Chapter 1294
As a matter of fact, the plight of the light infantry in the front also affected the allied Greek soldiers in the rear to a certain extent. However, Agesilaus, Ipamilonda, Iphicrates … these capable generals shared the same thoughts as Leotychides, so they firmly controlled their troops and didn't move an inch.
Although there were some minor disturbances in the allied army of central Italy, they had been dependent on the Kingdom of Diónia for more than ten years. The long period of close contact and military cooperation had made them accustomed to obeying the orders of the commander of Diónia. Without the order to attack, they wouldn't attack easily.
On the other hand, some of the Greek city-states, generals and soldiers, began to grow restless when they saw the light infantry falling one after another. Fortunately, Leotychides dispatched more than ten messengers to the rear of the entire right flank and shouted his orders to stop them from attacking. Only then did they barely manage to control the entire army.
On the other hand, when Fanabazos learned that the enemy's cavalry had suddenly appeared on his right flank, he was worried that the Greek Coalition Army would use the cavalry to attack the Persian archers who were too far ahead to recover from their current disadvantage. Therefore, he quickly ordered the entire army to advance, hoping to shorten the distance between the main force and the archers and provide support and protection for the archers.
Fanabazos had a good plan, but when the army, seven or eight miles long and numbering as many as eighty thousand men, moved forward, the whole situation was out of his control.
Some of the Persia generals in charge of leading the cavalry had long grown impatient of the prolonged confrontation. They ignored Fanabazos' order to advance and directly ordered their cavalry to attack the enemy in front of them.
Their unauthorized actions naturally led the other Persia cavalries, so the cavalry on both ends of the Persia army quickly sped up and galloped toward the flanks of the Greek allied army.
Fanabazos was furious when he received the news, but he had no choice but to let the buglers blow the bugle to attack.
Leotychides, who was standing on a high vantage point on his horse, saw the Persia army rapidly approaching and immediately ordered the buglers to blow the bugle as well.
Two similar bugles with different rhythms reverberated throughout the battlefield one after another. It was easy for the untrained soldiers to distinguish between the two, but it wasn't a problem for the Diónia light infantry. Under the reminders of their officers, the soldiers supported their wounded comrades and quickly retreated through the gaps in the chessboard formation to the rear of the entire army. Before the battle began, the other light infantry had been repeatedly reminded by their generals to "follow the footsteps of the Diónia light infantry," so they followed suit.
The retreat of the Greek allied light infantry undoubtedly provided a good opportunity for the Persia archers to attack. However, the Persia archers didn't take the opportunity to attack. On the contrary, they retreated earlier than the Persia light infantry because the formation of the Persia infantry was relatively dense. If the Persia archers waited until the Persia infantry arrived at the rear, it would inevitably cause some confusion in the formation. If the Greek allied army suddenly launched an attack at this time, the entire Persia army would be in big trouble.
The archers who had retreated to the rear of the Persian army followed closely behind the infantries. Meanwhile, the Dionysian light infantries retreated to the rear of the Persian army and swiftly ran towards the left flank of the entire army. At this time, there was no cavalry at the left end of the left wing of the Greek allied army, but there were three Diónia light armored infantry battalions arranged in a loose formation, perpendicular to the left wing to guard the flank.
The Epirus light shieldbearers, who numbered less than a thousand, did not follow the light infantry to the left wing. Instead, under the leadership of the Diónia team officer, they went to support the cavalry on the right wing.
… …
On the battlefield, facing the approaching Persia infantry formation, the Greek allied army still stood still, but the cavalry on the left wing moved.
The Persia infantry was still halfway there, but the Persia cavalry had already rushed to the foot of the hill. At this time, the Greek cavalry on the right end of the right wing was arranged in a square formation. The commander of the Thessaly Cavalry Legion, who was in the front of the center, immediately gave the order to attack. The flag bearer waved the legion flag embroidered with a pegasus and finally pointed it forward.
The cavalry clamped the abdomen of the horses, shook the reins hard, and the War Horse began to run …
From the top to the bottom, the speed increased very quickly. First, it was the Thessaly cavalry, followed by the Macedonian cavalry, and finally the cavalry of the Greek city-states. They gathered into a powerful force, like a mountain torrent, making a deafening noise, roaring toward the Persia cavalry at the foot of the hill.
Most of the Persia cavalry were light cavalry. Some of them were equipped with javelins, and some were equipped with bows and arrows. Close combat was not their strength.
Although the terrain of the Thessaly and Macedonia region was relatively flat, the border area was mostly hilly, and their main opponents were the indigenous people in the surrounding mountains. When the War Horse galloped on the hills, the rider could not maintain a stable posture to throw javelins or shoot arrows. On the contrary, it was easier for the indigenous people to catch up with them. Therefore, the cavalry had to improve their close combat ability, so most of the Thessaly and Macedonian cavalry were close-combat cavalry.
