Chapter 693
"Reporting … Reporting to the Legion Commander, the Seventh Brigade … has arrived. We are waiting for your order!" The Seventh Brigade Commander, Satirus, bowed to Amyntas while panting.
It was expected that the 1st Legion's Light Infantry Battalion would be the first to arrive. After all, they were not wearing armor, and they did not have any heavy weapons, so they moved quickly. In fact, when they received the order to "rush", they were only about seven miles away from Amyntas. Running seven miles in an hour was not considered fast. The main thing was to maintain the integrity of the formation and maintain a certain amount of physical strength so that they could immediately join the battle when they arrived.
Amyntas glanced at the soldiers. They were all sweating profusely, but they were still in high spirits. He nodded with satisfaction and said loudly, "Brothers, you came at the right time! The enemy is just in front of us, waiting for us to eat them up. We will make the name of the First Legion of Diónia famous! Do you have the confidence to do so?! "
"Yes!" The soldiers shouted in unison.
"Staff officer, you will make the arrangements," Amyntas said immediately.
Printos did not decline. He glanced at the board full of marks, then pointed to the southwest and said to the Seventh Brigade Commander, Satirus, "There are more than 300 heavy infantry, 700 cavalry, and nearly 2,000 light infantry from Rome four miles away. The First Cavalry Brigade is under great pressure to stop them from retreating. Immediately take the Seventh Brigade and help the First Cavalry Brigade to delay the enemy. Wait for the reinforcements to arrive and annihilate them!"
"Yes!" Satirus turned around and shouted, "Brothers, continue to run with me!"
Under the guidance of the scouts, the soldiers of the Seventh Brigade ran to the southwest.
"Printos, your previous suggestion was right. As long as we capture this large group of enemies, I don't believe that the Rome will not come out to rescue them!" The arrival of the Seventh Brigade made Amyntas feel a little relieved. He began to praise Printos. When Plutarch suggested to him to give up on intercepting all the Rome food supply troops and concentrate on the cavalry to block the few Rome platoons that were closest to them, and in fact, the First Legion, Amyntas hesitated for a while. Now, not only did they stop more than 300 heavy infantry from Rome, but they had also lured the light infantry and cavalry from Rome over. If these 3,000 Rome soldiers could be pinned down, he would not have to worry that the Rome main force would not leave the camp.
Printos smiled and did not say much.
At this time, Adjutant Aristos shouted again, "Commander, another unit has arrived!"
Dust billowed in the south. This time, it was the Eighth Brigade (the Light Armor Brigade) that had rushed over …
… …
At first, the companies of the First Legion successfully blocked the Rome platoons and even inflicted some casualties on them. It could be said that they had gained a lot of victory. However, the arrival of the Rome light infantry and cavalry reversed the situation of the Rome soldiers being passive.
The Rome light infantry was composed of archers and javelin throwers. Not only did they have a longer range than the javelins of the Diónia cavalry, but they also had a more stable and accurate shot. On the other hand, the speed of the Diónia cavalry was limited by the Rome cavalry. Even if the Diónia cavalry wanted to charge forward with their horses, the Rome army was mixed with heavy infantry, making this risk impossible. Instead, it was easy for them to be surrounded by the enemy.
The combination of Rome's heavy infantry, cavalry, and light infantry caused the Diónia cavalry, who were more skilled in horsemanship, to suffer casualties. In the Kingdom of Diónia, the cavalry was not as precious as before. The cavalry of the First Legion mainly came from the Bruti region. The people there were good at raising and riding horses. Therefore, the number of reserve cavalry of the First Legion was enough to form another legion. However, as the legion commander, Ledes was distressed by the loss of the cavalry. These were the soldiers that he had painstakingly trained! Besides, in this unfamiliar land, it was difficult to replenish the cavalry after the loss.
In the face of the current terrible situation, the commander of the First Legion, Ledes, was hesitating whether he should cancel the order to intercept the Rome soldiers and return to the camp.
Fortunately, Amyntas' order arrived in time, so Ledes could concentrate all the cavalry to deal with the three Rome platoons in the southwest.
For this reason, Ledes ordered the cavalry to purposely drive and force the three Rome platoons to gather food together. This would be more advantageous for him to command the First Legion to intercept the enemy.
In the face of nearly 2,000 Diónia cavalry galloping around, the Rome soldiers did not dare to act rashly.
However, it did not take long before a large number of Rome's light infantry and cavalry arrived and changed the stalemate.
The Rome's heavy infantry was in the middle, the light infantry was on the periphery, and the cavalry was on both sides. They were ready to intercept the Diónia cavalry at any time. With such a formation, the Rome soldiers began to advance slowly toward the camp.
