main defense force in the northern camp—the Agrigentines—were not in the camp. There were not enough troops to send out of the camp to harass the Carthaginians who were dismantling the traps with all their might. They could only ask the Daonian light infantry, who had been sent to the hills to prepare to attack the Sacred Band's army, to retreat to the camp to cooperate in the battle. However, their javelins and arrows were simply not enough to cover the Carthaginian army that surrounded the camp.
Just as the Carthaginian army was about to approach the trench, thousands of Sikel warriors suddenly rushed out of the northern mountains and threw a large number of javelins at the Carthaginian rearguard. Although the Carthaginians had anticipated the appearance of the Sikel people and had taken some precautions, they did not expect that so many Sikel people would come to harass them, and they were caught off guard...
"What did you say?! Four or five thousand Sikel people appeared in the north?!" Mont Adrano was taken aback.
"Yes, sir. The Sikel people's attack has caused considerable casualties to Lord Regulus's army, preventing them from fully attacking the Daonian camp," the scout said.
"Damn barbarians!" Mont Adrano cursed angrily, thought for a moment, and turned to the adjutant and said, "Notify those idle Numidian cavalry to immediately rush to the north and launch an attack on the Sikel people, driving them back into the mountains, so that Regulus can fully attack the enemy camp! Also... go to the south yourself and transfer six thousand Numidians over!"
The adjutant obeyed the order and left.
Soon, 3,000 Numidian cavalry stirred up a large cloud of dust and galloped towards the north.
Mont Adrano, however, had no intention of paying attention to these. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes were fixed on the front. Although the scouts could not go deep into the formation to investigate and understand the real situation, judging from the earth-shattering shouts and the incessant screams, the battle should be quite fierce. And so far, after more than half an hour of fighting, the Sacred Band's army still had not gained an inch, which made Mont Adrano very uneasy.
He wished he could send the Numidian troops to replace the Sacred Band, but that was impossible, so he could only transfer the Numidians to thicken the Sacred Band's ranks and give them more support.
.............
As the Daonian Eighth Legion's squads gradually approached each other, their speed of strangling the Sacred Band soldiers in the formation became faster and faster, because the Sacred Band soldiers were facing enemies from all directions...
The Eighth Legion's formation finally slowly closed, and the sounds of fighting in the formation gradually disappeared. Even the screams became silent after the Sacred Band soldiers who had fallen to the ground were trampled by countless feet...
Although the four squads under Diocles finally merged into one entity, he did not feel relaxed, because each squad had lost some soldiers, especially the two squads at the front suffered the heaviest casualties. Moreover, in such a fierce close-quarters battle, the soldiers who fell were either seriously injured or dead when cleaning the battlefield after the war, and few could recover. How could he be happy? But now was not the time to be sad, there were still enemies to fight ahead.
At the beginning of the battle, the Carthaginians' attacks in front were somewhat chaotic due to the lack of effective command. Now they were even more chaotic, because many of the Sacred Band soldiers who were squeezed out did not want to fight anymore, but only wanted to escape. Although they had behaved very bravely in the formation before, that was for survival. As the sons of Carthaginian nobles who had been pampered since childhood, although they had undergone strict training and had strong bodies, they had never experienced such a fierce battle. Seeing their comrades being injured and falling to the ground one by one, and then being trampled into meat paste... this tragic scene frightened them, making them only want to escape this hellish place. Therefore, they even pushed and shoved the Sacred Band soldiers who were blocking their way, and even clashed...
"Brothers, attack! Attack! Completely defeat the Carthaginians!" Diocles shouted loudly, encouraging the soldiers to continue fighting.
The shouts of the centurions rose and fell in the formation, and Leotychides, who had been closely monitoring the battle situation on the hillside, would not let go of this great opportunity.
"Woo! ..." The loud bugle sounded across the battlefield.
The soldiers of the reserve team heard the bugle and immediately strode forward. The entire rear formation stuck to the Eighth Legion formation in front, and the powerful forward thrust gathered by tens of thousands of people was completely unstoppable by the Sacred Band, whose numbers had been reduced by nearly half and whose formation was in chaos. They retreated again and again, and finally collapsed...
Originally, when the Sacred Band's army was blocked by the Daonian army, Milerfio, who was in the rear of the Sacred Band, rode his horse back and forth tirelessly, finding the centurions he knew from the chaotic soldiers and encouraging them to reorganize the soldiers. After his long efforts, it seemed that the Sacred Band's army in the battle had some order, but suddenly it became even more chaotic, and then quickly collapsed.
