Chapter 44
"You mean …" Zantiparis asked thoughtfully, "Once we pass through the canyon, we'll spread out our formation and fight the pursuing Persia."
"Also, the canyon isn't wide. It'll slow down their retreat and make it easier for us to catch up to them. The more Persia there are in pursuit, the slower their retreat will be, and the more we'll be able to kill them! "Timason said excitedly.
"But the Persia aren't fools. Seeing that we're prepared, why would they take the risk to pass through the canyon?" Xenophon's question stunned everyone.
"That's why we won't attack near the mouth of the valley. Whenever the Persians catch up to us, that's when we'll attack!" Kelisthorpes said confidently. We'll lure them into chasing us! "
"That's right! Anyway, the Persia won't dare to fight us head-on. We also have the catapults and cavalry. We'll definitely be able to give the Persia a surprise! At that time, the entire army will attack together and drive them to the entrance of the canyon. The narrowness of the entrance will slow down their retreat, and it'll be beneficial for us to catch up to them! … "
Everyone chimed in one after another and quickly perfected the plan.
At this moment, someone suddenly said, "Why don't we set up an ambush at the canyon and seal it off after the enemy passes through?"
Everyone was stunned and turned around abruptly. It was the Devers who had been sitting in the corner and listening to them attentively.
"… You want to wipe them all out?!" Kelisthorpes looked at the Devers and tried his best to suppress the shock in his heart as he spoke slowly.
The Devers stretched out his left hand and clenched it into a fist. He waved it forcefully. "Of course! We just need to defeat them. After they escape and recuperate, they'll still come and attack us. Only by surrounding and annihilating them can we give the Persia the greatest deterrent! "
The Greeks adored strength, and were fond of frontal assaults, which was aggravated by the fact that their armies were composed chiefly of heavy infantry. Even Sparta, who was the best at fighting, was the same. The Battle of Marathon, the Battle of Plataea … Leaving aside the fact that the Greeks won these major battles head-on, even the countless smaller battles were rarely seen. Outflanking, ambushing, ambushing, ambushing, ambushing, and annihilating … These military terms that even the most ordinary people of the later generations were familiar with. They seemed simple, but in the military history of the Greek city-states in this era, where heavy infantry was the main fighting force, these terms were almost a blank slate. Of course, similar battles would occasionally occur, but very few people would pay attention to them and summarize them. Hundreds of years later, Carthage's commander, Hannibal, killed half of the men in Rome, forcing Rome, the hegemon of the Mediterranean, to learn from their enemies. Finally, the classical Western military tactics reached a new level.
Devers, whose soul came from the later generations, was certainly not limited by the limitations of this era. Although his military experience was still very young, his military thinking was two thousand years ahead. At this moment, he was thinking of a sentence that the ancestors of the later generations often said: It is better to break one than to injure ten fingers.
Kelley Thopes calmly looked at this young man with a tender face, but he was shocked by his spirit and vision. He admitted that Devers's proposal was very tempting and feasible, but he still asked cautiously, "There is a dense forest not far from here in the valley, but if you have too many soldiers lying in ambush, it is easy to be discovered by the Persia cavalry. If you have too few soldiers, what if the Persia come in with too many soldiers? How can you stop them from retreating? Besides, what if the Persia don't come tomorrow? You know, they didn't come today. "
Devers had already thought about this. He replied seriously, "There is no perfect plan in the world. Any military action has risks, so we have to consider all possibilities as much as possible. First of all, I want to ask you, Kelisthorpes, how far is this forest from the mouth of the valley? "
"About three miles," Kelisthorpes blurted out, as if the terrain was imprinted in his mind. This made Devers admire him very much. Surveying the terrain was a necessary skill for a qualified commander, and he still had to learn it well!
At the same time, Kelisthorpes's words relieved his biggest worry about this plan. He analyzed confidently, "According to what we said before, the whole army will set off before dawn, so when the hidden troops arrive in the forest, the enemy's cavalry should still be asleep. We only need to ambush three or four hundred soldiers, and the possibility of being discovered is very small. Secondly, if there are a lot of Persia pursuing us, the troops responsible for the ambush don't have to kill them all. They just need to open a gap at the interception point, let the Persia escape, and then intercept them. The Persia are focused on escaping, and it is impossible for them to have time to organize a resistance. In this way, although we can't kill all the enemies, the results will not be too bad! "
Sun Tzu, the military strategist who was the first to theorize ancient warfare and raise it to a strategic level, should have lived in the same era! An inexplicable sense of pride rose in Devers's heart, and this made him feel more at ease. "As for the Persia, there is no need to worry. After noon, if the enemy still hasn't appeared, the ambush troops can take the initiative to withdraw. They don't have supplies, so they will move faster. Our main force will be at the mouth of the valley, so there will be no big problem … "
Devers' careful thinking finally conquered the leaders present, and they all agreed with Devers's suggestion: add an ambush troop.
Kelisthorpes, who had always disliked Devers because of his young age, could not help but cherish his talent. The way the people of Sparta cherished the younger generation was different. "Devers, are you willing to lead this ambush troop?"
Devers was stunned. In Kelisthorpes' eyes, he saw trust and expectation. He carefully thought about it, and in spite of Felicius's obstruction, he faced the complicated gazes of the people and nodded heavily. "I can!"
… …
The next day, before dawn, the Greeks were urged to wake up by the bugle. They packed their luggage, packed their equipment, and set off with sleepy eyes.
When they reached the mouth of the valley, there was only a glimmer of light in the sky.
Devers led three heavy infantry platoons and one light shield platoon to separate from the main force. The leaders all gave their blessings.
"Zeus will be with you!" These were Kelisthorpes' words.
"May Ares give you strength!" These were Timason's words.
"May Athens give you luck!" These were Xenophon's words.
…
In order to fight with Persia with all their strength, the whole army was united.
"Take care, leader! Come back safely! "Felicius said solemnly.
"Don't worry, Felicius, we will take care of the leader!" Antonio interrupted.
"You take care too!" Devers said, and gave Felicius a strong hug. Then, under the respectful gazes of the soldiers and officers who stayed behind, he led the troops along the foot of the mountain and hurried to the forest on the left …
… …
In fact, Altauzus moved earlier than the day before because his troops had grown larger. There were about 4,500 archers and 1,500 cavalry archers. This boosted his confidence and made him eager to defeat the Greek army as soon as possible so that he could get the position of adjutant promised by Tissavonis as soon as possible.
The scouts reported that the Greeks had already broken camp and passed through the valley. They were about 20 miles away from the Persia army.
He took it for granted that the Greeks were moving so fast to avoid his attack. But when he thought of the vow he had made in Tisaphnis, he could not help but feel a little anxious. He could not let them get far, he had to defeat them today!
Thus, he urged his troops to speed up. When they passed through the valley, he did not stop because the scouts told him that the Greeks were about five to six miles away from the exit of the valley.
… …
"The Persia have entered the valley, leader Devers!" Asistes ran back into the forest and reported to the Devers.
"How many people are there?" Antonius asked.
"Their troops are very long. I'm afraid there are at least a few thousand of them!" Asistes said, panting heavily.
"We've really caught a big fish!" Amyntas whistled softly.
"Then immediately execute the second plan we discussed last night." Although the Devers were nervous, they controlled their facial expressions well.
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