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Chapter 1127

It was not until the border legions of Diónia arrived at the border of Etruria and began to suppress the frequent attacks of the Senones that they realized that this new force in northern Italy was not as weak as they had imagined. However, they believed that this was mainly because these attacks were organized by the tribes themselves. Their main focus was on plundering, and they did not specifically organize manpower to deal with the attacks of the Diónia.

However, the fact that the Diónia were assisting the Etruscans in defending the border caught the attention of the Senones. They were worried that after the alliance between the Diónia and the Etruscans strengthened, it would cause trouble for them when they invaded the south. Therefore, they originally wanted to wait for a few years until their strength was fully restored before they marched south. However, the sudden change in the situation forced them to take action in advance. Just in case, the Senones persuaded the Cnomani to go south with them.

As the scale of this invasion was larger than the previous one, the Gaul leaders were full of confidence. After more than a year of fighting, they knew that the defense of the Diónia camp was tight, but there were not many of them. Therefore, when they raided, they deliberately avoided them.

At first, the attack was very successful. They occupied Florentia and Areditum, but then they encountered disaster. The main invading forces of the Senones and Cnomani were defeated by the reinforcements of the Diónia. Under the relentless pursuit, the defeated Gaul army could not put up any effective resistance.

On the other hand, the border legions that were previously holed up in the camp took the initiative to attack. Under the terrible situation of being intercepted in front and pursued from behind, the demoralized remnants of the Gaul army were either defeated, killed, or captured. They fled into Florentia and Areditum in a panic, and were then surrounded by the Dionysian Army. Only some of the warriors managed to escape into the mountains.

Not long after, the Gaul in the territory south of the Po River received the news that the Gaul army heading south had suffered a crushing defeat. They panicked. They were not worried that their territory would be attacked by the enemy. After all, ever since the Gaul settled here for a hundred years, they had always been the ones invading others. No other race had ever dared to invade their territory. They were worried about their loved ones in Etruria. Therefore, after the elders of the Senones and Cnomani gathered and discussed, they decided to ask Salves for help. They begged him to send an army to Etruria to rescue the surrounded and captured Gaul.

Just as the leaders of the three tribes were discussing, one morning, the Vineti slaves living in Aminium were fishing on their fishing boats when they suddenly saw countless huge warships appearing on the sea in the distance. Although they had occasionally seen one or two similar warships sailing past the sea near Aminium and knew that they were the warships of the Kingdom of Diónia in the south, the number of warships this time was so large that it covered the entire sea that they were at a loss of what to do.

The warships sailing toward the coast near Aminium were the warships of the First Fleet of Diónia, fully loaded with legions of soldiers.

Since the last war, other than the Kingdom of Diónia itself, there were no other strong maritime states in the western Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, under the instructions of the King of Devers, the Ministry of Military Affairs reorganized the Navy of Diónia from the original four fleets to three. The 1st Flotilla was mainly based in Brindisi, and another naval base was located in the port of Tarantum. The 1st Flotilla was responsible for the defense of the east and south coasts of Italy, and at the same time, monitoring the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The 1st Flotilla was commanded by Sekerian.

The 2nd Flotilla was mainly based in Lili, and another naval base was located in Catania. The 2nd Flotilla was responsible for the defense of the seas of Sicily and Afrika. The 2nd Flotilla was commanded by Midolades.

The 3rd Flotilla was mainly based in Alenia, and another naval base was located in Triene. The 3rd Flotilla was responsible for the defense of the west coast of Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia, as well as the security of the remaining western Mediterranean Sea. The 3rd Flotilla was commanded by Stefakas.

Among them, the 1st Flotilla was the strongest, with a total of 550 warships. The 2nd Flotilla was slightly less, with a total of 500 warships. The 3rd Flotilla was the weakest, with a total of 150 warships. This was mainly based on the tasks they undertook and the strength of the enemies they might face.

The reason why the warships of the Diónia Navy had increased a lot was mainly because during the early stages of the war in the western Mediterranean Sea, the navy of Diónia and Carthage had been seriously damaged. Both sides stepped up the construction of warships in an attempt to gain maritime superiority. However, they did not expect the war to end so quickly. Many warships were still under construction, and in the end, they all belonged to Diónia.

However, after Carthage surrendered to the Kingdom of Diónia, some Phoenician city-states also joined the Diónia Alliance. As a result, the Kingdom of Diónia had no enemies in Afrika. The downsizing of the 2nd Flotilla was already under consideration by the Devers and the Ministry of Military Affairs.