Milerfio was ignorantly swept away by the fleeing soldiers. Struck by this blow, his brain was blank during the escape. He had never understood: how could such an elite Sacred Band army have been defeated inexplicably?
The Daonian legion soldiers, who had been fighting fiercely for nearly an hour, continued to pursue regardless of fatigue, not giving the defeated Carthaginian Sacred Band any chance to breathe and reorganize.
Leotychides also sent out the Fourth Cavalry Legion and the Light Armor Infantry Brigade at the same time. These two units, which were already swift in action and had been conserving their strength, rushed out from the passages reserved on both sides of the Daonian army formation, and soon ran to the front of the heavy infantry, carrying out a fierce and continuous pursuit of the Sacred Band's fleeing soldiers.
The 6,000 Numidian troops who had been transferred over had just entered the lowlands when they were surprised to see the Carthaginians, who usually flaunted their power and wore fancy armor, throwing away their beautiful shields and helmets at this moment, with disheveled hair, shouting at them in panic: "Help! Help! The Daonians are coming! Hurry! Go and block them! Hurry! ..."
Thousands of people rushed towards them like stray dogs, and the Numidians, whose morale was already low, rarely made a consistent action—turning around and running away...
Tens of thousands of fleeing soldiers rushed out of the lowlands, and their momentum was terrifying.
Mont Adrano was stunned when he saw such a scene.
The adjutant persuaded him from the side: "Sir, we... have been defeated, let's retreat to the camp first—"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Mont Adrano turn his horse's head and clamp his legs hard.
The warhorse neighed and carried him quickly across the Platani River...
Originally, although the Numidians were running away, they were not too panicked in their hearts, because there were still Sacred Band soldiers running behind them, but when some cavalry from the Fourth Cavalry Legion rushed into their rear from the side, panic quickly spread throughout the entire army, forcing the Numidians to scramble to escape.
The originally shallow and narrow Platani River became the biggest obstacle on their escape route. Some people slipped and fell into the mud at the bottom of the river due to panic. They grabbed and hugged in the river in panic, which dragged down more people, which blocked the escape of the Sacred Band soldiers behind. They pushed and shoved angrily, and the fleeing soldiers became a mess in the river...
The Daonian cavalry and infantry who followed up stabbed and stabbed indiscriminately with long spears and pikes, and screams were heard continuously. The river surface was covered with floating corpses, and blood stained the Platani River red.
The fleeing soldiers escaped across the river and fled straight to the camp. The Daonian soldiers chased closely. Because of the previous battle, Mont Adrano had almost emptied the troops in the camp. There was no defense force in the camp at all. The fleeing soldiers did not dare to stay in the camp for a long time and continued to flee west.
The sudden collapse of the Sacred Band was beyond the expectations of the two Carthaginian armies on both sides who were attacking the allied camp. After receiving the news, the Numidian army in the south immediately turned around and ran down the mountain, starting to flee. The Numidian cavalry in the north, after learning the news of the collapse in the middle, immediately stopped fighting with the Sikel people, turned their horses and fled west, and as a result, they fled to the very front.
However, Regulus, the general who commanded the Carthaginian citizen soldiers, upon learning of the collapse in the middle, immediately withdrew the troops who were attacking the camp, reorganized the formation, and wanted to lead them to attack the Daonian army who were pursuing from the flank and rear, attempting to reverse the battle and save the fleeing soldiers.
However, many Carthaginian soldiers saw the surging momentum of the Daonian army pursuing from the right front, and they were all timid in their hearts, and they persuaded: "General, let's retreat quickly! The Sacred Band has been defeated, and the Numidian cavalry has also fled. Those Numidians are even less likely to stay and fight! If we don't escape, we may be surrounded by the Greeks!"
Regulus was still a little hesitant.
However, the bugle sounded in the mountain camp. The Daonian heavy infantry reserve brigade that Leotychides had sent to the camp, as well as the Agrigento soldiers who had returned to the camp after being reorganized, a total of more than 3,000 people, rushed out of the camp together and charged towards the Carthaginian army at the foot of the mountain, while the thousands of Sikel warriors also charged towards the Carthaginian army from the north.
