ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 739 Ipaminondas’ First Formation
Pelopidas immediately replied: "If even Ipaminondas cannot stop the enemy, then no one can defeat the Spartans!"

People around him didn't understand where Pelopidas had so much confidence in Ipaminondas. As far as they knew, although Ipaminondas had participated in battles many times before, he had always been a soldier and an officer. , he has never had the experience of commanding troops in combat.But Pelopidas' confidence still infected them, and apart from that, they had no better way, so they could only suppress their worries and, together with Pelopidas, lead the remaining citizen soldiers towards The acropolis advanced rapidly.

On the way to the south gate, Epaminondas had already thought out the enemy's strategy. He had lived in Thebes for decades, and he was familiar with the surrounding terrain. He knew the masters of Thebes well. The city is located in the lowlands between mountains, especially Nancheng. There are protruding mountains on both sides outside the city, forming a trumpet-shaped terrain.

Therefore, after arriving at the South Gate, he told others his plan: 800 people would be lurking in the mountains on both sides of the South Gate. When the enemy's reinforcements arrived, he would lead the remaining citizen soldiers out of the city to fight. Once both sides fully engage the enemy, the ambush troops on both sides will immediately attack the enemy's flanks and rear...

Some people objected that it was too risky to fight outside the city, especially when facing the Spartan army, and it was better to rely on the city walls for defense.

Epaminondas immediately refuted this conservative idea. He said calmly: "The new government of Thebes has just been established and is not yet stable. Moreover, the Acropolis is still occupied by the enemy. If the Spartan garrison of the surrounding city-states is allowed to If a powerful army is gathered in the city to besiege Thebes, the battle will become very long. When Sparta's own army arrives again, the battle will become even more difficult... In the long run... If this continues, the people's psychology may change, so we must take advantage of the different times when the enemy arrives in Thebes, take the initiative to attack and defeat them one by one, in order to buy time for Thebes' revival!..."

Everyone was persuaded by him. They did not expect that this usually taciturn person could actually say such touching words.

Of course, some people also raised the question: "What if the Spartans are not fooled and don't attack us?"

Epaminondas replied calmly: "Then we will retreat to the city, which will not cause any loss to us. Even if they find our army ambushing in the mountains, they will not dare to pursue us because of the terrain here. Most familiar. However, I think the arrogant Spartans will immediately attack us in the hope of quickly retaking Thebes."

"Damn the Spartans, we will never let their conspiracy succeed!..." Everyone loudly expressed their anger and determination against the Spartans.

Ipaminondas also said in a deep voice: "Everyone, let us work together to make this battle a nightmare for the Spartans!"

As a result, the people with high morale began to deploy according to Epaminondas' plan.

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The messenger who asked for help rushed to Plataia, the nearest place to Thebes. The Spartan garrison general was shocked when he learned that "a riot broke out in Thebes and the pro-Spartan government was overthrown". Without Thebes, Sparta's control of the Pioxia area will be in big trouble, so it did not hesitate to lead the [-] garrison soldiers (most of them were soldiers of the Peloponnesian Alliance), and immediately Marched quickly towards Thebes, and arrived outside Thebes at dusk.Then, he was surprised to see that the Thebes went out of the city to form an array, and also beat the round shield with their spears, provoking the marching Spartan army.

How could the Spartan general allow Sparta's subordinates to be defeated so rampantly, not to mention that the number of people in Thebes was only slightly larger than his own army, so he ignored the fatigue of the soldiers and immediately arranged the army into an army of the same length as the opponent. formation, and then sound the bugle for attack.

At the same time, Epaminondas also gave the order to attack.And he himself was at the forefront of the battle formation, holding up his shield and spear, taking the lead, and charged the enemy.

The Thebans were full of morale, but the Spartan army was a little tired after traveling all the way. They were at a disadvantage when they first engaged in the battle. When they calmed down, they began to rely on their rich combat experience and stronger fighting skills to kill. While skillfully and gradually regaining control of the battle, the Theban ambush troops suddenly rushed out from both wings and attacked the Spartan army's flanks and rear.

The Spartan army was unable to defend itself, and then collapsed, and the soldiers fled in all directions.

The whole battle lasted less than half an hour, and the Thebans won the final victory. While cheering, they also cast their admiring eyes on the planner of this battle, Ipaminondas, who had been unknown before. This ordinary-looking middle-aged man won their trust in just one battle.

