Chapter 1295
"Commander, the cavalry on the left wing of Persia has been completely defeated!"
After receiving the good news from the messenger, Leotychides's expression was still serious: "Pass down my order, the cavalry on the right wing and the light shieldbearers of Epirus immediately attack the flank of the Persia army!"
He knew very well in his heart: according to what he knew before, although the cavalry on the left wing of the Persia army had lost the upper hand, they performed very bravely in a difficult situation. Although his own cavalry and light shieldbearers worked together to defeat them, they also paid a heavy price. But now was not the time to rest, because judging from the overall situation of the battle, although the allied forces had the upper hand, they would not be able to defeat the Persia army for a while. And the Persia archers continued to shoot arrows from the rear of their army, which continued to consume a lot of the energy of the soldiers in the rear of their army, affecting their strong support of the soldiers in the front line.
What was more troublesome was the thousands of cavalry on the right wing of Persia. Although the light armoured and infantry of Diónia had been mixed together and had their backs to the main force of the Greek allied forces, they were in a relatively loose formation, keeping a close eye on the movement of the Persia cavalry, ready to defend against a surprise attack from the rear of the main force of the allied forces. But the speed of the Persia cavalry was, after all, fast. If they really moved quickly over a large area, the light armoured and infantry could only look at them in the dust. And at this critical moment, their desperate surprise attack could bring great trouble to the whole battle, so he hoped to establish a victory as soon as possible.
While thinking about the overall situation of the battle, Leotychides also paid attention to the situation in front of him. At this moment, his personal guard captain suddenly shouted: "Commander, the Persia cavalry is rushing towards us!"
Leotychides hurriedly turned around and saw countless Persia cavalry in the distance galloping in his direction. The light infantry fired arrows and javelins at them, and Persia cavalry kept falling from their horses, but they did not retreat again like before. Instead, they accelerated their advance.
Leotychides's expression changed slightly. His fears had come true, but the target of the enemy's surprise attack was himself, the commander of the Greek coalition army.
As a former Sparta warrior, he did not lack courage. However, as the commander-in-chief of the Allied Army, he could not afford to have any accidents during the most crucial moment of the battle. He could not allow the flag of the Allied Army to be taken away, as it would greatly affect the morale of the soldiers. So, he did not hesitate to lead his escorts and ran towards the place where the light armored soldiers and light infantry were most concentrated. The officers of the mixed troops also sensed the danger and loudly called for the soldiers to gather.
This Persia cavalry unit, which was mainly made up of light cavalry, did not choose to dodge like before. Instead, they tightened their grip on their horses' necks, increased their speed, and charged straight at the enemy.
This kind of indomitable momentum made many Diónia soldiers' hearts palpitate. The officers shouted the name of Hades to stabilize the morale of the soldiers, and at the same time, ordered the light infantry to immediately launch long-range attacks to hinder the enemy's charge.
The War Horse that was shot by the arrows fell to the ground with the cavalrymen on its back, and then was trampled into meat paste by the Persia cavalry that followed closely behind.
Although the long-range attacks of the Diónia light infantry failed to repel the Persia cavalry, they did slow down their charge, giving the light armored soldiers time to hastily form a formation.
In the face of the Persia cavalry that was charging forward with an astonishing momentum, the Diónia light armored soldiers still raised their leather shields and formed a dense formation in front of them, despite their pale faces.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! " Many Diónia soldiers were knocked away, bringing down their comrades around them, but there were also soldiers who rushed to join the interception formation. In the continuous screams and screams, although the Diónia formation was broken, it did not collapse, and the charge of the Persia cavalry was finally stopped.
Leotychides had been paying attention to the situation behind him. At this time, not only did he feel relieved, but he also felt happy. He knew very well that once the Persia cavalry lost their speed, if they did not retreat in time, what awaited them would only be destruction. He could finally focus all his attention on the battle ahead.
… …
On the right flank of the Greek Coalition Army, there were two adjacent elite troops, the Sparta warriors and the Thebes. In order to prove that they were stronger than each other, they competed with each other because of their past grievances, causing their enemy to bear a lot of pressure.
At this time, the attack from the Coalition Army's cavalry and light armored soldiers from the flank was the straw that broke the camel's back, and the Persia soldiers began to retreat.
Even though it was just a small defeat, it would still take some time for it to affect the seven to eight li long army formation. Perhaps during this period of time, the Persian army might have other opportunities to turn things around.
But Fanabazos, who heard the news, was obviously not so lucky. With the left, middle, and right flanks all at a disadvantage, and no reinforcements available, it was obvious that defeat was inevitable. He decisively issued the order to "retreat."