Even if attacked from two sides, with the number and strength of the Carthaginian citizen-soldier units, they would originally have had complete confidence in blocking or even counterattacking their offensive. However, some of the citizen-soldiers could not suppress the fear in their hearts. They turned and fled. Their escape completely took away the courage of the entire unit, and the soldiers immediately disintegrated, fleeing westward in a swarm.
When they fled across the Platani River and headed towards the camp, they were horrified to discover that the camp had already been occupied by the enemy. At this time, they had no courage to retake the camp. Because the camp blocked their shortcut along the coastal road to escape back to western Sicily, they had no choice but to flee directly into the nearby mountains. But they forgot that the Sicels were not far behind them, and the mountains were their territory where they could move freely.
After occupying the Carthaginian camp, the Daunian Allied Forces did not stop there. The cavalry, light infantry, and light-armored soldiers, who still had plenty of energy, continued to pursue the routed soldiers westward along the coastal road, and occupied the town of Hermae at dusk before stopping their westward advance.
The messenger sent by Leotychides arrived later, ordering the troops to temporarily garrison the town of Hermae and monitor the movements of the enemy to the west.
In the evening, Daunian cavalry, light infantry, and light-armored soldiers took turns going to the Calogero Valley to enjoy a spa bath.
This great battle was triggered by a conflict between soldiers from both sides bathing in the river, which eventually evolved into a decisive battle between the two armies. As a result, the Carthaginians suffered a crushing defeat, with more than half of their original army of forty-six or seven thousand men lost. Among them, the Sacred Band suffered the most severe losses. Of the 10,000-man army, only more than 2,000 soldiers escaped back to Selinus, and most of the soldiers were either seriously injured or killed in battle. The next were the Carthaginian citizen-soldier units. Attacking the camp did not result in too many casualties, but during the escape across the mountains, they were constantly attacked by the Sicels. Injuries, disorientation, and surrender became common. In the end, less than half of the soldiers escaped back to Selinus. The fewest losses were among the Numidian cavalry and the Numidian troops who attacked the southern camp. They only suffered some losses during the escape, and most of them escaped back to Selinus.
The Daunian Allied Forces suffered fewer than 3,000 casualties, of which the Eighth Legion and the reserve troops suffered nearly 1,000 casualties, and most of them were seriously injured or killed. Therefore, despite the small overall casualties, Leotychides still felt heartache.
But in any case, this was a glorious victory! It not only exceeded Leotychides' expectations, but also completely exceeded the expectations of the Sicilian allies. Therefore, after the news spread, it greatly boosted the confidence of the people in the Daunian Sicilian territory, and also boosted the confidence of the Daunian allies and friendly city-states.
At the same time, it severely undermined the Carthaginians' confidence in the war and deterred surrounding hostile forces.
The news of the war between Carthage and Daonia was met with the greatest pleasure by the Spartans back on the Greek mainland.
At this time, Sparta had firmly controlled the Peloponnese peninsula. In Northern Greece, Macedon was completely obedient, and the Chalcidian city-states had become submissive after being taught a lesson by Sparta. It had also gradually begun to strengthen its control over Central Greece, and even Sparta's former mortal enemies—Athens, Argos, Corinth—were maintaining a rare silence.
The Spartans believed they had once again asserted control over the Greek mainland, but one issue stuck in their throats: the secret visit of the Delphic priests to the Kingdom of Daonia, which was quietly leaked to the Spartans by those priests who were close to them.
Although the Delphic priests couldn't stir up much trouble, and Daonia had rejected their proposal, the incident alerted the Spartans to the Kingdom of Daonia's potential involvement in mainland Greek affairs. Recalling how they had been forced to sign a treaty of friendship with Daonia under threat and later reluctantly renewed it, this was a massive humiliation for the traditionally arrogant Spartans. Thus, when they heard that the Kingdom of Daonia was embroiled in war and was even fighting Carthage, a power not inferior to its own, the Spartans were naturally overjoyed. The Ephors and the Elders, including King Agesilaus, all felt this was an excellent opportunity for revenge and to wipe away the shame.
The Council of Elders held several days of meetings to discuss whether they should follow Carthage's example and, under the pretext of supporting the restoration of Messapii and Peucetii nobles (Sparta was housing some exiles from these groups), tear up the treaty with Daonia. They considered sending troops to land in the Messapian region, not far from the Peloponnese, to incite the independence of the Messapii, Peucetii, and Daunians, thereby triggering civil unrest in the Kingdom of Daonia.
