Chapter 973
The Syracuse Army retreated in defeat once again.
Not long after, another Syracuse General arrived with 3000 soldiers. They saw the groaning wounded soldiers and a demoralized army.
After understanding the entire battle with the injured Stathicos, both sides realized that the Diónia had made thorough preparations. Hence, it would be extremely difficult to recapture the Yuryalus Fortress. Both sides began to regret their neglect of the Yuryalus Fortress.
Hence, the two of them joined forces and seriously planned the next attack.
At this time, the person in charge of the defense of the Yuryalus Fortress was the fifth platoon leader of the Eighth Legion, Diocassis.
In the previous battle, one platoon leader of the Eighth Legion was seriously injured, and the first platoon leader had been guarding Salinus. Hence, there were two vacancies in the position of platoon leader. Diocassis had been promoted from platoon leader to platoon leader due to his outstanding achievements. Leotychides, who thought highly of him, had entrusted such an important mission to him. Hence, even though they had repelled the enemies, he did not let his guard down. He summoned Terentus and the other two platoon leaders to discuss and perfect the defense plan of the fortress.
After everything was arranged properly, he began to worry about the problem of food.
To ensure that the raid would be successful, the soldiers did not bring along rations. There was some food in the warehouse of the fortress, but it was only enough for 200 people. However, for the 3,400 Dionysian Army, Diocassis roughly estimated that it was only enough for one day. It was difficult to transport a large amount of food from the foot of the mountain and from outside the city to the fortress. This was also one of the reasons why Leotychides only sent 3000 people here.
At this time, Terentus found Diocassis and suggested, "We need doctors and nurses here. The injured soldiers are in urgent need of treatment and care!"
Diocassis saw his anxious expression and knew that he was worried about the injuries of the more than 20 soldiers from the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade.
Previously, Terentus personally led a hundred scouts and successfully climbed over the wall. He had to attack the fortress and block the few sentries who were rushing over from the walkways. He also had to send people to tie up the ropes hanging from the top of the wall. In a situation where the enemy was outnumbered, the scouts who acted as the vanguard fought against ten enemies. Their swift and fierce attacks caused the defending troops, who were caught off guard, to be thrown into chaos. This created the conditions for the reinforcements to arrive. Of course, they also suffered some casualties because of this.
"You're right." Diocassis immediately expressed his agreement and took the opportunity to say, "However, the mountain roads here are more difficult to traverse, and the sky is dark. However, these are not a problem for your scouts in the mountains. Therefore, I hope that you can send a small team of soldiers down the mountain to the medical camp and bring a few doctors and nurses up. Also, bring some engineers and carpenters along the way."
Terentus was stunned. "Engineers and carpenters? Do you want them to install ballistae on the fortress?"
"That's one reason." Diocasis said with a serious expression, "In addition, I also want them to install a pulley device on the city walls. It will be able to conveniently pull the supplies that are transported to the city walls."
"I will immediately send two small teams down the mountain," Terentus immediately promised.
At this moment, a soldier came in and said anxiously, "Captain, the enemy has started attacking!"
Diocasis and Terentus looked at each other, then quickly walked out of the dormitory and went up to the top of the city wall.
This time, the Syracuse army not only attacked the fortress from the south, but there were also many soldiers on the walkways on the east and west walls that were rapidly approaching the fortress.
The messengers sent by Stesicos told Teagenis and Falcus about the difficulties encountered by the army in attacking the fortress. Although the Dionysian Army outside the west wall had already started attacking, and the Diónia Allied Army outside the east wall was also gathering, in order to recapture the fortress and destroy the enemies that had invaded the city, the two generals still sent a few hundred soldiers along the walkways on the city wall, marching north, and participating in the attack.
The enemies were attacking from three directions at the same time, but Diocasis was not nervous, because they had already made arrangements in advance.
The further north one went, the narrower the walkways on the walls of Syracuse became. After all, it was not easy to build a wall on high ground, and with the addition of the terrain, it would not be easy for the enemy to attack. There was no need to build a tall and thick wall like the walls near the main city. Therefore, the walkways on the east and west walls near the intersection were only wide enough for four people to walk side by side.
Diocasis sent two heavy infantry companies to guard the walkways on both sides. They formed an extremely thick shield and spear wall, preventing the enemy from attempting to enter the fortress through the walls.
At the same time, the light infantry on the east and west stone walls of the fortress picked up their bows and javelins, firing long-range attacks at the enemies on the walkways not far from them.
