ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 425 Battle of the Ramato River ([-])

This area is not too flat. The ground is undulating, with small mounds and thorn bushes everywhere.On the west side is the Ramato River, while on the north side is the middle reaches of the Colache River, which flows from northwest to southeast.

Obviously, Felicius chose to deploy here because he took into account the power of the Syracuse cavalry and wanted to use the terrain to limit its performance and detours to the greatest extent.At the same time, such terrain is undoubtedly more beneficial to the Dionysian Legion infantry who are more adaptable and flexible.

Dionysius certainly saw the disadvantages of this terrain to his side, but he still led his army there.

More than 10 people from both sides gathered on this land with a radius of more than ten miles, densely packed like mountains and seas, causing dust and sand to fill the sky, and the noise was loud...

Dionysius squinted his eyes and looked forward hard. Even if his vision was blocked by dust and fog, the black uniforms of the Dionysian Legion soldiers were still particularly conspicuous, and they were directly opposite Dionysius. .

"The Dionysians are in the middle!" Dionysius was determined, because he also invested 15000 of his most elite soldiers in the middle. They were all mercenaries from Campania and mainland Greece. After many years of fighting with him in Sicily, most of the soldiers were granted citizenship by him, obtained a share of land, and became new citizens of Syracuse. This is the most loyal to him and his most reliable core force.

"It seems that, according to the past battles of the Dionians, the focus of their attack is on their left wing!" Phoebidas reminded: "I suggest that at least 2 soldiers be deployed on our right wing to block the enemy. attack!"

Dionysius did not answer immediately. He tilted his head and looked to the left.

What he saw was the South Italian Allied Forces still in formation, with their shadowy figures in the dust and mist. The noisy noise and commotion extended beyond his sight...

A moment later, he gave the order: "Send all the Syracuse militiamen to the right!"

The messenger received the order and galloped eastward.

Dionysius turned to the Spartans and said in a deep voice: "Phoebus, I appointed you as the commander of the right wing. I hope you can lead the army to block the enemy's attack and buy time for victory. I hope you can accept it. !"

"This is my honor!" Phoebus readily accepted his fate, without any arrogance and consciousness of "I am a Spartan, you have no right to appoint me", to be able to lead more than 2 soldiers to participate in this large-scale battle. The battle was Phoebus's first, and probably his last, so the temptation for him was too great for him to refuse.

"In addition, when encountering difficulties, you have the right to order the Numibian and Celtic cavalry on the outer right wing." Dionysius emphasized again.

Phoebidas felt trusted, and he gave Dionysius a rare military salute.

"Astagoras," Dionysius called next.

"exist!"

"You lead the Sicilian city-state army to guard the left wing together with the Hibernian army! Remember, I only need you to hold off the enemy, and I don't need you to be too aggressive. Do you understand?!" For this brave subordinate, Dio Nisius gave the order in a stern tone.

"Yes, sir!" Astagras's heart trembled.

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"Lord Commander, Trina's troops have arrived on the battlefield. Sir Sipulos asked me to tell you that a total of 8500 soldiers from Trina's troops have arrived!" The herald arrived on horseback and reported to Felicius.

8500 people! !Felicius was surprised when he heard this number. Doesn't this mean that there are only a few hundred soldiers left in Trina to defend the city.Because when discussing today's battle plan yesterday, Trina's representatives said that they could send up to 6000 people to participate. Unexpectedly, there were 2500 more people today.Immediately, Felicius thought of the Trina people's intentions: They were preparing to devote all their strength to a battle!

Felicius was also very encouraged at this moment, and he said loudly: "Go and tell Lord Acesias to move all the Silitian troops originally deployed on the right wing to the left wing, and let the hammer head become Gotta be thicker!”

"Yes!" A messenger turned his horse's head and resigned to the east.

"Go and tell Sir Sipulos that Trina's troops are right next to the Dionysian Army and are arrayed on the right wing. The distance between the far end of the phalanx and the Ramato River should not be too large to prevent the enemy from attacking. The cavalry attacked in a roundabout way!"

"Yes!" Another messenger was ordered to go west.

Seeing the messenger disappear into the dust and mist, Felicius once again looked at the Dionian soldiers in front. Only by watching the skillful formation and formation of these well-trained legionnaires could he feel at ease and get rid of the worries in his heart. Nervous and irritable.

After watching for a while, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, and said: "Immediately inform the two legion commanders Dracos and Epithenes to slow down the formation of the soldiers and wait for the alliance troops on both sides. Expose our intentions as early as possible!"