Under the attack of the Rome's light infantry's javelins and arrows, the Diónia cavalry in front of them could not throw their javelins before they entered the Rome's light infantry's shooting range. When the flying arrows hit the Diónia cavalry, the Rome cavalry would also take the opportunity to charge forward. After a while, they would quickly retreat to avoid being surrounded by the Diónia cavalry.
The Rome soldiers repeatedly used this tactic, causing the First Legion of Diónia to suffer a lot of losses.
Ledes no longer dared to let the cavalry block in front of them. Instead, he harassed them from the side and the rear. However, the Rome's formation was tight, and the Diónia cavalry did not dare to get too close under the threat of the arrows.
Looking at the battlefield filled with dust and the constant neighing of the War Horse, Ledes once again fell into a dilemma of indecision. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a wounded War Horse carrying a wounded soldier. The soldier was being pulled by another cavalry and was heading toward his back.
The wounded soldier's face was familiar to him. He urged his horse forward and took a closer look. It was indeed the captain of the First Legion of Cavalry, Pebaricius. His full name was Sobokos Pebaricius. He was the eldest son of Ledes's old subordinate and the Kingdom's hero, Sobokos. (Ever since Devers named his son Cloto Catax, his practice gradually became popular in the Kingdom. Most of the citizens gradually abandoned the Greek tradition of only having first names and no surnames, and began to use their own names as the surnames of their descendants.)
At this moment, the young man's eyes were closed and he was unconscious.
"Commander, the captain's War Horse was shot by an arrow. He fell off the horse and fell into a coma," the cavalry who brought him back reported.
"Take care of him!" After Ledes gave the order, he looked at the front again. He finally made up his mind. He took a deep breath and said, "Order, cancel the interception of the Rome —"
"Woo!" Suddenly, a loud bugle was heard in front of them.
"Commander, it's the First Legion! The First Legion has arrived! "The cavalry next to him shouted excitedly.
Hearing the familiar bugle, Ledes looked forward. Through the dust, he could vaguely see the golden light on the Diónia flag.
At this time, Amyntas' messenger also arrived, "Reporting to Commander Ledes, the Seventh Brigade of the First Legion has arrived. They are on the enemy's way back and are approaching the enemy."
"Only the Seventh Brigade?!" Ledes was slightly disappointed.
The messenger then emphasized, "The other brigades are coming one after another!"
Ledes thought for a moment and then ordered, "Order all brigades to immediately stop harassing the enemy. Keep a distance from the enemy and slow down the horses. You only need to monitor the enemy's movements. At the same time, make way for the encirclement in the east to avoid being accidentally hit by the long-range attacks of the First Legion."
… …
The soldiers of the Seventh Brigade looked at the dusty battlefield in front of them. Although they were physically tired, they were extremely excited. Their footsteps also quickened.
When they were approaching the battlefield, the commander of the Seventh Brigade gave the order to "stop."
"Goose Formation!" He then gave another order.
Hearing the bugle and the waving of the flag, the soldiers immediately moved away from each other. The whole formation stretched to both sides, and soon, the whole formation showed a concave arc.
At this time, the cavalry of the First Legion rushed over, "Brothers of the First Legion, we have moved away from the front."
The commander of the Light Infantry immediately ordered again, "First Company, get ready!"
The organization of the Light Infantry Brigade of each legion was a little special. It only had four companies. The First and Second Companies were archers, while the Third and Fourth Companies were javelin throwers. Each company had 250 soldiers and was composed of five teams. However, the Light Infantry Brigade of the First Legion was very special. It only had three companies. The Second Company was archers, the Third Company was javelin throwers, and the First Company was stone-throwers. This was the only unique unit in Diónia. There were a total of 350 soldiers, all of whom were born in Rhodes and were good at stone-throwing.
The soldiers of the First Company untied the catapults tied to their waists and advanced in a loose formation to the front of the brigade.
Satyrus kept his eyes on the front and judged the distance between his brigade and the enemy. This was a basic skill necessary for the commander of the Diónia Light Infantry. He had fought in Persia and was born as a Thracian light shield soldier. Therefore, he was even more experienced and outstanding in battle. That was why he was the commander of the First Legion of Diónia.
Although the Rome soldiers saw that the Diónia cavalry in front of them had moved away, they still did not speed up because the Diónia cavalry was still surrounding them. This forced them to maintain a tight formation.
Seeing that the Rome soldiers were only about 300 meters away from his brigade, Satyrus raised his right hand, "First Company, attack!"
The stone-throwers took out a lead pellet the size of an egg from the leather bag on their waist. Compared to ten years ago, when the stone-throwers used pebbles, they had now changed their guns. The lead pellet in the center could not only fly farther but was also more lethal. ()
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