Chapter 519
However, Ledes, who had regained his senses, ignored the danger and immediately held his spear and urged his horse to engage the enemy cavalry that was charging from the south. At the same time, he shouted, "Brothers of the cavalry, hold on! Don't let the enemy escape from us! "
With Ledes taking the lead, even though the Diónia cavalry was being attacked from two sides, they did not lose their fighting spirit and fought back vigorously.
The Sicilian Alliance cavalry, Numibian cavalry, and Diónia cavalry clashed together. The battle was intense.
Capus had already expected such a situation before the battle and had already made arrangements. Therefore, he did not hesitate to send out the 500 light armored soldiers that he had kept by his side as reserves.
The light armored soldiers with leather shields and leather armor quickly rushed to the left side of the spear phalanx and immediately launched a fierce attack on the Syracuse cavalry. This time, it was the Syracuse cavalry's turn to be attacked from two sides.
Astagras did not want to be outdone and called on his cavalry to fight bravely.
The four troops were locked in a fierce battle. It became the most tragic area of the battlefield.
In the end, the Numibians in the inner area were the first to give up. They saw that the battlefield behind them had become less crowded due to the withdrawal of their Numibian comrades from the center. At the same time, the soldiers of the spear phalanx were constantly stabbing their tribesmen off their horses. Therefore, their fighting spirit began to wane and they turned to flee.
The situation of the Sicilian Alliance cavalry became even more difficult. Seeing that the situation was not good, Astagras wanted to retreat, but the Diónia cavalry and light armored soldiers refused to let go. In the end, only about 300 Sicilian Alliance cavalry managed to escape.
The Celtic Alliance cavalry was almost completely annihilated in the phalanx phalanx. Their leader, Garba, was also killed in battle. Their resistance bought some time for the Numibians.
Nearly a thousand Numibian cavalrymen managed to escape contact with the spear phalanx. These tribes from the Afrika Desert were usually arrogant, but this time, they were obviously scared out of their wits. Even though there were more than 600 Diónia cavalrymen on the right side of the spear phalanx, they did not dare to turn back to fight or throw their javelins. Instead, they fled towards the south in panic, including their leader, Akhilita, who fled at the front.
As soon as the battle on the left side was over, Ledes fell from his War Horse, startling his men and causing them to rush to his aid. Ledes was covered in blood, and his body was injured in many places, especially his left leg, which had been pierced by a spear. There was a wound the size of a date palm, and blood kept flowing out.
The guards hurriedly bandaged his wounds, but he called out weakly, "Quick … Call Kucius … Call Kucius."
Kucius, who was once a young and energetic cavalryman, who was now an experienced cavalryman, immediately rushed to Ledes' side when he heard the summons from the Legion Commander.
"I order … I order you to lead the rest of the cavalrymen (the Diónia cavalrymen fighting on the left side of the phalanx phalanx) and continue to pursue … pursue the enemy, don't give them … any chance to breathe."
"Yes!" Kucius gave a strong military salute, turned around and was about to leave, but stopped and said with concern, "Legion Commander, rest well and wait for my good news!"
Ledes waved his hand impatiently, "Go … Go …"
Kucius mounted his horse and shouted, "Brothers, follow me to kill the enemy!"
Although the remaining 400 cavalrymen were tired, victory had given them new strength. They shouted in unison and followed Kucius to pursue the fleeing Syracuse cavalrymen.
… …
"Captain Lian, we won! We repelled the enemy's cavalrymen! " The cheers of the soldiers rang in his ears. Tapirus looked at the blurry figures of the enemy fleeing in front of him and felt relieved. He felt his arms that were holding the spears were sore, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. It was very uncomfortable, but he knew that this was not the time to relax. According to the pre-war deployment, there was still a battle to be fought.
"Regroup! Everyone regroup! " Just as he was calling out to his soldiers, a loud bugle sounded, stopping the excited spearmen who were about to give chase.
The messengers galloped to the front and back of the phalanx, calling for the senior officers to regroup.
At this time, Capus had already rushed to Ledes' side to check on his injury.
"Don't worry … I won't die." Ledes tried his best to squeeze out a smile, but the tremors when the guards lifted him onto the stretcher made him frown and show a pained expression.
"Be gentle! Be gentle! "Capus shouted in dissatisfaction.