In fact, they were not the only ones. The Gallic and Lusitanian cavalry of the western Mediterranean Sea were the same. Only the Numibians had developed the ability to ride horses, shoot arrows, and throw javelins in the vast, flat interior of Afrika.
After Diónia incorporated the Thessaly cavalry into the legion, they were equipped with a full set of leather armor, a three-meter long spear, and a saber specially made for the cavalry. While enhancing their close combat ability, it did not weaken the balance and flexibility of the cavalry on horseback.
The Persia cavalry originally wanted to approach the flanks of the Greek coalition forces and use javelins and arrows to cause damage to the Greek cavalry and infantry, thereby disrupting the enemy's formation. Their formation was loose, and they were very fast. However, when they went up the hill, their speed naturally slowed down.
At this moment, the Greek coalition cavalry, which had been motionless all this time, suddenly charged at them. They were as fast as lightning, and in an instant, they were right in front of them. The Persia cavalry could not dodge in time. Relying on the fact that they outnumbered the enemy, they bit the bullet and charged forward.
If the entire Greek coalition cavalry was a sharp knife stabbing forward at this time, then the Thessaly cavalry was the sharp edge of the knife. Although the speed at which they were galloping made their hearts palpitate, they still stared straight ahead with their eyes wide open, their left hands holding the neck of the horse, and their right hands gripping the spear. The moment they stabbed the enemy, they would immediately release their right hands to avoid being knocked off their horses by the strong momentum.
Although the Thessaly cavalry had gone through countless charging training in the past few years, there were still many who fell off their horses. Of course, there were more Persia cavalry who fell off their horses, and they were either dead or injured.
What was more frightening was that due to the strong momentum of the charge, the coalition cavalry could not stop their War Horses at all. They could only watch helplessly as the War Horse slammed into the Persia cavalry in front of them. Not only did the War Horse crash into the Persia cavalry in front of them, but it also caused them serious injuries. The Allied Army's cavalry trampled over the wounded soldiers and horses on the ground and quickly broke through the Persian cavalry's formation.
The charge of the Greek coalition cavalry not only caused the Persia cavalry to stop advancing, but also caused most of them to huddle together. Horses neighed and men shouted. It was a mess, and it was impossible to quickly restore a unified command.
When the Thessaly cavalry who fell off their horses got up from the ground, they immediately pulled out the sabers at their waists and slashed at the enemies and War Horses around them, making the situation even more chaotic.
The allied cavaliers who charged through the enemy's formation quickly came back and launched an attack on the disorderly Persian cavaliers once again.
… …
The 4,000 cavalrymen on the right flank of the Persia army successfully approached the left flank of the Greek coalition, but the light armoured soldiers of Diónia were guarding the flank and rear. Although the arrows and javelins fired by the cavalrymen caused some casualties to the light armoured soldiers, they did not achieve their goal of disrupting the main formation.
Then, the light infantry arrived one after another. Their arrows and javelins had a longer range, and their output was more stable and accurate. They posed a great threat to the Persia cavalry, forcing them to retreat further, thus relieving the pressure on the light armoured soldiers.
At the same time, the soldiers of the Persia army had set foot on the gentle slope and began to advance.
When the zigzagging Persia army was about 50 to 60 meters away from the main force of the Greek coalition, and the Persia archers at the rear began to nock their arrows, the Diónia soldiers in the middle and left flank of the Greek coalition suddenly took a big step forward in unison and threw the javelins in their hands.
Previously, when the light infantry and the Persia archers were at a disadvantage in the fierce battle, the legionnaires did not go forward to help their comrades under the strict orders of their team officers. They had been waiting for this moment.
The Persia army did not know much about the tactics of the Legion of Dionysia. Although Iazon had heard of them before, he had never fought with the Dionysian Army before. Coupled with the silence of the soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia, the Persia infantrymen and Greek mercenaries let their guard down. As a result, when the javelins covered the sky, they hurriedly defended themselves, but it was already too late.
Because the Diónia soldiers were on high ground, the javelins they threw were more lethal. After a round of javelins, many of them fell to the ground, dead or injured.
While the Persia army was still in shock, another round of javelins blew like a gust of wind. The middle and right flank of the Persia army were instantly shattered.
"Woo! Woo! " At this moment, the bugle of the Greek coalition army to attack was blown.
Whether it was the Diónia soldiers, the Greek soldiers, or the Italian soldiers, they all roared in unison and charged one after another. The army formation that was six to seven miles long poured down like an avalanche.
The Persia archers desperately pulled their bowstrings, trying to weaken the enemy's charge with arrows that covered the sky. However, most of the arrows fell on the heavily armored infantrymen and did not cause any damage. Therefore, when the two armies collided head-on, it was almost a one-sided situation. The left, middle, and right flank of the Persia army were struggling to deal with the enemy's attacks. Under the strong pressure, the entire army was forced to retreat slowly.
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