Chapter 743
At this moment, the Iberian fleet had also discovered the enemy in front of them. Ademica had also quickly prepared his fleet for battle. He had adopted a single column formation. This formation was mainly focused on one-on-one combat. It had a higher requirement for every sailor's ability to control the ship. Thus, it could be seen that the Iberian fleet thought highly of themselves.
In fact, the triple-oared warships were originally invented by the Phoenicians. Even the naval collision tactics were pioneered by them. However, the centuries-old maritime tradition was both the glory of the Carthage fleet and their shackles. Even when the powerful Syracuse Navy suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the rising Diónia Navy more than a decade ago, it didn't affect the Carthage Navy too much. On the contrary, the majority of the Carthage Navy believed that the Syracuse Navy's handling skills were too poor, which led to the defeat. If it were them, they would never make the stupid mistake of the Syracuse Navy.
As for the Diónia Navy, their tactics had always been improving. This could be seen from the current formation of the 3rd Fleet. The front half of the formation was made up of triple-oared warships with crow suspension bridges. There were a total of 100 triple-oared warships, while the back half was made up of 50 triple-oared warships arranged in a column without crow suspension bridges. On both sides of the Starry Sky Formation were 50 small and medium-sized warships arranged loosely.
This was the result of continuous improvements made by the Diónia Ministry of Military Affairs and several high-ranking naval officers after the naval battles with the Syracuse Navy. Based on the flaws revealed by the crow warships and the problems discovered during training, every fleet adopted a mix of crow warships and triple-oared warships. Basically, the crow warships made up two-thirds of the triple-oared warships, while the regular triple-oared warships made up one-third of the triple-oared warships.
The navy had also modified the structure of the two types of triple-oared warships. The crow warships mainly relied on suspension bridges to lock down enemy ships and relied on infantry to win battles. Hence, their hulls were longer and wider. This ensured that the bottoms were spacious, and the infantrymen inside would not feel cramped. After all, with the expansion of the kingdom's territory, it was impossible for the fleets to engage in battle with the enemy as soon as they left the port. Often, they would patrol for a day or two without finding any traces of the enemy. This was to ensure that the sailors and infantrymen on the ships had a more comfortable living environment, which was beneficial to maintaining their combat effectiveness. At the same time, the crow warships added some weight to the stern. This ensured that after the suspension bridge was installed, the front and rear of the warships could maintain balance, and the navigation would be more stable.
If the crow warships sacrificed speed to ensure comfort and safety, then the Diónia's regular triple-oared warships had to compensate for the crow warships' lack of speed. Hence, their hulls were narrow and shorter, shaped like willow leaves. Even their masts were shorter, and the number of sailors on each warship was reduced to 150. The Ministry of Military Affairs gathered many of Diónia's famous shipwrights to repeatedly modify and test the triple-oared warships. Finally, the triple-oared warships were finalized. As a result, their top speed could reach 15 knots, and their agility was relatively high. Hence, the sailors of Diónia called them the fast triple-oared warships.
Under normal circumstances, these fast triple-oared warships would be arranged at the rear of the fleet. When the battle began, they would shuttle between the gaps of the warships, protecting the crow warships that were boarding the warships, and ramming the enemy ships that attempted to circle to the rear. When the enemy fleet retreated, the triple-oared warships would use their faster speed to pursue and expand the results of the battle.
This was an encounter battle. Neither side avoided the battle. On the contrary, the sailors were very enthusiastic about the battle. Soon, they followed the order of their commander and adjusted the warships in the area of ten miles around them, lining up. Listening to the piper's flute, they chanted orderly chants and pushed the oars with all their might. As the oars moved faster and faster, the warships broke through the waves and moved as fast as they could, as if they were flying.
The warships at the forefront of both sides were about to collide …
The commander of the Iberian Navy, Ademica, who was at the rear, heard the cry of the lookout on the mast and clenched his fists in excitement. The first battle between Carthage and Diónia was about to begin. He firmly believed that victory would belong to the Carthage, who had a long history of sailing!
* Boom! * Boom! * The raven drawbridges spun and fell, smashing through the deck of the enemy's ship and connecting the two warships together.
"Hades!!!" Forty infantrymen of the Dionysian fleet rushed out from the bottom of the warships, crossing the suspension bridges in high spirits and killing the enemy ships. These infantrymen of the fleet were very different from the soldiers of the legion that had been loaded on the warships at the beginning. Not only were there ten fewer people, but they were also wearing leather helmets and armor, holding a completely wooden shield in their left hand, and wearing leather sandals with crisscrossing grooves on the soles … These changes in weapons and equipment, as well as the reduction in weight, were more conducive to their flexibility in fighting on the warships, and it was not easy for them to slip on the slippery deck.