It was already very difficult for the Syracuse soldiers on the walkways to break through the blockade of the Diónia heavy infantry. This was because the walls were built along the terrain, and the intersection was the highest position. They also had to attack up, but at the same time, they had to guard against the side fire from the fortress. They could only use thirty to forty percent of their strength, which posed no threat to the Diónia soldiers in front of them.
In the face of the countless Syracuse soldiers surging towards them from the south, the Dionian soldiers on the fortress took out round straw cages that had already been made. They poured tar on them, lit them with fire, and threw them down. Huge fireballs rolled along the terrain and into the attacking army of Syracuse, instantly causing great chaos. The soldiers retreated in a panic, pushing and shoving each other. Many of them fell and were injured.
These straw cages stored in the warehouse were originally reserved by the Syracuse garrison to deal with the enemies who struggled to climb up the mountain to attack the city. The Diónia soldiers used them to attack their original owners, and the effect was just as good.
… …
When the news of the "Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade successfully capturing the Euryalus Fortress" was quickly reported to Leotychides, he did not hesitate to gather the army in the camp and once again gave the order to "storm the city".
Although the army had just carried out a fierce siege yesterday and paid a lot of casualties, that was to create the conditions for the night attack of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade. Now, they had to continue to create the conditions for the troops occupying the Euryalus Fortress to gain a foothold in the city. Therefore, Leotychides sent out 10,000 soldiers, carrying ladders and pushing siege equipment, divided into three waves, to attack the entire section of the wall from the middle of the west wall to the sea.
In addition, he also retained a heavy infantry brigade and two light armor brigades, a total of 3,000 soldiers, as reserves. The purpose was not only to support the siege, but he had a deeper expectation. If the development of the battle was favorable to his side, he would consider putting this reserve force into the Euryalus Fortress in the north, to rendezvous with the original troops and win the battle in one fell swoop.
For this reason, he sent out a lot of messengers, hoping to maintain close contact with the troops in the Euryalus Fortress, and always understand the dynamics inside.
At the same time, he also sent messengers to the east of Syracuse to inform Zantiparis of the good news of the "successful night attack", and hoped that he would urge the coalition forces to increase the attack on the east.
… …
Most of the Syracuse militia were engaged in fierce battles with the Diónia in the east, west, and north, but there was an army that was more leisurely. In the square next to the Temple of Apollo, the 4,000 soldiers from the port area did not seem to have a sense of urgency about the upcoming battle. They were sitting, lying, chatting, playing games, or sleeping …
Compared to the soldiers' ease, as the commander of this army, Hictas, who sat on the platform of the square, seemed to have a lot on his mind. But what he did not know was that among the thousands of soldiers resting below the platform, there were a few pairs of eyes that had been watching him.
"Artemis, it's been so many days, and this old guy still hasn't taken any action. It seems that he doesn't plan to join our kingdom!"
"If he doesn't want to join us, we might as well ignore him and go directly to Samoratis and the others. They are more familiar with us and have a better impression of the kingdom. I believe we can definitely convince them to join the kingdom!"
"Don't worry, if Hictas is really determined to protect Syracuse, he would have sent people to arrest me long ago, and then reorganize the entire port area. But he did not do so, which means that he still has some thoughts about my proposal, but he is still hesitating … We need to give him some time to continue to persuade him. Moreover, he has a high prestige in the port area. If he does not join us, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Samoratis and the others to convince most of the port people to join us. By then, the news will have been exposed, and it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the Syracuse Council. Then, not only will our previous efforts be in vain, but it will also affect the progress of Commander Prososus's attack on Syracuse, and affect the kingdom's war against Carthage! "
"Artemis, I'm afraid we can't wait any longer! There was quite a commotion in the city just now. I heard that our army has occupied Yuryalus Fortress, and Sir Prososus and Sir Zantiparis are leading the army to attack the city. Syracuse's militia has basically been sent out to fight, and only the army at the port is left. What a great opportunity this is! Think about it, if Hictas leads these 4,000 soldiers to start a riot, Syracuse won't have any extra troops to quell the riot! Whether he leads the army to the west or the east to attack the defending army, it will cause the defeat of Syracuse's army, and our army can successfully break through the city! "
"That's right! Artemis, did you hear that? Our army is attacking fiercely! We must seize this great opportunity created by the lives and blood of our soldiers! "
"Alright, let me think about it … I think … we might as well take the risk. Since Hictas can't make up his mind, we'll force him to make a choice! If we do this … "
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