Chapter 694
The catapults placed the lead pellets into the leather bag in the middle of the catapult and began to rotate their right arms. The sound of wind whistling could be heard as the catapult spun faster and faster.
The Rome soldiers also saw the new enemies a few hundred meters away through the haze of dust. Although they were a little nervous, they had no other choice but to move forward.
At this moment, hundreds of lead pellets fell from the sky like hail and accurately sprinkled on the dense formation of the Rome soldiers. Suddenly, screams rang out.
Other than the heavy infantrymen in the center who were slightly injured, the light infantrymen who had almost no protection were smashed and bleeding. The Rome cavalry on both sides were also affected. The horses that were hit by the lead pellets screamed and jumped, throwing the unprepared cavalrymen off their horses and almost messing up the Rome formation.
This was the first time the Rome soldiers were attacked by the catapults. They were caught off guard and were a little confused.
On the other hand, the Diónia cavalry was well prepared. While the Rome soldiers were in a state of confusion, they immediately rode their horses to the enemy and threw the few short javelins they had left. Screams rang out again, but the soldiers who fell were far more injured than just scratching their scalps.
When the Rome light infantrymen picked up their bows and javelins and were ready to attack the Diónia cavalry that was retreating, another wave of lead pellets was thrown at them.
The continuous attacks made the Rome light infantrymen complain incessantly. These soldiers, who were mainly from the Latin Alliance, were in a state of confusion and low morale.
The Rome heavy infantrymen in the center of the formation still remained calm and shouted in unison, "Charge! Kill them! "
The first to take action was the Rome cavalry. They hurriedly gathered hundreds of horses and rushed forward desperately. The four hooves of the War Horse were flying, knocking on the solid ground and making a rumbling sound as if the earth was trembling.
Satyrus was still calm and raised his right hand again, "Second company, get ready!"
The archers on both sides of the goose formation pulled their bows and released their arrows. The Diónia cavalry also followed the Rome cavalry in a parallel line.
When Rome was less than a hundred meters away from the Seventh Brigade, the 350 Diónia archers released their arrows in unison.
The arrows were shot from both sides to the center, forming a crossfire. Although the Roman cavalrymen raised their shields, it was difficult for them to defend against the arrows. They screamed and their horses neighed. They fell to the ground and even hindered the cavalrymen behind them.
At this moment, the second volley of arrows arrived, dealing more damage to the Rome cavalry.
A small number of Roman cavalrymen who managed to escape the arrows were about to reach the Diónia's catapults. However, they were attacked by the javelins of the Third Company of Diónia. As a result, only a few of them survived.
The Diorians took the opportunity to attack the Roman cavalry from both sides, who were in a state of confusion due to the arrows.
This skillful combination of attacks caused the charging Roman cavalry to be almost annihilated.
At this time, the Rome heavy infantry was still protecting the light infantry as they advanced with difficulty. When they saw the tragic scene in front of them, they were filled with sorrow. At this time, they heard an unfamiliar bugle call from afar.
The enemy's reinforcements were here again! The morale of the Rome soldiers hit rock bottom.
At this moment. "Woo! Woo! Woo! An even louder and more sonorous bugle call came from afar.
"Our reinforcements are here! Our reinforcements are here! " When the Rome soldiers heard the familiar bugle call, they finally became excited.
… …
"Reporting to Legion Commander, the Rome army in the camp has been dispatched! There are about eight to nine thousand of them! "A scout rushed over and reported to Amyntas.
"So fast?!" The swift response of the Rome soldiers surprised Amyntas. Initially, he wanted to let the Seventh and Eighth Brigades and the cavalry continue to besiege the camp instead of annihilating this part of the enemy. He wanted to lure the Rome soldiers out of the camp. At the same time, he could allow the six heavy infantry brigades that had just arrived to rest for a while and recover some of their strength. He did not expect the Rome army to arrive so fast. Obviously, the Diónia light infantry, light armored soldiers, and cavalry could not stop a large force of eight to nine thousand soldiers.
Amyntas looked at the sweating Diónia soldiers in front of him. Although they were tired, few of them sat down. Instead, they put down their weapons and gathered in groups of twos and threes. They walked and chatted slowly because they knew there would be a battle soon. If they lay down, it would aggravate the soreness in their muscles. It would make their bodies lazy and they would not want to exercise.
Amyntas immediately called the six heavy infantry brigade captains and said with a serious expression, "Our plan to lure the enemy has succeeded. The enemy's main force has left the camp. I hope you can overcome your fatigue, capture them, and defeat them!"
"Don't worry, Commander! Since the Rome soldiers have left the camp, they will not be able to run back! "Ctessus, the first brigade captain, received the approval of the other brigade captains.
"Then get ready to go!" Amyntas immediately ordered.
