ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1224: Troops Arrive at Athens

Since there was not enough time to build a complete defensive camp, the Athenian army relied more on its condescending geographical advantage for defense, but the Lucanians, Samnites, and Gauls were all fierce mountain races. , fighting in mountainous areas is their strength, not to mention that now they have Dionia's high-quality armor and weapons as a basis, and they still have the upper hand. After a fierce battle for most of the day, they broke through the defense line.

In particular, the ferocious appearance of the Gauls holding big swords and slashing fiercely made the Athenian soldiers terrified. They couldn't help preaching the horror of the enemy army during their rout, which caused the people of Philly, a town not far from Mount Panisa, to be frightened. He fled with his family and his troops, which enabled the army led by Lizalu to successfully occupy this small town, then continued southward, and soon surrounded another small town, Megaro Uno.

The people of this town had no time to escape and had to put up a desperate resistance. Megalouno's resistance was not in vain. They bought some time for the Athenian soldiers and mercenaries defending in the south, especially Jason. These mercenaries have rich combat experience. Seeing the strength of the Dionysian army, they have no hope at all in Athens' plan to defend the enemy from outside the country. They have long had the idea of ​​"retreating immediately at the first sign of trouble". This prevented Patroclus' plan of "containing the south and attacking from the north. Once the defense line was breached, the army quickly moved south to encircle the enemy forces on the southern line of defense." However, in the end, more than 1000 escaping mercenaries were captured. .

Iphicrates led more than 1 soldiers along the coastline when Athens' border defenses were completely defeated, and finally entered the city of Athens relatively smoothly.

He ran into the Athens City Hall in a dusty state without washing his hands. The nine generals who were having urgent discussions in the room saw his arrival and immediately surrounded him like dew after a long drought. The first sentence they asked All: "Iphicrates, how many soldiers did you bring back?"

"16 soldiers."

"How come there are so few troops?" Callistratus looked stunned. He thought that even if the Thessalian army left, Iphicrates could bring back at least 10 to [-] troops, because as far as he knew, in At its peak, the Greek coalition had as many as [-] people (some city-states in Arcadia and Ellis had a large number of citizens participating in the war as auxiliaries because they were very close to the battlefield, but they actually did not have much combat effectiveness).

Iphicrates carefully gave a brief account of the battle in the Peloponnese.

After listening, everyone looked depressed, and some even couldn't help but said: "It's over...Athens is over..."

"The Eleans, the Arcadians, the Phocians, the Locrians... they are simply stupid! They should understand that it is time for them to go home, and there is no point in rushing home. They can only unite and defeat Only Dionia, a powerful enemy, can ensure the safety of his city-state!" Someone said angrily.

"Alas... when the danger really comes, these narrow-minded city-state citizens can only see the danger of their own mother-state. How can they share the same hatred and fight against powerful enemies! In the final analysis, the Greek Union is just a hastily established alliance. , It is destined not to last long!" Callistratus sighed helplessly.

Everyone was silent.

At this time, Iphicrates had the opportunity to ask: "By the way, when I entered the city just now, I saw some broken soldiers shouting and yelling about defeat, defeat, which caused panic in the city. So what happened?!"

With a heavy heart, Callistratus told Iphicrates the news that "the Greek army was defending on the border and suffered a disastrous defeat."

After listening to this, the Greek veteran, who was always calm and wise on the battlefield, actually shouted angrily: "You clearly know that the incoming Dionian army is large in number and powerful, why do you want to destroy our few young people?" Citizens in their prime are sent out to die in the city! Who?! Who made this stupid suggestion?!"

Ificrantes' eyes widened and he glared at everyone, and some people lowered their heads unconsciously.

Karalistratus took a step forward and said in a deep voice: "It is our joint decision, but it is also the demand of the people! When the remnants of Thessaly's army fled into Athens, we knew that the Dionian army in the north The attack will come soon, and Cabrias has made suggestions, 'Hurry up and inform the people in the Attica area to avoid the city, rely on the city walls to defend against the attack of the Dionysian army, and wait for you to return with your army before counterattacking. ...'

