Chapter 520
The Devers saw his confusion and explained, "Capus has completed his plan. Our left flank is safe, and victory is only a matter of time. However, I didn't expect Matonis and Olivers's army to do so well. They pushed the right flank so far. It's obvious that the enemy's left flank is weak. Now that I'm adding more pressure to Syracuse's left flank, do you think they won't retreat?!
"I'll inform Y 'zam now. I'm afraid he can't wait any longer." Tormid, who understood the Devers' plan, rode to the reserve troops at the rear.
… …
At this time, Dionysius, who had learned that the cavalry had been repelled and the right flank had been attacked, was in a panic. He did not expect that the news of the victory on the right flank would turn out to be like this.
"Find Astagras immediately and ask him to reorganize the cavalry. We'll attack Diónia immediately. Otherwise, he and his family will be reunited in the Underworld!" Dionysius roared tyrannically.
The messenger quickly rode to the rear to find Astagras.
"Sir, an urgent report from Syracuse!" The attendant rushed over and reported anxiously.
"If there's anything, we can talk after the battle. I don't have time now!" Dionysius glared at him in annoyance. The attendant was so frightened that he shut his mouth in fear.
Suddenly, another scout rushed over and reported, "Sir, a few thousand Diónia soldiers have crossed the Tachinadi River. They're circling the left flank!"
What?! Dionysius was completely panicked when he heard the news.
… …
"You're saying you saw an empty camp?!" Hilos asked uncertainly after hearing the scout's report.
"Yes, General. A few of my men and I have already approached the wooden fence of Syracuse's main camp. There's no movement inside. " After listening to the words of the squad leader, Xilos fell into deep thought. According to previous reports, Syracuse had an army of seventy to eighty thousand soldiers. If so many soldiers weren't in the main camp, where could they be? The answer was obvious. His Majesty Devers must have led reinforcements to Crotone! It was impossible for the people of Syracuse to give up their camp and retreat to Sirius. Otherwise, their scouts would have seen the army led by His Majesty Dyvers. Therefore, the biggest possibility was that the people of Syracuse were engaged in a battle with Dionia!
Hilos' heart raced when he heard the shocking answer. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. After a moment of thought, he gave the order, "Order the entire army to stop building camps. Equip your armor and pick up your spears and shields. Line up and march towards Crotone!"
Adjutant Hepcitus immediately gasped when he heard the order, "You're saying … we're marching towards Crotone right now?!" It was no wonder he was nervous. Syracuse's main army was stationed in Crotone. Hilos would not dare to venture deep into Syracuse's army alone. Once Syracuse's main army arrived from the north, the Syracuse's army would block the way from the south. Their army would be dead without a doubt.
"I'm sure His Majesty is currently in a battle with Syracuse. We must hurry over and help His Majesty win this battle that will decide the life and death of Diónia!" Hilos said firmly.
Although Hepcitus had only worked with Xilos in Cosenza for a few months, the two of them had a rather harmonious relationship when it came to political affairs. He knew that Xilos was a steady person and was not a rash person.
This time, Hilos stepped down as the chief executive of Cosenza and was replaced by Sedorum. At the same time, he was also the war-time governor of the Bruti region. With Sedorum's understanding of the Bruti region, he did not need Hepcitus' help at all. He might even think that Hepcitus was a hindrance in Cosenza. After all, the reason why Diónia started the war to conquer the Bruti region was due to the rebellion of the Syracuse tribe. Who knew if Sedorum would hold a grudge against them? Therefore, Hepcitus used the excuse of recruiting soldiers and managing the Bruti Warriors for Hilos as an excuse to request from Hilos. In the end, he became the adjutant of this temporary army.
Now that Hilos had made a rational decision, the only thing Hepcitus could do was to obey and appease the Bruti Warriors.
