ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1292 The Battle of Asia Minor (End)

"Reporting to your commander, the Persian left cavalry has been completely defeated!"

After receiving the good news from the messenger, Leoticides still looked serious: Send my order, and the cavalry and Epirus pelts on the right wing will immediately attack the Persian flank! "

He knew very well: According to what he knew before, although the cavalry on the left wing of the Persian army lost the opportunity, they performed very bravely in the difficult situation. Although their own cavalry and light shields worked together to defeat it, they themselves were also defeated. A big price was paid.But this is not the time to rest and recuperate, because judging from the entire battle situation, although the coalition forces have the upper hand, they will not be able to defeat the Persians for a while, and the arrows that the Persian archers continue to shoot from the rear of their army continue to consume their own forces. The considerable energy of the soldiers at the rear of the formation affects their strong support for the soldiers at the front of the formation.

Even more troublesome are the thousands of cavalry on the Persian right wing. Although the Dionysian light armor and light infantry have been mixed together, facing away from the main force of the Greek coalition, they are arrayed in a loose formation, paying close attention to the Persian cavalry. Movement, ready to defend against its sudden attack on the rear of the main coalition formation, but the Persian cavalry is fast after all. If they really want to move quickly in a large area, the light armor and light infantry can only be beyond the reach, and at the critical moment they are desperate An all-out assault might bring big trouble to the entire battle, so he hoped to establish a chance of victory as soon as possible.

Leoticides was thinking about the entire battle while paying attention to the battle ahead. At this moment, his guard captain suddenly shouted: "Your Majesty Commander, the Persian cavalry is charging towards us!"

Leoticides hurriedly turned around and saw countless Persian cavalry that had been cruising in the distance galloping towards him.The light infantry fired arrows and javelins at them, and the Persian cavalry kept falling off their horses, but they did not retreat again like before, but instead accelerated their advance.

Leotychides's face changed slightly: his worries came true, but the target of the other party's raid turned out to be himself, the commander-in-chief of the Greek coalition forces.

As a former Spartan warrior, he does not lack courage, but as the commander of the coalition forces, there must be no accidents at the most important moment of the battle. The coalition flag held high next to him cannot be taken away, which will greatly affect the soldiers. Their morale was high, so he led the escort without hesitation towards the place where the light armored soldiers and light infantry were concentrated.The officers of this mixed unit also felt the crisis and loudly called for the soldiers to gather together.

Facing the enemy in front, this Persian cavalry unit, which was mainly composed of light cavalry, no longer chose to dodge as before. Instead, it hugged the horse's neck tightly, accelerated the horse's speed, and rushed straight towards the opponent.

This indomitable momentum made many Dionian soldiers feel palpitations. The team officers shouted "The Name of Hades" to stabilize the morale of the troops, and at the same time commanded the light infantry to immediately carry out long-range attacks to hinder the enemy's charge.

The war horses hit by arrows rolled to the ground with the cavalry on their backs in mourning, and were trampled into pulp by the Persian cavalry following closely behind...

Although the long-range attack of the Dionian light infantry failed to repel the Persian cavalry, it also slowed down their charge speed and gave the light armored soldiers time to form a hasty formation.

Facing the Persian cavalry who rushed forward with astonishing momentum, the Dionian light armored soldiers, although their faces were pale, still held up their leather shields and lined up in a dense array to block them.

"Peng! Peng! Peng!..." Dionian soldiers were constantly being knocked away, bringing down their surrounding comrades, but soldiers were also constantly coming to join the interception array.Amidst the continuous screams and exclamations, although Dionia's array was shattered, it never collapsed, but the charge of the Persian cavalry was finally contained...

Leoticides had been paying attention to the battle situation behind him. At this time, he was not only relieved, but also felt happy in his heart. He knew very well that once the Persian cavalry, which was famous for its swiftness, lost its speed, if they did not retreat in time, the only thing waiting for them would be It was destruction, and he could finally devote all his attention to the battle ahead.

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On the right wing of the Greek coalition's formation, the two elite troops adjacent to each other - the Spartan warriors and the Theban Holy Army - competed with each other to prove that they were stronger than each other due to their past grievances, but their enemies suffered a lot. pressure.

At this time, the attack from the flanks by the coalition cavalry and light shields became the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the Persian soldiers began to retreat...

Although it will take a certain amount of time for a small local defeat to affect the military formation that is seven or eight miles long, perhaps there may be other turning points for the Persian army during this period.

But Fanabazus, who learned the news, obviously did not have such luck. With the left, center, and right at a disadvantage, and with no reinforcements available, the defeat was obviously determined, and he made a prompt decision. The order to "retreat" was given.

When the Persian soldiers heard the sound of the trumpet, they immediately turned and fled, and the coalition soldiers took advantage of the situation to cover up the killing.

