Chapter 556
However, most of the Diónia light infantry's attention was attracted by the tower. This allowed the Syracuse light infantry to not only throw javelins from the tower, but they also rushed to the front of the trench and threw javelins at the enemies on the wooden wall under the cover of the tank. They even shot fire arrows at the curtain wall.
The Legion of Dionysia had to defend against the javelins thrown from the tower and the wall, protect the wooden wall from being burned down, and stop the enemies from climbing up the wall using ladders. It was a little hard for them to take care of everything.
"Siege Chariots! The enemy's siege chariots are under the wall! "A soldier exclaimed.
Martoris had just cut down an enemy who was about to climb up the wall into the trench. He quickly stuck his head out to take a look, only to see an undamaged siege vehicle pushing away a few burning siege vehicles that were piled up. It passed through the trench that had been filled up and was almost pushed under the wooden wall.
"Piss! Pour the tar! "Martonis shouted anxiously.
"Clang!" His guard used his shield to block a javelin that was thrown at him.
"Legion Commander, there's no more oil!" The soldier shouted in frustration.
"Go to the camp and look for it! See if there's any tar left! " Matonis gave orders to his guards and ordered the soldiers, "Smash it!"
Wood and rocks hit the siege chariots below the wall, but it did not seem to affect them much. On the contrary, under the protection of the herringbone roof, the Syracuse soldiers pushed the battering rams with metal pieces at the top and slammed them hard on the wooden wall. The wooden wall creaked and shook. Even the Syracuse soldiers who were climbing the ladders nearby were affected and fell into the trench.
Martonis grabbed the battlement of the wall with both hands and was thinking anxiously about how to deal with it. Another scream came from behind, "It's on fire! The wooden wall is on fire! "
… …
"Your Majesty, a section of the wooden wall in the area that the Legio IV is defending has been hit by the Syracuse soldiers with oil tanks and fire arrows many times. It has caught fire, but the fire has been extinguished. However, ten meters of the wooden wall had been burned. Fortunately, the trench in front had not been filled, so the enemy had not immediately rushed to the bottom of the wall and destroyed it. Epthenis has already sent Legio IV's light armoured squad to set up a defensive formation behind the wall … "Tormid reported the dangerous situation to the Devers who had already walked out of the tent and were observing the defence of the 4th and 7th Legions.
Devers furrowed his brows slightly. He looked at the light armored squad that was lined up in front of the wooden wall and pondered for a moment before saying, "It seems like Dionysius has concentrated all of his attacks on my main camp. Syracuse is quite capable in sieging a city. It will be a little difficult for the 4th and 7th Legions to defend against so many people's attacks … Tormid!"
"Here!"
"Go inform the Second, Fifth, and Sixth Legions of the Left and Right Battalions to come to the main camp immediately!" Devers gave the order decisively, but Tormid was shocked. "Your Majesty, if all the troops retreat, then … what about the two camps?!"
"If Dionysius wants it, then give it to him," Devers said casually, and the soldiers' hard work for a few days went to waste.
"Wait, don't let them retreat yet. Leave the light infantry to defend for now. When the enemy attacks, they will be able to deal some damage," Devers emphasized again.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Tormid turned around and was about to leave when he heard a cry in front of him, followed by a loud bang. In the midst of the crackling sound, a large hole appeared in the wooden wall in front of him.
"Your Majesty, the enemy used siege vehicles to destroy a section of our wooden wall!" The messenger who had rushed back shouted anxiously.
Devers' expression was calm. He turned around and shouted, "Izam!"
"Brothers, follow me!" Izam had been waiting for a long time. He led his Mountain Ridge Scouts and rushed towards the hole.
Tormid saw this and quickened his pace.
… …
"Sir, the Left and Right Battalions of Diónia are moving towards the main camp!"
Dionysius heard the report and stood up excitedly, "Devers finally fell for it! Gather the troops and attack the Left Battalion of Diónia immediately! "
"Yes!"
The main camp of Diónia faced the western wall of Siletina, while the Left and Right Battalions stretched out their arms to surround the north and south sides of Siletina. The Left Battalion was guarded by most of the soldiers of Legio VI and the Fifth Legion. The Fifth Legion was the Legion of Dionysia that suffered the heaviest losses in this war. Although they were later replenished with some soldiers, their strength was definitely not as good as before. Legio VI was a newly formed legion before the war, and had only participated in the battle of Crotone so far. Therefore, the Left Battalion was not as good as the Second Legion and a small number of soldiers of Legio VI stationed in the Right Battalion, be it the quality of the soldiers or the degree of teamwork. The difference in strength could be seen from the traps and obstacles laid in front of the two battalions.
