Chapter 218
Matonis cursed the cowardly Crotone soldiers and helplessly allowed some of the soldiers to participate in the construction of the bridge.
The Umbria River was neither too wide nor too deep, and with sufficient manpower, the soldiers on both sides of the river were about to finish building a wooden bridge under the direction of the engineers according to the steps in the Military Law. However, Matonis received a report from the cavalry scouts: about 8,000 Crotone light infantry were attacking him!
His listless face was suddenly filled with vigor. "Brothers, get up, there's a war coming!"
The kind of person led the kind of soldiers. The soldiers who had been lying on the ground and resting immediately stood up, put on their equipment, and quickly approached the earthen rampart, looking out excitedly. The soldiers who were building the bridge also heard the news and quickly rushed back.
Not long after, they saw the figures of the Crotone soldiers.
… …
After Myron fled back to Crimissa, he specifically asked the few surviving soldiers under Philadelphus and came to a shocking conclusion: Philadelphus' army was defeated by the light infantry of Diónia! Now, he had the advantage of having fewer heavy infantry and more light infantry, which was why he decided to learn the enemy's tactics. He even let some of the sailors from the fleet docked at the port of Crimissa join the expedition.
8,000 men came ashore from the south bank of the Umbria River. Under his leadership, they marched along the Umbria River and attacked the garrison on the south bank of Diónia.
Seeing the trenches and earthen walls built by the Diónia soldiers, Myron laughed. The Diónia soldiers had tied their hands and feet, which was more conducive to the light infantry's attack.
Two hundred meters away from the Diónia soldiers, he spread out his troops and surrounded the temporary defensive camp of Diónia, which had its back to the Umbria River and was in a semicircular shape.
At his command, the archers advanced to within 100 meters and began to throw arrows.
For the Diónia heavy infantry who were protected by the mud wall, the rain of arrows did not cause much damage to them. They only needed to place their round shields on the wall to cover their heads. The Diónia soldiers even joked, "The Crotone must know that we're running out of arrows in the last battle, so they're kind enough to send us arrows." However, the Diónia heavy infantry's relaxed mood soon disappeared.
The Crotone Light Infantry continued to advance. At a distance of about 50 meters, the accuracy of their arrows greatly increased.
Of course, the heavy infantry of Oriya, who had round shields and mud walls to protect them, did not suffer much damage.
However, when Crotone's javelin throwers continued to advance twenty to thirty meters forward, the Diónia heavy infantry began to feel the pressure. Of course, crouching behind the mud wall would not cause them any damage. In any case, the enemy was light infantry and would not dare to fight them head-on. However, being a coward was not Matonis's style. Moreover, once they hid behind the mud wall, they would not be able to understand the enemy's movements at all. What if the enemy bypassed the defense line and went down the river to burn down the wooden bridge that was under construction?
Matonis was now the commander of the South Coast troops. He knew what his responsibility was.
"Javelin!" He roared and stood up from behind the mud wall. He quickly put down his round shield and leaned back. Without a running start, he threw the javelin in his hand more than 20 meters away, piercing through the chest of a Crotone javelin thrower. He then immediately crouched down.
The Diónia soldiers who had been suppressed by the archers immediately began to fight back when they received Matonis's order. Countless javelins flew over the mud wall and the trenches, piercing into the Crotone formation and splattering blood everywhere. The arrows and javelins of Crotone also rained down on the Diónia heavy infantry. The casualties on both sides began to increase.
Myron stood in front of the archers and observed the development of the battle. He began to understand the benefits of using a large number of light infantry to attack the heavy infantry. Unfortunately, the Diónia heavy infantry were not the traditional Greek heavy infantry. The javelins they threw caused great damage to the Crotone's javelin throwers, who had weak defense. There was a large difference in the casualty ratio between the two sides.
However, Myron believed that it was worth it to trade a few light infantry for a heavy infantry. The Crotone did not lack free sailors, but they lacked citizens who could serve as heavy infantry.
… …
"Captain Epitenis, the enemy on the South Coast is attacking fiercely! Captain Matonis hopes for reinforcements! "The messenger brought Matonis's message.
"Got it!" Epitenis frowned and replied. He thought for a moment and said, "Apiolex!"
"Yes, sir!"
