Chapter 696
Especially in the first row, after the Diónia soldiers broke through the enemy's shield with the force of the charge, the spear in their right hand stabbed out like lightning. The Rome soldiers dodged the stab, but another spear came from the side. Due to the disparity in numbers, the young soldiers of Rome often faced a dangerous situation of one versus two. Therefore, although they fought bravely, the casualties were gradually increasing, and the formation was constantly retreating. At the same time, there were constant screams in the formation. Most of them came from the wounded soldiers who were hit by the javelins and lying on the ground. They were trampled many times by their retreating Rome teammates. Their screams gradually became silent, which added to the panic in the hearts of the young soldiers.
Camillus, who was riding at the rear of the middle line, looked at the front line that was constantly retreating. He frowned and quickly made a judgment: not only the middle line, but also the left and right flanks. The javelin attack of the Diónia soldiers at the beginning, as well as the swift and violent charge at the right time, caused the brave but not calm young soldiers to panic.
"Blow the bugle immediately and change the formation!" Camillus gave the order without hesitation.
Out of trust in their commander, the trumpeters blew the curved bronze bugle without hesitation.
It was Lucius, who was next to him, who raised a question to his father, "Although the front line of the soldiers is unstable now, they are still fighting tenaciously. If we let them retreat at this time, it will easily increase their casualties. Why don't we change the formation after the battle has stabilized a little?"
"If we issue the order later, the loss will only be greater!" Camillus's face showed a little self-blame, "I didn't expect to encounter the Dionysian Army in Wolsey. I should have learned more about their combat characteristics in detail beforehand!"
Lucius wanted to comfort him by saying, "Even if you want to know, no one in Rome knows." But looking at the serious expression on Camillus's face, he did not say it out loud.
Hearing the bugle, the Roman veteran platoons in the third line began to move forward. When they were about to come into contact with the gap between the adult veteran platoons in the second line, they did not immediately squeeze in and join together to form a complete new line. Instead, they stopped and let the gap that was big enough to fit a platoon's formation remain.
Upon hearing the repeated blasts of the bugle, the young Rome soldiers who were struggling to resist the Diónia's attack heaved a sigh of relief. However, under the reminders of the platoon leaders and officers, they still had to work hard to support the front line while retreating slowly.
However, under the pressure of the Diónia soldiers' attack, some of the Rome soldiers began to collapse. However, the platoon in the second line was not far behind them. Soon, the two sides clashed. With the middle-aged soldiers at the back supporting them, the young soldiers at the front at least had some confidence. The young soldiers who did not have the support of the platoon at the back sped up and retreated into the gap. Then, they slipped away through the gap on both sides of the veteran platoon.
The Diónia soldiers who had been fighting face to face would also squeeze into this gap. They would then face the situation of being surrounded on three sides. Of course, the young soldiers and the middle-aged soldiers who had not retreated would also face the same situation. Therefore, the lines of the two sides were intertwined like a dog's teeth, tightly biting each other. But as the middle-aged soldier platoons continued to retreat, the young soldiers would eventually completely retreat to the rear, and the middle-aged soldiers and veteran platoons would eventually form a new formation.
Amyntas, who was also at the rear of the Diónia army's middle line, had learned from the cavalry patrolling the periphery of the Rome army that the Rome soldiers were changing their formation. He had been leading troops to fight in Diónia for more than ten years. In the face of the Rome army with similar tactics, how could he not understand what the Rome people were going to do next?
"Legion Commander, we should blow the bugle and let the fourth, fifth, and sixth brigades move forward." While Amyntas was still thinking, Printos suggested.
Amyntas hesitated for a moment. He understood why Printos made this suggestion. He must have considered that the Diónia soldiers at the front line had the upper hand in the offensive. If they could continue to strengthen their offensive, it would not be easy for the Rome soldiers to change their formation. On the contrary, it would cause more casualties because of the chaos. But judging from the current situation, the frontline soldiers were not able to do it. This might be because the wave of rapid attacks just now had exhausted the extra physical strength of the frontline soldiers. Otherwise, according to the previous combat characteristics of the First Legion, they would have seized the opportunity to attack the enemy fiercely at this time, causing the enemy's frontline soldiers to retreat and collapse. But now, the attacking speed of the Rome soldiers was constantly decreasing.
Amyntas stared at the situation in front of him. He knew in his heart that once the Rome soldiers changed their formation, the physically exhausted soldiers of the First, Second, and Third Brigades would be at a disadvantage against the new formation of the Rome soldiers.