Everyone finally reached a consensus on this issue, but a fierce debate arose over when to dispatch the troops.
Some elders, led by King Agesipolis, argued that troops should be sent immediately, giving the Daonians no time to catch their breath.
Other elders, led by Agesilaus, believed that the war had just begun, and Sparta should patiently observe the development of the situation before making a decision. Otherwise, premature intervention might only make them the primary target of the Daonian army.
It was at this moment that a major event in the north shocked Sparta, forcing the Elders to halt their argument and focus their attention on Thebes.
At night, inside the city of Thebes, the chief Boeotarch, Phillidas, prepared a grand banquet, inviting the two military magistrates (Boeotarchs) elected this year, Archias and Philippus, to attend. He told them he would introduce them to some beautiful women of noble birth.
The two Boeotarchs, still unmarried and yearning for love, eagerly accepted the invitation.
Phillidas also invited several of his friends, making the banquet very lively, with everyone drinking and chatting freely.
Midway through the feast, a messenger burst in, holding a letter for Archias written by an official within the city, stating that the matter was of grave importance and he must open and read it immediately.
Hearing this, Phillidas felt uneasy. He signaled to a friend sitting beside Archias, who immediately understood and complained, "It's rare to have a moment of pure enjoyment; must you discuss official business now? Aren't you annoyed, Archias?"
The others chimed in with similar protests.
Archias, eager to meet the beautiful women, felt awkward about opening the letter right away. He waved the messenger away, saying, "Official business can wait until tomorrow." He casually tucked the letter under his cushion. Then, slightly tipsy, he asked, "Phillidas, where are the beauties you spoke of?"
Phillidas feigned difficulty, quickly glancing around. He whispered, "They are waiting in the adjacent room, but there are too many people here. They won't dare show their faces until all the guests have left."
Philippus smiled suggestively. "They still know how to be shy!"
Phillidas deliberately put on a stern face and replied in a low voice, "Of course. They are real, well-bred maidens of the city-state! Not just women picked up from a brothel!"
Hearing this, Archias was consumed by impatience and urged the end of the banquet.
The other guests protested loudly.
After drinking for a while longer, the guests gradually departed, leaving only the two drunken Boeotarchs.
At this point, the "maidens" entered. They were dressed in white robes, wore himation cloaks, and veils, and approached the two Boeotarchs with reserved movements.
When the two Boeotarchs impatiently tried to lift their veils, the "maidens" pulled out daggers hidden at their waists and plunged them into the officials' chests. Archias and Philippus died on the spot.
The leader of the "maidens" removed his veil. It was none other than Pelopidas.
It turned out that when the Theban exiles fled to Athens, they received goodwill and support from the Athenians, who allowed them to garrison the border and provided them with food and weapons.
The Theban exiles decided to emulate Thrasybulus, the famous Athenian democratic leader who overthrew the "Thirty Tyrants." They quickly organized a force within Athenian territory and advanced toward Thebes in the region of Boeotia, attempting to overthrow the high-handed rule of the pro-Spartan faction and restore their mother-city's independence.
However, they forgot that the situation in Thebes was quite different from that of Athens back then. They were not only facing the reactionary army organized by their opponents but also the Spartan garrison occupying the Theban citadel, as well as several Boeotian city-states, such as Plataea and Thespiae, which were Spartan puppets. Consequently, this army was defeated and routed before it even reached Thebes.
Afterward, the Theban exiles organized two more military actions, both of which ended in disaster.
The exiles suffered considerable casualties, and more frighteningly, they lost confidence. After discussion, most believed that Sparta was currently too powerful and controlled the region of Boeotia. Their strength was insufficient to recapture Thebes, and they should instead go into hiding, build up their power, and wait for a better moment.
Most people agreed, but the young Pelopidas voiced his opposition. He firmly believed that they should not wait for external circumstances to change in their favor, as the future was unpredictable. Therefore, they should proactively take their destiny into their own hands.
Thus, he suggested: instead of open military action, they should use stratagem to retake Thebes, such as sending people to assassinate the leaders of the pro-Spartan faction within the city. This would cause chaos by removing those in control of the city's affairs, creating an opportunity for the exiles.
However, his proposal was rejected by many who considered it too risky.
