Chapter 829
After a period of continuous bombardment, Titus sent a second wave of soldiers to continue the siege after a period of rest. The defenders of Diónia, on the other hand, were busy defending against the attacks and dodging the stone projectiles. As time went by, the Roman soldiers gradually began to match the defenders in terms of physical strength and energy.
In addition, there was another thing that gave the defenders a headache during the siege by the Roman soldiers. Other than the soldiers who were climbing the ladders, the rest of their heavy infantry were not idle either. They used their long shields to protect themselves while throwing javelins at the top of the city wall.
Using the heavy infantry to throw javelins was a tactic used by the soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia. Camillus noticed the power of this tactic after the battle between Wolsey and the Diónia. He began to try it in the battle against the Helnici and achieved some results. Before the attack, when Camillus and Titus were discussing how to attack Ostia, they mentioned the use of this tactic again. Although the heavy infantry of Rome did not go through long-term training like the soldiers of the Legion of Dionysia, and their javelin throwing was not only accurate, powerful, but also full of tactical variations, the low walls of Ostia increased the lethality of the javelins thrown by the Roman soldiers. And the fact that the heavy infantry of the Roman army far outnumbered the defenders at the top of the city wall became the key to suppressing the defenders of Diónia with javelins.
After one wave of Rome's siege soldiers retreated, another wave of fierce attacks came. The continuous impact was like a raging tide. The casualties of the defenders of Diónia increased, and the strength of their defense decreased. The enemy had already attacked the top of the city wall several times.
Titus had no choice but to send a reserve force. However, as he lacked experience, he did not break up these temporarily formed fresh troops. Instead, he assigned them to the defenders at the top of the city wall and let the reserve soldiers of the legion command them. Instead, he asked them to replace the vacant positions at the top of the city wall. As a result, the strength of the defense was not greatly enhanced. Instead, there was a lot of chaos.
"General, look! The wall has collapsed! "His entourage pointed to the front and began to cheer.
Titus also could not suppress the ecstasy in his heart.
A few days ago, the walls of Ostia had just been baptized by Diónia's ballistae. Although they had been repaired, it was not enough for them to fully recover in just a few days. After that, they were attacked by Rome's ballistae again. Finally, a section of the walls let out a wail and collapsed.
Accompanied by the exclamations of the soldiers on both sides, a gap was revealed after the dust dissipated.
When Titus saw this, he would not let go of the opportunity to break the city wall. He immediately ordered, "Stop the ballistae bombardment. Everyone, press forward and attack immediately!"
Although it was said that the entire army was pressing forward, in fact, only the militia of Rome participated in the attack with all their might. After all, they had marched for a long time during the day and continued to fight at night. Although there was a break in between, all the soldiers were extremely tired. Coupled with the fact that they did not care about casualties, the Latin and Etruscan Allies were in a lot of trouble. Their generals had protested to Titus many times, and their soldiers had begun to fight passively. Only the militia of Rome, which had less than 5,000 soldiers, was supported by the belief of "reclaiming their motherland". Under the constraints of strict discipline, the collapse of the walls of Ostia had given them hope of success. With a loud bugle, they roared angrily and launched another fierce attack on Ostia.
The high morale of the Rome soldiers also influenced the troops of their allies. They reluctantly followed behind …
… …
Giogris had always been a cautious man. With Cloto Catax, he became even more cautious. So, he arranged for four fast ships to take the lead in the front, and the other ships to travel side by side. There was a large gap between the front and the back. All the ships lit their torches, and like a fire dragon, they swam downstream.
Giogris's caution worked. On the way, one of the pilot ships collided with the fast ship that was going to report to the city of Rome and sank. Another pilot ship failed to control the direction of the river, hit a reef and sank …
All the transport ships were not seriously affected, and they safely approached the mouth of the Tiber River. However, the soldiers on the ships were shocked by the scene on the shore in the distance. It was almost late at night, but the sun had not yet risen. The waning moon was still hanging in the sky, and the sky was still dark. It was the best time for people to sleep. However, in the direction of Ostia, fire was blazing, and the sound of killing was deafening …
Could it be that Ostia had fallen? Whether it was Giogris, the officers of all levels, or the soldiers, they all had the same worry in their hearts. With the guidance of the distant fire and the port lighthouse, and to not attract the enemy's attention, Giogris immediately ordered, "Extinguish the torches on all the ships!"
Soon, the patrol ships of the port came out to greet them. After learning that Ostia had not fallen, the fleet quickly sailed into its port.
After the ship docked, Giogris was the first to go ashore. He was surprised to see countless people dressed as sailors gathering together and putting on their armor. The arrival of the soldiers of the Fifth Legion was warmly welcomed by them.
