Chapter 209
Not only the soldiers, but the moment the Diónia army appeared, Myron's mind also went blank. His body trembled and his face turned pale. He knew that he had been deceived! He had been deceived by the cunning Diónia soldiers! He thought that the enemy was too small, but he rashly allowed his army to cross the river in front of the enemy's equally large army. To any qualified general, this was an extremely wrong military action! However, it was too late to retreat now. Retreating in front of the enemy and having to turn back to cross the river was a great taboo for the citizen soldiers of a city that did not have much training. It would mean a great defeat without a battle. The Diónia soldiers could easily attack and turn the seemingly gentle Trionto River into the graveyard of the Crotone militia.
Myron did not expect that the battle between the Crotone and Diónia would suddenly start at this place. However, in the face of this decisive battle that would determine the fate of the city, he forced himself to calm down. He threw his guilt and fear to the back of his mind and focused on the battle in front of him, "Sound all the bugles! Sound all the war drums! Let the soldiers charge forward! Bravely cross the river! Only then will we have the hope of winning!! "He anxiously raised his arms and shouted.
The messengers immediately leaped into the river and shouted.
The sudden increase in the sound of the bugles and war drums urged the army to move forward. The officers in the formation also knew that the situation was dangerous, so they took the lead and moved forward.
The Crotone army began to speed up, but the Dionysian Army reorganized their formation quickly and closed in on them. Due to the cobblestones all over the ground, both sides did not charge forward like the heavy infantry battles in the past. Instead, they approached each other steadily …
When the distance between the two sides was only about twenty meters, Corbus saw the enemies on the opposite side suddenly stop moving forward when the officer shouted. The enemies in the front row slightly crouched down, while the enemies in the back row glowed with cold light. He immediately knew what was going to happen when he saw the movements of the enemy. He did not even have the time to say the word 'javelin' before he hastily crouched down.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The continuous whistling sounds were like a sudden gust of wind, accompanied by the rising and falling screams of agony. In the blink of an eye, the entire front row of Crotone's army collapsed. Not only did it stop the advance of Crotone's soldiers, but it also caused their formation to become somewhat fragmented.
However, the Diónia did not stop there. Another round of javelins was thrown. At such a close distance, the lethality of the heavy javelin was quite astonishing.
Just as the Crotone soldiers were busy dodging the javelins and rescuing their comrades, causing their formation to fall into disarray, the Diónia soldiers took the opportunity to advance. They rammed their shields into the terrified Crotone soldiers, while two or three javelins stabbed at the enemies who had just survived the javelins …
If it wasn't for the backline filling in the gaps in time, Crotone's frontline would have collapsed. However, because of this, Crotone's troops were blocked by the river bank. Myron's meticulously prepared battle formation of more than 20 rows became a problem at the moment. In most sections of the river, half of them were on the river bank, while the other half were in the river. In a battle between heavy infantry, other than face-to-face combat, they could also use the thickness of their formation to push the opponent in a way similar to a tug-of-war to achieve a breakthrough. This was another effective way to attack. However, not only could the Crotone soldiers not form an effective united force, but they were also slowly retreating under the powerful push of the opponent.
… …
When the javelins that covered the sky flew into the Crotone formation, Myron felt that his heart was about to stop beating.
The heavy infantry of Diónia could actually throw javelins! At this moment, Myron regretted being too careless. He did not understand the tactical characteristics of the Dionysian Army in more detail. Looking at their light infantry and heavy infantry, this was obviously a well-trained unit with unique tactics!
Just as Myron was grieving over the casualties of his soldiers and regretting his negligence, his subordinate stared at the battle on the other side of the river and shouted anxiously, "Damn it, Diónia have so many heavy infantry! It must be because the reinforcements of Neutum and Laos have arrived! "
Indeed, according to the reports from the messengers on the left and right, the Diónia's formation was almost the same length, and they were able to force their formation to retreat. Although they had the advantage of the terrain, the thickness of their formation was probably not much thinner than their formation. Could it be that the current Diónia also had about 20,000 men? Listening to his subordinate's scolding, it was like a bolt of lightning flashed across Myron's mind. Bent on revenge, he had always carefully studied the secret reports sent back by Turín, so he had some understanding of the Diónia alliance.