For more than a year afterward, the exiles lowered their banners and silenced their drums. Although the ranks continued to swell, their fighting spirit was worn down by time. More and more of them sighed and lamented, while fewer and fewer were determined to seek revenge.
But Pelopidas always kept a close watch on the situation in the west: The rulers of Thebes, with the backing of the Spartans, were acting perversely, implementing a high-pressure rule over the city-state. The people suffered unspeakably and were filled with grievances. The other city-states in the Boeotian region also submitted to Sparta one after another…
A strong sense of responsibility made it impossible for Pelopidas to endure any longer. He decided to take immediate action. Fearing leaks, he did not discuss it with the other leaders of the exiles, but privately found six like-minded friends to help him implement his long-considered "Theban Restoration Plan."
Disguised as hunters, they set off from the Athenian border early in the morning, crossing mountains and ridges, traveling non-stop. By the time they reached the outskirts of Thebes, night was approaching. So they mingled with the farmers returning to the city from the fields and successfully passed through the city gates. Then, they hid in the residence of their good friend Charon and had Charon send a slave to summon another good friend of his—Phyllidas, the secretary under the military governor.
After some discussion, they held the banquet the following night.
Now that they had successfully killed two pro-Spartan military governors, Pelopidas breathed a sigh of relief, but Phyllidas anxiously raised the letter in his hand: "Pelopidas, the situation is not good! Someone has become aware of our plan and has written a letter to inform on us!"
Pelopidas hurriedly took the letter and read it. The letter warned Archias that exiles had infiltrated the city, attempting to assassinate the pro-Spartan leaders, and reminded him to be careful!
Pelopidas's expression changed, and he quickly asked, "Who wrote it?!"
Phyllidas shook his head: "The letter was not signed. The messenger left immediately after delivering the letter, indicating that this person is not a friend of Archias. Perhaps he is just an ordinary city-state official who inadvertently saw you in the city…" After all, although Pelopidas was young, he was still somewhat famous among the Theban people.
"What should we do now?!" The others looked at Pelopidas with nervous expressions.
At this moment, Pelopidas calmed down instead. He said with a firm expression: "Didn't we make a vow to Zeus when we set out, preparing for sacrifice! The matter has already progressed to this point, are we going to retreat halfway! We should speed up our actions and quickly complete our plan before the enemy may have fully understood the situation!"
Pelopidas's words gave the others a shot in the arm. Everyone quickly reached a consensus and left the residence under the cover of night, heading to the homes of the two true leaders of the pro-Spartan faction—Leontiades and Hypates.
The lecherous Hypates was spending the night in a high-end brothel in the city. Charon had long bribed the people in the brothel. The exiles easily entered the bedroom and stabbed him to death.
Leontiades was not as careless as his colleague. He never went out at night, and his residence was guarded by guards, making it heavily defended. However, Pelopidas had long planned the assassination in his mind. He had not been idle during his year or so on the Athenian border. He had Charon in Thebes find opportunities to contact these guards and eventually persuaded some of the guards who hated Sparta. That night, they plied their colleagues with alcohol and quietly opened the courtyard gate for Pelopidas.
When Pelopidas entered the bedroom, Leontiades was still fast asleep. Pelopidas covered his mouth with his hand and plunged a sharp dagger into his heart. The cunning pro-Spartan leader Leontiades, who had caused the fall of Thebes and the death and injury of countless people, died in this way.
Immediately afterward, Pelopidas led some guards to the prison in a hurry, impersonating Leontiades's attendants. He used Leontiades's personal token to trick the guards into opening the gate, and then killed all the jailers while they were unprepared, releasing all the anti-Spartan people who had been imprisoned.
They all expressed their gratitude to Pelopidas, but Pelopidas asked them to immediately go to the city and contact all the people who were dissatisfied with Sparta.
Everyone gladly accepted the order.
As a result, the city of Thebes became restless in the middle of the night. The pro-Spartan people noticed the abnormality, but they were completely unable to contact their leaders, so they could not respond in time. The Spartans in the citadel did not dare to act rashly in the dark because no one had notified them and they did not know what was happening in the city, so they could only guard the citadel carefully.
At dawn, the entire city of Thebes was in an uproar.
