Chapter 735
The bugles sounded.
"Baal Hamon, bless!" The soldiers chanted the name of the guardian of Carthage.
The elite Carthage army, known as the "Hammer of Baal," crossed the Pletala River in a dense formation and aggressively charged towards the Greeks on the other side of the river.
… …
"What did you say?! The Holy Knights are already fighting the Greeks?! " Montt Ardno was shocked. He immediately stood up and said angrily, "This Milefio doesn't listen to my orders! I told him not to engage the Greeks in battle at this time of the year! … "
"My Lord, this battle was initiated by the Greeks. At that time, General Milefio was still in your tent discussing matters. By the time he arrived at the Pletala River, the battle had already escalated …" The messenger explained.
"I don't care what the situation is like now. Go and tell him to withdraw his troops immediately!" Montt Ardno said sternly.
"I can't convince him!" The reason why the messenger dared to speak to the commander of the Carthage army in such a manner was because he was Milefio's cousin and was also born in a noble family of Carthage.
In a fit of anger, Montt Ardno decided to personally call back Milefio. But before he left, he cautiously sent someone to inform the other generals to gather the soldiers back to the camp and await further orders.
On the way down the Pletala River, Montt Ardno heard the deafening battle cries.
When he arrived at his destination, he stood on the west bank and looked east. The Holy Knights had already rushed past the east bank and were advancing forward at a faster speed. After all, when the Greeks discovered the intention of the Carthage army to attack, they hurriedly gathered their soldiers and organized an army in an attempt to stop the attack of the Carthage army. However, they lacked a unified command, and the soldiers came from different cities, so they lacked tacit understanding and tacit cooperation. In addition, they were outnumbered by the Holy Knights, so under the fierce attack of the Holy Knights, they were gradually losing ground.
Just as Montt Ardno was hesitating whether he should recall the Holy Knights under such an advantageous situation, the battlefield in front of him suddenly became even noisier.
The Greeks were routed!
They fled to the east in a panic. Then, an even louder voice rang out behind them, "Follow us and flee this way! Follow us and run this way! … "
The Holy Knights began to take large strides in pursuit. The Right Wing Cavalry that had been hiding behind the phalanx rushed out at this moment, using their long lances to stab the fleeing soldiers. The tall Iberian War Horse used its four powerful hooves to trample the fallen Greeks …
Looking at the pursuing Holy Knights in front of him, Monadeno no longer hesitated. He immediately sent a messenger to inform the Phoenician troops, Lumibian troops, and Lumibian cavalrymen who were on standby in the camp to rush here at top speed. They were to cooperate with the Holy Knights and completely defeat the Diónia coalition on the other side of the river.
… …
Where were the soldiers of Diónia at this critical moment? It all started when the Diónia Coalition Army built a camp next to Minoa City.
The east bank of the lower Pletala River was not as flat as the west bank. Instead, it was undulating hills. The Dionian Coalition Army chose to build their camp on the north side of Minoa City. There were three relatively large hills here, all of which were more than 100 meters above sea level. Moreover, each of them was about a mile apart, facing the river bank in an inverted triangle. Considering that the number of Carthaginian troops far exceeded the allied forces, in order to be able to defend against the enemy's attack, Leotizides and the allied generals discussed and decided to build the military camp on these three hills.
Since the Diónia soldiers were the most numerous and the most powerful, their camp was set on the largest hill in the middle. The northern hill was garrisoned by the soldiers of Agrigento and Económes, while the southern hill was garrisoned by the soldiers of Gela, Camanlina, and Paccinus.
At the foot of the northern hill where the Dionysian Army was stationed, there was a relatively large, nearly rectangular lake called Lake Gorgo. When the allied soldiers ran to the Pletala River in search of cool air, the Diónia soldiers certainly had the same need. For safety's sake, Leotychides let the soldiers cool off at Lake Gorgo, which was closer to the camp.
Leotychides was not Monte-Ardeno. Although he was in charge of the camp, his mountain scouts and cavalry were always monitoring the surrounding area and reporting any unusual movements to him.
When Agrigento's soldiers clashed with Carthage's men at the Pletala River, he quickly received the news. He keenly felt that something was wrong and immediately sent messengers to the foot of the mountain to order the Diónia soldiers to quickly return to the camp.
At the same time, he also sent messengers to other camps to order the allied generals to immediately withdraw their soldiers on the river bank, especially the Agrigento soldiers.
