Chapter 273
The cunning Mesapi cavalry swept diagonally forward quickly, exposing the infantry phalanx behind them.
Then, the Mesapi army stopped moving forward and once again entered a stalemate with Archita's army a hundred meters away.
Archita couldn't wait any longer. With twice the strength of the enemy, coupled with the uneasiness in his heart, he immediately ordered: Blow the horn to attack!
In Tarantum, many people were jealous of or looked down on the Diónia Alliance, but Archita didn't. Not only did he have a good relationship with the Diónia Consul Devers, but he had also carefully studied Diónia's military tactics, absorbed some of them, and applied them to his own troops. Increasing the number of light infantry, grouping them separately, and giving full play to their long-range attacks was a major change in the army he led.
When the light infantry attacked the enemy first, Archita sat at the rear of the right wing of the formation, which was far longer than the enemy's phalanx. He commanded the heavy infantry on the right wing to advance, preparing to surround the enemy's left wing.
The phalanx of the Mesapi people remained motionless. The Mesapi cavalry that surrounded the Tarantum formation moved. They pressed in from all directions, throwing javelins at the Tarantum soldiers in an attempt to disrupt and hinder the enemy's advance.
Archita remained unmoved. The horn to attack kept blowing, and the heavy infantry soon entered the distance where they could charge.
"Woo! Woo! " A long and vigorous horn sound suddenly rang out on the battlefield.
Archita was shocked: This sound came from the rear?!!
"There are enemies behind! There are enemies behind!! " Some of the soldiers at the rear of the phalanx on the right began to scream in panic. The silhouettes of people could be seen in the distant morning mist behind them, and the rumbling footsteps could be heard.
It was a trap! The Mesapi ambushed them here! Archita's heart skipped a beat, and a thought flashed quickly in his mind: Should I continue to move forward or retreat? He had to make a decision immediately.
Fortunately, he learned the practice of the Dionysian Army. The commander didn't take the lead in the phalanx, but stayed outside it. Because of this, some people in the Senate criticized him for implementing the decadent aristocratic style in battle, not fighting side by side with the citizens, and being a coward.
He didn't change his approach because of the criticism, so now he could make adjustments before the battle, "All troops stop advancing! Get into formation and retreat to the left! " Achetta immediately gave orders to the orderly and bugler. He hoped that by retreating, the terrible situation of a pincer attack could be turned into a head-on attack against the two enemies.
The bugle sounded. The messengers ran at the back of the phalanx, shouting loudly.
For a typical Greek city-state army, retreating to the left was a complicated tactical maneuver that was difficult to do during training, let alone on the battlefield. However, Archita believed that the army he led, which had been in battle for half a year and had undergone strict training like the Dionysian Army, could do it.
In his many battles with the Mesapi people, he had learned about the bravery and tenacity of this race. He was not confident that he could defeat the enemy in the west in a very short period of time. He also did not want to fall into the dangerous situation of being attacked from both the front and the back. The only way was to immediately leave the current battlefield and rearrange the attack. Since the main force of the Mesapi people was attacking Mandulia, he believed that even if the number of enemies here was more than his army, it would not be by much. He was confident that he could defeat them in a head-on battle!
The phalanx stopped moving forward and began to retreat slowly. However, the Tarantum army did not move forward, but the Mesapi infantry began to charge. At the same time, the Mesapi cavalry also began to strengthen their attack. They howled and even urged their horses to charge into the phalanx in an attempt to disrupt the retreat of the Tarantum people.
The desperate fighting style of the Mesapi cavalry shocked Achetta. He felt the determination of the Mesapi people to annihilate his army here, and it was difficult for him to maintain his previous calmness.
Should he continue to retreat or strengthen the defense? Achetta was once again in a difficult choice.
However, time was running out. The Mesapi cavalry had already rushed in front of them, and the light infantry hurriedly retreated to both sides. Obstructed by the Mesapi cavalry, the Tarantum heavy infantry, who could not retreat at full speed, had to turn around and fight, falling into a passive position from the beginning.
Achetta had no time to regret. Faced with such a dilemma, on one hand, he let the light infantry disperse the Mesapi cavalry with arrows and informed the team officers to shorten the length of the heavy infantry phalanx and thicken the columns. At the same time, he let the soldiers at the back of the phalanx quickly turn back to face the incoming enemy and advance more than ten meters forward. This way, the entire formation changed from the original "one-line snake formation" to a "two-line formation", with two parallel formations protecting each other's rear.
Achetta believed that even if his troops were temporarily in a passive position, they could rely on their solid defense to repel the Mesapi people!