Most of the people in the city rushed to the square, including Epaminondas. When Pelopidas secretly wrote to him about his plan, Epaminondas, like some of Pelopidas's friends, opposed such a risky plan. But now, seeing Pelopidas standing on the central platform of the square, showing the bodies of Leontiades and others to the people, he couldn't help but admire Pelopidas's resolute and decisive actions. He had actually accomplished something that seemed so incredibly difficult!
Pelopidas recounted to the people with great sorrow the various crimes committed by the Spartans and the pro-Spartan faction in Thebes, making the people in the square feel the same way. Then, he passionately appealed: The Theban people should take up arms, unite, and bravely fight against those traitors and invaders! Avenge the dead compatriots and let Thebes regain its freedom and independence!…
The people were stirred up and shouted Pelopidas's name, excitedly crowning Pelopidas and the insurgents who participated in the assassination plan. At the same time, they unanimously elected Pelopidas and Phyllidas as military governors.
The two accepted the appointment given by the people without hesitation and announced the establishment of a city-state council of one hundred people, whose members would be appointed by Theban citizens on a monthly rotation basis, and established the citizens' assembly as the highest authority of the city-state.
The people cheered and celebrated Thebes becoming a democratic government.
Then, Pelopidas immediately issued an order to the people: Take up shields and spears, form an army, arrest all pro-Spartan personnel, retake the citadel occupied by the Spartan army, and defend against the Spartan army that might come to intervene.
The Theban people immediately took action. The pro-Spartan personnel were dragged out, either beaten to death or imprisoned. Only a very few escaped from Thebes.
When the fully armed citizen soldiers gathered in the square again, Pelopidas did not immediately lead the army to set off. He requested that Epaminondas be appointed as the commander-in-chief to fight alongside him.
Many of the citizen soldiers did not even know who Epaminondas was, but at this time, Pelopidas had a high reputation, and most of the people chose to agree out of trust in him.
When they saw a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance but a scholarly air walking onto the platform, they couldn't help but regret the choice they had just made.
But Pelopidas looked delighted. He knew Epaminondas's ability well, so he excitedly said to him as he slowly walked onto the stage: "Epa, we can finally fight together again!"
Epaminondas seemed calm on the surface, but he was also extremely excited in his heart. He was a humble and low-key person. Because he hated factional struggles, he did not participate in the series of political adventures that Pelopidas had undertaken. He spent most of his time reading, listening to music, and exercising. But when the people shouted for victory, the rising revolutionary enthusiasm also infected him. Moreover, his close friend gave him such great trust, so even though he knew the dangerous situation facing the new Theban government, he still said without hesitation: "I will do my best to defend Thebes with the citizens!"
Epaminondas's first city-state public office was such an important position related to the rise and fall of the city-state. He was already forty-one years old at this time.
At this moment, the citizen soldiers guarding the south gate came to report in a hurry: "A small team of Spartans came out of the citadel, broke through their blockade, and escaped from the city."
It turned out that a pro-Spartan person had run into the citadel and secretly reported to the Spartan commander the shocking news that "a riot had occurred in the city, the pro-Spartan government had been overthrown, and the leaders had been killed." The commander was shocked when he heard this, but he only had 400 soldiers under his command, and his strength was too small. Without the cooperation of the Thebans, he did not dare to send them out to quell the rebellion. Even if the soldiers were all very brave, they could not be a match for thousands of angry Theban rioters. So he quickly made a decision: while Thebes had just experienced a riot and the rioters had not completely controlled the entire city, he would quickly send someone to forcibly leave the city and request assistance from the Spartan garrisons in the neighboring city-states of Plataea and Thespiae.
The news brought by the city guards made the insurgents of the coup feel nervous.
At this time, Epaminondas, who had just been appointed as the commander-in-chief, took the initiative to request: "Pelo, please let me lead a troop to the south gate to stop the approaching Spartan reinforcements, while you go to retake the citadel!"
Pelopidas saw the firm look in Epaminondas's eyes and replied without hesitation: "Okay!"
Then, he immediately assigned 3,500 citizen soldiers to Epaminondas, while leaving only 2,000 soldiers for himself, and the generals he assigned to Epaminondas were all his close friends and were also relatively familiar with Epaminondas, so that Epaminondas could command more conveniently.
Epaminondas didn't have time to thank him and hurriedly led the army to the south gate.
At this time, the other military governor, Phyllidas, asked worriedly: "Can Epaminondas stop the Spartan reinforcements?! Should we make more preparations?!"
