ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 465 The Great Battle of Taranto ([-])

For a huge fleet with nearly 300 triremes and 350 other warships in total, it is very time-consuming for the whole team to complete a tactical action, but the well-trained tin The Rakuza fleet will undoubtedly shorten this time a lot.

Led by a dozen clippers far ahead, the entire fleet sailed toward the sea near Turiyi...

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The warship of Midorades, commander of the Dionian Squadron, is located at the forefront of the fleet and serves as a pilot.This position requires the leading captain to not only have rich experience in navigation and naval warfare, but also to be familiar with the fleet's tactics and signals, as well as to understand the purpose of the expedition and the tactics and strategies to be adopted.As a vanguard, he must also perform very bravely in naval battles to set an example for the warships behind him.

Except for the first lack of naval combat experience (most captains of the Dionian fleet lack naval combat experience), Midorades performed well in other aspects. You must know that when Enianilus was sentenced to imprisonment, Davers also considered Midorades when choosing the naval commander.

At this moment, the captain was sitting under the mast, closing his eyes and resting his mind.

The lookout on the top of the mast suddenly shouted: "Sailboat spotted ahead!"

Midorades immediately opened his eyes wide and looked up at the sea ahead: there was only blue water and blue sky on the vast and boundless sea, and there was nothing else.

But Midorades knew: Due to the blockade of the Syracuse Navy, there was almost no merchant ship in this bustling sea area, so the ship that could enter the watcher's field of vision belonged to the people of Syracuse. very likely.

"The sailboat has turned south!" the lookout shouted again.

No need to hesitate anymore, it must be the enemy. He discovered that we were returning and was about to go back to report the news!Midorades pondered for a moment, then immediately shouted: "Blow the horn and hoist the warning flag!"

Soon, long strips of orange-yellow linen were hung on the mast, and the flagship lookout, who had been paying close attention to the pilot ship, immediately reported: "General, the enemy has been detected ahead!"

"Great!" Cykerian fist-punched each other excitedly, and without hesitation issued the long-awaited order: "Let's move at normal speed first! Hang the starry flag and prepare to fight!"

A long horn sounded, and the all-black flag was raised on the mast, which was extremely conspicuous under the clear sky.

Soon, black flags were hung on the ships of each squadron.

Under the dark night, there are stars!
This is a tactical formation specially invented by the Dionian Navy by taking advantage of the characteristics of the "Crow Suspension Bridge". It requires the warships of the fleet to be scattered and arranged like the stars in the sky. In this way, the warships are like each other. They alternately attack and advance like waves. Each warship is required to bravely fight alone, and other warships are required to continue attacking to provide protection. This is an orderly melee mode.

"Your Majesty, the enemy has been discovered ahead." Miltias reported to Davos.

Davos nodded and said calmly: "Follow your orders. There is no need to report to me specifically, so as not to delay the war."

"Yes!" Miltias finished the military salute and shouted towards the gap below the deck: "Normal speed!"

The rhythm of the piper's flute immediately accelerated, and the 180 eight wooden paddles on both sides of the warship beat the sea water, and the helmsman at the stern turned the rudder, and the warship gradually moved away from the surrounding warships.

"There's something going on!" An old man among the people watching the fleet's movements on the shore exclaimed: "Our fleet is changing its formation!"

To ordinary people, the densely packed warships on the sea seemed to have remained unchanged, but to these old sailors who were born as fishermen, they were keenly aware of the changes in the distance and speed between the warships.

"Have you discovered the enemy?!"

"Is there going to be a war?!"

……

Everyone asked questions at once, and the noisy voices were full of concern for the safety of the alliance and worries for the safety of their loved ones.

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After ten minutes.

"Syracuse's fleet! Lots and lots of warships!!" Lookout pointed forward and shouted loudly.

Midorades was not surprised. They knew in advance that this was originally a naval battle with less and more, and the Dionian navy was at a disadvantage in terms of the number of warships.

"Raise the battle flag!"

A blood-red flag fluttered from the mast.

"General, the enemy has been discovered ahead, prompt to fight!"

"Enter combat status!" Sekerian said concisely.

"Woooooo! Woooooo!..." The rapid sound of the bugle spread from the flagship to nearby warships, and then to the periphery.

The sailors of each warship began to take action. Under the reminder of the boatswain, they began to swallow the field rations made of oatmeal bread, a little wine, and olive oil. At the same time, they took turns to get up and move their hands and feet.In fact, it had only been an hour since they boarded the ship, and they were still very energetic. What they were doing was just to make the best preparations for the long and fierce battle that might follow.