"I want you to lead the catapults and cross the river immediately to support Matonis!" Epitenis looked at his captain and ordered, "Remember! Do not enter Matonis's camp. The narrow camp will make it impossible for you to avoid the attack of Crotone's large number of light infantry! You have to go around the enemy's perimeter and attack them with the long range of the catapults! "
"Understood, Captain!" Apiolex quickly gathered his men.
The structure of the light infantry brigade in the Legion of Dionysia (the seventh brigade) was different from that of the heavy infantry. According to the Military Law, the Heavy Infantry Brigade had five companies under its jurisdiction. Each company had 200 people, for a total of 1000 people. As for the Light Infantry Brigade, although it also had 1000 people, there were only three companies. They were the Stone Throwers Company, the Archers Company, and the Javelin Soldiers Company. The number of people under each company was not fixed.
This was because light infantry was more skilled than heavy infantry. Javelin throwers were better, but archers and catapults would not be able to become light infantry without long-term training. Therefore, the composition of the light infantry brigade in the Legion of Dionysia was based on the actual situation of the area it was in. For example, the light infantry brigade in the First Legion had about the same number of people, but its javelin throwers were actually Thracian light shieldsmen. The Second Legion was mainly made up of Turií citizens. Most of them were freedmen and sailors, so they had more archers and some light shieldsmen. The Legio III was mainly made up of Lucarians, so they had more javelin throwers. Since the formation of the light infantry was loose and flexible, and they rarely came into direct contact with the enemy, it did not affect the commander too much.
"Captain, Apiolex took the catapults with him. Will the Crotone warships that are anchored in the river see that our numbers have dwindled, and seize the opportunity to go up the river and destroy the wooden bridge we just built …" Zennaris said worriedly.
"I really hope they come. Even if we have fewer soldiers, I'm confident we can destroy them! We can't attack or retreat like we are now. We can't go and help our comrades on the other side of the river! "Epthenis said angrily.
"Since they won't come, we can just attack them!" One of Epthenis' bodyguards, a handsome young man, interrupted.
Epithenis gently slapped him on the back of the head and laughed, "Idiot, the place where the enemy's warships are anchored is low on the river bank. If we attack those warships there, it'll be like attacking the enemy on the city wall. We'll suffer great losses while the enemy suffers little. Why would I fight when I know I'll be at a disadvantage?"
"We're on high ground, and there's a barricade on the river. Would the enemy do something so stupid when they know they'll be attacked if they row here?" The handsome bodyguard retorted.
Epthenis was speechless for a moment. He then nudged the bodyguard and laughed, "Not bad, you've improved a lot!" Then, he sighed helplessly. "It seems like we're stuck with the enemy's warships. I thought it would be a simple task for the commander to ask us to protect the wooden bridge, but now it seems like it's really troublesome!"
… …
While Myron and Martonis were fighting, the Devers had already received the news. Although they were surprised that Myron dared to attack with only light infantry, they were not worried. "Inform Ledes that his cavalry will temporarily be under the command of the First Legion. I believe that Capus will be able to force the enemy to retreat soon! "
Capus, the commander of the First Legion, who had received the Devers' permission, immediately mobilized three heavy infantry battalions and a cavalry unit to cross the river quickly. He wanted to circle to the rear of the Crotone and cut off their retreat.
However, when Myron learned that Diónia's reinforcements were about to arrive, he decisively ordered a retreat since he had the upper hand.
The battle ended hastily. Of the 2,000 heavy infantry led by Martonis, 500 were killed or wounded, most of them were injured. More than 700 of Myron's 8,000 men were killed or wounded. But Martonis thought that he had suffered a loss, while Myron thought that Crotone had won a small victory because they had dealt a blow to the arrogance of the Diónia, which would definitely slow down their progress in building their camp and besieging Crimissa.
But when Myron returned to the city, he immediately received bad news: a large army was coming from the north and was entering the Diónia camp.
They must be the reinforcements from Neutum! Myron immediately became nervous.
… …
In fact, not only did 5,000 soldiers from Neutum enter the Diónia camp, but there were also 3,000 soldiers from Laos's alliance, which brought the frontline strength of Diónia to 22000.
The Diónia camp, which was already in high morale, was now filled with cheers …
The Devers went out of the camp to welcome Laos's Consul, Avinogis, as well as the Legio III's First Brigade Captain Bagoule, Adjutant Asistes, Second Brigade Captain Lizaru, and many other senior officers.
"Lord Commander, we're late!" Asistes bowed respectfully and said apologetically.
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