Chapter 736
But this adjutant had been here for almost two months, and he had spent so much time with him that he couldn't even remember his name. Fortunately, the adjutant had a better understanding of Leotychides's character through this period of interaction. He didn't mind it, and replied seriously, "Sir, my name is Mukelu!"
"You're from the Bruti?" Leotychides asked, looking at his appearance that was different from that of a Greek.
"Yes, I'm from the Bruti Cosenza."
"Mm." Leotychides nodded and waved his hand. "Go and pass the order."
"Yes." The adjutant hurriedly turned and left the tent, but there was a smile on his face. Based on his understanding of this commander, he knew that he was recognized by his colleagues in the Ministry of Military Affairs as the "Strictest Legion Commander".
In fact, the adjutant Mukelu's identity was not simple. When he was eighteen, he had followed Hieronymus to participate in the Great Battle of Crotone and was injured. After the battle, he was even consoled by the King of Devers. Later, he officially joined the Fifth Legion and participated in all the Kingdom's wars for more than ten years. He made many contributions and was about to be promoted to a captain, but he requested to further his studies in the Staff Office of the Ministry of Military Affairs. For the senior officers of Diónia, it was rare for them to take the initiative to further their studies. Therefore, even though he was already over thirty years old, Felicius made an exception and transferred him to the Staff Office.
After Mukelu was transferred to the Staff Office, he won the praise of his colleagues for his consistent diligence. This time, due to the importance of this war, Felicius reluctantly sent this capable and reliable right-hand man. Now, it seemed that he had finally satisfied the requirements of the hard-to-please Leotychides.
… …
This time, Leotychides led 15000 soldiers, including 8,000 official soldiers of the Eighth Legion, 5,000 reserve heavy infantry, nearly 1,000 reserve light infantry, and 1,000 cavalry from the Fourth Cavalry Legion (the Fourth Cavalry Legion had always been vacant due to the population of the Sicilian Territory and the lack of War Horse).
When the soldiers of the 8th Division heard that there was going to be a war, they were all very excited. Two years ago, the soldiers had been rewarded handsomely for their victory over the Sikere tribe. They had always desired to make new contributions, and now, their chance had come!
On the other hand, the soldiers of the reserve forces were looking forward to performing well in the upcoming battle, adding a strong stroke to their military resumes so that they could smoothly become official soldiers.
Under the leadership of the team officers, the soldiers ran to the foot of the mountain in an orderly manner and began to form a chessboard formation.
Just as they finished setting up the formation, the soldiers heard a loud noise coming from the front.
The disorderly and thunderous footsteps grew louder …
Very soon, they saw the black mass of defeated soldiers in front of them pouring down like a mountain torrent in a storm. They roared and surged towards them.
Some of the Diónia recruits gulped nervously.
"Order all squads to get into formation!" Two years ago, Diocasis was still the inspector of Naxos, but now he was the captain of the first company of the first brigade of the eighth legion. He calmly gave the order.
The other team officers also gave similar orders.
This time, the Diónia's shield formation was different from the past. Not only did the soldiers erect their shields at the front, back, left, and right periphery of the small square formation, but their spears were also placed horizontally at the front, back, left, and right, like a hedgehog with its spikes erected.
At the same time, the soldiers continued to shout, "Go through the gaps!!! Go through the gaps!!! … "
In order to facilitate the retreat of the defeated soldiers, the distance between the small square formations of the 8th Division was much wider than during the training.
If one was not an idiot, he or she would not take the initiative to charge at the densely packed spears. Moreover, there was a voice to remind the defeated soldiers, and the light armored soldiers at the front were guiding them. The defeated soldiers naturally split into thin streams in front of the Diónia formation and ran through the gaps between the small square formations to the rear.
Of course, there were some defeated soldiers who ran into the shield wall due to the chaos and were stabbed by the spears. They screamed in pain, but the Diónia soldiers did not withdraw their spears to rescue the wounded soldiers. They stood their ground and did not move. The screams of their comrades would also warn the others to stop in front of the shield formation and not to run into them.
"Chase them! Don't let them escape! " Milefio, who was riding on his horse, followed the Holy Knights and rushed forward. He shouted excitedly, not caring whether the soldiers around him could hear him or not.
Sitting high up on his horse, he could see that the soldiers of the Holy Regiment were indeed well-trained. Even in the pursuit of victory, they were still able to maintain a relatively complete formation, like a red tide pushing forward. Of course, this had something to do with the fact that most of the enemy had directly fled backwards when they were routed and did not scatter in all directions.