At this moment, one after another, Diónia warships quickly sailed past the Veneti fishing boats, which were already trembling in fear, and went straight to the flat beach in front of them. Later on, what was known as "The Scariest Day of the Mountain Gauls" began …

… …

The day before they landed in Gaul, the envoys of Diónia went to Liguria and Veneti one after another.

The Veneti people were more interested in attacking Gaul, but the ferocity of the Gauls had obviously left a terrible memory in their minds. In the end, they said that as long as the Dionysian Army did not invade Veneti territory, they would not interfere with the Dionysian Army's actions, and would even provide some material assistance.

The Ligurians, on the other hand, argued endlessly about the proposal of the envoys of Diónia and could not reach an agreement. Some leaders opposed Diónia's attack on Gaul because it would destroy the existing stability in northern Italy. Some said that as long as the Dionysian Army did not enter Ligurian territory, they would not interfere with the military operations of Diónia. Only a few leaders expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Dionysian Army to attack the Gauls and occupy some fertile land …

Regardless of the response of the two races, the army of Diónia set out by ship from Brindisi according to plan. After two days and two nights of sailing, they landed on the coast near Alimium and immediately captured the defenseless city of Alimium. Then, the army quickly moved west.

The territory of the Senones was defenseless, and the terrain was extremely flat. The Dionysian Army swept through the territory like a hot knife through butter, capturing the city of Boloma and Palma. Then, the army turned north and approached Cremona (modern Cremona). At this time, the Senones hurriedly gathered all the young and strong tribesmen, about ten thousand people, to defend the north bank of the Po River in an attempt to stop the Dionysian Army from advancing further north. At the same time, they urgently asked for help from Salves and Conomani tribes.

Leotychides stationed his army on the south bank and ordered all the engineering battalion to speed up the construction of the bridge and prepare to cross the river. At the same time, he sent his army down the river in an attempt to find another place to cross.

The Cenonese prevented the Dionysian army from building a bridge near Cremona, and at the same time, they sent some of their troops to track the enemy, even going so far as to enter the territory of the Veneti and have some conflicts with them (the territory of the Veneti was originally the whole lower reaches of the Po, and later on the southern bank was occupied by the Cenonese).

While the two sides confronted each other across the river, Salves and Cnormani sent as many reinforcements as they could, whether it was out of camaraderie or out of a sense of mutual dependence. The number of Gallic warriors on the north bank of the Po River increased to nearly seventy thousand, greatly boosting the confidence of the Senones.

At the same time, Patroclus, who had basically wiped out the remnants of the Gaulish army in Etruria, led Legio III, Twelfth, and Fourteenth Legions. Under the leadership of the Border Legion, they passed through the Lucca barracks and marched first on the road by the sea, then trekked through the mountain valleys, and finally arrived at Parma. They rapidly marched east and surrounded the undefended Gallic town of Placentia (now Piacenza) on the south bank of the Po River to the east of Cremona.

After occupying it, the engineering battalion quickly began to build the bridge. Since there were several islands in the middle of the river near Placentia, the bridge was built very quickly. It only took a day and a half for the bridge to be built. Patroclus quickly led four legions across the Po River and headed straight for the central town of Salves, Midian.

When the Gauls received the urgent report, they realized that they had been tricked and hurried to the rescue.

Unexpectedly, when Patroclus reached Lodi, a small town on the way, he stopped and ordered his soldiers to rest and wait for the battle.

When the Gallic allied army hurried to Lodi, Patroclus had already led his army to line up outside the town.

At the same time, the main force led by Leotychides had also crossed the river from Placentia and hurried to the vicinity.

The two Dionysian Armies, one from the south and one from the north, pressed against the Gallic allied army. The Gallic allied army could not advance or retreat, and was forced to fight.

Thus, the only major battle between Diónia and Shannes Gaul on the Po River Plain began in a hurry.

Although some nearby Gauls heard the news and joined the battle, the Gallic allied army was in a dangerous situation from the beginning. Their numbers were far fewer than their opponents, but the Gauls fought with their lives on the line. They even used chariots against the Dionysian Army for the first time.

Nearly two hundred chariots charged at the approaching main force of Diónia at lightning speed, attempting to disrupt the enemy's dense formation before allowing the soldiers to charge with their swords.

However, Diónia's Ministry of Military Affairs had long studied the tactics of the Gauls, and Leotychides and Patroclus had specially trained for it. Thus, the light infantry that rushed out of the formation first attacked the War Horse that carried the chariots from afar. Then, the heavy infantry quickly turned into a checkerboard formation, widening the gap between the divisions and leaving a path for the remaining Gallic chariots. Even if the chariots charged into the formation, they would not be able to cause much damage and would be quickly destroyed.