Another Spartan garrison from Thespia, which was about to arrive at Thebes, was shocked to hear the news of "the disastrous defeat of the Plataean army". Its general Sphdelias thought that his troops were insufficient. Instead of daring to advance, they retreated westward and stationed themselves in a small town halfway between Thespia and Thebes.

After Epaminondas learned that the enemy had retreated, he immediately led his army back to the city, garrisoned the city, and sent people to report the good news of the victory to the two military consuls.

At this time, Pelopidas and Philidas were leading the citizen soldiers to storm the Acropolis for a day, but failed to capture it.After all, although the acropolis is small, its walls are very strong, and it is located on a hill. There is only one access, which prevents Thebes' superior forces from deploying.Moreover, the Spartan army was surrounded on all sides and had no way to retreat, so it fought desperately. As a result, the Thebans failed to attack the city many times. Both the generals and soldiers felt a little discouraged.

At this time, the good news came that "the South Gate army defeated the Spartan reinforcements", which refreshed everyone's spirits and boosted their morale.

The generals also talked about Ipaminoda with smiles on their faces, and Phelidas even praised: "Peropidas, you are right, Ipaminoda is indeed an excellent Commander-in-Chief!"

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The next day, the news of "Thebes coup was successful" spread throughout Central Greece, and countless Thebes exiles began to rush back to their motherland from all directions to defend the emerging Thebes government, and the exiles from Athens were among them. The greatest force.For the citizens of Athens, this is what they are very happy to see. Although the council does not express any opinions on this, many Athenian volunteers went to Thebes with the exiles, preparing to fight with the Thebes. Fighting side by side, this also includes two generals newly elected this year, who joined the ranks of volunteers in a private capacity.

The team of exiles marched westward excitedly. On the way, they had several battles with the Spartan allied armies stationed in some city-states in the Boeotian region who also rushed to Thebes, and won all of them.

Thebes continued to receive aid and its strength increased sharply, and Thespia's Spartan reinforcements could only retreat.

On this day, the Thebans' attack on the Acropolis failed again, but the Spartan general did not feel happy. He stood at the head of the Acropolis and looked down, and he could clearly see the increasing number of people under the hill. The enemy, the situation is obvious. Thebes has received assistance from the outside. This also means that the Spartan reinforcements failed to attack Thebes, or they did not come at all. This not only caused him, but also the Spartan Acropolis to The soldiers felt a little desperate.

At this time, Pelopidas sent an envoy to negotiate with the Spartan generals on the Acropolis, and proposed the condition of "letting the Spartans return the Acropolis, and Thebes will let them leave safely." The two sides eventually reached an agreement.

The return of the Acropolis allowed the new government led by Pelopidas and Philidas to finally completely and comprehensively liberate Thebes.While the people in the city cheered, the leaders headed by Pelopidas still looked solemn, because they knew that the test of Thebes had just begun, and the Spartans would never give up.

On the third day, the news finally reached Sparta, shaking the Council of Elders. They no longer had the heart to add trouble to Dionia, but must quickly concentrate all their strength to extinguish the fire that was ignited by Thebes .

After some deliberations, the Council of Elders decided that Agesipolis, who had been king of Sparta for less than two years, would lead the expedition.

As a result, Sparta began to recruit soldiers from its allies in the Peloponnese.

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At the same time that Leotizides led the Dionysian coalition to defeat the Carthaginian army and intercepted a large amount of baggage, the outer city of Cerodiaum on the north coast was captured by the Iberian army.

Why was the city of Cerodiam, which had been steadily defending for nearly ten days and had Hasdrubal's troops failed to attack the city many times, suddenly be breached?
It turned out that after several failed sieges, Hasdrubal realized that a strong attack from the front would be too costly and difficult to break through, so he used Iberian infantry.

The Iberian infantry under Hasdrubal came from the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula. They were all recruited from the indigenous tribes conquered by the Magrid family. There were 4000 people in total. Almost all of them wore ethnic clothing made of white linen with purple edges. There is no armor on the outside, and they wear thick leather hats on their heads. They are equipped with a large oval shield, a throwing gun, and the most common and formidable Fakata dagger hung on their waists. The style and length are very similar to the Dionysian dagger, which is also extremely sharp. The slight difference is that the front of the sword is slightly curved.

These Iberians were not only brave and sturdy, but also good at fighting in the mountains. This was unmatched by the Carthaginians who had always lived on the flat coast of northern Africa.

　Thanks to yyajy2304 for the reward!Your support is my motivation to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)