Although he longed for the soldiers to be able to kill the enemy bravely, he did not want them to encounter difficulties and affect the outcome of the battle. So, he finally accepted Printos' suggestion.
The Diónia bugle sounded. When the officers and soldiers of the fourth, fifth, and sixth brigades heard the order, they were not surprised because they had seen the performance of their comrades in the front line.
The officers and soldiers who were fighting breathed a sigh of relief. Many of them were so tired that they could not even breathe evenly. Fortunately, the enemy had been retreating. Otherwise, some of the soldiers would have fallen to the ground because of the weakness in their legs.
So, the panicked young Rome soldiers saw a strange scene. The enemy who was chasing them suddenly began to retreat.
… …
When Camillus heard from the scout that the enemy was also retreating and changing their formation, he did not feel lucky that he had escaped. The calmness of the Diónia general and the determination of his soldiers to carry out the order made him frown deeply.
At this time, the battle line between the two sides had opened up to a distance of nearly 20 meters. The battlefield that was filled with the sound of killing just now had become a little quiet. There were only dead bodies lying in the middle of the open space and a few wounded soldiers groaning on the ground. Most of them were Rome soldiers.
However, the young and old soldiers of Rome not far away from them were holding their weapons and staring at the enemy in front of them. No one went to help the wounded soldiers.
Camillus understood that the Diónia soldiers could afford to waste time, but his army could not. So, he ordered again, "Step up the attack!"
While the platoon jarls were shouting, the new Rome soldiers were more cautious. They covered their upper bodies with long shields and moved forward steadily. Obviously, the previous javelin attack had taught them a lesson.
But in fact, the fourth, fifth, and sixth brigades of Diónia, who had already thrown out all their javelins, were a little amused when they saw their opponents being so cautious.
But when the two armies approached each other and started fighting again, the Diónia soldiers could no longer laugh.
The Rome soldiers were skilled in the combination of shields and spears. Their spears were accurate and ruthless, and their coordination with the shield formation was also very tacit. Their overall combat power was not weaker than the Legion of Dionysia. This really surprised the Diónia officers on the battlefield.
If the Diónia soldiers knew about Rome, they would know that these new Rome soldiers had served for more than eight years and had participated in many foreign battles. Many of them had even received the Civic Crown. The Civic Crown was a recognition given by the Senate of Rome to the citizens of Rome who had performed bravely in many battles. In public, all the citizens of Rome, including the senators, would show respect to the citizens who wore the Civic Crown. Even the citizens' fathers would be treated with courtesy. It was an honor, and there was no material reward. However, the citizens of Rome held it in high esteem and wanted to have it. It could be seen that the people of Rome were also a race that valued military virtue and martial spirit.
For a time, the frontline soldiers of both sides were in a stalemate in the fierce battle.
Of course, Camillus would not be satisfied with just maintaining a stalemate with the Diónia soldiers in the front line. He must seize the time to defeat the enemy.
So, he ordered the 12 Rome squadrons, which included ten squadrons of youth soldiers and two squadrons of adult soldiers, to split into two groups and bypass the frontline formation on both sides to attack the enemy's flanks.
After giving the order, Camillus turned around and asked, "Is the casualty count out?"
"About … more than 400 citizens were injured or killed …" Lucius could not help but shiver in his heart when he reported. The initial battle did not last long, but in this short period of nearly 20 minutes, they had lost four squadrons. This had never happened in the last ten years of war.
At this time, although Camillus was also heartbroken, the order he gave was very firm, "Let the retreating squadrons immediately regroup and wait for my order before attacking the enemy! The humiliation they suffered before must be washed away with victory! "
At the same time, Amyntas was also asking his adjutant, "What's the situation on the Vorsi side?"
Aristos glanced at the record board and said, "The messenger reported that they have already regrouped and set off! Satya has sent out a thousand soldiers, and Polevernham has sent out seven thousand, and they are rushing here! "
Amyntas was relieved and continued to pay attention to the situation in front of him.
At this time, a scout galloped over. "Report, Commander, the enemy has sent out more than seven hundred heavy infantry, and they are circling behind our left flank!"
As soon as the voice trailed off, another scout galloped over. "Report, Commander, there are seven to eight hundred enemy heavy infantry on our right flank!"
Amyntas' expression changed slightly. He did not hesitate and said loudly, "Let the first platoon rush to protect the left flank! The second platoon protect the right flank! The third platoon … "
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