ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1207 Prelude before the war ([-])

Since the establishment of Dionia, large-scale battles like this have only occurred twice. In the Western Mediterranean War, King Davos personally led the main force to fight the Carthaginian army in Sicily, but some of the soldiers in that war were provided by the allies, so the 10 soldiers were mixed with a lot of water; secondly, in the Gallic War, Leoticides led a large army to conquer Alpine Gaul, but in fact the main force he led did not include 10 soldiers. Including the partial army led by Patroclus, the number exceeded 10.

Therefore, this time, it is really a 10 army composed of Dionia's regular army for landing operations (the Balearic slingers belong to the Dionia special army, have a formal establishment in the Ministry of Military Affairs, and usually accept stationed in Ibi The training of the No.18 Legion in the Iberian region, and occasionally participated in the battle against the Iberian natives; Transformed into a regular legion, it has been trained and commanded by the 14th Army stationed in the Po River area, and also participated in the war against the Ligurians with the Frontier Legion. Now Liguria is still stubborn except for sporadic places, It has basically been pacified, and the Gaul brigade contributed a lot), and Patroclus was able to command such a large army to carry out such an important battle at such a young age, which is really enviable!
Olivers, Tagetinos and other generals looked at Patroclus who was talking eloquently, and felt very envious and jealous in their hearts, but there was no trace of disdain. After all, Patroclus made many brilliant plans in Etruria. The deeds of annihilating the invading Roman army in a short period of time were amazing. After that, he led his army to station in Alpine Gaul. In a few years, he not only stabilized the Po River area, but also almost conquered Liguria... Therefore, he was able to become the commander of the landing operations because of his outstanding command skills and past achievements, not because he was the son-in-law of King Davos.

Printols didn't have these complicated thoughts, his mind was focused on the upcoming landing operation, he looked at his brows and continued to ask: "10 soldiers need at least 2000 ships to transport, and there are still many places to land. One, there are many islands on the east coast of Greece, and the coastline is tortuous. How can we reach the landing site as quickly and accurately as possible? How can we ensure the safety of the fleet at sea?..."

"Let me answer these questions." Sekerian took over without hesitation: "The maritime support for this landing operation is handled by me, Midorades and Stefankas. The 1st Fleet, 2nd Fleet and 3rd Fleet, a total of 1200 warships, will escort all fleets transporting soldiers and supplies, and participate in combat when appropriate.

Today, there are only two city-states in the Greek Alliance that may cause trouble for the transport fleet, Athens and Thessaly.According to intelligence, the Athenian navy has more than 80 warships, including 50 triremes. Recently, due to the support of its maritime allies, the number may have exceeded a hundred.The Athenian navy has relatively strong tactical capabilities, high ship-operating skills, and is aggressive. Seven days ago, our main naval force was on the west coast to assist the army in conquering the island. The Athenian fleet actually quietly approached the Gulf of Lagnia, and also fought with the 7st troops who stayed behind. A battle broke out in the 1st Squadron of the fleet. Because the Athenians were not familiar with our tactics, they lost several warships and later retreated on their own initiative. This was also a small victory for our navy...

The Thessaly fleet only started to be formed a few years ago, but it is said that Jason has invested a lot in it. Now he has nearly a hundred warships, but he has never fought any major battles. So far our Intelligence personnel have never seen this fleet patrolling the sea. A fleet that likes to stay in the port does not have combat effectiveness.

Therefore, based on the analysis of the enemy's situation, our navy made the following combat deployment on the day of landing.The 2nd Fleet and 3rd Fleet left the port before the departure of the transport fleet. The warships of the 1nd Fleet blocked the Saron Bay, and the 5rd Fleet blocked the Bay of Pagasa (the bay east of Thessaly) to prevent Athens and Thessa respectively. Lee's warships went to sea to attack the transport fleet, and the five squadrons of the [-]st Fleet escorted each transport fleet to the landing site——"

When Sekerian said this, he swallowed, moistened his throat, and continued: "In addition, I want to talk about the transport fleet that landed this time. The Ministry of Military Affairs recruited people in various port towns in the kingdom a month ago When transporting ships, we deliberately choose merchant ships that are familiar with the coastal routes of northern Greece. The chambers of commerce in various regions provide great help in this regard, so there is no need to worry about the crew being unfamiliar with the routes.

Moreover, the Ministry of Military Affairs also took the time to organize these more than 2000 transport merchant ships, clarify their respective tasks, and conduct unified training, so there is no need to worry about too much disorder in the fleet when they land.

