Chapter 450
"That's right, besiege them! Then lead the rest of the troops to cross the Netto River and head straight for Crimissa! " Phoebidas looked at Dionysius and gave his suggestion, "Now that the main force of Diónia is still in Lucania City, and Tarantum has just recaptured Metapontum, the people of Diónia will definitely strengthen their defense in the north. There are still two remnants of Diónia's … uh … whatever Legion of Diónia in the city of Asprustum. I think the territory of Diónia is already very empty! I heard that Crimissa is just a small city. I think it won't be too difficult for Syracuse to take it down.
After taking down Crimissa, the army will continue to the north and take down another small city, Castellón. Then, they can go straight to the city of Turií and surround Turií with Tarantum! At that time, Diónia will surrender, and it will be useless for the people of Crotone to hold on to this city. The whole of Greece will definitely be conquered by Syracuse! " At this point, even Phoebidas was shocked by the prospect he described. He could not help but sigh in his heart. In this way, the entire Western Mediterranean will really be under Syracuse's control. Which city-state can control it?
Everyone's eyes lit up at Phoebidas's words. Dionysius was also a little tempted, but he knew two things that others did not know. First, the Devers' army had won a great victory in Lucania. It was said that they had wiped out more than 20,000 Samonians. Based on his understanding, the Samonians would not easily admit defeat, but the main force of Diónia had returned to Turií much earlier than expected (he had not received the news that the Samonians had been defeated). Second, a new Diónia Legion was stationed in the city of Crimissa. Dionysius had already seen the power of the Legion of Dionysia on the battlefield. Although he did not know how good they were at defending the city, it would not be too bad. In this way, the number of people defending the city of Crimissa would not be less than 10,000. It would not be so easy to take it down.
More importantly, the city of Crimissa was originally a key target of Syracuse's intelligence department. In the past, this area was the most unstable place in Diónia apart from the Bruti region. Before the war, the head of intelligence of Syracuse, Hipparinus, had sent many of his men to this city. A few months ago, the "protest of the people of Crimissa, the request for a citizen's assembly, and the subsequent assassination of the Devers" were all their handiwork. After the incident was exposed, under the extensive investigation of Diónia, some were arrested, and some went into hiding. When the war broke out, especially after the victory of the Battle of Ramato River, Crimissa's spy activities began to be active again.
Dionysius also constantly received the latest information in Diónia from Crimissa. For example, Turií had established two new legions, and Diónia's fleet was undergoing secret training at the Crati River. They also sent out a message: As long as the army of Syracuse arrived in Crimissa, they would open the gate for the army.
This was a great surprise to Dionysius. However, since the new legion of Diónia was stationed in Crimissa, the news from the north was suddenly cut off yesterday afternoon. Not only was the city of Crimissa under martial law, but the port was also closed.
Dionysius knew that such a decisive move by Crimissa would inevitably lead to the failure of the intelligence department's efforts. This made him a little worried. He was a man who liked careful planning and meticulous preparation before taking action. Whether it was attacking west along the southern coastline in Sicily to Motia, or north along the eastern coastline and then west to Sorus, his strategy had always been gradual, and there were almost no bold and rash actions.
This series of rapid maneuvers after landing in Greece this time was also because he had a strong command of the sea and a larger army than the other side. Even so, when he and the Southern Italian coalition forces met, the news that the Lijim people suddenly besieged Medma had shocked him. Fortunately, he had basically won the battle, and Locke's tens of thousands of troops were not far from Medma, so he was calm.
Now, in order to attack Diónia, apart from the few thousand soldiers stationed in Medma, Triene, and Siletina respectively, he had concentrated most of his forces here. If he followed Phoebidas's plan, to trap the two cities of Tarantum and Asplustom, which had a large number of enemy troops, he would probably need to leave more than half of his total forces here. Even if he could take down Crimissa and Castellón, the city of Turií would not be so easy to attack. According to what he knew, after Polyxis and the others were arrested, the city of Turií was already a solid block, unlike when Crotone first attacked Turií. Moreover, the main forces of Diónia could return at any time.
