Chapter 1191
This outstanding officer of the First Fleet placed his hands on his hips and looked at the officers of the B Fleets under his command. Then, he said in a deep and arrogant voice, "We received a letter from Prince Klotokatax the day before yesterday. They're not in a good situation right now. The Greek city-states are preparing to unite and oppose us, Dionia!
If the army on land can't defeat Sparta as soon as possible, it is likely that they will be surrounded by the Greeks. But now that Sparta has received help from Persia, their strength has increased, and the young prince does not dare to attack recklessly. That is why he wrote to us for help.
Now that the main forces of Sparta have been attracted to Tegea, the defense in their territory has been greatly weakened. It is the best time for the 1st Flotilla to re-land on the coast of Sparta, capture Sparta, and create the glory of our navy! I asked you to go back and think for a day yesterday. How is it? Have you come up with a good idea?! "
As soon as he finished speaking, the commander of the infantry of the First Fleet, Sephidorus, stood up and said resolutely, "My lord, I have a way to let our infantry successfully land on land and avenge our brothers who died last time!"
"Tell me about it!" Sekerian looked at his infantry commander with a gratified expression. He was glad that the commander's fighting spirit did not weaken because of the previous failure.
"I think there are a few reasons why the last landing failed." Sephidorus's deep voice was tinged with regret. "First, we underestimated the enemy. Although the Sparta suffered consecutive defeats, they still have a certain level of strength. We all saw that day that Sparta had at least 5,000 heavy infantry engaged in battle. Our fleet's infantry are all in light armor. How could we fight them head-on? According to the letter just sent by the army, at least 6,000 Sparta soldiers have left their territory and gone to Tegea. Most of them are heavy infantry. This way, the next time we land on land, we will face a lot less pressure.
Secondly, Sparta had set up a lot of wooden stakes near the coast, making it impossible for our warships to approach the coast. We could only use small boats to transport soldiers to land. Our entire fleet, including the clippers, had less than 100 ships, and each ship could only transport 20 soldiers at most. It was impossible to transport a large number of soldiers to the coast at once. While our infantrymen could only land on the shore in a loose formation, the Sparta army had already formed a dense phalanx and attacked the soldiers who landed on the shore. They quickly defeated us.
As far as I know, the B Squadrons have been collecting cargo ships from all over the place. I heard that there are more than two hundred of them. This greatly increases our ability to send troops to the coast in one go.
In addition, the infantrymen of our fleet have also come up with an idea. They can disembark at a place further away from the coast where the water is still deeper. Then, they can wait there until the second and third batches of soldiers arrive. After that, they can rendezvous with their comrades and assemble into a phalanx. Then, they can march to the coast together — "
"But what if the Sparta attack while our soldiers are still waiting?" One of the B Squadrons asked. "Also, the soldiers will lose a lot of stamina if they stand in the water for too long."
Sephidorus smiled confidently. "My infantrymen are all good swimmers and are good at fighting in the water. I can't ask for more if the Sparta want to fight in the sea. As for standing in the water for too long, it was true that they would lose some stamina. However, it was still better than having a small number of people and hastily launching an attack before they could even get into formation.
Also, we weren't familiar with the sea conditions of Lagonia last time. During the landing, the wind and waves suddenly became stronger, and the cannons on the warships couldn't aim accurately. That's why we couldn't help the infantrymen of our fleet. I believe that this situation won't happen again. "
Sekerian listened attentively. When Sephidorus suddenly stopped talking, he quickly asked, "Is that all?"
Sephidorus straightened his chest and said loudly, "Of course not. I suggest that you change your strategy when attacking Sparta this time. It's best if you can use the strategy that His Majesty the Devers used during the Battle of the Trionto River. Send a small group of soldiers to cross the river first and then attack with the main force. "
"The Battle of the Trionto River?" Sekerian 'eyes lit up as he thought carefully. "Do you have any specific measures?"
"I've been carefully surveying the entire coast of Sparta's territory for the past few days." Sephidorus pointed at the simple map of Sparta's territory on the wooden table and said, "The center is the focus of Sparta's defense, and it's also the focus of our infantrymen's attack.
The promontory on the west is an extension of the Tygetos Mountains. There's no place for us to land, but Sparta still hasn't let down their guard there. They have to be wary of our sneak attack in Messenia.