This season there are more days with southerly winds blowing in the Aegean Sea. We will choose the stronger day in the south as the landing day. According to my judgment, it may only take more than half a day for the fleet to reach its destination. "

Printors listened carefully, his frown not completely relaxed: "Our huge fleet may face more threats when sailing northward than the navies of Athens and Thessaly——"

"I know Lord Printors is talking about the Persian Navy." This time it was Midorades who interrupted. He and Sekerian looked at each other and said with a smile: "We have no idea about the Persian Navy. Taking it lightly, since the First Fleet was stationed in the waters south of the Peloponnese, it has been sending clippers to monitor the fleet movements in various Persian regions in Asia Minor, and no abnormalities have been found so far.

After our 2nd Fleet returned from Egypt, we sent additional clippers to the waters near Crete to strengthen observation of the Phoenician waters. Judging from the news we have now received, the Persians have begun to launch an attack on Egypt. A large number of warships are concentrated in Tire and Sidon in Phoenicia, and there is no sign of a large-scale march westward to aid Greece. "

After hearing this, Printols asked with some concern: "10 soldiers consume a huge amount of military rations every day. How will you solve the problem after landing?"

Patroclus answered without hesitation: "The Ministry of Military Affairs requires that each soldier must carry 5 days of rations. After the successful landing, we must occupy nearby port towns, such as Lamia and Peleus, as soon as possible to ensure that we can carry supplies." ships can enter the port to unload cargo.

Of course, this is only temporary. The base that can really conveniently provide logistics supplies for the entire army should be Philae.According to the information we have received, a large amount of food has been stored in the city of Philae, which is prepared for Jason's army. Therefore, our landing army must break into the hinterland of Thessaly as soon as possible and capture Philae as soon as possible. "

A smile appeared on Patroclus's lips, and he said confidently: "His Majesty also attaches great importance to Philae. He has already made some arrangements in advance. I believe it will be of great help to the successful capture of Philae. It is already the end of July. Wait until It will be August when we attack, and the wheat is almost ripe. There are a lot of fertile wheat fields in Thessaly, which can fully supply our military rations for the next few months..."

Only then did Printors look a little brighter. He looked at the generals who had just arrived in Sparta and said seriously: "It seems that His Majesty attaches great importance to this landing operation and has asked the Ministry of Military Affairs to do a lot of work." More preparations. I believe you have also led the legion to conduct many landing operations. I no longer have any doubts. I just hope that you will continue to pay close attention to the trends in the Aegean Sea in the next few days, and then based on the actual situation Perfect your landing plan."

Printors obviously said these words in his capacity as chief of staff, and Patroclus and other generals nodded in agreement seriously.

Then Patroclus looked at Clotocathacus and asked with concern: "Whether the landing in Thessaly is successful or not, whether it can be defended here is the key. I heard that you suffered a lot of losses in the battle with Sparta. , and now we are facing a large-scale attack by the Greek coalition forces. Are we a little tight in terms of military strength? Do you need me to detach some troops to support you? "

After fighting in the Peloponnese for more than two months, Crotocathax no longer lacked self-confidence at first and had to consult with Printors before making any decision. He replied confidently: "Actually, Our losses in the battle with Sparta were not great. Four legions and one cavalry legion were still intact. In addition, we were able to organize the young Helots and Pileasians of Messenia and Laconia. There are about 4 soldiers, and the total strength can reach 15, which is not too different from the Greek coalition forces.

What's more, they are attacking and we are defending, so our troops are completely sufficient.And judging from the previous battles, the Greek coalition is not good at siege. Their siege equipment is simple and their methods are simple. They are not even brave enough in combat and do not pose a great threat to our defensive camps. In fact, even without you In the landing operation, we are also confident that we will hold on until the morale of the Greek coalition forces is low and they finally have to retreat. "

When Patroclus heard this, he suddenly frowned and reminded directly: "I suggest you not to defend too hard, but also to make some concessions appropriately, so that the Greek coalition forces can taste the sweetness and not want to retreat. We need Contain the Greek coalition forces in the Peloponnese, preventing them from rescuing Thessaly in time!"

Clotokatax was stunned.

Printors, who was reminded, quickly reacted and immediately persuaded: "What Commander Patroclus said makes sense. Before, our tenacious defense was to defend Messenia and Laconia. Now we must protect For the smooth implementation of the landing plan, we can consider making some concessions, such as voluntarily giving up a defensive camp..."

(End of this chapter)