Chapter 790
The Devers watched his son's silhouette walk out of the tent with worry in his eyes. He stood there for a moment, but when he turned around, he saw the envious looks on the faces of some of the younger staff officers. He smiled and said, "Who else wants to join the battle?"
"Me!"
"Me!"
"Me too!"
A few of the young men said hurriedly.
The Devers waved his hand. "Hurry up and fight well!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The young staff officers rushed out of the tent excitedly.
The Devers smiled and encouraged the staff officers who were still in the tent. "These young fellows are too young. They don't understand that this is the head of our entire army. Our efforts will determine the success or failure of the entire battle! So, lads, in order to win this battle, let us continue to work! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The restless hearts of the staff officers were temporarily calmed down by the Devers.
"You are Clonesus, from Armendolara, from the First Legion?" The Devers pointed at one of the young men and said.
"Yes, Your Majesty, your memory is very good!" The young man was pleasantly surprised.
"You will be responsible for receiving battle reports and the enemy's situation. Also, report to me in a timely and accurate manner!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"You are Iritheseus, from Castellón, from the Second Legion, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"You will be responsible for marking the map."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"You are Asinarus, from Crotone, from Legio IV?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"You will be responsible for recording and conveying my orders."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"And you … you … you …" The Devers accurately called out the names of the other staff officers. Seeing their flattered expressions, he smiled and said, "You will be responsible for recording and analyzing the battle situation. If you find any abnormalities or have any suggestions, you can bring them up to me at any time!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The staff officers who were in an uproar due to the departure of Tormid and Cloto Catax resumed their intense and meticulous military work. In fact, they were even more serious and diligent than before.
Devers looked at them, and their emotions fluctuated a little.
At this moment, Heniboris, who had left at some point in time, walked back into the tent. He came to the Devers' side and whispered, "Martius has sent thirty palace guards to protect Clotho."
Devers glanced at him, and his heart was completely at ease. He tapped on the map with his finger and said loudly, "Asinarus, immediately send a messenger to inform the engineering camp, the supply camp … and all the support personnel in this camp to move to the rear of the 2nd Legion and wait for orders!"
"Yes!" Asinarus quickly walked out of the tent.
Although Devers had boldly transferred the four brigades stationed in the camp to participate in the battle, it was indeed a risk. With only two brigades left to guard the camp, no matter how strong their combat power was, they would not be able to completely defend such a large camp. Therefore, this transfer order was given by the Devers to be on the safe side, especially since his precious engineers and skilled craftsmen could not be harmed in any way.
Then, Devers gave another order, "Iritheseus, check the latest news about Epicthenis. Confirm his position again, then calculate his current approximate position based on his marching speed."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
… …
Tormid felt a little headache as he left the tent. Of course, it was not because he was about to command an army of nearly ten thousand soldiers in battle. Although he had never commanded an army of more than a thousand soldiers in battle, he had decades of experience in the military. Moreover, ever since he joined Diónia and entered the Staff Office of the Ministry of Military Affairs, he had been working hard to improve himself. He had a deeper understanding of Diónia's past battles, familiarize himself with and thoroughly understand Diónia's military system and tactics, and further work hard to envision future military reform and development … Tormid admitted that he was not as talented as Printos in military affairs, but he felt that he was worthy of the position of Staff Officer.
What he was worried about was Cloto Catax. Although Devers did not say that he should "take good care of his son", he did not think that he would have a good life in Diónia in the future if His Royal Highness, who was recognized as the future successor to the Devers' throne, was in danger, injured, or …
By the time the 30 palace guards arrived at Klotokatax's side, Tolmid had already made up his mind. With a serious expression, he said, "Your Highness, intercepting the enemy this time is related to the success or failure of our entire battle. It is related to the life and death of the entire army, so it is very important! You are not a member of the other brigades, have not trained with them, and do not have tacit understanding of combat, so I will not put you at the front of the formation, but at the back. Once the front line cannot withstand the enemy's attack, or the enemy attacks from the flank, I will let you lead the palace guards to block their attack and buy time for the other troops! "
Although Crotocatax was very young, he had been carefully taught by Devers for a long time, so he was not arrogant. He also knew that his sudden addition would make Tormid a little worried, and what Tormid said made sense, so he immediately nodded and responded, "Yes, Lord Commander!"
