Chapter 758
Suddenly, the lookout blinked and hooked his right hand and right foot onto the mast. His whole body leaned forward, his left hand resting on his forehead, and his eyes widened. Under the dim sky in the distance, a few black dots appeared on the surface of the sea … After a while, the number of black dots doubled, and after a while …
The lookout shuddered and immediately shouted, "Enemy ships spotted! The Diónia fleet is here!! … "
… …
The news that the Diónia Second Fleet had defeated the Iberian Fleet on the North Coast made Saikory's heart itch. Although as the commander of the Sicilian Fleet, he also contributed to the victory of this naval battle, he disdained to snatch Flarios's credit. However, the Carthage Fleet had never appeared on the South Coast, making it impossible for him to fight a decisive battle.
At this time, because the land forces were about to attack Salinus, he saw an opportunity. So, after discussing with Leotychides, he formulated a plan: by besieging Salinus, they would lure the Carthage Fleet to rescue them from the sea, thus achieving the goal of a decisive battle.
In order to ensure the victory of the final battle, Cykerian had even transferred the second fleet that was stationed in Messina over. This resulted in Dionia's fleet in Sicily having 600 warships and 485 three-oared warships. This was a huge number, and Cykerian firmly believed that the Carthaginian navy would not be able to match up to them.
Every day, Saikory sent out many fast ships to the South Coast of Sicily, and some even ventured to the West Coast to scout the enemy.
But for a few days, there was still no movement from the Carthage Fleet. Leotychides was the first to become restless. Although the Dionysian Army was feigning an attack on Salinus, there were still casualties every day. Moreover, there were troops stationed in the city for a long time, and not far away, Lilibo's army was ready to make a move. Although it was not very strong, the Iberian Army in Palermos worried him. Moreover, it was not too far away. Once a few Carthage Fleets attacked at the same time, the Dionysian Army, which did not have much of an advantage in terms of military strength, would be in trouble. Therefore, Leotychides believed that they could not wait any longer. They must immediately attack Salinus with all their strength, so that the Dionysian Army could gain a foothold in western Sicily controlled by Carthage.
Of course, Saikory objected. His reason was that as long as the Carthage Fleet was defeated, the Diónia Navy would gain an absolute advantage in the sea. The West Coast of Sicily would be under the control of the Diónia Fleet, which would be of greater help to the land forces.
He persuaded Leotychides to be patient and wait a little longer.
The two sides argued, but a letter from the Devers and the Ministry of Military Affairs resolved their dispute.
In the letter, the Devers asked Leotychides to strengthen the attack on western Sicily. The Devers had higher expectations for Saikory. They hoped that he could completely defeat the Carthage Navy, cut off the sea connection between Carthage and Sicily, and even threaten Carthage itself.
Therefore, this letter forced Leotychides to agree to continue the plan of "luring the Carthage Fleet".
Early this morning, the movement caused by the large-scale assembly of the Carthage Warships on the Sea of Lili could not escape the eyes of the Diónia Clippers.
When the news was quickly sent back to Agrigento, Saikory was overjoyed. He immediately ordered all the warships to assemble and prepare for battle!
Although Flarios reminded him with some concern, "Commander, the weather at sea today is not very good!"
But Saikory had always been known for his boldness in battle. Even in his middle age, this characteristic of his had not diminished. He had waited for this opportunity with great difficulty, so how could he let it go? So he said resolutely, "If the Carthage Fleet dares to go to sea, why can't we?"
At the beginning of March 14 of the Kingdom of Diónia (379 BC), on the third day after the Devers led the army, left Turií, and headed north to Latinum, the Sicilian Fleet of Diónia and the Carthage Navy encountered the sea near Selinus.
The sky was dark and gloomy, but there was no wind or waves. This could be said to be the largest naval battle in Greek history.
… …
After learning that the Dionysian Fleet had appeared, Annobus was a little surprised, but at the same time, relieved. He stared out the window, thought for a moment, and quickly made a decision. "The warships in the front will follow the original route and advance to meet the enemy. The warships in the middle will move east and spread out as much as possible on the right side of the front. The Iberian Fleet at the back will follow the fleet in front to prevent the Diónia Warships from attacking the fleet at the back after breaking through the interception.
The reason why Arnobus made such a deployment was that, according to his understanding of this area of the sea, although it was calm now, judging from the weather, it would probably still be windy and rainy, and it would most likely be from the southwest. Thus, the Carthaginian warships had to first occupy an advantageous position in order to fight later.
Therian, on the other hand, did not think so far ahead. He deployed the main force of the First Fleet close to the coast, and sent the Third Fleet led by Flarios to face Carthage's constantly extending flank.
