ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 947 Strategic Deployment in Sicily

Brelu pinched his fingers with a slightly gloomy expression.

"Everyone!" Davos looked around and said seriously: "During our fierce battle in Rome, the Carthaginians pretended to besiege Selinus with heavy troops, but secretly used a strategy to defeat the Sikelians and led their elite troops into the defense void. of the rear, thus occupying Agrigento relatively easily, forcing Proseus' army to retreat. Then they attacked Gela. With roughly the same number of soldiers, they defeated our army in a frontal battle. The Sicilian coalition forces. After that, despite many hard battles, they finally captured the city of Paragonia, which we carefully built, and retreated westward in time before our army arrived...

Judging from the performance of the Carthaginian army during this period, it was a fighting and resilient army.Their commander, Mago, is not only bold and fierce, but also resourceful, so they will be our formidable enemies! "

When the senior generals such as Amyntas, Matonis, and Lizaru heard this, their expressions were also serious, but fighting spirit burst out in their eyes.

Davos saw this and was quite pleased. He said loudly again: "But after repeated hard battles, the Carthaginians not only tired their soldiers, but also believed that there were many casualties. They chose to retreat to the west, hoping to rest and reorganize their troops and reduce the number of casualties. Difficulties in food supply, adding defensive facilities, and maybe even capturing Selinus... They want to be fully prepared to deal with our next counterattack. But we will never give them enough preparation time, so I decided ——All troops will only rest for one day in Katanai, and will march to the west the day after tomorrow!”

When the generals heard this, they immediately became energetic.

"Izam!" Davos looked at the captain of the mountain reconnaissance team and issued an order: "After the meeting, you will send your men to the south coast and sneak into the central mountains to detect the movements and movements of the Carthage army. Please report to me at any time the situation of those Xikel tribe who betrayed us."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Lizaru and Epithenis!" Davos continued to give the order: "Early the morning after tomorrow, you two will lead the Third Army and the Lucanian Reserve Army to the west into the central mountains to retake Enna! Retake Kefaro Ition! Reconquer the Sikel tribe that rebelled against us, and then wait for an opportunity to threaten the flanks of the Sican and Carthaginian armies in the west, and wait for my next order at any time."

Davos looked at the two of them, paused, and then said: "Lizaru is the main commander of the army, and Epithenis is responsible for assisting. Do you have any objections?"

Epithenis shrugged: "I have no objection. I will obey Lizaru's order." Epithenis agreed so simply, not as a lie, but because his desire for power is not strong, otherwise he would not After retiring from the post of legion commander, Bui rarely held other administrative positions except attending Senate meetings. Instead, he gained a reputation as "a lover of beautiful men" in Thurii.

Moreover, the smart Epithenes certainly understood that the reason why Davos made such a decision was not because of partiality, but because it was reasonable: because the Third Legion was a regular legion after all, and he was just the temporary legion commander of the reserve legion. Of course, only Lizaru, the commander of the Third Army, can serve as the commander. In addition, most of the soldiers of these two legions are Lucanians, and they are more willing to obey the command of Lizaru, who is also a Lucanian.

"Your Majesty." Lizaru was not happy about being appointed. Instead, he said, "I have a request."

"You said."

Lizaru said seriously: "The Third Army and the Lucania Reserve Army are indeed good at mountain warfare, but the biggest problem in fighting in mountainous areas is the terrain. If the terrain is unfamiliar, no matter how elite the soldiers are, they will easily suffer failure. Therefore, I hope your majesty will send us some Sikelians as guides."

Davos smiled slightly: "You and I want to go together, but I won't just send you a few guides."

As he spoke, he said to Sipulos, the governor of Sicily beside him: "I heard that when the Carthaginian army invaded our territory, the administrator of Hena, Crelu, performed well and successfully blocked the Carthaginian army. attack?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Lord Kereru led the Hena garrison to repulse several attacks by the Carthaginian army and defended our territory. According to preliminary estimates, at least more than 2000 enemies were killed and injured." Sipulos said truthfully. said.

"After the meeting, I hope you will appoint a Hena Administrative Lieutenant to temporarily take over his position. I need him to organize a Sikel force to follow Lizaru's command and attack westward together."

"I understand. I'll make arrangements as soon as I get back." Sipulos responded simply.

Davos smiled and asked: "Lizaru, are you satisfied with my arrangement?"