When the Persia soldiers heard the horn, they immediately turned and fled, and the Coalition Army took the opportunity to kill them.
The whole battlefield was like a dam bursting, the river flowing in all directions.
The tens of thousands of Greek mercenaries in the middle were affected by their thick armor. Not only were their reactions slow, but their speed was also slow. They fell behind and became the best targets for the Coalition Army.
At this moment, Ison couldn't care less about the mercenaries that he had painstakingly nurtured over the years. He threw away his eye-catching helmet and heavy breastplate and rode on his own warhorse. Just like how he escaped from Greece a few years ago, he quickly fled from the battlefield with complicated feelings …
At dusk, the Coalition Army soldiers, who had stopped chasing, were cleaning up the battlefield. They stripped the armor and weapons from the corpses, or searched for valuable items from the captives. They could not help but laugh.
The generals of the Coalition Army gathered in twos and threes, looking happily at the battlefield full of corpses, and excitedly discussing the previous battle.
Leotychides sat alone on the hillside with his eyes closed. When he heard footsteps, he asked without opening his eyes, "How's the loss?"
The Greek Coalition Army's staff officer, who was also Leotychides's old partner, Mukrul, said in a low voice, "According to preliminary statistics, we have more than 6,400 casualties. Among them, 1,300 were cavalry casualties, with a death rate of 60%. There were more than 3,000 light infantry casualties, with a death rate of only 30%. There were also more than 1,000 light armored soldiers, with a death rate of only 30%. The rest of the heavy infantry casualties were mostly the Coalition Army soldiers, and the most casualties were the Sparta soldiers who lined up separately."
Leotychides suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at Mukrul.
Mukrul seemed to have expected this reaction. He continued without a change in his expression, "According to the report of the messenger, the Sparta soldiers performed very bravely in this battle. They were the first to defeat the enemy in front of them, but of course, they paid the price of nearly a hundred casualties."
Leotychides did not speak, but his right hand silently tore off a blade of grass beside him.
"There's one more thing … I think you should know …" Mukrul hesitantly said in a low voice, "Agesilaus is dead …"
Leotychides's eyes widened.
Mukrul lowered his voice even more. "I heard that after the Persia army was defeated, Agesilaus, who was sitting behind the Sparta army and commanding, was so excited that he wanted to chase after the enemy with the soldiers. In the end, he fell and never got up again …"
That old man is finally dead … The weight that had been weighing on Leotychides's heart suddenly disappeared, but he did not feel relieved. Instead, he felt empty. He looked at the battlefield around him, and finally fixed his gaze on a corner on the left side of the battlefield. There were a few hundred strong, bare-chested men with long braids, bowing their heads and praying solemnly. In front of them was a row of corpses, and Agesilaus's body must be among them …
Leotychides thought so, but he did not go over to pay his respects with them. He just sat quietly, and Agesilaus's words before he left last night echoed in his ears …
Just as he was lost in thought, Mukrul's report continued, "The Persia army left nearly 6,000 corpses and wounded soldiers on the battlefield. Most of them were cavalry. We also captured more than 6,000 defeated soldiers, most of them Greek mercenaries … "
… …
Alitaka, a rather prestigious Tyre nobleman, had led the Tyre fleet twice and followed the Persia army to conquer Egypt. He had also made contributions in the war to quell the rebellion in the western part of Asia Minor and was rewarded by the king of Persia.
Therefore, after the turmoil in Egypt, the king of Persia, who wanted to take back Egypt, obviously did not forget him. He sent messengers to Phoenicia, asking the cities of Phoenicia to gather all their warships under Alitaka's command, and prepare to cooperate with the Persia army to attack Egypt.
However, not long after, the Holy Kingdom of Diónia declared war on Persia, followed by the Dionysian Army landing in Egypt, quelling the unrest, staying for a long time without leaving, and even stationing their troops in Pei-Ramesses, threatening the safety of Gaza … A series of news came one after another in more than two months, causing the entire Near East to become nervous.
During this period, Persia, who was carrying out a full military mobilization, requested that the coastal regions such as Cyprus, Syria, and Issus gather all their warships at the military ports of Tyre and Sidon to form a unified Persia fleet. They also appointed Alitaka as the commander of the Persia fleet, asking him to lead the fleet to guard the Near East Sea and prevent the invasion of the Dionysian fleet.
Alitaka, who was given this important task for the first time, was naturally very diligent. He sent messengers to urge Cyprus, Syria, and other regions to provide warships as soon as possible. At the same time, he seized the time to regroup and train the warships under his command.
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