Chapter 516
Thus, the clumsy heavy infantry of the Cater reinforcements jostled and collided with each other, causing chaos in their formation.
However, Myron and Cypross were determined to change their formation. As the enemy approached, they could clearly see the direction of the enemy's attack. If the Cater reinforcements could not keep up with the formation of the First and Second Legions, then the flanks of the Cater reinforcements would be completely exposed to the enemy's frontal assault, and only death awaited them.
So, the two of them led a large group of guards and quickly rode to the front of the formation. They raised their spears and shouted loudly as they urged their horses forward, forcing the soldiers to change direction … …
As Phoebidas advanced, he suddenly noticed that the Dionysian Army in front of him had stopped advancing. Just as he was feeling puzzled, the left wing of the Diónia army that was originally facing him began to turn towards him … …
Phoebidas was shocked. The enemy was changing their formation?! The enemy actually dared to change their formation in the middle of a battle!!
There was a reason for Phoebidas's shock. Once the Greek heavy infantry battle began, both sides would move according to the plan, and it was difficult to make any major tactical changes. This was because, first of all, the heavily-armored heavy infantry moved clumsily, making it difficult for them to make more flexible movements. Secondly, the lack of training of the citizen soldiers also made them, who marched in dense phalanxes, not dare to make complex tactical movements, lest the formation become chaotic and make them vulnerable to attacks.
This was also one of the reasons why the Sparta warriors had the upper hand in battles. As professional soldiers, the Sparta warriors could perform tactical maneuvers that other armies could not. But even for the Sparta, they only used the characteristics of the heavy infantry to their fullest potential in large-scale battles. They rarely made any tactical changes after the battle began, just like what the Diónia army was doing. This was because Sparta was like most Greek city-states. The Sparta officers and generals who commanded the armies had to follow the tradition of the Sparta city-state and fight the enemy with the soldiers. (The king of Sparta did not have to do so. He could command from the front, but with his generals in the formation, his ability to command was greatly reduced.) Democratic city-states even required their generals to be at the front of the army, to take the lead, so that they would not be criticized in the citizens' assembly. So when the battle horn was blown and the army marched, the generals almost lost the ability to command the entire army. The army had to follow the pre-planned tactics for the battle.
The sudden change in the formation of the left wing of Diónia against the attack of the right wing of Syracuse shocked Phoebidas. Of course, he also saw the chaos in the formation of the Diónia army (mainly due to the reinforcements from Cater). This more or less made up for the disappointment of not being able to attack the enemy's flank.
"Faster! Faster!! " Phoebidas yelled as he quickened his pace. Unfortunately, his yelling could only move a small group of soldiers around him. For the huge phalanx of 25000 soldiers, it was like a stone thrown into a raging river. It did not have much effect.
The right wing of Syracuse was still advancing according to the plan, but as the soldiers advanced, the distance between it and the left wing of Diónia was rapidly closing …
The infantrymen of Syracuse who were fighting in the middle had begun to retreat. Cspit's Seventh Brigade of the First Legion and Alpines' Seventh Brigade of the Second Legion were still at the front of the phalanx. It was not only because the chessboard formation of Diónia had given them enough escape routes, but also because they wanted to slow down the right wing of Syracuse as much as possible so that the reinforcements of Cater could turn their formation around.
The approaching Syracuse army made the reinforcements of Cater nervous, but it also forced them to change their formation faster.
The infantrymen of the First and Second Legion could not stop the advance of Syracuse. They only managed to throw another round of javelins and arrows before they were forced to retreat to the back of Syracuse's formation.
The distance between the two armies was only about 60 meters. The reinforcements of Cater barely managed to turn their formation around. When Myron and Cypross rushed to the back of the phalanx, they were already sweating profusely, but they felt a lot more relaxed.
Myron sighed. "Now I know how big the gap is between Crotone's army and the Legion of Dionysia!"
Cypross, on the other hand, said with lingering fear, "Thank goodness Lord Devers had requested us to separate from the phalanx and stand at the back of the formation so that it would be easier to command. Otherwise, even if we saw the cunning movements of the Syracuse, we would not be able to change it. We would have been at a disadvantage! "
"Yes! If it wasn't for Diónia's insistence, we would not have changed our formation out of fear! "Myron sighed again.