The entire battlefield was like a dam bursting and rivers flowing in all directions.

The tens of thousands of Greek mercenaries located in the middle were not only slow to react, but also slow to move because their thick armor affected their hearing. They fell at the back and became the best target for the coalition soldiers to pursue.

At this time, Jason could no longer care about the mercenaries he had spent several years training hard. He threw away his eye-catching helmet and heavy breastplate, and rode his own war horse, just like he had fled Greece a few years ago. With the same complicated mood, he quickly fled the battlefield...

At dusk, the coalition soldiers who had stopped chasing were cleaning the battlefield. They stripped off armor and weapons from corpses, or searched for valuable items from prisoners. They always laughed uncontrollably...

The coalition generals gathered together in twos and threes, happily looking at the battlefield littered with corpses while excitedly discussing the previous battles.

And Leoticides was sitting alone on the hillside with his eyes closed and concentrating. He heard footsteps beside him and thought of it. He asked directly without opening his eyes: "What's the loss?"

Muklu, the staff officer of the Greek coalition forces and Leoticides' old partner, said in a deep voice: "According to preliminary statistics, we have more than 6400 casualties, including 1300 cavalry casualties, and the mortality rate is as high as 6%. There are more than 3000 light infantrymen, with a mortality rate of only 1000%. There are also more than [-] light infantrymen, with a mortality rate of only [-]%... The rest of the heavy infantry casualties are mostly allied soldiers, and the one with the highest number of casualties is - Sparta, who ranks alone. warrior."

Leoticides opened his eyes suddenly and turned to look at Muklu.

Muklu seemed to have expected this reaction from him, and continued without changing his expression: "According to the report of the messenger, the Spartans indeed performed very bravely in this battle. They were the first to defeat the enemy in person. Of course, we also paid the price of nearly a hundred casualties..."

Leoticides said nothing, but quietly tore off a piece of grass beside him with his right hand.

"There's one more thing... I think you should know..." Muklu whispered hesitantly: "Agesilaus is dead..."

Leoticides suddenly widened his eyes.

Muklu's voice dropped even lower: "I heard that after the Persians were defeated, Agesilaus, who was sitting behind the Spartan army and commanding, was so excited that he wanted to follow the soldiers in pursuit, but he fell down. , never got up again..."

The old guy finally died... The barrier that had been weighing on Leoticides' heart all year round suddenly disappeared, but at this moment he did not feel relaxed. Instead, he felt a little empty in his heart. He looked around the battlefield with a sense of loss, and finally His sight was fixed on a corner on the left side of the battlefield: there were hundreds of strong men with long braids and shirtless bodies, bowing their heads solemnly and praying for something. In front of them was a row of corpses, among which there must be Ah The body of Gesilaus...

Leoticides thought this in his heart, but did not go over to join them in paying homage. He just sat quietly, with the words Agesilaus said when he left last night echoing in his ears...

While he was lost in thought, Muklu's report continued: "The Persians left nearly 6000 corpses and wounded soldiers on the battlefield, most of them cavalry. We also captured more than 6000 broken soldiers, most of whom They are Greek mercenaries..."

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Alitaka, a well-known Tyrian nobleman, served as the leader of the Tyrian fleet twice, followed the Persian army to fight against Egypt, and also made contributions in the war of suppressing the rebellion in the west of Asia Minor, and was rewarded by the King of Persia.

Therefore, after the turmoil broke out in Egypt, the Persian king who wanted to take the opportunity to recapture Egypt obviously did not forget him. He sent a messenger to Phoenicia and asked the Phoenician city-states to gather all their warships and command them under the command of Alitaka. Cooperate with the preparations of the Persian army to attack Egypt.

But not long after, the Holy Kingdom of Dionia declared war on Persia, and then the Dionia army landed in Egypt, quelled the unrest, and stayed for a long time. Its troops were even stationed in Perrameses, threatening Gaza. Security... etc. A series of news came one after another in more than two months, making the entire Near East region tense.

During this period, Persia, which was undergoing comprehensive military mobilization, required coastal areas such as Cyprus, Syria, and Issus to gather the warships owned in their areas to the military ports of Tire and Sidon, form a unified Persian fleet, and appoint Ya Litaka was the commander-in-chief of the Persian fleet and asked him to lead the fleet to guard the Near East waters and prevent the invasion of the Dionian fleet.

Yalitaka, who was given the sole responsibility for the first time, was naturally very diligent. He sent envoys many times to urge Cyprus, Syria and other regions to provide warships as soon as possible, and at the same time, he seized the time to reorganize and train his warships.

　Thanks to Sorry I Want It All and Lone Orange* for the reward!Your support is my motivation to write!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)