Lizaru originally only wanted a few guides, but he didn't expect that Davos actually gave him an army. He couldn't hide the joy on his face and said quickly: "This is really great! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Amyntas and Matonis both looked at him with envy: with two legions and a Sikel force, the total number of soldiers commanded by Lizaru must have exceeded 2!

Davers continued: "Early the day after tomorrow, I will lead the First Army, the Second Army, the Fourth Army, the Sixth Army, the Roman Reserve Group, the First, Second, and Fourth Cavalry Corps to march westward along the south coast, and finally The destination is Selinus. And the Seventh and Eighth Legions—"

Davos looked at the Sicilian commander not far away from him and said: "Commanded by Proseus, your task is to lead these two legions, as well as the allied armies of Leotini and Taunis, as well as A Grigento, Gera, Minoa and other friendly soldiers attack the capricious Syracuse!"

This will also be an army of far more than 2 people!When the generals all cast complicated glances at this rising star in the army, Leotizides still had the paralyzed expression on his face and only said softly: "Yes."

Even Davos couldn't help but look at him again before turning to the captain of the Sicilian fleet on the right: "Sekrian!"

"It's our navy's turn at the end." Sekerian's excited tone contained a bit of complaint.

Everyone's expressions changed slightly. Perhaps among the Dionian army, only Sekerian dared to speak to King Davos in such a tone.

Davos didn't take it seriously and said: "It is precisely because your navy's mission is the most important that it is put to the end. Let me ask you, how many warships are left in the Sicilian fleet now?"

"There are 70 ships capable of actual combat, including 23 crow warships, 19 fast warships, and the others are captured Carthaginian triremes..." Sekerian answered seriously.

The three fleets that fought against Carthage only had so few warships left, and two senior navy generals were killed in the battle. It seems that in the war with Carthage, the navy suffered the most losses and consumed the most national power. Yes!Davos sighed in his heart, but said calmly on the surface: "Let me tell you good news. Within a month, new warships will be added to the Sicilian fleet, which will at least increase the number of warships under your command. To 300 ships.”

Sekerian was not surprised by this news. In fact, he had been paying attention to the construction of civil war ships in the kingdom since his return.

"Moreover, not only this month, new warships will gradually join the Sicilian fleet until the end of the war." Davos' next words finally made Sekerian smile.

But Davos's expression became more serious and his voice became thicker and more powerful: "However, as the Sicilian fleet becomes stronger, it needs to bear more responsibilities. You must actively cooperate with the actions of the land forces and continue to increase the number of attacks on western Sicily." The harassment, continue to defeat Carthage's new fleet! After completely controlling the entire Sicilian sea area, and further gaining dominance in the sea area between Carthage and Sicily, cutting off Carthage's material transportation channel to western Sicily, Even in the sea that threatens Carthage’s homeland in the future! This is what I want from the Sicilian fleet, can you do it?!”

Seclian felt a pressure at first, but then he became excited and said loudly: "Your Majesty, even if you make another request, the Sicilian fleet must independently capture the towns affiliated with Carthage or the towns of its Phoenician allies. , our Sicilian fleet can definitely do it too!”

Some of the generals present felt displeased: What does Sekerian mean by this, does he want the navy to take away all the work of the army? !
Davos admired Sekerian's confidence very much. He nodded and continued to say to him: "This time I will lead the army to march westward, and you will also lead the fleet to escort the fleet carrying supplies along the south coast. Accompany the land forces to ensure the absolute safety of the fleet when it docks, unloads supplies, and builds camps..."

"Yes!" Sekerian responded simply.

Davos turned to look at Sipulos on his left, and said seriously: "You, the Governor of Sicily, will be very busy next. The number of soldiers we have participating in this war is unprecedentedly large, which means military rations and The consumption of materials is equally astonishing, and whether they can be collected and transported well requires you to form an efficient team to ensure the supply of the army in a timely and rapid manner."

"This is my duty as the Governor of Sicily. Commander Proseus was fighting at the front, and I led my officers to provide food and supplies for his army in Catanai. I have accumulated a lot of money. With experience, I believe that we will be able to successfully complete the task this time!" Sipulos said with confidence: "And I will maintain close contact with the Senate to ensure that food and materials from all over the kingdom can be transported to Catanai in a timely manner. port……"

(End of this chapter)