At this time, the left flank of Diónia and the right flank of Syracuse were almost parallel, but they were almost perpendicular to the center of Diónia's advance towards the south.
The right flank of Syracuse was getting closer and closer to the left flank of Diónia. The Syracuse soldiers tightened their grip on the round shields in their hands. After crossing swords with the Diónia, the unique tactics of Diónia had left a deep impression on them.
When the Diónia soldiers on the opposite side raised the javelins in their hands, they crouched down slightly and raised the round shields over their heads. The rain of javelins covered the sky and struck the center of Syracuse's formation, splashing flowers of death. The continuous screams did not affect their determination to advance. Instead, it made them move faster, forcing the Diónia soldiers to hurriedly throw a second round of javelins, which was much less lethal.
Right now, the distance between the two armies was less than twenty meters. Even Phobidus was a bit out of breath. He could hear the hurried breathing of the soldiers around him. This wasn't only because of the physical exhaustion caused by the change from retreat to attack, the hurried formation, and the several hundred meters of running. At the same time, it was also because of the extreme excitement produced by the impending slaughter.
Through the narrow eye sockets of his helmet, Phoebidas could see the densely packed shields, spears, and armors on the opposite side. The unique dark black of the Dionysian Army was as cold as the night even during the day. He knew that the enemy was the main force of the Dionysian Army, but he was not afraid. Instead, he was excited. He believed that the Syracuse soldiers would not be afraid either, not only because they were also elites of the Syracuse army, but also because Dionysius had told every Sicilian soldier before the battle, "They can only return home smoothly if they win. Otherwise, they will be buried in a foreign land!"
Without the urging of the bugle, the Syracuse soldiers shouted, "Apollo!!" and took large strides forward. Taking large strides, they sped up and began to charge. The entire Syracuse right phalanx was like a golden mountain crushing towards the enemy.
At the same time, the Diónia soldiers roared in unison, "Hades!!!" They also began to charge, like a black tide in a storm on the sea. One wave after another, they finally converged into a huge wave, surging towards the people of Syracuse like an avalanche.
The Cist reinforcements were filled with hatred for their country. They roared angrily and turned their anger into endless power, swearing to kill all their enemies.
Tens of thousands of soldiers stomped on the ground. The ground rumbled like thunder, and the ground trembled.
With a loud bang, the battle between the Heavy Infantrymen began …
… …
"Your Majesty, the left flank is in full contact with the enemy!" Tormid reported loudly.
Devers nodded, but his eyes were focused on the front. He pointed at the enemy's formation and sneered, "The Syracuse army is advancing very slowly. It seems like Dionysius is waiting for his right flank to achieve victory!"
Tormid laughed, "But he would never have thought that the cavalry he was waiting for has been trapped by Your Majesty's amazing strategy!"
Devers was not in the mood to mock the enemy. He spoke with a serious expression, "We cannot let Dionysius have it easy! Order all units to advance and meet the enemy as soon as possible! "
Tolmid did not accept the order immediately. Instead, he reminded Roland, "Your Majesty, if our right flank moves too fast, I'm afraid that we will reach the part of the Tachinadi River that can be crossed by foot. The enemy may then send their soldiers across the Tachinadi River and attack our right flank!"
Devers had already considered this question. He immediately replied, "Looking at the current situation, Dionysius has invested enough forces in Syracuse's right flank. His main attack is on our left flank. I don't think Dionysius can spare enough troops to attack our right flank. Plus, I have enough reserves to deal with his roundabout attack. " Indeed, behind Devers, there were 2000 light armored soldiers from each corps and 1000 scouts from Y 'zam's Mountain Ridge. A total of 3000 soldiers had not been used yet.
"I understand, Your Majesty." Tormid turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait!" Devers stopped him again, "Go tell the corps commanders that Capus has gained the upper hand against the Syracuse cavalry. The rest is up to them!"
Tormid smiled. He understood Devers's intention. The spear brigade that was formed less than ten days ago had achieved an impressive result. How could the other corps fall behind?
Comments