ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1291 Battle of Asia Minor ([-])

In fact, the predicament of the light infantry in the front also had a certain impact on the Greek coalition soldiers in the rear, but Agesilaus, Ipamilondas, Iphicrates... these very capable generals were in the same group Oticides had the same idea, so he firmly controlled his army and remained motionless in place.

Although there were some minor commotions among the Allied armies in central Italy, they had been attached to the Kingdom of Dionia for more than 10 years. Their long-term close exchanges and military cooperation had made them accustomed to obeying the orders of the commander of Dionia and did not issue an offensive order. They will never attack lightly.

However, some Greek city-state armies, whether generals or soldiers, began to become restless when they saw the light infantry in front of them falling continuously. Fortunately, Leoticides sent more than 10 messengers to gallop on the entire right wing. From the rear, he shouted his orders and forbade them to attack, and then he barely controlled the entire army.

On the other hand, after learning that the opponent's cavalry suddenly appeared on its right wing, Pharnabazos was worried that the Greek coalition would let the cavalry raid the Persian archers who were too forward to restore the current disadvantage, so he quickly issued the order to "advance the whole army" The order was to shorten the excessive distance between the main force and the archers and provide support and protection for the archers.

Pharnabazos had a good idea, but when the army with an array of seven or eight miles and a strength of 8 moved forward, the entire situation was beyond his control.

Some of the Persian generals responsible for leading the cavalry were already impatient with the long confrontation. They ignored Pharnabazos's order to only advance, and instead directly ordered their cavalry to attack the enemy on the opposite side.

Their unauthorized actions naturally attracted other Persian cavalry, so the cavalry at both ends of the Persian military formation quickly increased their speed and galloped towards the two wings of the Greek coalition formation.

After receiving the news, Pharnabazus, no matter how angry he was, had to ask the buglers to blow the attack bugle.

Leotychides, who was riding a horse and standing on a high ground, saw the Persian army approaching quickly, and also immediately asked the buglers to blow the bugle.

Two trumpets with similar sounds and different rhythms echoed throughout the battlefield, making it easy for soldiers who lacked training to distinguish. However, this was not a problem at all for the Dionia Light Infantry Brigade. After the reminders of the team officers, The soldiers supported their injured comrades and retreated quickly, passing through the gaps in the checkerboard formation and retreating to the rear of the entire military formation.The other coalition light infantry received repeated instructions from their generals before the battle began, "to keep up with the pace of the Dionia light infantry brigade," so they also followed suit.

The retreat of the entire Greek coalition light infantry undoubtedly provided the Persian archers with a good opportunity to attack. However, the Persian archers did not take the opportunity to attack. On the contrary, they retreated earlier than the opponent's light infantry because the Persian infantry formation was relatively dense. If When the Persian infantry troops are behind them, the Persian archers will retreat, which will inevitably lead to some disorder in the formation. And if at this time, the Greek coalition forces who are already very close to each other suddenly launch an attack, then the entire Persian army formation will encounter big trouble.

The archers who finally retreated to the rear of the Persian army followed the infantry array, while the Dionian light infantry group withdrew to the rear of the array, but quickly ran towards the left wing of the entire formation.At this time, there was no cavalry on the left end of the Greek coalition's left wing, but there were three Dionian light armored brigades arranged in a loose formation, perpendicular to the left wing formation to protect the flank.

The Epirus light shield soldiers, whose number was already less than a thousand, did not follow the light infantry brigade to the left wing, but led by the Dionia team officer to support the cavalry on the right wing.

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On the frontal battlefield, facing the Persian infantry array that was getting closer and closer, the Greek coalition array still stood still, but the coalition cavalry on the left wing moved.

The Persian infantry was still halfway, and the Persian cavalry had already rushed down the hillside.At this time, the cavalry of the Greek Allied Forces at the right end of the right wing was arranged in a square formation, and the commander of the Thessaly cavalry corps at the front row in the center immediately gave the order to attack.

The cavalry clamped the horse's belly, shook the reins vigorously, and the horse stepped forward with four hooves and began to run...

From top to bottom, the speed increases very quickly.First came the Thessalian cavalry, followed closely by the Macedonian cavalry, and finally the cavalry from various Greek city-states, gathered into a powerful force, like a rushing mountain torrent, making a deafening noise, roaring towards the Persian cavalry at the foot of the mountain.

Most of the Persian cavalry are light cavalry, some of them are equipped with javelins, some are equipped with bows and arrows, close combat is not their strong point.

Although the terrain in Thessaly and Macedonia is relatively flat, the edge areas are mostly hills, and their main opponents are the indigenous people in the surrounding mountains. The war horses gallop on the hills, and the riders cannot maintain a stable posture to throw javelins or shoot arrows. On the contrary, they It was easier to be caught up by the natives, which forced the cavalry to improve their ability to fight in close combat. Therefore, most of the Thessaly and Macedonian cavalry were close combat cavalry.

