ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 269 Maple Alliance
However, the cunning Messapian cavalry quickly passed diagonally forward, exposing the infantry phalanx behind them.

Then, Mesapi's army stopped advancing and once again entered into a confrontation with Archita's army a hundred meters away.

However, Archita could not wait any longer. He had twice the strength of the enemy, and the uneasiness in his heart prompted him to immediately issue an order: sound the trumpet for attack!

In Tarantum, many people are jealous or look down on the Dionian Alliance, but Archita does not.Not only did he have a good relationship with Dionysian Consul Davos, but he also carefully studied Dionia's military tactics, absorbed some of them, and used them in his own troops.Increasing the number of light infantry, organizing them separately, and giving full play to its long-range attack was a major change in the army he led.

When the light infantry attacked the enemy first, Archita sat in an array far longer than the rear of the right wing of the enemy phalanx, commanding the heavy infantry on the right wing to advance, preparing to outflank the enemy's left wing.

The Messapian phalanx remained motionless, and the Messapian cavalry surrounding the Tarentum array moved around.They pressed forward from all sides and threw javelins at the Tarantum soldiers in an attempt to disrupt and hinder the enemy's advance.

Archita remained unmoved, the attack bugle kept blowing, and the heavy infantry would soon be within charging distance.

"Woo!...Woo!..." The powerful and long horn horn sound suddenly sounded on the battlefield.

Archita was shocked: Did this sound come from behind? ! !

"There are enemies behind! There are enemies behind!..." Some soldiers at the rear of the right wing of the phalanx began to shout in panic. From the side and rear, shadowy human figures could be seen in the distant morning mist, and rumbling footsteps could be heard. .

Got it!The Messapeans have an ambush here!Archita's heart thumped, and this thought quickly flashed through his mind: Should we continue to move forward or retreat?He must make a decision immediately.

Fortunately, he learned from the practice of the Dionian army. The commander did not take the lead in the phalanx, but outside the phalanx.Because of this matter, someone accused him in the Senate: practicing a decadent aristocratic style in battle and not fighting side by side with the citizens is an act of greed for life and fear of death.

He did not change his approach because of the criticism, so now he was able to make adjustments before engaging in battle: "Stop the entire army's advance! Immediately retreat to the left rear in overall formation!" Archita immediately issued orders to the messengers and buglers, He hoped that by retreating, he would transform the bad situation of being flanked by front and rear into a head-on confrontation with these two groups of enemies.

The bugle sounded.The messengers galloped behind the phalanx, shouting loudly.

For ordinary Greek city-state armies, retreating to the left is a complex tactical move that is difficult to do during training, let alone on the battlefield. However, Archita believes that the army he led has been fighting for half a year. , like the Dionian army, an army trained strictly by him can do it.

In many battles with the Messapians, he learned about the bravery and tenacity of this race. He was not confident that he could defeat the enemies to the west who were twice his strength in a very short period of time, and he did not want to be trapped. In the dangerous situation of being attacked from both front and back, the only way is to immediately leave the current battlefield and rearrange the attack.Since the main force of the Messapians is attacking Mandulia, he believes that even if the number of enemies here is greater than his army, it will not be much more. He is confident that he can defeat them in a frontal battle!
The phalanx stopped advancing and began to retreat slowly, but the Tarantum army did not advance, but the Messape infantry began to charge.At the same time, the Messapian cavalry also began to intensify their attack. They howled and even drove their horses towards the phalanx in an attempt to disrupt the retreat of the Tarantums.

The desperate fighting style of the Mesapi cavalry shocked Archieta. He felt the determination of the Mesapi cavalry to wipe out his army here, and it was difficult to maintain his previous calm in his heart.

Should we continue to retreat or strengthen our defense?Archita is once again faced with a difficult choice.

But time was running out, the Messapian cavalry had already rushed in front of them, and the light infantry hurriedly retreated to both sides. Obstructed by the Messapian cavalry and unable to retreat at full strength, the Tarentum heavy infantry had to turn around to fight, and were trapped in the battle from the beginning. In passivity.

Archita had no time to regret. Faced with such a predicament, he asked the light infantry to use arrows to drive away the Messapian cavalry, and informed the officers to shorten the length of the heavy infantry square and thicken the columns; The soldiers at the rear of the formation quickly turned back, faced the incoming enemy, and marched forward for more than ten meters. In this way, the entire array changed from the original "one-word long snake formation" to a "two-word formation", with the two parallel arrays facing each other. Protect the opponent's rear.

Archita believes that even if his troops are temporarily passive, they can still repel the Messapians with their solid defense!