After Giogris asked, he learned that the Roman army had been attacking the city since dusk and had not stopped. They lit up a lot of fire outside the city as lighting to facilitate the attack of the Roman soldiers. Due to the continuous fierce attack of the Roman army, the reserve troops led by Teris suffered a lot of casualties. Not only did he send the reserve troops made up of Latin refugees and slaves to the top of the city, but he also gathered the sailors of the civil war ships at the port, ready to provide reinforcements.
With the help of the sailors of the Third Fleet, the soldiers of the five companies of the Fifth Legion quickly went ashore. Under the leadership of Giogris, they quickly rushed to the city.
At this moment, a cry of alarm came from the front, "Oh no! The wall has collapsed! … "
Giogris was shocked. The situation was urgent. He immediately ordered, "Everyone, advance quickly!"
… …
The continuous hard battle and the collapse of the city wall had shaken the morale of the soldiers on the city wall. At this time, the Roman army took the opportunity to launch an attack of a much larger scale than before.
The black mass of Roman soldiers had not yet crossed the trench. Some of the freed slaves on the city wall had never seen such a big scene before. They turned around and fled.
Teris hurriedly led the guards to stop them. He decisively killed the slaves who led the escape to stabilize the morale of the soldiers. However, the city wall was more than a mile long. He could only care about one side, but not the other. As the enemy approached, the chaos on the city wall did not subside. Instead, it increased.
The flustered Teris did not even have time to assign troops to block the gap. In the end, even he lost confidence.
Just when he was at a loss and was about to give up, "Woo!" A familiar bugle sounded in the city, followed by a uniform chant, "The Great Hades, you are the guardian of the kingdom, the master of the night, the embodiment of justice and strictness! … "
Before Teris could respond, the reserve soldiers on the city wall had already begun to shout, "Our reinforcements are here! Our reinforcements are here! … "
Under the illumination of the fire in the city (in order to make it easier for the soldiers to fight on the city wall, Teris learned from the people of Rome and lit a fire in the city), a long black line was rushing down the city wall along the street.
The face of the tall soldier at the front was now clear. He was wearing a thick dog skin. He was holding a legion flag in his hand, and the statue on top of the flag was shining brightly.
"The Fifth Legion! It's the Fifth Legion! " … "a sharp-eyed soldier shouted.
Ostia was saved! The reserve soldiers of Ostia had regained their confidence. The reserve soldiers of Ostia who were panicking gradually fled. Teris also calmed down.
Titus, who was outside the city, also heard the bugle and chant. He did not expect that it was the enemy's reinforcements. He thought that the general of Diónia was using this to encourage the soldiers to defend with all their might. After all, based on his experience, there would be no enemy reinforcements at this time. He frowned and muttered, "At this time, the people of Diónia still have such morale! Just like the dictator said, the army of this kingdom is not to be underestimated! "
At this time, someone in the city shouted, "Is Sir Teris here? Sir Teris! … "
Teris held onto the battlements and looked down. He saw a young officer in a black helmet and black armor, with a red tassel on his head walking along the city wall while shouting.
"I am Teris!" He immediately responded.
The officer hurriedly saluted and said, "I am the adjutant of the Fifth Legion Commander, Giogris. The Legion Commander wants me to tell you that he will lead the troops to block the gap. He wants you to focus on the defense of the city wall. Soon, reinforcements made up of the sailors of the Third Fleet will come to the city to reinforce you!"
After discussing with the adjutant of the Fifth Legion, Teris urged the officers on the city wall to lead the soldiers back to their respective sections of the wall. He also arranged more light infantry on top of the gap and began to prepare enough asphalt. This was because Giogris was ready to return the pain that Legio IV suffered when they attacked the city of Rome to the people of Rome.
Titus saw from afar that under the burning city wall, the brave Roman soldiers continued to rush into the gap under the rain of arrows. He was excited and thought that victory was in sight.
Who knew that not long after, the entire gap was blocked by Roman soldiers. His subordinate who went to scout for news came back and reported, "The Dionysian Army is blocking the gap. The soldiers can't break through their defense for the time being!"
At this time, the messenger sent by Camillus had also arrived outside of Ostia. As it was dark, the messenger did not dare to gallop, so he fell behind the fleet. He reported to Titus, "The Diónia have sent a few thousand soldiers from Rome. They are coming down the river by boat!"
Titus felt as if he had suffered a heavy blow, but there was still a glimmer of hope in his heart. He ordered the military drums and bugles to be played to encourage the soldiers to attack bravely. At the same time, he sent his men to the bottom of the city wall to closely observe the changes of the battle. At the same time, he also called back the Etruscan allies who were dawdling at the back of the attack team and ordered them to line up at the back in case of any accidents.
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