ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 692 Dionia vs. Rome ([-])

The slingers put the lead balls into the leather pockets in the center of the slings and began to rotate their right arms. Just listening to the "woo-woo" sound of the wind, the slings turned faster and faster.

The Romans also saw the new enemy a few hundred meters away through the misty dust. Although they were a little nervous, they had no choice but to move forward.

At this moment, hundreds of lead pellets fell from the sky like hailstones, accurately falling on the dense formation of the Romans, and screams suddenly broke out.

Except for the heavy infantry in the center who was slightly injured, the light infantry with almost no protection were smashed and bloody. The Roman cavalry on both sides were also affected. The horses hit by the lead shot screamed and jumped, and they were beaten to death. The cavalry who were caught off guard were thrown off their horses and almost disrupted the Roman array.

The Romans were attacked by slingers for the first time, and they were knocked unconscious without any defense.

But the Dionysian cavalry was well prepared. Taking advantage of the moment when the Romans were in chaos, they immediately drove their horses towards the enemy and threw out the few short javelins they had left. Another scream sounded, and the fallen soldiers But it was far from a minor injury like scratching the scalp.

When the Roman light infantry picked up their bows, arrows and javelins and prepared to attack the Dionysian cavalry who were moving away, another piece of lead shot came.

Continuous attacks caused the Roman light infantry to complain endlessly. These soldiers, mainly from the Latin League, fell into chaos and had low morale.

The Roman heavy infantry in the center of the team remained calm and shouted in unison: "Charge over quickly! Kill them!!"

The first to take action was the Roman cavalry. They gathered hundreds of horses in a hurry and rushed forward desperately.The hooves of the war horse flew like flying, hitting the solid ground with a rumbling sound, as if the ground was trembling.

Satirus still looked calm and raised his right hand again: "The second company is ready!"

The archers on both sides of the wild goose formation drew their bows and arrows, while the Dionysian cavalry also followed these desperate Roman cavalry in parallel.

When Rome was less than a hundred meters away from the seventh group, 350 Dionysian archers fired arrows together.

Arrows shot almost flatly from both wings to the center, forming a cross fire. Although the fast-moving Roman cavalry held their shields high, they were unable to defend themselves. They neighed and rolled to the ground, hindering the progress of the cavalry behind them.

At this moment, the second round of arrows hit again, causing greater damage to the Roman cavalry.

A small number of Roman cavalry who rushed ahead and escaped the bow and arrow attack were approaching the Dionysian slingers, but were attacked by javelins from the third company that rushed out of the team. As a result, there were not many survivors left.

The Diorian cavalry also took the opportunity to attack the Roman cavalry from both sides who were in chaos due to bow and arrow attacks on the way.

This skillful combination of strikes almost wiped out the charging Roman cavalry.

At this time, the Roman heavy infantry was still guarding the light infantry as they trudged forward. Seeing the tragic scene ahead, they all felt sad, but at this time, the unfamiliar sound of bugles came from the distance.

The enemy's reinforcements are coming again!Roman morale hit rock bottom.

At this moment, "Woo! Woo! Woo!!!..." A louder and louder bugle sound came from afar.

"Our reinforcements are coming! Our reinforcements are coming!!..." Hearing the familiar sound of bugles, the Romans finally became excited.

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"Report to the commander of the legion, the Roman troops in the camp have been dispatched! There are about eight or nine thousand people!" The scout cavalry hurried over and reported to Amyntas.

"So fast?!" The Romans' quick response surprised Amyntas. He originally wanted to let the 9000th Brigade, the [-]th Brigade and the cavalry continue the siege without annihilating this part of the enemy, in order to lure the Romans in the camp. The purpose was to allow the six heavy infantry brigades that had just arrived to rest for a while and recover some physical strength. I did not expect the Roman army to come so quickly. The large army of [-] or [-] people was obviously not the Dionysian light infantry. , light armored soldiers and cavalry can stop it.

Amyntas looked at the sweating Dionian soldiers in front of him. Although they were tired, few of them were sitting or lying down. Instead, they put down their weapons and gathered together in twos and threes, walking and chatting slowly, because they knew what was coming next. There will be fighting, and lying down will aggravate the muscle soreness and make their bodies lazy and not want to move.

Amyntas immediately called the six heavy infantry captains and said with a serious expression: "Our plan to lure the enemy has been successful. The enemy's large forces have already left the camp. I hope you can overcome fatigue, capture them, and defeat them." !”

"Don't worry, legion commander! Once the Romans come out, don't even think about running back!" The words of the first captain, Ctissus, were recognized by other captains.

"Then get ready to go!" Amyntas immediately ordered.

