Chapter 737
It was a relatively easy task for the reserve soldiers who were intercepting the enemy's advance. Although they had to injure some allied soldiers by mistake and were cursed by the enemy, few of them were injured or killed.
But for the various units of the Eighth Legion at the forefront, they were in a relatively difficult situation. Because once the torrent was intercepted, Carthage's men would stop in between the gaps of the phalanx. When they realized that the situation was not good, they would attack the soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia. The units of the Eighth Legion at the forefront would naturally be attacked from all directions.
The legionnaires had to hide behind their shields, shoulder to shoulder and back to back. The tight formation became even tighter due to the pressure from all directions, making it harder for them to be overwhelmed. But the narrow space made it difficult for them to swing their spears. So the soldiers in the two outermost rows of the phalanx had thrown away their long weapons and pulled out their short swords. In such a narrow and crowded space, they had the advantage of killing the enemy.
The platoon leader in the center of the phalanx kept shouting, "Brothers, hold on! Hold on! Our counterattack is about to begin! … "
Yes, while the phalanxes of the Dionysia were attacked from all directions, the Holy Legion soldiers in the gaps were also attacked from all directions. But compared to the Eighth Legion, who had a premeditated and well-prepared defense, and the unique division system of the Dionysia military system, the Holy Legion was able to command each and every one of its soldiers.
The Carthage's Sacred Legion had been implementing tactics similar to the traditional Greek phalanx. Since the beginning of the pursuit, their formation had been completely scattered. The Holy Legion soldiers who had lost their organization were like a plate of loose sand. Although they felt that something was wrong and launched a fierce attack on the Eighth Legion, their attacks were disorderly and could not deal effective damage to the unified Dionysia units. On the contrary, they could not form effective coordination. After blocking the attacks from the opponents in front, they could not defend against the stabbing swords and spears from the sides and back. Their casualty rate was far higher than that of the Eighth Legion.
To make matters worse, the second phase of Leotychides's plan had already begun.
The bugle sounded again.
The various units of the Eighth Legion of Diónia began to advance and converge inwards, while the reserve troops at the rear slowly pressed forward. The entire Diónia formation was like a wet cloth, squeezing out the moisture contained in the cloth. However, it was difficult for the Holy Knights who were squeezed into the gaps of the Diónia formation, because there were more Holy Knights outside. While they fought against the Diónia soldiers, they also blocked the retreat of their comrades who were trapped in the formation. But with the current situation, it was almost impossible. First of all, they had not yet been attacked fiercely by the Dionysian Army (the phalanxes of Diónia, which were at the forefront of contact with the enemy, were still in a defensive position). Secondly, they lacked a unified command, and could not retreat of their own accord.
Therefore, if the Eighth Legion wanted to transform from a checkerboard formation to a complete phalanx, it meant that the Carthage Holy Knights in the formation had to be eliminated.
Since then, the bugle was like the footsteps of the Grim Reaper, and the battle in the lowlands had suddenly entered a white-hot state of 'either you die, or I live' …
… …
Monadeno, who had always liked to command from behind the scenes, rode across the Platani River and slowly followed behind the pursuing Holy Knights. After all, the identity and status of the Holy Knights among the Carthage people was different from that of the ordinary Carthage army. It was something that the Phoenician army, mercenary army, and Numibian army could not compare to, so he must pay more attention to it.
Not long after, the scout he sent out to investigate the situation returned from the front. "My Lord, the Holy Knights have been intercepted by the Dionysian Army!"
"The Dionysian Army?!" Monadeno was surprised. He had thought that there were many Diónia soldiers among the retreating enemy. "It's impossible for the Diónia to organize reinforcements so quickly! And aren't they afraid that their formation will be broken by the retreating enemy?! "
"Yes, my Lord, it is indeed the Dionysian Army! They are dressed in full black armor and arranged in small phalanxes … "
Monadeno had not studied the Dionysian Army in detail before. After listening to the description of the scout, he was even more puzzled. Did the Diónia fail to form a phalanx in a hurry? Or did they deliberately do so to make it easier for the retreating enemy to escape?
But as the scouts reported back, the doubts in his heart began to turn into uneasiness. After all, the Diónia were able to form a similar formation over an area of more than two miles wide, completely blocking the entire lowlands. This was obviously not something that could be done in a hurry. Were the Diónia not afraid that their strange and loose formation would be broken by the Holy Knights?!
But when he thought about it, he understood something. After all, the information brought back by the scouts gave him a quick understanding of the terrain here. The Holy Knights were deep in the lowlands, with hills on both sides, and the barracks of the Diónia Coalition Army on top. The Greeks could come down from the hills and attack the rear of the Holy Knights!