When the infantrymen of the Dionysian fleet carried out a massacre on the enemy ships, Ademica's excitement disappeared without a trace, replaced by coldness in his heart. In the end, he could only give the order to retreat with a bitter taste in his mouth.
The first battle between Diónia and the Carthage Navy lasted for just over half an hour. At the cost of five warships sunk and six damaged, Diónia's third fleet captured 18 of the Carthage's three-decker oar warships and sank four, obtaining a great victory.
Hasdrubal, who had just broken through the port, watched the whole process of the naval battle from the lighthouse of Therodiem. He saw with his own eyes the Dionysian fleet's unique tactics that led to the crushing defeat of the Iberian fleet. This greatly shocked him, and at the same time made his joy of occupying Therodiem vanish.
As for the citizens of Therodiem who were evacuating from the sea, the victory of Diónia also boosted their confidence to return to their homes.
The next day, Hasdrubal, who had yet to wash his dust from the war, received the news that the main forces of the Carthage Navy had been defeated on the south coast. Although he was somewhat gloating, he also felt that his situation was dangerous. Without the threat from the south, the Diónia would very likely turn their troops to deal with his isolated army deep in enemy territory. However, it would take some time for the Diónia to move from the south coast to the north coast.
In the afternoon he received a messenger from Palermos, who had come in a hurry, and at last he made up his mind. As it turned out, the third fleet of Diónia had sailed west early in the morning and landed on the coast near Palermos. After the thousands of infantry on the warships went ashore, they attacked the main camp of the Iberian army. Although due to the vigilance and stubborn resistance of the garrison troops, they were unable to break through the camp, they still caused some damage to the supplies.
Hasdrubal decided to lead the army back to Palermos and stay there for a while, waiting for the new decision of the Carthage Senate, because he realized that the defeat of the main forces led by Monteaderno was likely to lead to a new political storm.
As they retreated, Hasdrubal ordered the soldiers to completely destroy Therodiem so that they would not encounter any trouble the next time they attacked.
… …..
Venosa, a town in the northwest corner of the Puceti region. It was said that one of Homer's heroes, Diomedes, lived in seclusion here after the Trojan War in search of a peaceful life. He built this town and the temple of Aphrodite to appease the anger of the goddess of love for the destruction of her beloved city of Troy. Hence, this town was also known as the City of Aphrodite, which showed the blood and cultural connection between the Puceti people and the Greeks.
However, at this time, this town that was blessed by the goddess of love was once again ravaged by the flames of war. It was surrounded by the Samnites, and the few militias were tenaciously resisting the enemy's attacks from all sides.
"Go and urge the tribal leaders to continue the attack. We must capture this town before dusk!" Lescok looked at the situation of the battle in front of him, and anxiously gave the order in a loud voice.
"Yes, great leader!" The guard received the order and left.
The great leader of the Karacheni tribe, Kontruc, glanced at him and comforted him, "There's no point in rushing them. Don't worry, I don't think the enemy can hold on any longer. We can definitely capture this town before dusk."
"I'm just … a little worried about the people of Diónia. We must hurry up and plunder more people and resources. We must have more bargaining chips to threaten the people of Diónia!" Lescok hurriedly explained.
"There's nothing to fear from the people of Diónia!" Kontruk saw through the fear in Lescock's heart at first glance. He said loudly with some disdain, "All your previous defeats against them were due to their tricks. You should know that we have never lost a head-on battle, and we have never lost a battle against the Greeks before! As the great leader of the Zilpini, you can be cautious, but you can't lose the courage and fierceness that the descendants of the Vorthani should have! "
As a veteran great leader, Kontruc used his status as an elder and years of battle experience to continue teaching the martyr Jac, "Besides, you've already used a trick to move the main forces of Diónia to the north of the Downey region. It'll be difficult for them to get here in two or three days. Even if the enemy's reinforcements arrive in these two days, they'll be the temporary forces that the people of Diónia have formed in the Puchetti and Mesapi regions. There won't be many of them, and they won't be strong either. We can defeat them and boost the courage and morale of our warriors, especially the warriors of Zilpini, Cautini, and Pentene! " In the heart of this old Samonese leader, the warriors of the three tribes who had been defeated time and time again were not qualified Samonese warriors. Only the warriors of Karacheni were the best.
Lescok did not say anything.
At this moment, the scout hurried over, "Great leader, reinforcements from Diónia have been found in the south!"
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