But the situation developed very quickly. After the soldiers of the Diónia Coalition Army, who originally lacked discipline, became really angry, how could the allied generals, who originally had no authority, restrain them?
The expansion of the conflict and the appearance of Carthage's heavily armed soldiers meant that it had turned into a battle.
When Leotychides heard from the cavalry that "Carthage's Holy Army has been fully mobilized and is rushing to the river bank", he was very anxious.
He ordered the troops to get ready and go to the rescue, while staring at the map of the camp that had just been drawn and thinking about the battle plan for the rescue.
At this time, the adjutant next to him said, "Commander, we actually don't need to rescue them at all. If they are defeated, they can directly escape into the camp. After all, the camp is only two miles away from them."
Leotychides shook his head and said, "Carthage's men will chase after them. If that happens, they may even lose their camp!"
The adjutant thought for a moment and said, "Then don't let them escape into the camp. Lead them to escape from here." He said as he pointed at the map a few times.
Leotychides looked at the place that the adjutant had drawn. It was the lowland between the southern and northern camps!
The three camps of the Diónia Coalition Army were arranged in an inverted triangle. The southern and northern camps were closer to the river bank, while the middle camp was closer to the east. The lowland between the three camps was about two miles long, which happened to face the river bank where the conflict occurred. If the Coalition Army turned around and fled, they could quickly pass through the lowland and then go around the hill where the Diónia Coalition Army was located. If they ran into the mountains, Carthage's men would probably not dare to chase after them. It was only a distance of three to four miles, but most of the defeated soldiers would instinctively escape to their own camps. That was why the adjutant said that they needed to be guided.
However, the adjutant's words flashed in Leotychides's mind like a ray of light. He suddenly crouched down and stared at the arrangement of the three camps and the section of the river in front of them. At the same time, he asked, "How many people does Carthage's Holy Army have?"
"According to the intelligence, about ten thousand."
"Has the entire army been mobilized?"
"That's what the scouts said."
"How many Coalition soldiers are fighting with Carthage's men on the river?"
"The situation there is too chaotic. The scouts can't give a detailed number, but they estimate that there are at least two thousand, and the number is still increasing …"
Leotychides pondered for a moment, then slammed his hand on the map and shouted, "Order! The six heavy infantry battalions of the Eighth Legion, as well as the first, second, third, and fourth heavy infantry battalions of the reserves, immediately go to the foot of the hill in front of the camp and form a formation facing the river bank! Let the Eighth Battalion (the light infantry battalion) rush to the river bank and disperse to the back of the Coalition Army's formation. Once they are defeated, immediately lead them to the direction of our main force!
Let the fifth heavy infantry battalion of the reserves rush to the northern camp and help them defend against the enemy's attack. (This is because the northern camp is guarded by the soldiers of Agrigento and Ecnomus, and more than half of the soldiers fighting on the river bank are Agrigento. That's why Leotychides is worried that the northern camp does not have enough soldiers to defend it.) Let the seventh battalion (the light infantry battalion) go to the northern camp as well. The light infantry of the reserves should all go to the southern camp and face the low ground. When you see the enemy, don't attack first. Let them pass. When the heavy infantry start fighting, then attack their flanks and rear.
Also, send someone to inform the generals of the two camps that the Dionysian Army is preparing to fight with Carthage's men. Tell them to defend their camps no matter what! "
The aide who had undergone strict training in the General Staff picked up the wooden board that had just been recorded and quickly and accurately repeated Leotychides's order. He then asked curiously, "Commander, are you planning to lure the Holy Knights of Carthage deep into our camp, and then wait for them to completely defeat them?"
Leotychides nodded slightly. "Go inform them immediately."
When the adjutant was about to leave excitedly, Leotizides suddenly thought of something and called out to him, "Wait a minute! One more thing. Immediately send someone to inform the Sikells in the mountains. Tell them to harass the rear of Carthage's army after the battle to reduce the pressure on our defenses! "
"Yes!"
"Right, what's your name?" Leotychides suddenly asked. Ever since Leotychides's original aide, Stefos, left, there had been more than ten aides in the 8th Legion over the past two years. On one hand, the aides felt that Leotychides's temperament was strange and difficult to get along with, so they took the initiative to transfer him. On the other hand, Leotychides was strict and always felt that the younger ones were not capable enough. That was why the aides were constantly changing. Before preparing for this war, he specifically requested from the Ministry of Military Affairs: Due to the scale and difficulty of this war, he hoped that they could send a capable adjutant. ()
.。 m.
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