ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1312 The Battle of Taposakus ([-])

The Persian archers withdrew a long distance before Alsinis gave the order to withdraw.

The soldiers retracted their long shields and stood up to take a look. They were stunned: the surrounding flat land was filled with arrows, and the same was true for the long shields, causing a sudden increase in weight.

In order not to affect the use of the long shield, the soldiers immediately pulled out their short swords and cut off the arrow shafts on the shield.

"Your Majesty, the Persian archery troops have retreated, and our casualties are not large!" After listening to the instant messages sent back by the messengers, Felicius reported to the king with a happy face.

Davos nodded calmly.

"Thirty years ago, we used this method to successfully defend against long-range attacks by Persian archers. Now our legionnaires have better defensive capabilities than we did then. The Persians still use the old method to deal with us. It is impossible to capture them. Any bargain!" Amyntas said disdainfully.

At the pre-war military meeting, it was precisely because of the suggestions of the veterans that Daves decided not to use light infantry first, but to let the heavy infantry carry the Persian archery troops that were superior in long-range attacks in order to achieve the purpose of wearing down the opponent. , now it seems the plan was successful.

At this time, Davos looked at the Persian archers on the other side who were receding like a tide, and said calmly: "The appetizers have been eaten, and it's time to eat the main meal."

The mile-long distance made it impossible for the Persian king and Trebasus to see clearly the casualties of the enemy on the opposite side. However, from the retreating generals, Trebasus learned that the results of the battle were not ideal, and he was suddenly shocked: First, It was his suggestion to send Persian archery troops forward to fight.Because through a detailed understanding of the battles in Asia Minor and referring to some past battles in Dionia, he found that the Dionysian army was different from the Greek army. Their light infantry was not weak, and they liked to fight first in battles to disrupt The opponent's formation, that's why he made such a suggestion, hoping to use his powerful archery troops to cripple the opponent's light infantry and gain more advantages while also damaging the morale of the opponent's army. However, he did not expect that the opponent's light infantry would actually Did not go into battle, and the long-range attack on the Dionian heavy infantry did not achieve great results...

When Trebassus came to Artaxerxes, his face no longer worried, but looked happy: "Your Majesty, the attack of the archers caused a lot of casualties to the Dionian heavy infantry. We should Taking advantage of the victory to attack, we cannot let the Dionian army take a breather!"

Artaxerxes was very happy after hearing this and said without hesitation: "Then continue the attack!"

"Yes, your Majesty!" Trebasus turned around and conveyed the order: "Chariots and war elephants attack!"

The messenger cavalry galloped out, some towards the front of the center array and some towards the left wing.

Soon, Artaxerxes heard the high-pitched roar of an elephant from the front, and he was refreshed. He slapped the carriage and said excitedly: "Crush all the Dionians!"

Under the command of the mahout, 50 elephants spread out their thick limbs and began to move forward. Each step caused the ground to tremble slightly; while they were still accelerating slowly, the scythe chariots on both sides were already at full speed. As they advanced, the war horses with flying hooves and the rapidly rotating wheels made a rumbling sound, stirring up billowing dust mist. Although there were only more than 200 chariots, they created the momentum of thousands of troops, like a roaring giant. The beast rushed towards the Dionia army formation fiercely.

Even legionnaires like Arcinis, who had been trained to deal with chariots during their stay in Egypt, could not help but feel nervous at this moment.

At this moment, rapid footsteps sounded beside Alsinis. It turned out that the light infantrymen located behind the infantry array quickly passed through the passage between the detachment squares and ran to the front of the array.

In fact, after the Dionian light infantry brigade learned the positions of the Persian chariots and war elephants on the opposite side, they planned their tactics in advance, so five thousand light infantrymen ran to the front of the formation and quickly formed a formation. , the harpooneer faces the elephant in the middle, and the archers face the chariot on both sides.

There is no need for orders from the team officer. After the archers stand firm, they immediately draw their bows and shoot arrows in front of them. Even if the chariot is still a hundred meters away, they shoot directly instead of projectiles, because they have been trained in actual combat in Egypt. They know that projectiles are difficult to hit the fast-moving chariots. On the contrary, even if the direct shots are farther away, the fast approaching chariots will make them actively collide with the flying arrows.

The archers had just shot an arrow, and they immediately drew the arrow and shot again without caring about the result, because the time left for them was very tight.

Megakides, a Cretan, won the archery championship in the first Dionysian Games last year and was invited by the Dionysian Military Ministry. After repeated consideration, he finally decided to join the Dionysians. Ya, with the special approval of King Davos, he only needs to serve in the military for three years before he can become a formal citizen.

