Chapter 216
"Although Crotone has lost the battle, we can at least organize another 10,000 to 20,000 militia. If Diónia wants to attack the city, we will definitely give them a heavy blow! At that time, Diónia will not be able to attack for a long time and can only ask for peace talks. By then, we will have the upper hand. Maybe during the defense of Crimissa, we can find some opportunities to attack and defeat Diónia! "
After Myron finished, everyone fell into deep thought.
Eurippus said, "So, Crimissa will become a battlefield again."
This sentence reminded the leaders of Crimissa, but Myron quickly continued, "Yes, Castellón is the key to the next war, but it will be the Crotone soldiers who will defend it. If the people of Castellón feel that it is dangerous here, they can take a boat to Crotone to take shelter. We will provide them with good living conditions until the war is over. If there is any damage to houses and property in the city, Crotone will also pay compensation … "
Myron's thought was very thorough, leaving everyone speechless. His words also hinted at these people that Castellón was full of Crotone soldiers. Even if they wanted to negotiate with Diónia in private, they had to ask the spears and shields of the Crotone soldiers if they agreed. If they angered Crotone, the situation would only get worse!
"General Myron, Crimissa will fully support you in fighting against Diónia here!" Antares quickly made a clear statement on behalf of the council.
… …
The next morning, the Devers and two legions and two reserve battalions, totaling about 16000 people (this referred to the number of combat soldiers, not including the engineering battalion, medical battalion, supply battalion, cavalry, trumpeters and drummers) marched to Crimissa.
In the morning, the Dionysian Army arrived at the swamp area.
Devers left an engineering battalion behind to inspect the geography of the swamp, fill it up as soon as possible, build roads, and build bridges over the Racoeli River so that future convoys could pass through smoothly. At the same time, they also had to take into account the construction of the Castellón – Crimissa Avenue. In order to prevent the Crotone from attacking, he left two reserve troops to build a camp here. Apart from protecting the construction camp and the citizens of Castellón who were involved in the construction, they also had to protect the transport line.
Then, the Devers took the lead and crossed the swamp area with the soldiers.
In the afternoon, the Dionysian Army entered Crimissa territory.
At this time, the five thousand Crotone soldiers on the city wall of Crimissa were already waiting.
The Devers rode to the city of Crimissa. After observing for a while, they gave up the idea of attacking immediately and ordered to set up camp.
The leader of the siege battalion immediately came to ask the Devers about the requirements of the camp. The Devers pointed at the city of Crimissa and said, "Surround it from the north first."
The leader of the engineering battalion understood and immediately led the engineers to inspect the terrain, water sources, calculate the area of the camp according to the number of soldiers … and so on, and choose a location for the camp. Not long after, he and his subordinates began to insert a thin wooden pole every 20 meters from the city walls.
Under the orders of the two commanders, Capus and Drax, other than the two troops in charge of guarding and Ledes' cavalry, the rest of the soldiers immediately became construction workers. Some were responsible for cutting wood, some for digging trenches, and some for building mud walls … The entire army started working in an orderly manner. Even the Devers picked up their pickaxes and joined in the digging …
Myron noticed that the Dionysian Army did not attack the city immediately. He was disappointed but also a little relieved. However, the scene of the Dionysian Army building camp was so lively and spectacular, and the camp being so close to the city was beyond his expectations. He could not help but have an idea: sneak out of the city to attack.
However, the two heavily armed heavy infantry of Diónia and the cavalry patrolling under the city made him give up the idea. He did not think that the Crotone soldiers, who had just experienced a defeat, would have the courage to leave the city and fight with the large number of Diónia in the field.
He could see that the Diónia wanted to surround Castellón, but as long as they could buy time, he would agree with the other party's plan.
The Diónia were very efficient in building their camp. By dusk, they had dug a trench that was three miles long and built mud walls, encircling the east, west, and north sides of Castellón. Now, some soldiers set up deer abatis in front of the trench, while others built tents inside the mud walls … Originally, the Engineering Battalion's pack-carts had wood that could be quickly disassembled and assembled, allowing them to quickly build camp gates, sentry towers, and fences (this was the "modular" suggestion proposed by the Devers to the Engineering Battalion, and the result of repeated experiments by the engineers and carpenters). However, because the pack-carts would easily sink into the mud in the swamp area, they could not be transported to Crimissa in time.
Even so, Myron was amazed. Of course, he did not know that the military training program of Diónia specifically included "building a camp". Seeing that the soldiers were even more nervous and uneasy, he finally made up his mind.
Late at night, he decided to send 500 soldiers to attack the camp and create chaos while the Diónia were asleep from the long march and the tiredness of building the camp. Even if it was just a small setback, it would boost the low morale of the enemy.