The promontory on the east is an extension of the Parnon Mountains, and it's narrower than the one on the west. There's also no place for us to land, but Sparta rarely patrol this area. Now that the main force of Sparta has been transferred to Tygea, they don't have enough people to defend the east … I have a few spots that I have my eyes on.
I have a few spots in mind. We can choose soldiers who are good at climbing to swim there, climb over the rocks, climb up the cliffs, and then lower the ropes so that the soldiers can climb to the promontory … I think the mountains are high and the forests are dense enough to hide two to three hundred soldiers in a short period of time without being discovered. On the second day, our main force will attack from the front, and they will attack from the side and rear of the Spartans. We will definitely be able to defeat the Spartans! … "
"I think this is a good idea. It can be implemented!" Sekerian immediately expressed his support. "Let's follow Sephidorus's suggestion and come up with a new landing plan. Everyone, give your suggestions and perfect it. We must succeed in the next landing battle!"
… …
Xenophon was old and did not have much sleep, so he woke up early.
After washing up and eating the breakfast specially prepared by the servants, he left Agesilaus' mansion.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and there were already scattered candlelight in Sparta. In the past, there would be many Black Rovers carrying farming tools on the streets, rushing to work in the fields. However, there were very few people at this time of the day. The occasional barking of dogs was particularly clear in this quiet town.
However, as Xenophon walked on this quiet street, he was interrogated three times by fully armed Sparta warriors who came out of nowhere. Xenophon responded by going out for morning exercises.
The people of Sparta were founded on martial arts. They were proud of their strong bodies and ashamed of being fat. Therefore, the citizens of Sparta received training from a young age and continued to exercise according to their own habits when they were old. This was almost a tradition. Although Xenophon was not a citizen of Sparta, he had lived in Sparta's territory for decades and had the same habits as the people of Sparta.
In addition, he was not only the hero of two expeditions to Persia, but he had also participated in the wars between Sparta and other Greek city-states many times, making countless contributions. He also wrote books that were filled with praise for Sparta's system of government and traditions. Therefore, he was an honored guest of Sparta and enjoyed quite a bit of popularity among the citizens of Sparta. Moreover, when Sparta faced a crisis this time, he took the initiative to stay in Sparta and was willing to fight alongside the people of Sparta. This made the people even more grateful. Therefore, not only did the Sparta warriors on duty not make things difficult for him, but they also kindly reminded him to be careful during his morning exercises and not to stray too far from the city to avoid accidents.
Strictly speaking, Sparta was not a city. Although there were many shrines, houses, and a large population, it did not have city walls. The closer one went to the center, the more houses there were, and the further one went to the periphery, the fewer houses there were. When he saw the fields in the east and west, it meant that Xenophon had already left the city.
Xenophon quickly walked south along the road on the east bank of the Orotas River. After more than three hours, the sky was already bright. His legs were sore, and he saw countless tents in front of him. He knew that he had arrived at his destination.
When the people of Sparta received the news that the Dionysian Army had invaded Mersenia by sea, under Agesilaus' suggestion, they shifted the focus of their defense to the coast. They built a camp on the coast and placed the main force of the mobilized army there. At the same time, they also organized a large number of Pyriasis and Helots to work with the warriors to nail stakes and build sentry towers near the coast … It was because of this series of decisive measures that the Sparta army successfully thwarted the landing of the people of Diónia.
This camp by the coast had no walls or trenches. This was because it served the purpose of the warriors to rest and prepare for battle at any time. It was not intended to be a fortress. Once the Diónia army successfully landed, it would be meaningless for the Sparta warriors to stay in the camp, because everyone knew that Sparta had no city walls. The Dionysian Army could bypass the camp and directly attack Sparta. That would be a disaster for Sparta. Therefore, instead of fortifying the camp, it was better to spend time on the facilities to prevent the Diónia fleet from landing.
Xenophon saw groups of Sparta warriors lying outside the tents, basking in the sun, and some gathered together, happily playing a ball game unique to Sparta …
Seeing this, Xenophon temporarily breathed a sigh of relief. The reason why the Sparta warriors dared to be so relaxed was that there had been no signs of the enemy so far today. Yesterday, the warships of Diónia had approached the coast on a large scale, and the army in the camp was preparing for battle urgently. Perhaps it was because they saw that Sparta was heavily guarded, and the warships of Diónia finally left after a long stalemate at the coast.
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