He remembered that the secret report said that it would take at least three days for Turín to reach Neutum, and the same time to reach Laos. So even if the mobilization order of the cavalry was sent to Neutum and Laos, it would still take six days to reach Turín and back. After all, the construction of Turín, Neutum and Laos had only just begun, and it had only been four days since the declaration of war, unless Diónia had mobilized its troops in advance. However, three days ago, before the mercenaries attacked Crimissa, he had tortured several captives, including Criano and Tolicos. They all admitted that they had concealed their intentions from the Devers and decided to capture Crimissa on their own. Therefore, the reinforcements of Neutum and Laos should still be on their way to Turín. So where did so many Diónia heavy infantry come from?
There were not so many citizens of Turín and Amendola. Myron was sure of this. He suddenly remembered something: … … freedmen?! The so-called registered freedmen of Diónia!!
Myron suddenly remembered that the previous secret report also mentioned that Diónia frequently organized their freedmen to undergo military training. Myron also remembered that many members of the Crotone Assembly mocked Diónia for being so desperate that they turned the uncouth freedmen into citizens of the city. It was simply ridiculous! But everything before him proved that Diónia's method was effective. The armor and spears that these poor freedmen were wearing were probably from the Crotone Army that died or were captured in the last battle!
Despite his anger, Myron clearly realized that Turín had sent these freedmen to the battlefield. They had probably used everything they had. Did they have any extra troops?!
Myron looked at the battlefield in front of him, and his spirit was lifted. "Eutidemus!"
"What's the matter, General?" the subordinate who was yelling just now replied.
"Immediately lead these two thousand soldiers to the east and hand them over to Philadelphus."
"What?! Didn't you want this unit to reinforce the middle?! "Eutidemus asked in confusion.
"Carry out the order!" Myron's eyes widened. His good friend's son was really hardworking, but he was too active. "Tell General Philadelphus that there won't be too many enemies on the other side. Tell him to cross the river as soon as possible, regardless of the casualties. After defeating the enemy, he will rush over to attack Diónia's army! The victory or defeat of this battle depends on his actions! "Myron said solemnly.
"Understood!" Eutidemus saw the chance of victory after Myron's reminder. He rushed to carry out the order excitedly.
Myron jumped off his horse. With a spear and shield in hand, he led the guards into the river and joined the battle formation. He kept yelling for the soldiers to fight bravely.
Since most of the Diónia's heavy infantry was made up of preparatory citizens, he did not believe that these novices, who were still freedmen half a year ago and had no experience in heavy infantry combat, could master the essence of heavy infantry combat in half a year. This was where his confidence came from. He firmly believed that even if the Crotone soldiers were in danger, they would still be able to hold on until Philadelphus's army arrived.
… …
A large flag was erected high in the middle of the Diónia's army. The statue of Pluto Hades was also inlaid at the top, but it was obviously larger than the army flag of the legion. The flag was also larger, and only the large golden letters "Devers" were embroidered on it.
There were currently three legions in the Diónia Alliance. Devers, of course, had to step down and return to his original position. According to the old tradition, the Consul was originally the commander of the city's army. Therefore, the highest position of the Devers in the Alliance Army was the commander-in-chief of the Diónia Alliance Army.
At this moment, the Devers were also paying attention to the movements of the enemy on the other side of the river.
"Lord Commander, the enemy's troops have gone downstream!" Aristocrates reminded loudly. As a talent that the Devers had taken a fancy to, the Devers intended to train him comprehensively like the Asistes. Therefore, they allowed him to follow them during the battle. However, after all, he was still a freedman, so he could only temporarily be given the title of a clerk.
The Devers had been waiting for this moment for a long time. "Tormid!"
"Lord Commander, please give the order!" Tomimedes's reply came from the bottom of his heart.
Originally, the Crotone's rapid advance was far beyond the expectations of the generals. In the case that the troops of Neutum and Laos could not arrive in time, the difference in strength between the two sides was a little big. During the military meeting, many people proposed to give up on reinforcing Castellón and hold on to Turín until the reinforcements arrived before the decisive battle. However, the Devers stood their ground and insisted on pushing the front line to Castellón. Due to the prestige that they had built over a long period of time, everyone was finally persuaded by him.
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