The Messapian cavalry in the rear had withdrawn to both sides, and the rumbling footsteps and loud shouts could be heard clearly from the morning mist...

When the dark enemies approached, the Tarantum soldiers were surprised: not only were the number of enemies staggering, but they were also not dressed like Messapian soldiers. They were armed with wooden shields and spears, and wore simple helmets and breastplates.

"Lord Archita, he is from Puchetti! He is from Puchetti!!" After receiving the report from the scout, Archita was equally shocked: Mesapi and Puchetti have united!Mesapi and Pucetti, who had been feuding and often at war for decades, finally united! !
Seeing more and more Pucheti soldiers rushing over, Archita was trembling all over. He was not only worried about the safety of this army, but also worried about Tarantum's situation...

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"Congratulations, King Pucheti! The Tarantum people have been surrounded by us!" Timogras, the consul of Iglatia, shouted flatteringly.

"Yes, Archita, who has caused you many defeats, is surrounded by my brave warriors. Destroy them quickly! Then attack Brindisi!" King Tremoni of Pucheti said With a happy face, he did not forget to mock the Messapians.

However, half an hour later, the Tarantum military flag in the encirclement was still standing. Apart from compressing the encirclement smaller, the Maple coalition did not make substantial progress. Instead, due to the concentration of Tarantum soldiers, the attack encountered greater resistance.

King Pucheti went on a personal expedition and brought more than 1 warriors. Together with the soldiers of Igratia, the strength was more than double the number of Archita's army.

Even though the opponent was already surrounded, the battle was going on so hard.

King Puchetti, Consul Igratia, and General Puchetti all stared at the dusty battlefield with solemn expressions.

"Fight! Fight, Tarentum! Sons of the hero Taras, do not stop wielding your spear! Remember, for every enemy you kill, your parents, wives, and children will receive a share of safety!..." Archita was in the center of the encirclement, galloping back and forth on his horse, dodging arrows and javelins that kept flying in, while shouting angrily to boost morale.

His voice was already hoarse, and his horse was breathing heat, but he didn't realize it.He knew that this time he might be in danger, but even if he died in battle, he still wanted to cause the enemy to suffer heavy losses and reduce the threat to his mother country.

Tarantum's formation has changed from "two" to a circle. Under his encouragement, the light infantry in the center kept shooting arrows in their hands, regardless of whether their fingers were cut by the bowstring or their arm muscles were strained. ; The heavy infantrymen pressed forward and backward, working together to resist the enemy's powerful collision. At the same time, they raised their spears high and stabbed and retracted them from above the closely arranged shield walls. Once the spearheads broke, they immediately drew out their swords. Continuing to stimulate the hacking and killing... They knew that their way of survival was cut off and they could only fight to the death. Therefore, their comrades around them continued to fall, but their fighting spirit did not shake.

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An hour later, King Pucheti was already livid because Tarantum's flag still stood, but his generals asked to suspend the attack because the soldiers were tired and suffered heavy casualties.

"Waste, a bunch of waste! Are you still the descendants of the heroic Arcadian king Lycaon! Look at the Greeks surrounded by you. They are not as tall as we are, and they are not as numerous as us. If so, you will be afraid , I can only replace you and let the real warriors lead my soldiers!..." Tremony cursed, waving his arms, and almost swept the spear in his hand into the face of the general in front of the horse.

"Dear King Pucheti, Archita is indeed a famous general in Tarantum, and the army he commands is indeed powerful! We still have to recapture Brindisi, and we shouldn't lose too many of our troops here!" Timogras suppressed his gloating and persuaded.

"You mean to stop fighting?" Tremoni glanced at him sideways and said contemptuously.

"The people of Tarantum are fighting desperately because they have no way to escape. If our encirclement can open a passage..." A mysterious smile appeared on Timogras' face.

"You mean-" Tremoni was not a king with mediocre talents. When he was young, he led his army to fight for the power of Pucheti. At this time, he was just too obsessed with victory. After Timogras reminded him, , he immediately woke up and turned his attention to the Mesapi and Pucetti cavalry waiting on both sides of the battlefield. Together, they had nearly a thousand cavalry, but they lost their use because the enemy was surrounded.

"I have the same idea!" Tremoni puffed out his chest and said loudly to cover up his previous gaffe.He drove his horse forward, pointing his spear at the Tarentum flag standing in the center of the chaotic battlefield: "Just don't let Archita go!"

Because Pucheti had a large number of soldiers and Mesapi was in urgent need of their help, the Mepu coalition forces, after discussion, chose to let the Igratian infantry surrounded from the west give way to the passage.

　Thanks to Nanfang Sixteen for the reward!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)