We all approved of this decision at the time, but..." Callistratus' eyes flashed a trace of shame: "But in the subsequent citizen assembly, most of the citizens disagreed, and they refused to abandon themselves without resistance. Let the Dionians ravage and trample... You know, during the Peloponnesian War, the entire Attica region, except for Athens, was almost destroyed by the Spartan coalition forces. Citizens don't want to Let such a tragedy happen again...

That’s why we made a plan to set up a defense line on the western border to block the Dionian army for a period of time. After you return with your army, we will find an opportunity to counterattack... Who knew that the Dionian army would come so fast? The attack was so fierce...sigh..."

After Callistratus finished speaking, the other generals couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh.

Iphicrates looked at them with evasive eyes. He knew in his heart that what Callistratus said was not completely true, but it was meaningless to care about it at this moment. He took a few breaths to calm down his mood. Calm down, and then asked: "What about now? What plans do you have now?!"

Callistratus said in a deep voice: "While the Dionysian army is still far away from the city of Athens, we have sent people to notify various villages and towns in Attica to let the people enter the city to take refuge immediately! We have decided to rely on the city wall first Defend Dionia's attack, and wait for you to come back with your army and then find an opportunity to counterattack, but I didn't expect...the troops you brought back would be so few..."

Seeing the unconcealable disappointment on Callistratus's face, Iphicrates said with an unprecedented solemn expression: "Judging from my battles with the Dionian army during this period, it is indeed as rumored As mentioned in the book, the Dionysian army is very powerful and has a large number of soldiers. In addition to the Dionysian army that has entered Attica, there are tens of thousands of Dionysian troops under the city of Corinth. According to my judgment, Corinth may fall soon, and when the two armies join together... we alone cannot defeat such a powerful Dionia, unless Persia sends troops to support-"

"Don't have any expectations for Persia!" A general shouted angrily: "The Persians have deceived us. They will not give us any support at all. The Persian envoy has run away!"

Iphicrates was startled and quickly looked at Callistratus.

The chief general nodded painfully: "The King of Persia has already led his army to attack Egypt, and he has no time to take care of us... We were fooled..."

Iphicrates slumped down on the wooden chair. He had served as a commander in the last war launched by Persia against Egypt. He knew very well that Persia would use all its strength to launch a war against Egypt, and it would not be short-term. It can be over in just a few months.

At this time, Agurrios of Old Hermician said loudly: "During the Peloponnesian War, the citizens of Athens relied on the defense of the city wall and held on for decades without being broken by the Spartan coalition. Today we have It can definitely be done! The Dionian army is indeed huge, but because of its huge size, they will consume a lot of supplies. Can the Dionians sustain such a huge consumption for a long time?!"

His words lifted the spirits of some people. Cabrias, who had been in charge of the navy, finally couldn't help but remind him: "The reason why we were not afraid of the siege of the Spartan coalition back then was because we controlled the sea and the people urgently needed it. Supplies can be transported in at any time through merchant ships, but the Spartan army has nothing to do about it. But it is different now. Dionia not only has a strong army, but also a strong navy. During this time, their fleet patrols near Saron Bay every day, Intercepting incoming and outgoing merchant ships has already had a great impact on our maritime trade!
Our warships have taken risks many times, and both sides suffered casualties. However, we have too few warships. Without the ability to obtain ship wood from the outside world, and unable to build new ships (there are very few forests in Attica), we will only fight more and more. The less, when the Dionian fleet completely blocks our port, where will we get enough food to meet the needs of the entire Athenian people! "

Agurrios was speechless for a moment, and happened to see someone hurried in. He quickly asked with a straight face: "What's the matter?"

"General Agurrios, generals, the Dionian army has landed in Aegina, please send troops to rescue quickly!"

"What?! Aegina was attacked!" The generals were shocked, and Cabrias even asked anxiously: "When did this happen?!"

"According to the person who came to Aegina... about... about two hours ago, the Dionian fleet suddenly blocked the port of Aegina, and there were tens of thousands of Dionian soldiers on Aegina Island. We landed on the beach in the southwest corner and launched an attack on the city of Aegina... The garrison on the island has never seen our reinforcements, and the situation was very critical. We had to send the warships stationed at the port to risk their way out of the port. It was not easy. Just broke through the blockade of the Dionia fleet and came to report the news——"

"Where are our patrol warships? Why didn't we report them in time?!" Callistratus asked angrily.

(End of this chapter)