Whether it was Montt Adeno or Milefio, they only knew that the Diónia Allied Army had built a camp on the hill on the east bank of the Pletala River, but what was the specific layout? What kind of terrain was this? They were not very clear about it. On the one hand, it was because they did not have the strong consciousness to actively obtain information about the surroundings of the battlefield and the enemy. On the other hand, Leotychides had the initiative to protect the military secrets of his army from being leaked under the influence of the "Military Law of Diónia". Therefore, when he built the camp, he sent out all the scouts and mountain scouts, and even some of the light armored soldiers to patrol around the camp to drive away the scouts of Carthage and conceal the information about the area around the camp.
Therefore, when Milefio was in the middle of the battlefield, chasing after the enemy, he was not very clear that there was a hill a mile to his left and right, with the enemy's camp on top of it. What he did not know even more was that there was an even bigger hill three miles ahead, blocking their way forward. The real enemy of Carthage, the army of Diónia, was stationed on this hill. Now, these three hills were like giant crabs with their claws open, waiting for the routed soldiers to lead the ignorant Carthage soldiers into their hungry mouths.
The company led by Diokassis was divided into four small phalanxes, with two at the front and two at the back. Diokassis stood in the middle of the phalanx at the back, focusing on the situation of the routed soldiers through the gaps between the phalanxes in front of him.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. Through the gaps between the Allied soldiers who had thrown away their armor, he saw the Carthaginians in gorgeous armor.
According to the usual tactical principles of the Legion of Dionysia, the small phalanxes at the back should quickly move forward and fill in the gaps in the front, forming a complete and dense phalanx. However, by doing so, the routed soldiers at the back would be intercepted in front of the rapidly forming phalanx of the Dionysian Army, sandwiched between the armies of Diónia and Carthage, becoming the victims of the confrontation between the two armies.
However, the small phalanxes of the Eighth Legion did not move. The soldiers stuck their long shields closer to their bodies and held their spears tighter. However, they still stood in the same place and did not move.
This was not because they had to care about the pitiful soldiers of the Eighth Legion, but because this was the strategy of their commander, Leotychides.
Some of the pursuing Holy Legion soldiers saw the dense phalanxes in front of them and stopped in their tracks in shock. However, their comrades behind them pushed them forward involuntarily. Hence, they could only use their shields to protect themselves and thrust their spears at the enemies that appeared. Some of the Holy Legion soldiers followed the routed soldiers into the gaps between the phalanxes. However, they were blocked by the next phalanx. Some of the Holy Legion soldiers blindly followed the routed soldiers into the gaps between the phalanxes.
"There are enemies in front!"
"It's the soldiers of Diónia!"
…
The panicked shouts of the Diónia soldiers reached Milefio's ears. He had a clearer view of the situation as he rode on his horse. The soldiers of Diónia, clad in black armor, had gathered into small phalanxes. Under the assault of the routed soldiers and the Holy Legion soldiers, the phalanxes were like small islands in the middle of a raging torrent.
Even though he knew that he had lost control of the Holy Legion, Milefio still waved his spear and shouted, "Warriors of Carthage, charge! Crush the soldiers of Diónia!"
However, in the eyes of Leotychides, who was halfway up the mountain and looking down at the battlefield, the chessboard formation of the Eighth Legion had divided the soldiers of Carthage into countless thin streams. Without organization and command, the soldiers of Carthage, who could not form a cohesive force, could not shake the solid phalanxes of the Diónia!
"Gather the reserves!" Leotychides ordered.
His adjutant, Mukelu, hesitated for a moment. "Should we wait? After the soldiers of the alliance have escaped — "
Leotychides's gaze was cold. "The current situation is that the soldiers of the alliance have escaped, and some of the soldiers of Carthage will run to the back of the formation. It will cause unnecessary trouble for our soldiers. I have already given them a chance. If they want to blame something, they can only blame themselves for not running fast enough!"
"Yes!" Mukelu said no more and immediately accepted the order.
"Also, inform the generals of the alliance to hurry up and gather the routed soldiers. Quickly lead them back to their camps to defend against the enemy's upcoming attack."
"Woo!" A loud bugle sounded from the middle of the mountain.
The officers of the reserves, who had been repeatedly instructed by their commander, began to command the small phalanxes at the back of the formation. The phalanxes slowly moved forward and inwards.
The torrent formed by the defeated soldiers and the pursuing soldiers turned through many gaps and flowed to the rear. By then, the impact on the small phalanx formation had already weakened. With bayonets opening the way and long shields defending, along with the screams of the enemy and friendly soldiers, the reserve soldiers at the rear of the formation, relying on the dense formation of fifty people, smoothly entered the gap in the front without much hindrance. Together with the small phalanx formation in the front, they formed a dam that was only four rows thick but about two miles long, completely cutting off the torrent.
.。 Literary Hall.
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