In this way, once Syracuse's attack was blocked, they would have to divide their forces everywhere, leaving the rear empty. As time went by, any one of Medma, Triene, Asplustom, Crotone, or Turií would be a disaster for him. That was why he was somewhat resistant to Phoebidas's seemingly good suggestion.
At this time, seeing that Dionysius had been silent, Fasipesas said, "My lord, I don't agree with General Phoebidas's words! Moria, the most important military city of Carthage in Sicily, is even across the bay. If we can capture it, then we can't even imagine the other cities that we have captured in Sicily. Although Ciudad Crotone is a bit larger, it is actually far less difficult to attack than Moria. Moreover, the city is too big, which is not conducive to their defense. It is also located on a plain, which is more convenient for us to besiege. My lord, you see — "
Fasipesas rode closer to the city wall. Seeing that Dionysius was following closely, he pointed to the city wall a hundred meters away and continued, "Its city wall is still old. The gaps between the stones should be relatively large, and the mortar is not packed tightly enough. Moreover, the stones look old, and it seems that they have not been repaired often. Some places may even have loosened. This is not comparable to the cities we have captured in Sicily (Because of the frequent wars between Carthage and Syracuse in Sicily, and these two large states have very strong siege capabilities, the other city-states are very diligent in repairing the city walls in order to save their lives. Unlike in Great Greece, where siege battles are rare, and the city walls are still maintained according to the defensive siege methods decades ago). As long as our ballistae continue to bombard, it will definitely collapse! Moreover, we have sufficient manpower now. We can completely build earth ramparts and approach the city walls. At the same time, we can build siege towers and siege hammers to destroy their city walls and occupy their city walls … By using various methods together, we will definitely be able to break through Ciudad Crotone and open the way into the territory of Diónia! "
Dionysius's heart was moved when he heard this. He carefully observed the city wall in front of him, and his expression became more and more relaxed. Then, he turned his head and asked, "Phoebidas, what do you think of this siege plan?
Phoebidas's expression did not change, and he said stubbornly, "I still insist on my opinion. We don't need to waste time under Ciudad Crotone. If Diónia is conquered, Crotone will naturally surrender."
"My lord, you don't need to discuss with the people of Sparta how to siege the city. They even besieged Pratia for more than two years before they could take it down with only a few hundred people defending it. What good suggestions can they have!" Astagras sneered.
Phoebidas's expression changed.
In the fifth year after the outbreak of the Peloponnesus War, the coalition forces led by Sparta were unable to break through the long wall and break into Athens. They had no choice but to turn and attack the ally of Athens, Pratia in the Pioscia region. Seeing that the situation was not good, the people of Pratia evacuated a large number of people, leaving only a few hundred people to defend the city.
As a result, it took the coalition forces of Sparta more than ten times the number of soldiers defending the city of Pratia for more than two years to take down the city. In the end, the people of Sparta killed the soldiers defending the city and handed the city of Pratia to its ally at that time, the Thebes. The key was the most important battle in the Greco-Persian War a few decades ago – the Battle of Pratia. The Greek coalition forces with the full support of the people of Pratia finally defeated the invading army of Persia. After the victory, the king of Sparta, Pausanias, once led the Greek coalition forces to make a vow: to protect the independence and freedom of Pratia together forever!
Therefore, when Pratia was destroyed and the people of Sparta personally violated their vow, it immediately caused an uproar in the entire Greek world, forcing the people of Sparta to discuss this matter. The Elder Council had no choice but to send a censor to question the king of Sparta who was away on an expedition … Therefore, Phoebidas, who was still a child, had a deep impression of this. It could be said that Astagras was tearing open the scars of Sparta.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Dionysius glared at Astagras, then said to the seemingly angry Phoebidas, "No city-state dares to start a war with Sparta. However, in terms of attacking a city, I, Syracuse, do have more experience. I've decided to take down Ciudad Crotone first! "
Phoebidas snorted and no longer said anything.
After saying the polite words, Dionysius was too lazy to care about the mood of the people of Sparta anymore. He said to everyone in a deep voice, "Fasipesas, Astagras, organize all the siege technicians, craftsmen, and soldiers to start building siege equipment and building earth embankments. Think of ways to measure the thickness of the city walls … Prepare for all the siege!"
"Yes, sir!" The two generals replied in excitement.
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