Tormid had little contact with Cloto Catax in the past, so he did not know him well. Seeing that the young man was so reasonable, he was relieved, and at the same time, he had a good impression of the prince.
The group went straight out of the northwest gate of the camp, and soon the rumbling sound of hooves could be heard behind them. After receiving the order, the two cavalry legions had quickly arrived.
"Tormid … Lord Commander, the first (second) cavalry legion has arrived!"
Tormid looked at Ledes, who was always joking with him, and then glanced at Kucius, who was next to him. At this time, he was not in the mood to joke. Instead, he said with a serious expression, "Commanders, the reinforcements of Rome of 8,000 soldiers are coming from the west. His Majesty has ordered us to stop them. We must not let the enemy disrupt our siege plan! Please reorganize your troops first, and we will set off together when the other troops arrive. "
The two legion commanders nodded in agreement. Although they saw Klotokatax standing beside Tolmid, they did not question him. Instead, they turned around and ordered the officers to gather the cavalrymen.
After a while, four infantry brigades arrived one after another.
When Cloto Catax saw that Adoris's commanding officer was among the brigade commanders who came to report, he could not help but feel happy. He had heard his father say that 'father and son are soldiers in battle' before. I did not expect to be able to fight with my brother this time!
But on such an occasion, of course, Crotocatax would not look for Adoris.
After the troops gathered, Tormid immediately led the troops to the west of the southwest corner of the city wall of Rome. The two garrisoned battalions of Legio IV who were notified by the messenger also arrived soon. Now, there were six infantry brigades in the army led by Tormid, four of which were heavy infantry brigades, and two were light infantry brigades. After all, light infantry brigades were weak in defense, and they would be at a disadvantage in a frontal attack. So, several legion commanders left the light infantry brigades in the camp.
After learning from the scouts that the enemy was still a mile away, Tormid breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the central camp of Diónia occupied a large area. The soldiers of Rome took a detour from the outside, and he led the troops directly inside. Although he set off later, he still managed to catch up with the enemy.
Tormid immediately began to arrange the army formation. He put one heavy infantry brigade from Legio IV, Legio V, and Legio VI in the left, middle, and right of the army formation. The other brigade from Legio IV and Legio VI was at the back. The brigade from Legio II was at the back of the middle. The First and Second Cavalry Legions were at the left and right wings. The length of the entire middle formation would be lengthened or shortened according to the situation of the enemy's formation.
Tormid arranged a simple formation, but for such a hastily assembled 10,000-man army, the simpler the formation, the more advantageous it was for them to fight.
Under the command of the officers, the infantry and the cavalry quickly began to form a formation. Crotor, Catax and the palace guards were just at the back of the second legion. In the process of forming the formation, he saw Adoris. Adoris was also surprised that his younger brother unexpectedly appeared here. However, the two brothers only exchanged glances for a moment before they quickly obeyed the command and went to their respective positions.
As soon as the Diónia army was arranged, they saw the Rome army in the distance. Tormid did not wait for the Rome army to come. Instead, he ordered the whole army to move forward.
… …
Yesterday, Paulus and Mejus led the army all the way to the east, passing through Saturnicum and Villette. At dusk, they entered the Lake Alba area. Only then did they stop and let the army station. While scouting the situation of the Diónia, Mejus and his men visited all the villages and towns in the area overnight, hoping that the Latin compatriots in the area could support them to fight against the invaders and rescue Rome.
The next day, a lot of Latin warriors arrived in the Alba area. According to Paulus's statistics, there were 3,000 of them. This was indeed the first Latin area conquered by Rome, and it had the closest relationship with Rome. But this was also the best the Latin people of Alba could do.
When the number of Rome's reinforcements increased to more than 8,000, the two generals had a disagreement.
Paulus believed that according to the intelligence from various sources, the Diónia army was already attacking the city with all their might. Rome was in danger. They should take advantage of the fact that the Diónia army had invested most of their soldiers in the siege, but the city had not been breached. They should launch a fierce attack on the Diónia army from the rear. They would definitely be able to thwart the enemy's attack and save Rome!
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