Dionysius had already understood this in the past few days, and naturally wanted to strike at the weakest point of the Dionysian Army.
The northern gate of Siletina opened wide, and more than ten thousand Syracuse elites reorganized and equipped with better armor and equipment, in addition to a few thousand freedmen armed with simple wooden shields and spears, a total of nearly twenty thousand soldiers under the personal command of Dionysius charged towards the Left Battalion.
The news quickly spread to the main camp of Diónia.
"Your Majesty, our Left Battalion may not be able to hold on much longer!" Secretary Henepolis cried out.
"Didn't I say it before? If Dionysius wants it, he can take it." The Devers said calmly, "He thinks he can defeat us by breaking through our camp, but he doesn't know that he has fallen into our trap. Right now, Dionysius is too obsessed with the outcome of a battle, and can no longer consider the outcome of the battle as a whole … "
Helibonis nodded as if he understood, at the same time quickly recording what the Devers said on a piece of papyrus.
"Tormid!"
"Yes!"
"Inform Felicius and Olivers to lead their troops and form a formation twenty meters from the eastern wooden wall. At the same time, have Amyntas lead the second army to stand on the northern wooden wall of the main camp. This is to prevent the enemy from attacking the main camp after occupying the Left Battalion." The Devers ordered again, "Also … When they are ready, tell Matonis and Epitenis not to send troops to seal up the gaps, and let the enemy in."
"Yes!"
The Devers relaxed a little after he finished giving his orders in one breath. He turned to look at the confused Henepolis and could not help but explain, "The Left Battalion is lost, and the Right Battalion is also lost. It's not important to us. Our goal is to kill as many Syracuse soldiers as possible, so that Dionysius will lose a large number of elite soldiers and lose the ability to attack. When Dionysius led his troops and left the protection of the fortified city to attack us, he was already doomed to fail … "
… …
The army led by Dionysius broke into the Left Battalion after paying a small price. The camp was already empty, and the attack was so easy that Dionysius was slightly surprised. Of course, he thought that it was mainly because he had used a large number of troops to attack the main camp of Diónia to confuse the Devers and divert the main force of the Left Battalion away. But at this moment, he did not have time to slowly savor the joy of victory. The main force was courageously attacking the main camp of Diónia, and the price they had to pay was very high. He had to seize the time, quickly attack the camp from the side, and completely defeat the Diónia soldiers!
Dionysius led the soldiers quickly through the tents, rushing towards the south. The battle cries and screams in front of them were getting louder and clearer …
'We're almost there!' Dionysius's heart was getting more and more excited.
When they bypassed the tent area, he stopped in shock. A tall, long wooden wall more than 20 meters in front of him blocked his way, and in front of the wooden wall was a trench!
"How could this be?! Why did the Diónia soldiers build such a thick wooden wall and dig such a wide trench inside the entire camp, instead of just using a wooden fence to separate the camp?! " His hope of victory was shattered in an instant. The strong sense of disparity and the fear of failure caused the strong-willed Dionysius to roar in grief and indignation.
"Sir, be careful!" On the wooden wall, the light infantry of the second corps rained down arrows and javelins. The Syracuse soldiers hurriedly raised their round shields to defend, while the bodyguards protected Dionysius.
Dionysius heard the sound of the arrow colliding with the round shield. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! He was getting anxious. It seemed that the Diónia soldiers had built a wooden wall and trench in the camp to protect the main camp. It was obvious that they had already planned to give up the left and right camps. Unfortunately, the entire camp was blocked by wooden walls and traps. The scouts could not find out what was going on inside the camp. Every time the envoy was sent to negotiate with the Diónia camp, he would cover his eyes with a cloth when he entered and left the camp. He had no idea what was going on inside the camp … Did he fall into the trap of the Devers again?!
Since Dionysius was confident that he could break through the left camp and continue to attack south, he would be able to break into the central camp. That was why the soldiers only brought ladders and no siege weapons. Siege towers, siege wagons, and other large weapons could not be pushed into the camp. Faced with the heavily-guarded central camp, the people of Syracuse were helpless.
Comments