After this news was deliberately publicized by the Turiyi City Hall, it aroused heated discussions among the people of all the allies. The athletes were gearing up and actively training, preparing to achieve excellent results in the 2nd Dionysian Games in order to win Dai The Dionian Games are favored by the King of Onia, but the Dionian Games, like other Greek games, are also held every four years, and the time is still relatively long.

After immigrating to Thurii, Megakides temporarily lived in a military camp and while receiving military training, he also assisted military trainers in training and improving the archery skills of new recruits.

Light infantry, especially archers, rely more on personal skills. In the traditional Greek military formation, archers do not have any special tactics and rely more on their own personal skills. However, the Dionysian army is different. The tactical ability requirements are relatively high. Megakides has only been in the military camp for half a year. He has just become familiar with light infantry tactics when he encountered this war. The Turiyi military camp originally did not want to recruit him, but in order to achieve military merit and become an official citizen as soon as possible , repeated requests.Considering his amazing shooting skills, the captain of the light infantry of the First Legion recruited him as an ordinary soldier.

At this moment, Megakides followed his teammates and ran to the front of the array. When he saw the fast-moving chariot rushing through the dust and mist, charging towards them menacingly, the soldiers shot arrows in their hands.Although it was his first time to experience such a grand scene, he was born with a big heart, otherwise he would not have defeated many strong opponents at the first Dionysian Games and won the archery championship. He did not release the arrow immediately, but quickly Calm your breathing, see the position of the chariot in front of you, take aim for a moment, and then release the bowstring.

As the main weapon used by the Persian army to rush into battle, the Persians certainly knew that the target of the sickle chariot was too large and vulnerable to long-range attacks, so not only did the horses on the carts be covered with armor, but the crossbowmen and shooters on the vehicles were also Wear armor.Although many arrows hit the war horses, they were blocked by the armor and did not cause fatal injuries. On the contrary, under the eager whipping of the crossbowmen, they whined and accelerated forward.

At this moment, the arrow shot by Megakides penetrated the head of the horse that was not covered by armor. The galloping horse suddenly fell down, and the entire chariot turned upside down due to inertia. The crossbow on the vehicle The hand and the shooter were thrown into the air, screaming and smashing towards the place where Megakides was.

Megakides and his teammates hurriedly dodge.

"Be careful! Chariot! Chariot!!..." The frightened shouts of the soldiers behind made Megakides hurriedly turned his head, only to see a chariot not far away that did not run straight forward, but rushed towards them sideways. Come.

The distance was very close, and McGargides rolled and crawled away, but some soldiers were unable to dodge in time. Unfortunately, one leg was rubbed by a flash of white light on the axle, and was immediately twisted into several sections, falling to the ground and crying. .

The surrounding soldiers were all horrified when they saw this tragic scene.

Only then did Megacides realize that the chariot's driver and archer had all been struck by arrows and fell down.

When he and his teammates aimed their bows and arrows at the war horses, the two frightened horses seemed to sense the danger and ran back in panic with the chariot on their backs. There was a "bang" sound and they unexpectedly came face to face with one of their own chariots. Collide.

Amid the screams of the war horses, Megakides and the others heaved a sigh of relief.

Compared with their teammates who were standing still shooting arrows, the harpooneers in the light infantry brigade did not stop after rushing out of the array, but accelerated forward.

When they were only a few dozen meters away from the slowly running war elephant, they risked being shot by the archers on the back of the war elephant and threw their javelins with all their strength.

The skin of the war elephant is tough and thick, making it difficult for arrows to penetrate, so the Persians did not put armor on it. However, the Persians never expected that the Dionians, whom they despised, were not only not afraid of this behemoth, but also took the initiative to step forward. Fighting, dozens or hundreds of heavy javelins are concentrated to shoot at a war elephant, but it is enough to threaten the life of the war elephant.

For the Dionian light infantry, war elephants are large and slow, making them easier to deal with than running chariots.

The war elephants were quickly shot into hedgehogs.

Although these war elephants have undergone specialized training, their gentle nature has not changed. Sensing the danger ahead, they turned around and ran back, completely disobeying the mahout's instructions.Only a few elephants, mad with pain, accelerated forward, and then collapsed screaming as the harpooneers threw round after round.

When the light infantry rushed up, the legionnaires did not relax their vigilance. Alcinis, the squad leader, even ran to the front and stared nervously at the battle ahead.

Seeing a tank in front of him break through the blockade of light infantry and rush towards the phalanx, he shouted eagerly: "Dodge! Dodge!"

Since the Dionian military formation is a loose checkerboard array, there are enough gaps for the soldiers to move around.The galloping Persian chariot had difficulty turning due to inertia, and could only move along the passage quickly given up by the Dionysian soldiers. The Dionysian soldiers took the opportunity to attack the chariot with bayonets from both sides, killing the packhorses and drivers. .

(End of this chapter)