Chapter 42
The heavy infantry could not catch up to the lightly armed archers, not to mention the faster cavalry. The charge of the heavily armed infantry could not last long either. When they stopped to rest, the Persia's archers would start firing again.
The Greek heavy infantry hid behind their round shields, which greatly reduced the chances of getting injured. But it was not to say that they were not injured at all. Their arms and thighs were not protected, and their thick linen armor could prevent arrows from piercing through, but it could not prevent some flesh wounds.
If they could not get close to the enemy, they would not be able to unleash their full potential. They could only stand there and take the arrows. Creano did not dare to send light infantry, because the range of the javelins was not as far as the archers, and their protection was not as strong as the heavy infantry, which would increase the number of casualties.
At this moment, Timason sent two hundred Cretan archers as reinforcements.
Creano, who had high hopes for them, was soon disappointed. The archers of Crete, who were famous for their archery in the Greek city-states, did not have the range of the archers of the Persia, who dominated the Mediterranean Sea. Instead, in order to shorten the range, they left the protection of the heavy infantry and caused more than a dozen casualties …
… …
At this moment, the entire mercenary team stopped moving. The leaders were all thinking of a solution.
The Devers were also anxiously listening to the reports from the messengers on the left. At this moment, Tormid rode over. "Leader Devers, Chalisopus wants you to send a team to take a detour, avoid the enemy's detection, and attack them from behind."
The Devers thought for a while and understood Chalisopus's plan. He looked at Felicius, who nodded at him.
"Asistes, quickly inform Capus to come over!" The Devers ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
Felicius thought that the Devers would discuss with him who to send, but he did not expect him to make the decision immediately, and to send the most suitable person. It seemed that Felicius's request for guidance was not just for show. This young leader was really a quick learner.
… …
When Capus set off with the heavy infantry platoon, Hieronymus also sent out heavy infantry platoon. They tried to circle behind the Persia, then cooperate with Creano to surround and annihilate them.
However, the experienced Altauzus was already prepared. The two wings of the Goose Formation were made up of Persian cavalry archers that were spread out. At the same time, they were also used as scouts. Very quickly, they discovered the abnormality and quickly retreated, causing the mercenaries' plan to fail.
When the steady Capus saw that his plan had failed, he immediately retreated. On the other hand, the leader of the Hieronymus army was Xenophon, who had taken the initiative to fight. Xenophon was unwilling to give up and continued to pursue the Persians. As a result, not only did he fail to injure a single Persian, he even injured a dozen of them. If it weren't for the fact that the Altauzus army had run out of arrows, Xenophon's squadron would have suffered far more losses. If Artauzus had not of arrows, Xenophon's Platoon would have suffered.
Without Artauzus bothering them, the Greek army sped up and finally arrived at the villages that the guide had mentioned before sunset. Although most of the villagers had escaped, it still lifted the spirits of the exhausted soldiers. The Devers no longer had the mood to stop the soldiers from robbing. He only suggested that Merces try to capture as many Persia slaves as possible, promising them freedom in exchange for their sincere help. Then, they rushed to the commander's tent.
Before they entered the tent, they heard Creano complaining, "These Persia are like flies. We can't hit them or chase them away. We don't have enough cavalry. There's nothing we can do about them!"
The Devers and Felicius walked into the tent. Everyone nodded at them. Compared to yesterday's estrangement, they were much more proactive today. Obviously, the Devers's performance had won everyone's approval. However, they were worried about Artauzus's attack and did not have the mood to express their enthusiasm.
"What should we do if the Persia attack us the same way tomorrow?" Creano asked worriedly. He had suffered the most casualties today.
"What's more worrying is that if we can't quickly find a way to repel the Persia, the Persia will definitely think that this method of attack is the most effective against us. Not only will they continue to use this method, but the next time they come, it won't just be a few hundred, but thousands of cavalry archers and archers! I think that will be a disaster for us! "Xenophon said with a heavy heart. He had suffered a lot today.
The other leaders also had grave expressions. They had won the battle against the king of Persia easily, and Tisafniss's patience had made them believe in their strength. However, today, a small Persia army made up of archers and cavalry archers had caused the heavy infantry they were so proud of to suffer. They suddenly realized the weakness of their army.
"We need to have the same range as the Persia, or a longer range …" Charlesoops said word by word.
"Rhode Island's catapults!" Xenophon suddenly shouted.
The Devers's eyebrows twitched. He had heard from Antonius that the Rhode Islanders of the Greek city-states were good at catapults. They could throw stones as far as four to five hundred meters, and their accuracy was extremely high within a hundred meters. Therefore, the city-states in the Mediterranean liked to hire Rhode Island's catapults as an important auxiliary force in their armies.
The reason why the Devers were familiar with the name Rhode Island was not only because of the catapults, but also because one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World", the Colossus of the Sun God of Rhode Island, was built on this island. However, it seemed to have been built after Alexander the Great.
The Devers thought, In fact, in terms of military, the Greek city-states have many unique and elite troops, such as the Cretan archers, Thessaly cavalry, Rhode Island's catapults, Sparta's heavy infantry, Athens' navy … If Greece was unified and these troops were united, they would definitely be able to dominate the Mediterranean! It was a pity that the freedom-loving Greeks had always been in a state of disunity. The last country, Athens, who had tried to do so, had already been defeated. As for the current Greek hegemon, Sparta, even without looking at the ending of history, just based on its extremely conservative political system, it was impossible …
As the Devers sighed in their hearts, Tomasso said regretfully, "It's a pity that we don't have Rhode Island's catapults!"
"But we have Rhode Islanders!" Xenophon said excitedly. "Everyone, catapults are a skill that the Rhode Islanders have practiced since they were young. They make a living from it, just like the Cretans make a living from archery! When we recruited mercenaries in Aeolia, many Rhode Islanders joined us. It was only because of the generosity of Little Cyrus, who prepared a large number of weapons and equipment that they abandoned their catapults and picked up round shields and spears that they could only afford with a large sum of money. Now it's time for them to pick up their catapults again! "
"Xenophon is right. We should immediately gather them and form a catapult to fight against the Persia's archers," Creano said immediately.
Everyone expressed their agreement.
Chrysops nodded and said, "Then let's do it immediately. We have a lot of sheep, we can slaughter some of them and use their intestines to make catapults. "
"In addition, we also need cavalry. Otherwise, when the Persia retreats, we won't be able to catch up with them. I suggest that the battalions gather the extra pack horses and select soldiers who are good at riding to form a cavalry team, "Zantiparis said.
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
…
In the face of a crisis, the leaders all united and quickly came to an agreement.
The entire army immediately moved into action. Soon, more than 300 Rhode Islanders who were good at catapults were organized. More than 50 pack horses were also gathered. Most of the selected cavalry came from the Devers' camp. After all, most of the soldiers in their camp were Thessaly's men.
When Xenophon recommended Lysius from Athens to be the leader of the cavalry team, the Devers expressed his objection. He felt that Ledes from Thessaly's camp (recommended by Felicius) was more suitable.
Since most of the cavalry were Thessaly's men, the leaders finally expressed their agreement.
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