Just as the captains were gathering their soldiers, Amyntas ordered the messenger: "Immediately inform Setia and the Volscians in the city of Pollenum that the main force of the Romans has left the camp. Invite them to join the fight.”

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After guessing the intentions of the Dionians, Camillus did not hesitate and immediately summoned 3000 heavy infantry, leaving only more than [-] people to defend the camp.

Originally, Phrius asked to lead the troops and let the elderly Camillus guard the camp.

But he was rejected by Camillus. He only sent troops to rescue the soldiers who were blocked. He had no intention of fighting to the death with the Dionians. However, if the young and energetic Phurius was allowed to lead the troops, it was very likely that will lead to this result.

Camillus led more than 70 Roman heavy infantry squadrons toward the west detected by the scouts, because he knew that the Dionysian army would also come in this direction, and he must lead out the trapped soldiers as soon as possible. soldiers before quickly returning to camp.

Camillus didn't know much about the Dionysian army. In his impression, the surrounding forces and even the Greeks in Campania fought in the form of bloated phalanxes, except for the Roman army that he took the lead in reforming. Because the squadron is the main combat force, both formation and combat have become more flexible. Therefore, he believes that even if the Dionia large force arrives, it will need to rearrange its formation, and he will have enough time to organize a retreat.

By the time Camillus arrived at the battlefield, Dionia's 3000th and [-]th Brigades and cavalry had already taken the initiative to retreat. The sight in front of him surprised him: the ground was covered with dead bodies, dead horses, and moans. The struggling wounded soldiers, nearly one-third of the nearly [-] people (cavalry and light infantry) originally ordered to come to the rescue, were lost. Moreover, the surviving soldiers were disheveled, depressed, and some had bruises on their noses, faces, and bloody heads... …

Through the brief narration of the trapped team officer Comius, Camillus understood the entire battle and could not help but be surprised by the lethality of the Dionysian light infantry and cavalry, as well as the close cooperation between them.

This is a well-trained army!Camillus had labeled the Dionians in his mind, so he urged the soldiers to take the wounded and retreat immediately.

"What to do with our citizens who died in the battle?" The light infantry generals from the allies asked to take the bodies back.

Camillus, who had always loved his soldiers like a son, said with a hard heart: "Stop it here for now and deal with it later. Now we must seize the time and return immediately!"

The allied generals were dissatisfied with this decision and wanted to talk more.

At this time, the reconnaissance cavalry hurried over: "Camillus Military and Political Officer, there are about six or seven thousand black soldiers attacking from the south!"

Camillus' heart tightened, and he galloped out of the team (according to Roman military tradition, Roman leading generals must only walk on foot like the soldiers, to show that there is no difference between the two and they share the joys and sorrows, but Camillus He was too old and had limited physical strength, so the Roman Senate specially approved him to ride a horse.) Looking south, he saw dust and mist billowing in the distance...

According to his experience, the enemy was already a mile away.

He immediately returned to the team and issued the order: "Line up according to the formation before contacting the enemy and start retreating!"

The array he referred to before engaging the enemy was a large formation of 120 Roman squadrons staggered into a fish scale-like formation. Due to the large intervals between squadrons, the movement was flexible and the retreat was relatively rapid. Once When unable to retreat, he can switch to an offensive formation at any time.Due to some uneasiness in his heart, Camillus took this prudent approach.

However, how could the Dionian light infantry surrounding the perimeter allow the Romans to easily complete their retreat? The slingers once again swung the slings and threw lead shot at the Romans, and the archers even boldly approached the outside of the Roman army. , assuming a shooting stance...

Camillus had to move the Roman light infantry to this side as a defense.

However, the Dionysian cavalry galloped in groups on the periphery of the Roman army, and from time to time broke in to a distance of less than 20 meters from the Roman soldiers, posing as a surprise attack.

Although the messengers sent by Camillus repeatedly warned the Roman soldiers not to pay attention to the harassment of the Dionians, the speed of the Roman soldiers' formation was obviously disturbed by this.

At this time, Dionia's army was marching rapidly and was approaching a position less than 300 meters away from the Roman army. The Roman soldiers could already see clearly the shining golden flags held high in the gray dust and fog. Hearing the strong rhythm of the military drums, and rows of seemingly overwhelming black soldiers pressing towards them at a more orderly pace...

While the soldiers were attracted and shocked by the momentum of the Dionian army, Camillus was even more surprised. He found that the advancing formation of the Dionian army was very similar to the restructured tactical formation of the Roman army. Similar, this made him suddenly realize: The Dionians may not have to spend a lot of time arranging the formation, they may directly attack themselves. If he retreats forcibly here, he may be chased by the opponent, causing the team to Chaos, resulting in a fiasco.

　Thanks to Death Beast Sky Suzaku and Yijian 68 for the reward!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)