According to the observation of the warships at sea during the day, the north side of the Diónia camp was also dug a trench. Myron was afraid of landing on the coast to the north of the Diónia camp. If he was discovered, he would not be able to return, so he chose the south side of the camp near the sea.
The 500 Crotone soldiers quietly approached the Diónia camp. When they were carefully passing through the area of the deer abatis, they were discovered by the hidden sentries hiding behind the mud walls with the light of the torches inserted in the mud walls. He quickly sneaked back to the tent and quietly woke up the platoon leader, and then the others in the tent one by one.
"Laris, you've done well! Now, take my nameplate and rush to the rear camp. Inform the cavalry that there's an enemy attack here! " The platoon leader, Septimus, praised the recruit who was still a probationary citizen. At the same time, he handed him an egg-sized iron statue of a three-headed dog engraved with the legion, company, and division numbers.
"Yes, sir!" Laris turned and ran out.
Septimus ordered his men to continue to inform the other divisions and the company leader, Trotiras, while he led a few soldiers to the bottom of the barricade to check the situation. When he found that there were not many enemies, he had an idea.
The Crotone soldiers passed through the deer abatis area, climbed over the trenches, and climbed over the barricade. When they saw that there was still no movement in the enemy camp, they could not help but become excited. They began to light the kindling they carried with them. There was still some distance between the enemy's tent and the barricade, so they continued to move forward cautiously.
Suddenly, the soles of the soldiers walking in front suddenly sank. The sunken soles were immediately pierced by sharp objects, and they could not help but scream. It turned out that behind the barricade, the Diónia soldiers had also set up obstacle belts. When the enemy broke through the camp walls, they could slow down the enemy's speed so that they could rearrange their defenses and counterattack.
Taking advantage of the enemy's panic, the Diónia soldiers ran out from the back of the tent and threw a dense barrage of javelins at the Crotone soldiers. Many of them screamed and fell. The rest of the soldiers no longer had the courage to fight. They turned and fled in horror …
The Diónia soldiers continued their pursuit through the safe passage of the obstacle belt.
In the silence of the night, the sound of fighting was exceptionally clear. The Devers were woken up by the noise. They quickly put on their clothes and went out of the tent. Just then, the captain of the guards, Martius, rushed to report. "Report, Lord Commander, the Crotone soldiers launched a sneak attack and were repelled by the Second Legion's Third Brigade. Ledes' cavalry has already launched an attack. I believe the enemy will not be able to escape."
The Devers nodded. Immediately, a map of the distribution of the various legions, brigades, and companies in the camp appeared in his mind. "The Second Legion's Third Brigade is Giogris's brigade, right? I remember that his brigade is located at the easternmost side of the camp, near the estuary."
"Yes, Lord Commander."
"Giogris's brigade performed well. They strictly implemented the sentry duty system of the Military Law. After discovering the enemy, they responded quickly. They should be rewarded! The sentries who discovered the enemy in time should be rewarded! "The Devers turned to the clerk, Aristócratic, who had just arrived.
Aristócratic quickly recorded it down and reported it to the military judge the next day.
"How are the other brigades doing?" The Devers asked again.
"All the brigades were notified in time. They didn't cause any big movements," Martius replied.
The Devers was very satisfied with the smooth and orderly communication between the troops in the dark. Their strict daily training had played a role. He smiled and said, "Crotone wants to learn from us and carry out sneak attacks. Unfortunately, we are not Crotone. Everyone, go to sleep and rest well. We still have work to do tomorrow. "With that, he turned around and entered the tent. Soon, he fell asleep.
Martius said a few words to the guards guarding the tent and then left.
Only Aristócratic, who was new to the battlefield, could not calm down. He stared at the blazing brazier in front of the tent and spaced out for a while. It was stipulated in the Military Law of Diónia that a brazier should be erected in front of the tent of the supreme commander of the camp at night. According to the Devers's explanation, first, it was for the convenience of reporting the situation at night. Second, it was for the soldiers who were in chaos to be able to find the location of the commander at a glance when there were accidents such as night attacks or howls in the camp. This would help to stabilize their morale and reorganize the troops. In short, the commander was the source of the morale and hope of the entire army. Being able to see the commander's tent anytime and anywhere in the dark helped to eliminate their fear of the dark.
Listening to the soft snoring of the Devers in the tent and feeling the heat from the brazier, the anxiety in Aristócratic's heart quickly dissipated …
Out of the 500 men who left the city, only a few dozen managed to escape the encirclement of the Diónia cavalry and escaped back to the city.
After Miron found out, he was stunned for a long time. The seemingly simple and incomplete camp of the Diónia was so heavily guarded that it was beyond his expectations. This lesson finally made him throw away his last hope and admit from the bottom of his heart that the troops of Diónia were well-trained!
Comments