"Capus." Ledes' face was pale. At this moment, he did not call his old comrade's position. He said softly, "We cavalrymen … have completed our mission … You can rest assured that Syracuse's cavalrymen will not come again … The rest is up to you …"
Capus nodded solemnly, mounted his horse, and gave him a military salute. "Rest well. Victory belongs to Diónia!"
… …
The spearmen finally regrouped. This time, the front line was not facing the south, but directly facing the rear of Syracuse's right flank, which was a hundred meters away.
Capus ordered the soldiers with broken spears to retreat from the battle, so the phalanx only had about 4,000 soldiers left. At this time, the company under Tapirus' command had only about 170 people left, and 112 of them still had their spears intact.
"Woo!" The bugle for the attack was quickly blown, and the military flag was waved, pointing to the front.
Tapirus and the other team officers roared, "Advance!"
The soldiers moved forward steadily, the victory had given them enough confidence. This time, their opponents would be heavy infantry.
On the left side of the spear phalanx were two thousand light armoured soldiers. They would do their best to protect the spear phalanx's biggest weakness — the flanks.
As the battle continued, the number of wounded increased, and the reinforcements could no longer hold the enemy off like they did at the beginning. The thick formation of the Syracusans began to show their might, and the forward pressure they exerted on the reinforcements was getting more and more strenuous, forcing them to retreat to relieve the pressure. But being forced to retreat, they could not control the rhythm of the advance and retreat like the First and Second Legions of Diónia, and as a result, the pressure they had to bear increased.
Under the shouts of Myron and Cypross, the soldiers relied on their courage to hold on …
At this moment, in front of them — the right side of Syracuse's right flank, a loud bugle suddenly sounded.
Myron and Cypross asked each other doubtfully, "Is that Diónia's bugle?"
Antonios, who was a few hundred meters away, could accurately determine that it was Diónia's bugle. Knowing the Devers' battle plan, he knew that the spear phalanx must have repelled the cavalry of Syracuse, and was preparing to attack the rear of Syracuse's right flank. His spirits were lifted.
Following that, the bugle for the First Legion's attack was blown.
Next, the Second Legion's commander, Amyntas, rode his horse to the rear of his legion, and shouted, "Brothers, attack! Attack! It's time to let the people of Syracuse know how powerful we are! … "
In fact, the spear phalanx's attack could not cover the entire rear of Syracuse's right flank, and could only help the reinforcements. However, the First and Second Legions' attack could restrain the enemies in front of them, preventing them from sending too many soldiers to stop the spear phalanx.
"Enemy! The enemy is attacking from the rear! " The soldiers at the far right of Syracuse's right flank heard the bugle, and then heard the roar from behind them. They all looked back and panicked. The team officers hurriedly organized them to turn around and fight.
Just when the right flank of Syracuse's right flank was in chaos, the soldiers of Diónia's spear phalanx began to move faster, and the spears that were originally erected began to be leveled. The first row, the second row, the third row, the fourth row, the fifth row … forming a dense spear wall in front of the phalanx.
"Apollo above, these spears are too long!" The Syracuse soldiers watched in horror as the enemy stopped three meters away from them. Countless trembling spears pierced into their bodies, but their spears could not even touch the enemy. This was the first time the Syracuse soldiers encountered such a situation, and they panicked.
"Shield wall! Raise the shield wall! " Some of the Syracuse officers shouted in panic. In such a chaotic situation, the Syracuse phalanx did not have a unified command, nor did they have the means to deal with emergencies.
The pressure on the reinforcements was greatly reduced.
Myron and Cypross would not let go of such a golden opportunity, and immediately gave the order to charge. The soldiers of Syracuse once again charged at the enemies that burned their homes with a vengeance.
The Syracuse soldiers at the front of the phalanx could hear the shouts of their comrades behind them, but they could not feel their support. They could not help but think, 'What happened? Are we surrounded? Are they trying to escape? ' …
Their morale was declining, and they could no longer focus on the battle.
… …
"Your Majesty, the spear phalanx led by Capus has defeated the Syracuse cavalry, and is now attacking the right flank of Syracuse!" Tormid reported excitedly to the Devers.
The Devers let out a long sigh, and the tension in his heart was finally relieved. He calmed down a little, and immediately gave another order, "Tormid, inform Lizzam immediately. Let him lead the reconnaissance unit and the two thousand light armoured soldiers to cross the Tachinadi River, and attack the left flank of Syracuse!"
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