At the thought of this, Monadeno became nervous. He turned around and looked behind him. There were only 3,000 Numibian cavalrymen who had just arrived. He immediately asked his adjutant, "Where are the other troops?"
"My Lord, they are on their way."
"Tell them to hurry up!" Monadeno snapped.
"Yes, my Lord!"
"Wait! Immediately inform the Numibian troops not to come here. Go straight across the river and attack the Diónia barracks! " Monadeno pointed to the hill in the distance on his right and said firmly. He then pointed to the slightly smaller hill in the distance on his left. "Let Reguka lead the militia to attack the enemy camp!"
The reason Monadeno made such a choice was that the coalition camp in the south was very close to Minoa City. In fact, they were at the north and south ends of the same hill. It would be more difficult to attack it because they also had to guard against a surprise attack from the army in Minoa City. So, he handed this difficult task to the Numibians. According to the intelligence they just received, the area of the hill to the north was much smaller. Correspondingly, the barracks on it were also smaller, and the number of Greek soldiers stationed there were definitely not that many. Therefore, Monadeno handed over this relatively easy target to his own people.
The adjutant rode away with the messenger.
Monadeno divided the Numibian cavalrymen into two parts, positioned on both sides of the entrance to the lowlands and spread out their formation. Once they found the enemy coming down from the hill, they would rush up and attack them with javelins and rams, delaying their attack on the Holy Knights and buying time for the arrival of reinforcements.
After making these arrangements, Monadeno was still a little worried.
After a while, the adjutant rushed back to report, "The Numibian troops have begun to attack the enemy camp!"
After a while, the twelve thousand soldiers of the militia of the Duke of Carthage ran behind him, and the enemy camps on both sides did not show any obvious signs of an attack. Only the enemy's light infantry were throwing arrows and javelins down the hill. While he was relieved, he also sternly ordered all troops to speed up the attack on the enemy barracks and dispel any attempt by the enemy to besiege the Holy Knights.
All the deployments were already in progress. Monadeno quietly waited for the Sacred Legion to defeat the Dionysian Army in front of them.
But for such a long time, the Holy Knights in front had been stagnant in place and did not move a step forward …
… …
On the battlefield, which was about two miles long and dozens of meters thick, neither the Holy Knights of Carthage nor the Legion of Dionysia had encountered such a battle before. It was like a kind of stuffed bread in Cristoya's restaurant. The front and back were still clear, but the two sides in the middle were intertwined and completely mixed together. But the Diónia soldiers were deliberately doing so, and the Holy Knights were forced to do so.
Amidst the sound of the bugle, as the Diónia formation continued to move forward and inward, the space between the soldiers on both sides was further compressed, so much so that even turning around and waving their arms became a little difficult. Spears and spears could not be used anymore, so the Holy Knights had to draw their swords. Some of them felt that their swords were too long, so they simply swung their fists. With only two shields between them and such a close distance, the Holy Knights even headbutted their opponents and tore their enemies apart with their bare hands. They glared and bared their fangs and roared. The arrogance and elegance of the nobles had long disappeared. The only reason they behaved so valiantly was because they were fighting for survival in a hopeless situation.
At this time, the small phalanx of Diónia could not maintain its integrity. The desperate desperate fighting of the Holy Knights had caused many cracks to appear in the formation. But the structure of the phalanx was still there, and its core organization was still there. The soldiers were still able to unite, cooperate with each other, and continue to carry out the plan.
The soldiers of the Eighth Legion hid their entire bodies behind their shields, almost not using their eyes to observe their opponents. The short swords in their right hands kept stabbing forward, but almost every stab did not miss. If the short swords hit a hard object and could not move an inch, then it must have hit the opponent's round shield. If the short swords hit an obstacle, the opponent would let out a muffled grunt and thrust forward, then it must have hit the chest armor. If the short swords hit a slight obstacle, but could continue to thrust forward smoothly, and the opponent would let out a cry of agony, then it must have hit an unguarded part of the body such as the arm or thigh.
When the opponent fell to the ground, the soldiers of the Eighth Legion carefully squeezed forward. At the same time, they had to prevent themselves from being tripped by the enemy on the ground. Otherwise, if their comrades could not pull them up in time, they would be repeatedly trampled by the crowd and die tragically. That was the most terrifying thing in this chaotic battle.
Although it was difficult for the Eighth Legion to regroup, they were still pushing forward slowly …
.。 m.
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