Just as the brigade captains went to gather their soldiers, Amyntas ordered the messenger, "Immediately inform the Volsci in Satia and Polevenam that the main force of the Rome soldiers has left the camp. Ask them to come and participate in the battle."
… …
After Camillus guessed the intention of the Diónia soldiers, he did not hesitate and immediately gathered 9,000 heavy infantry soldiers, leaving only 3,000 soldiers to defend the camp.
Originally, Frius requested to lead the troops and let the elderly Camillus guard the camp.
However, he was rejected by Camillus. He only sent the troops to rescue the soldiers who were trapped outside the camp. He had no intention of fighting to the death with the Diónia soldiers. However, if the young and energetic Frius led the troops, it was likely to lead to such an outcome.
Camillus led more than 70 heavy infantry platoons of Rome soldiers to the west. He knew that the Diónia army would also be coming in this direction. He had to lure out the trapped soldiers as soon as possible and then quickly return to the camp.
Camillus did not know much about the Dionysian Army. In his impression, the surrounding forces and even the Greeks of Campania fought in the form of bloated phalanxes, except for the Rome army that he led. Because the platoons were the main force of the army, they were more flexible in both formation and combat. Therefore, he believed that even if the main force of the Diónia army arrived, they would need to rearrange their formation, and he would have enough time to organize a retreat.
When Camillus arrived at the battlefield, the Seventh and Eighth Brigades of Diónia and the cavalry had taken the initiative to retreat. The scene in front of him shocked him: the ground was full of dead bodies, dead horses, and wounded soldiers who were struggling and groaning. Nearly one-third of the 3,000 soldiers (cavalry and light infantry) who were ordered to come to the rescue had been lost, and the soldiers who were still alive were disheveled and depressed. Some of them were bruised and bleeding.
Through the brief description of the trapped officer, Camillus, Camillus understood the whole process of the battle. He could not help but be surprised by the lethality of the light infantry and cavalry of Diónia, as well as the close cooperation between them.
This is a well-trained army! Camillus set a label for the people of Diónia in his heart, so he urged the soldiers to bring the wounded soldiers and retreat immediately.
"What about our citizens who died in the battle?" The light infantry officer from the alliance asked to bring the corpses back as well.
Camillus, who had always loved his soldiers like his own children, hardened his heart and said, "Leave them here for the time being. We'll deal with them later. We must hurry up and return immediately! "
The officer of the alliance was dissatisfied with this decision and wanted to say more.
At this moment, a scout hurried over and reported, "Officer Camillus, there are about six to seven thousand black soldiers attacking from the south!"
Camillus's heart tightened and he galloped out of the team. According to the military tradition of Rome, the commander of the Roman army must be on foot like the soldiers to show that there was no difference between the two and that they shared weal and woe together. However, Camillus was too old and his physical strength was limited. Therefore, the Senate of Rome specially allowed him to ride a horse. He looked to the south and saw dust rolling in the distance …
Based on his experience, the enemy was already a mile away.
He immediately returned to the team and gave the order, "Line up according to the formation we used before meeting the enemy. Start to retreat!"
The formation he mentioned before meeting the enemy was a small phalanx of 120 Rome soldiers arranged in a fish-scale formation. Since there was a large gap between the platoons, they could move more flexibly and retreat faster. Once they could no longer retreat, they could switch to an offensive formation at any time. Due to the slight uneasiness in his heart, Camillus adopted this safe approach.
However, how could the Diónia light infantry on the periphery let the Roman army retreat so easily? The stone throwers once again swung their catapults and threw lead pellets at the Roman army. The archers even boldly approached the periphery of the Roman army and got into a shooting position …
Camillus had to transfer the Roman light infantry to this side as a precaution.
However, the Diónia cavalry galloped in groups around the periphery of the Roman army. From time to time, they would break into the Roman army and get less than 20 meters away from them. It seemed like they were about to launch an assault.
Although the messengers sent by Camillus repeatedly warned the Roman soldiers to ignore the harassment of the Diónia cavalry, the speed of the Roman soldiers was still significantly affected.
At this time, the Diónia army was advancing very fast. They were less than 300 meters away from the Roman army. The Roman soldiers could already see the golden flags that were held high in the gray dust. They could hear the strong rhythm of the military drums, and rows of black soldiers that seemed to cover the sky were marching towards them in a relatively orderly manner …
While the soldiers were attracted and intimidated by the momentum of the Dionysian Army, Camillus was even more surprised. He found that the formation of the Dionysian Army was very similar to the tactical formation of the Roman army after it was reformed. This made him suddenly realize that the Diónia army might not need to spend a lot of time to arrange their formation. They could directly attack him. If he forced himself to retreat here, he was likely to be chased by the enemy, which would cause chaos in his army and lead to a crushing defeat.
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