His idea was to use all his strength to destroy the enemy in the front, and put on a posture of attacking the fleet in the rear to rescue Selinus, forcing Carthage's spread out formation to have no choice but to pull back to rescue. This would not only exhaust the enemy's strength, but also cause chaos in Carthage's fleet.
… …
"Flute! Flute! Flute! " Flute! "The speed at which the sailors pushed the wooden oars increased with the sound of the double-barreled flutes. The Raven Warship at the forefront of Diónia's fleet was advancing rapidly. The seawater split by the bow of the warship flew again and again onto the suspension bridge erected next to the foremast, splashing water everywhere. The 12-meter-long wooden bridge almost became a wave shield for the warship.
Stefakas was still a sailor in the Diónia Navy during the Southern Italian War. He was proud of having experienced all the battles in which this newly built fleet defeated the powerful Syracuse Navy. Now, he was the commander of the Second Fleet of the First Fleet of Diónia, commanding his warship to charge at the forefront of the fleet, about to engage in battle with the most powerful maritime hegemony in the western Mediterranean — Carthage.
But he was far less excited than the sailors. Instead, he calmly watched the oncoming Carthage warship. He felt that the other party's speed was not very fast. With his rich experience, he immediately realized that the other party was probably not going to collide head-on with his warship, but was controlling the warship's inertia so that it could nimbly circle around the front and avoid being hooked by the Raven Suspension Bridge. After all, the unique tactics of the Diónia Navy were no longer a secret. Moreover, Carthage's fleet had been defeated in the naval battle, so they were probably prepared.
"Prepare to intercept!" Stefakas decisively shouted the order.
The operator of the suspension bridge at the bow, the boatswain at the cabin, and the helmsman at the stern immediately repeated the order. The crew maintained a high degree of tension and concentration.
The two warships were rapidly approaching each other.
Stefakas looked ahead, judging the best time to act. Suddenly, he shouted, "Intercept to the left!"
The helmsman moved the rudder, and the sailor on the left reduced the force of the oar, while the sailor on the right increased the force of the oar. The warship quickly moved diagonally to the left.
This was a very dangerous tactical maneuver. Actively exposing the waist of the warship to the enemy's ram was undoubtedly a big taboo in today's naval battles. Even for the Diónia warship with the Raven Suspension Bridge, it was quite dangerous because the distance was too close and the enemy ship was advancing at high speed. If the crew was not focused enough and did not cooperate well, it was likely that the warship would be hit by the enemy before the suspension bridge could be lowered.
But Stefakas was full of confidence in the skills and tacit cooperation of his crew. This confidence came from the results of rigorous training day after day, year after year.
Even so, the suspension bridge operators were still operating with a high degree of tension. Some quickly turned the suspension bridge according to the direction of the enemy ship's attack, while others hurriedly loosened the rope tied to the mast, pulling it tightly as they stared at the charging enemy ship and shouted … Everyone's face was covered in sweat, and the muscles on their arms bulged with tension.
Originally, Captain Carthage was ready to deflect the warship to avoid the enemy's attack on the Raven Suspension Bridge, but the Raven Warship suddenly turned horizontally in front of Captain Carthage. He froze for a moment.
While he was stunned, the warship had already rushed a few meters forward.
He immediately understood and hurriedly gave the order to turn the warship to the right.
Carthage's sailors responded quickly, and the rushing warship quickly turned to the right.
But it was already a little too late. The Diónia warship happened to be moving in the same direction as their warship, and instead of slowing down, it increased its speed and closed in.
The Raven Suspension Bridge was immediately lowered, and the 40 fleet infantrymen on the ship immediately rushed out of the cabin, crossed the suspension bridge, and killed their way into the enemy ship.
After knowing the combat characteristics of the Dionysian fleet, Annobus was not unprepared. During this period of time, he had asked Carthage and his allies to make a large number of daggers and equip them with the sailors, because only such light and compact weapons would not affect their rowing, and at the same time, give them some ability to defend themselves and fight back.
However, on the long and narrow warship, they could not make use of the advantage of numbers. Most of these Carthage civilians who served as sailors had not undergone formal infantry training, and were completely no match for the aggressive infantrymen of the Dionysian fleet.
Except for the fact that they did not wear the standard heavy infantry equipment of the Legion of Dionysia, the intensity of the Dionysian fleet's daily training was no less than that of the army. Not only did they need to be proficient in short sword stabs, sword and shield attacks, chessboard formations, javelins and charges, and group cooperation … In addition, they also put more effort into two training: rapid landings and long-distance swimming.
Therefore, the infantrymen of the Dionysian fleet could be said to be well-trained. The Carthage sailors were equipped with daggers, and although they caused some trouble for the infantrymen, they were quickly defeated by their fierce attacks.
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