In fact, not only them, but also the Gallic cavalry and Lusitanian cavalry in the Western Mediterranean. Only the Numibians developed the ability to ride horses, archery and javelin in the flat and vast interior of Africa.

After Dionia incorporated the Thessalian cavalry into the legion, he equipped them with a full set of leather armor, 3-meter spears and sabers specially built for the cavalry, which not only enhanced their melee capabilities, but also did not weaken the cavalry on horseback. balance and flexibility.

The Persian cavalry originally wanted to use javelins and bows to inflict casualties on the Greek coalition cavalry and infantry after approaching the two wings of the Greek coalition, thereby disrupting the enemy's array.Their formation was loose and their speed was very fast, but their speed naturally slowed down when going uphill.

But at this moment, the Greek coalition cavalry, which had been stationary, suddenly rushed towards them, as fast as lightning, and rushed to the front in an instant. The Persian cavalry was unable to dodge in time, relying on the greater number of people. The other party bit the bullet and pushed forward.

If the entire Greek coalition cavalry at this time is a sharp knife that stabs out quickly, the Thessalian cavalry is the sharp blade on this sharp knife. Although the speed makes them feel palpitating, they still stare ahead with wide eyes. Hold the horse's neck tightly with your left hand, and hold the spear tightly with your right hand. When you poke the enemy, release your right hand immediately to avoid being pushed off the horse by the strong momentum.

Although the Thessalian cavalry has undergone countless charge training in the past few years, many people still fell off their horses. Of course, the Persian cavalry fell off their horses even more, and they were either killed or injured.

What's even more frightening is that due to the strong kinetic energy of the charge, the coalition cavalry could not stop the horses at all. They watched helplessly as the horses suddenly hit the Persian cavalry in front, not only knocking them away, but also causing serious injuries to themselves.The subsequent coalition cavalry trampled on the wounded soldiers and horses everywhere, and quickly penetrated the Persian cavalry array.

The charge of the Greek allied cavalry caused the Persian cavalry to not only stop advancing, but most of them were also crowded together, with horses neighing and people shouting, making it impossible to quickly restore unified command.

And those Thessaly cavalry who fell off their horses got up from the ground, immediately pulled out the sabers around their waists, and slashed at the surrounding enemies and horses wantonly, making the scene even more chaotic.

The coalition cavalry who had pierced through the enemy line quickly came back and attacked the chaotic Persian cavalry again...

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The 4000 cavalry on the right wing of the Persian army successfully approached the left wing of the Greek coalition, but the Dionian light armored soldiers guarded its side. Although the arrows and javelins they fired caused some casualties to the light armored soldiers, they did not reach the target. The purpose of disrupting the main formation.

Subsequently, the light infantry arrived one after another. Their bows and javelins had a longer range and more stable and accurate output. They posed a great threat to the Persian cavalry, forcing them to retreat to a farther distance, thereby easing the pressure on the light infantry. Armored pressure.

At the same time, the soldiers of the Persian army had stepped onto the gentle slope one after another and began to move upward.

When the winding Persian army formation was about five or sixty meters away from the main force of the Greek coalition, and the Persian archers behind it began to bend their bows and arrows, the Dionian soldiers in the center and left wing of the Greek coalition suddenly stepped forward neatly. He took a big step and threw the javelin in his hand violently.

When the light infantry was at a disadvantage in the fierce battle with the Persian archers, the legionnaires did not step forward to help their comrades under the strict orders of the team officers. They were waiting for this moment.

The Persian army did not know much about the tactics of the Dionian Army. Although Jason had heard about it before, he had not fought with the Dionian Army after all. In addition, the previous soldiers of the Dionian Army Their silence made the Persian infantry and Greek mercenaries relax their vigilance. As a result, when the javelins that covered the sky came, they hurriedly defended and it was already too late.

Because the Dionian soldiers were located at a high place, the javelins thrown were more damaging. After one round, they fell to pieces, either dead or injured.

When the Persian army was still in shock, another round of javelin followed, like a strong wind blowing, and the front of the center and right wing of the Persian army suddenly became fragmented.

"Woo!...Woo!..." At this moment, the attack bugle of the Greek coalition sounded.

Whether it was the Dionian soldiers, the Greek soldiers, or the Italian allied soldiers, they all roared in unison and launched charges one after another. The six or seven-mile-long military formation poured down like a mountain and the sea, with an astonishing momentum.

The Persian archers pulled the bow strings desperately, hoping to let the arrows cover the sky to weaken the enemy's charge, but most of the arrows fell on the heavily armored heavy infantry, basically causing no damage, so when both sides When the military formations collided head-on, it almost presented a one-sided situation. The left, center, and right sides of the Persian military formation were all struggling to cope with the enemy's attack. Under strong pressure, the entire military formation was forced to slow down. Slowly retreat...

(End of this chapter)