The Mesapi cavalry at the back had retreated to both sides. The rumbling footsteps and deafening shouts could be clearly heard from the morning mist …
When the black mass of enemies approached, the Tarantum soldiers were shocked: not only were the number of enemies astonishing, but they were also not in the attire of the Mesapi soldiers. They were holding wooden shields and spears, wearing simple helmets and breastplates.
"Sir Achetta, it's the Puchetti! It's the Puchetti!! "Upon receiving the report from the cavalry, Achetta was equally shocked: The Mesapi and the Puchetti had joined forces! For decades, the Mesapi and Puchetti, who had always harbored hatred and often clashed with each other, had actually joined forces!!
Seeing more and more Puchetti warriors rushing over, Achetta's whole body trembled. Not only was he worried about the safety of this army, but he was also worried about the situation of Tarantum …
… …
"Congratulations, King Puchetti! The Tarantum people have been surrounded by us! "Igratya's consul, Timo Grass, shouted flatteringly.
"Yes, Achetta, who has made you suffer many defeats, has been surrounded by my brave warriors. Hurry up and destroy them! Then we'll attack Brindisi! "King Tremoni of Puchetti looked happy and did not forget to taunt the Mesapi people.
However, half an hour later, the Tarantum flag in the encirclement was still standing. The Mesapi coalition forces had not made any substantial progress other than compressing the encirclement even smaller. Instead, because of the concentration of the Tarantum soldiers, their attack was met with greater resistance.
King Puchetti personally led the army and brought more than 10,000 warriors. Together with the soldiers of Igratya, their strength was more than double the number of Achetta's army.
In a situation where they had already surrounded the enemy, the battle was still so difficult.
King Puchetti, Igratya's consul, and the Puchetti generals all stared at the dust-filled battlefield with solemn expressions.
"Fight! The Tarantum people fight! Descendants of Hero Taras, don't stop waving your spears! Remember, every time you kill an enemy, your parents, your wife, and your children will be safer! " Achetta was in the center of the encirclement, galloping back and forth on his horse, dodging the arrows and javelins that were constantly flying at him while shouting angrily to boost morale.
His voice was hoarse, and his War Horse was constantly spewing hot air, but he was completely unaware of it. He knew that the odds were against him this time, but even if he died in battle, he wanted to make the enemy suffer a heavy blow and reduce the threat to his motherland.
Tarantum's formation had changed from a "two" to a circle. Under his encouragement, the light infantry in the center kept shooting arrows in their hands, ignoring the fact that their fingers were cut by the bowstrings and their arm muscles were strained. The heavy infantry stuck close to each other and worked together to resist the enemy's powerful collision. At the same time, they raised the spears in their hands and stabbed and retracted them from the top of the closely arranged shield wall. Once the spearhead broke, they would immediately pull out their swords and continue to slash … They knew that their path of survival was cut off and that they could only fight to the death, so their fighting spirit was not shaken even when their comrades kept falling around them.
… …
An hour later, King Puchetti's face was ashen because the Tarantum's flag was still standing, but his generals had asked for a pause in the attack because the soldiers were tired and the casualties were not small.
"Trash, a bunch of trash! Are you still the descendants of the heroic King of Arcadia, Lycaon? Look at the Greeks surrounded by you. They are not as tall as us, and they don't have as many people as we do. If you're still afraid, I can only replace you and let the real warriors lead my soldiers! " Tremoni scolded loudly and waved his arm, almost sweeping the spear in his hand into the face of the War Horse general.
"Respected King Puchetti, Achetta is indeed a famous general of Tarantum, and the army he leads is indeed powerful! We still need to recapture Brindisi, so we shouldn't waste too much of our troops here! "Timogeras suppressed his gloating mood and advised.
"You mean to stop fighting?" Tremoni glanced at him and said disdainfully.
"The Tarantum people are fighting to the death because they have no way to escape. If our encirclement can open up a path … "A mysterious smile appeared on Timogeras' face.
"You mean …" Tremoni was not a mediocre king. When he was young, he had led his army to war for the sake of Puchetti's strength. At this time, he was just too obsessed with victory. After Timogeras' reminder, he immediately came to his senses and looked at the Mesapi and Puchetti cavalry waiting on both sides of the battlefield. They had nearly a thousand cavalry, but because the enemy was surrounded, they had no place to fight.
"I have the same idea!" Tremoni said loudly to cover up his previous loss of composure. He urged his horse forward and pointed his spear at the Tarantum's flag in the middle of the chaotic battlefield. "Just don't let Achetta go!"
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