Pelopidas immediately replied: "If even Epaminondas can't stop the enemy, then no one else can defeat the Spartans!"
The people around him didn't understand where Pelopidas's confidence in Epaminondas came from. As far as they knew, although Epaminondas had participated in battles many times before, he had always been in the role of a soldier or officer, and he had never commanded troops in combat.
However, Pelopidas's confidence infected them, and besides, they had no better way, so they could only suppress the worries in their hearts and lead the remaining citizen soldiers towards the acropolis with Pelopidas.
On the way to the South Gate, Epaminondas had already thought out his strategy for dealing with the enemy. Having lived in Thebes for decades, he was very familiar with the surrounding terrain. He knew that the main urban area of Thebes was located in the lowlands between the mountains, especially the South Gate, where the outside of the city was flanked by prominent mountains, forming a trumpet-shaped terrain.
Therefore, after arriving at the South Gate, he told the others his plan: to have 800 people lie in ambush on each side of the mountains outside the South Gate. After the enemy's reinforcements arrived, he would lead the remaining citizen soldiers out of the city to meet them in battle. Once the two sides were fully engaged, the ambushing troops on both sides would immediately attack the enemy's flanks and rear...
Someone raised an objection, believing that it was too risky to fight outside the city, especially when facing the Spartan army. It would be better to rely on the city walls for defense.
Epaminondas immediately refuted this conservative idea. He calmly said: "The new Theban government has just been established and is not yet stable, and the acropolis is still occupied by the enemy. If we allow the Spartan garrisons from the surrounding city-states to gather outside the city into a strong army to besiege Thebes, then the battle will become very long. When the Spartan army from the capital arrives, the battle will become even more arduous... If this continues, the morale of the people may change, so we must take advantage of the fact that the enemies arrive in Thebes at different times, take the initiative to attack, and defeat them one by one, in order to buy time for the revival of Thebes!"
Everyone was persuaded by him. They didn't expect that this usually taciturn person could say such inspiring words.
Of course, some people also raised questions: "What if the Spartans don't fall for it and don't attack us?"
Epaminondas calmly replied: "Then we will retreat back to the city, which will not cause us any loss. Even if they discover our troops ambushing in the mountains, they will not dare to pursue, because we are most familiar with the terrain here. However, I believe that the arrogant Spartans will immediately launch an attack on us, hoping to reoccupy Thebes as soon as possible."
"Damn Spartans, we will never let their conspiracy succeed!..." Everyone loudly expressed their anger and determination towards the Spartans.
Epaminondas also said in a deep voice: "Everyone, let us work together to make this battle a nightmare for the Spartans!"
Thus,
The morale of the crowd was high and they began to deploy according to Epaminondas's plan.
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The messenger for help was the first to arrive at Plataea, which was the closest to Thebes. After learning the news that "a riot had occurred in Thebes and the pro-Spartan government had been overthrown," the Spartan garrison commander was shocked. He knew that if Thebes was lost, Sparta's control over the Boeotia region would be in great trouble. Therefore, he led two thousand garrison soldiers without hesitation and marched quickly towards Thebes, arriving outside Thebes at dusk. Then, he was surprised to see the Thebans actually lined up outside the city and taunted the advancing Spartan army by hitting their round shields with their spears.
How could the Spartan general allow the defeated soldiers of Sparta to be so rampant? What's more, the number of Thebans was only slightly more than his own army, so he immediately ordered the army to form a battle formation of the same length as the opponent's, regardless of the soldiers' fatigue, and then sounded the military horn for attack.
At the same time, Epaminondas also issued an order to attack. He himself was at the forefront of the battle formation, holding up his shield and spear, taking the lead and launching an attack on the enemy.
The Thebans were in high spirits, while the Spartan army was slightly exhausted after a long journey. They were at a disadvantage when the battle first started. When they recovered and began to rely on their rich combat experience and stronger killing skills to gradually regain the battle, the Theban ambushing troops suddenly rushed out from both flanks and attacked the flanks and rear of the Spartan army.
The Spartan army was caught off guard and immediately collapsed, with soldiers fleeing in all directions.
The entire battle lasted less than half an hour, and the Thebans won the final victory. While cheering, they also cast their admiring eyes on the planner of this battle, the previously unknown Epaminondas. This ordinary-looking middle-aged man won their trust in this one battle.