Not long after the order was passed down, the general of the Triene army, Blomalas, who had already met up with this army, hurried over. He was convinced by Hilos's words. "If we win this battle, Triene City will return to us easily without needing to be attacked. If we lose this battle, even if we recapture Triene today, Syracuse's army will recapture it tomorrow. The whole of Greece will be in danger! "
… …
After two hours of battle, Syracuse's left and right flanks were in dire straits. The right flank was pincered by the Pike Brigade and Kett's reinforcements, and had suffered heavy losses. If not for the lack of coordination between the Pike Brigade and the Kett Army, they would not have been able to spread out. Syracuse's right flank was sturdy enough, and some of the experienced soldiers took the initiative to separate from the middle and left flank to block the Pike Brigade's further westward advance. If not for that, the right flank would have collapsed.
On the other hand, the soldiers on the left flank were far inferior to the elites on the right flank. They were able to maintain their morale even when the flank was being attacked. Although the attacks of the light armoured soldiers were not as powerful as the Pike Brigade, Dionysius's military reforms had only just begun. The drawbacks of the Pike Brigade and the Kett Brigade had not been paid enough attention to. Once the battle began, not only were the middle and lower ranking officers and even the high-ranking officers lost control of their troops. Furthermore, the left flank's formation was complicated. Once the flank and rear were attacked, they would not be able to command the soldiers at the rear to turn around and intercept the enemy.
Dionysius, who had more troops, could have prevented such a situation from happening. However, he was still bound by the Greek military tradition and did not have the consciousness to keep the reserve troops. Furthermore, he wanted to crush Dionysia in one fell swoop and obtain victory in this battle. Therefore, he had sent all his troops into battle right from the start. Now, it was too late for him to mobilize troops from the main camp to defend against the Dionysian army that was attacking the left flank.
The chaos at the left flank and rear of the left flank quickly spread to the soldiers fighting at the front. These Greek soldiers were not very spirited to begin with. At first, they could only vaguely hear the battle cries coming from the rear. As the cries grew louder and louder, and the support from the rear weakened or even disappeared, they began to panic. Coupled with the ferocious attack of the enemy, fear took over them in an instant, prompting them to turn around and flee. They did not even hesitate to push down their teammates at the rear. When one, two, three soldiers ran away one after another, the panic would spread like a plague. Soon, the entire left flank could not hold on any longer and began to retreat.
When the news reached Dionysius, his face was ashen. There was nothing he could do about this battle. He had even sent the guards around him to support the left flank. However, he had lost the gamble. He had lost to the new king of Diónia, whom he valued and despised at the same time.
No matter how unwilling he was, Dionysius knew that he had to admit this fact and make a decision quickly.
"Retreat …" He spat out the word with difficulty. He immediately turned his horse around and rode back.
Fortunately, the attendant was right beside him. Otherwise, he would not have heard what he said.
"My lord, this …" The attendant was equally unwilling and hopeful, so he instinctively tried to persuade him.
In the past, if someone dared to question his decision, Dionysius would either reprimand them or take note of it and settle the score later. However, he was not in the mood to do so now. He was thinking about how to minimize the loss of Syracuse's army as much as possible after the defeat of the left flank. The defeat of the left flank might cause the Diónia to block the Tachinadi River and cut off the retreat route of the army of Syracuse. He had ordered the army to retreat to the camp on the west bank of the Tachinadi River as soon as possible. In order to lure the army of Diónia to cross the river, he had ordered the camp on the east bank of the Tachinadi River, which was located in the core area of Crotone, to be demolished.
As dozens of buglers sounded the retreat bugle, Dionysius spoke to the attendant again, "Send someone back to the camp. Inform Artemis (the commander of the camp's garrison) to send some troops to the east side of the camp to receive us!"
"Yes, my lord!" The attendant suddenly remembered something and reminded him, "A messenger from the Sirians reported that five to six thousand soldiers from Diónia have landed on the Opimia Plains and are preparing to attack Triene."
Dionysius was furious when he heard this. "Why didn't you say something so important earlier?!!"
The attendant felt wronged, but did not dare to argue.
At first, Dionysius planned to retreat to the camp to defend, but now it seemed that retreating to the Sirians was the safest option …
… …
Phoebidas, who was at the frontline of Syracuse's right flank, was slightly tired after two hours of non-stop fighting. Even though he had undergone strict military training since he was young, he was still slightly tired. However, even after he had killed a few enemies, there would still be new ones charging at him and fighting him bravely. He had no choice but to use all his skills and be careful.
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