"Yes!" The other two messengers rushed forward.

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"Felicius is too careful. With the strength of our legion, there is no need to play such a little trick. Sound the attack horn and just kill them!" Dracos was a little dissatisfied after receiving Felicius's order.

But he did not dare to disobey the orders of his superiors, so he said to the adjutant: "Go and tell the team officers to slow down the brothers and form the formation. Don't get excited too early. Slow down a little, and save your strength and energy for charging." Moment."

"Understood, Legion Commander!"

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"Oh, if it weren't for Lord Felicius's reminder, I almost forgot about this! Adjutant, hurry up and ask the brothers to slow down and wait for the Trina people next to you. But to be honest, it's easy to make them speed up. , If you want to slow down, we haven't practiced like this for many years... Haha..." Epithenis gave the order teasingly.

The adjutant held back his laughter and said, "I understand, legion commander!"

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Before and after the long formation on both sides, hundreds of messenger cavalry were seen galloping back and forth to convey orders.And the team officers at all levels in the noisy and chaotic array were also shouting loudly.Two huge square formations are slowly taking shape...

It takes a long time for more than [-] people to form an array.The people of Syracuse completed the formation faster than the South Italian Allied Forces. After all, most of its troops came from the same city-state and often fought together. Unlike the South Italian Allied Army, which not only came from multiple city-states, but also was the third one. A cooperative battle.

At noon, the huge noise gradually fell silent, and the dust gradually dissipated due to the stillness of the soldiers...

The soldiers at the front of both sides of the phalanx can clearly see the enemy hundreds of meters away. In their eyes, the opponent's dense phalanx is like a thick steel city wall extending endlessly to both ends...

The sunshine at noon in early winter was not hot, but it shone on the soldiers' shining armor and weapons, and the dazzling light merged into one, making it impossible to look directly at them.Only when the line of sight falls in front of the Dionian phalanx, the distinctive and uniform equipment and clothing of the Dionian legionnaires naturally attract the eyes of the Syracuse soldiers and make them feel palpitating, because black always It means unknown.

The sea breeze blew from Squillace Bay, making the sweaty soldiers in heavy armor feel a little cooler after just a hard time...

The long array of large and small military flags on both sides fluttered in the wind. The largest flag was erected behind Dionysius. Not only was it painted with the traditional "three legs" symbol of Syracuse, but also Dionysius's His real name is also embroidered on the flag.In comparison, Felicius, the opponent's commander of the South Italian Allied Forces, was a bit shabby. Due to the hasty time he took office, as the commander of two legions, the Ministry of Military Affairs did not have time to make a statue of the military flag for him, so he could only use the statue of the legion flag. , and then simply add a larger flag.

Felicius didn't care about this. At this time, he was surprised to see the flag representing Dionysius in the opposite military formation slowly moving forward. After a while, the military chess piece had moved to the front of the formation. Following closely under the military banner were generals wearing golden helmets.

So gorgeously dressed, it must be Dionysius himself, right?Felicius hesitated for a moment, but also galloped forward.

The two met in the center of the battlefield. Dionysius looked at Felicius with sharp eyes, and Felicius returned the look without any sign of weakness.

"Are you the commander-in-chief of the South-Italian Allied Forces?"

"Are you the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius?"

"I am Dionysius."

"I am the commander of the Dionysian army, Felicius, the commander-in-chief of the South Italian coalition!" Under Dionysius's silent gaze, Felicius subconsciously increased his volume.

"Felicius, it seems that your subordinates do not agree with your title of commander-in-chief." Dionysius turned his head and looked at both sides of him, with a sarcastic smile on his face. There are cavalry on both sides galloping towards here quickly.

"The large and small city-states in the South Italian League are treated equally, unlike the Greek city-states in Sicily!" Felicius's face turned red, and he imitated the tone of his colleagues in the Dionysian Senate during the debate.

Dionysius laughed loudly: "In battle, shouldn't the army obey the orders of one person to ensure the unity of action of the entire army? I think your consul Davos should know it very well. Didn't he tell you? "

Felicius found that he was no match for Dionysius in terms of eloquence, so he simply remained silent and just stared at him coldly.

Dionysius withdrew his smile and showed a sullen look: "You are right in one sentence, the Greek city-state of Sicily is in my hands! And after this battle, Great Greece will also be controlled by me alone. It's up to you!"

"You won't know until after the fight!" Felicius replied concisely.

(End of this chapter)