Another Spartan garrison from Thespiae, which was about to arrive at Thebes, was shocked to learn the news of the "Plataea army's Failure". Its commander, Sphodrias, thought he had insufficient troops and did not dare to advance rashly. Instead, he retreated westward to a small town halfway between Thespiae and Thebes to set up camp.
After Epaminondas learned that the enemy had retreated, he immediately led the army back to the city, garrisoned the city walls, and sent people to report the good news of the victory to the two military archons.
At this time, Pelopidas and Phyllidas had been leading the citizen soldiers to attack the acropolis for a day, but they had failed to take it down. After all, although the acropolis was small, its walls were very strong, and it was located on a hill with only one road leading up, which prevented the Theban superior forces from deploying. Moreover, the Spartan army was surrounded on all sides and had no way out, so they fought desperately, causing the Thebans to fail to attack the city many times. Both the generals and the soldiers felt a little discouraged.
At this time, the good news that "the army at the South Gate had defeated the Spartan reinforcements" came, which boosted everyone's spirits and morale.
The generals also talked about Epaminondas with smiles on their faces. Phyllidas even praised repeatedly: "Pelopidas, you are right, Epaminondas is indeed an excellent commander!"
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The next day, the news of the "Theban coup" spread throughout central Greece, and countless Theban exiles began to return to their motherland from all directions to protect the newly established Theban government. The exiles from Athens were the largest force among them. For the citizens of Athens, this was something they were very happy to see. Although the council did not express any opinion on this on the surface, many Athenian volunteers went to Thebes with the exiles, preparing to fight side by side with the Thebans. This included two newly elected generals this year, who joined the ranks of volunteers in their private capacity.
The team of exiles marched excitedly westward, and along the way, they also had several battles with the Spartan allied forces stationed in some city-states in the Boeotia region, which were also rushing to Thebes, and they all won victories.
Thebes continued to receive aid, and its strength increased dramatically, so the Spartan reinforcements from Thespiae could only retreat.
On this day, the Theban attack on the acropolis failed again, but the Spartan general did not feel any joy. He stood on the city wall of the acropolis and looked down, and could clearly see the increasing number of enemies under the hill. It was obvious that Thebes had received outside aid, which also meant that the Spartan reinforcements had failed to attack Thebes, or they had not come at all. This not only made him, but also the Spartan soldiers in the acropolis, feel a little desperate.
At this moment, Pelopidas sent an envoy to negotiate with the Spartan general of the acropolis, proposing the condition of "letting the Spartans return the acropolis, and Thebes will let them leave safely." The two sides finally reached an agreement.
The return of the acropolis allowed the new government led by Pelopidas and Phyllidas to finally completely and fully liberate Thebes. While the people of the city cheered, the leaders, led by Pelopidas, still looked solemn, because they knew that the test for Thebes had just begun, and the Spartans would never give up.
On the third day, the news finally reached Sparta, shocking the Council of Elders. They no longer had the mind to cause trouble for Dionysius, but had to quickly concentrate all their forces to extinguish the fire ignited by Thebes.
After some discussion, the Council of Elders decided to send King Agesipolis, who had been the Spartan king for less than two years, to lead the army.
Thus, Sparta began to conscript soldiers from the allied states of the Peloponnese.
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At the same time as Leotychides led the Dionysian allied forces to defeat the Carthaginian army and intercept a large amount of baggage, the outer city of Serodium on the northern coast was breached by the Iberian army.
Why was the city of Serodium, which had been steadily defending for nearly ten days and had caused Hasdrubal's troops to fail to attack the city many times, suddenly breached?
It turned out that after Hasdrubal had failed to attack the city several times, he realized that attacking head-on would cause too much loss and it would be difficult to break through, so he used the Iberian infantry.
The Iberian infantry under Hasdrubal came from southern Iberian Peninsula, all conscripted from the native tribes conquered by the Mago family, a total of 4,000 people. They almost all wore ethnic costumes made of white linen with purple trim, with no armor on the outside, and thick leather hats on their heads. They were equipped with a large oval shield, javelins, and the most common and fearsome falcata short sword hanging from their waists. Its style and length were very similar to the Dionysian short sword, and it was also extremely sharp. The only slight difference was that the front of its blade was slightly curved.
These Iberians were not only brave and fierce, but also good at fighting in mountainous areas, which was incomparable to the Carthaginians who had always lived on the flat coast of northern Africa.