In the sharp eyes of Midorades: a wooden pole rose up on the sea in the far distance, and then one after another emerged, and soon the outline of a ship appeared, and then another... In the blink of an eye, the distant skyline began to be densely populated with warships.

"Here we come..." Midorades whispered in his heart.

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At the same time, on the flagship of the Syracuse fleet, Leptinius waited for the answer he had been waiting for: "General, there is a ship with a golden mast in the center of the enemy's fleet ahead. It should be the ship you are looking for. A ship with a statue of Hades!" shouted the lookout from the mainmast.

After hearing this, Leptinius shouted excitedly: "The prisoner is right, Davos! Davos, the governor of Dionia, is on that ship!!"

Leptinis knew very well: Dionysius once said that in order to conquer Dionia, it was best to eliminate Davos first, so his brother also sent assassins to carry out assassinations, but they were unsuccessful.Now a great opportunity is in front of him. If he can capture or kill Davos in this naval battle, it will not only make his brother look at him with admiration, but also end this battle as soon as possible, which almost empties Syracuse. A huge war!
"Order, all squadrons adopt double column tactics!" He ordered decisively.

"General, don't you use circumnavigation tactics?" the flagship captain next to him reminded him.

Leptinius shook his head: "Using circumnavigation takes too long, and it also disperses the impact of the fleet. By then, Davos will be frightened out of his mind by the sinking of warships one after another in front of him, and he will turn around and run away. Trouble. We have many more warships than they do, and our ship-managing skills are better than theirs. The Dionian consul thought that he could win this sea battle just as easily as a land battle, so he dared to attack rashly We, I will crush it from the front, completely crush the Dionia fleet, and capture the arrogant Davos!" Leptinius said with pride, and he held out his right hand powerfully It became a fist, as if the one held in the fist was the new king of Dionia.

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Midorades stared straight ahead. The Syracusan fleet had fully revealed its figure, and was pressing towards him like a huge wave.

Midorades was not intimidated by the imposing manner of the Syracuse fleet, but showed a slight smile: Because the Syracuse did not take advantage of their large number of warships and sent a squadron to circle around their own side. Form a circular encirclement on both sides to attack your own flanks, because in this way, it will be more difficult for the Dionia fleet to win in battle, and the losses will also increase.However, it is clear that the brave Majesty’s plan of using his body as bait worked!The enemy adopted a frontal attack tactic!

At this glance, the layers of warships are probably more than ten in depth, and the enemy still has the advantage of downwind (there is a weak north wind at this time), but what's the point? !The Dionysian fleet has a "crow suspension bridge" and more heavy infantry than conventional triremes (normal warship infantry configuration ranges from zero to ten people per warship, and the Dionysian fleet is one (a warship and a heavy infantry detachment), so it is insufficient in flexibility and speed. Now it is largely avoided because the enemy does not use circumnavigation tactics, and the Dionian fleet does not rely on speed and flexibility to win, but relies on Close combat!

Midorades' confidence doubled, and he knew that although it seemed that the enemy's nearest warship was more than two miles away, once the ship's speed increased, the distance of several miles would be reached in the blink of an eye.

"Attack speed!" After giving the order, he turned to Zantiparis who was resting on the deck and said seriously: "Captain, the battle is about to begin, please be ready!"

As the captain of the second battalion of the First Legion, Zantiparis' status as a senior team officer was completely useless in this naval battle, because this was a battle with a heavy infantry unit, but he did not want to miss this. An important naval battle, so I chose to follow the first detachment.

"Aeneas, it's time for you to give the order." He said to the squad leader. He did not want to interfere with the command of his subordinates.

"Brothers, gather together, sort out the equipment, and go down to the cabin. The warship is about to speed up!" Aeneas gave the order. The heavy infantrymen sitting on the deck immediately stood up, put on their helmets, and picked up their long swords. The spears, hung with short swords, quickly formed two columns, and went down from the entrance between the two decks to the bottom cabin.

The oarsmen in the cabin did not pay attention to the soldiers pouring in. They listened intently to the speed of the flute and slid the wood pulp.

"Beep! Blow! Blow!..." The flute player did not increase the paddling rhythm all of a sudden, but gradually accelerated.

　Thanks to the handsome Xida Pang, Qiankun Feiyu, Vanishing Maple, and Starry Sky Moon 2 for the rewards!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　The naval battle begins!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)