ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 510 Battle of Crotone ([-])

Looking at the billowing dust and mist ahead, and listening to the sound of horse hooves approaching like rolling thunder, Capps' heart was also beating violently, because he knew that the key to the victory or defeat of both sides in this battle lay in the spear brigade he led. .Victory would eliminate the greatest advantage of the Syracusans and open the door to victory for the entire army's attack; defeat may make the enemy's already powerful right wing even more powerful with the help of cavalry, and the entire army will fall into Dilemma.

Capps felt deeply that he had a heavy responsibility, but there was no time for him to be nervous and uneasy at this time. His own cavalry had already broken into his field of vision...

"Raise the spear!!" He roared to vent the fear in his heart.

"Raise your spear!" the team officers shouted in the same trembling voice.

"If you advance, you will live, if you retreat, you will die! If you advance, you will live, if you retreat, you will die!!!..." As the company captain, Tapirus heard a neat shout from behind, and he and the soldiers beside him knew that , those are the two thousand light armored soldiers who formed behind the pike brigade and were transferred to each legion. They not only prevent the enemy cavalry from rushing into the pike brigade and act as the last line of defense, but also kill those who escape before the battle. During the past few days of drills, King Davos had reminded all the spearmen of the power of the spearmen very seriously.

But even though there were threats and reminders from light armored soldiers behind him, the hands of Tapirus and his teammates holding the spears were still trembling. Although the Dionysian cavalry had been asked to charge as enemy cavalry many times in advance to allow these new recruits to adapt. , but it was an exercise after all, and few people died, and now it was a real battlefield, and the huge momentum created by thousands of enemy cavalry was far more terrifying than during training.

The body of each spearman shook with the tremors of the earth, causing the spears held diagonally to shake and collide with each other, making a "clatter, clatter, clatter" sound...

At this moment, there was another neat shout from behind: "For Citizenship!!! For Land!!! Be the hero to save Dionia!!!..."

Those shouts passed through the noisy battlefield and penetrated into the hearts of every spearman, arousing the greatest desire in their hearts. The power generated by this desire gradually made their teeth no longer fight, their tongues no longer trembled, and they were able to follow The light armored soldiers shouted together.With each shout, their volume increased, and their hands holding the spears became stronger.When their shouts turned into roars, almost drowning out the sound of horse hooves, the spears were firmly pointing in the direction of the enemy.

At this time, Capps had just settled down. While secretly praising the spiritual victory method taught by His Majesty Davos, it was indeed effective, while paying close attention to the situation ahead.

It will take time for nearly two thousand Dionysian cavalry to completely withdraw from both sides to free up the one-mile battlefield in front of the spear brigade, but Capps knows that he does not have the time to wait. The enemy is likely to After noticing something abnormal ahead, he retreated or bypassed the front, so he could not wait for his cavalry to completely withdraw before taking action.

"Attack!" He waved his arms resolutely.

The entire spear brigade had to go up to meet the enemy cavalry that was galloping forward, instead of staying stationary like the battle of the Trionto River. This was what Capps was most worried about.

This is also what Leders is worried about. He is afraid that his cavalry will directly run into his own spear array due to nervousness or not moving quickly enough, causing unnecessary losses.

"Forward!" As the company captain, Tapirus reminded his soldiers like other captains, his voice still trembling slightly.

But the soldiers were still shouting slogans that made them excited, and began to move forward steadily with small steps.The soldiers in the rear row were close to the backs of the soldiers in the front row, one by one, and their spears stretched out from the right shoulders of the soldiers in front.Viewed from the side, the spears of 15 columns of soldiers form a continuous "spear wall" with a slight slope from front to back.

Although this "spear wall", which was gleaming with cold light and made one's heart palpitate upon seeing it, began to bend due to the accelerated speed of its forward movement, it still remained tight.And this closeness makes every soldier in the formation become calmer because he feels the collective strength; at the same time, this closeness makes every soldier unable to escape from the battlefield even if he is afraid, and he cannot even turn around. When you arrive, the only thing you can do is move forward!Keep moving forward!Until the enemy is stabbed!
...............................

Riding a horse and galloping forward quickly, it is easy for a person's spirit to enter a state of excitement, especially these sturdy Celtic cavalry. They were already ready for an exciting fight with the oncoming enemy, but they did not expect the enemy. They actually turned around and ran away, causing many people to howl and cry in anger. They repeatedly urged their war horses, vowing to catch up with these enemies who were afraid of death, behead them under their horses, strip off their beautiful armor, seize their horses, and cut them off. Their heads hung from their horses.Even when the mercenary cavalry running on the far left staggered with the Crotone-Trina reinforcements, a few overly excited foreign cavalry stepped forward to attack and throw javelins, and were defeated by the Dionian light infantry who arrived later. repel.

The Celtic cavalry at the front were getting closer and closer to the enemy, and many Celts had already drawn their swords.At this moment, they were startled by the faint shouts coming from the dust-filled front: Is there an enemy ambush in front? !

Just when they started to feel a little confused, the enemy cavalry in front suddenly turned sideways, causing some cavalry to continue the pursuit, while others began to slow down the galloping horses.The cavalrymen in the rear were enveloped by the excited shouts of their companions and the "booming" sound of horse hooves, and they were not aware of anything strange ahead.

Tapirus, who was in the middle of the spear phalanx, could already see the enemy cavalry in front: some of them had disheveled hair, some wore pointed leather helmets, and dark striped cloth. They were waving big swords in their hands, and some were wearing pointed leather helmets. They made strange calls of "Woooo..." and drove their tall horses straight towards them...

"Hades bless you!" Tapirus couldn't help but pray to Hades, causing the surrounding soldiers to shout too. Some soldiers even closed their eyes in fear, but their hands instinctively pulled the spear tighter. This was A weapon that could protect him and give him psychological comfort on this terrifying, inescapable battlefield.

They are afraid, and their enemies are also afraid.

When they discovered that the enemy cavalry was turning, some of the Celtic cavalry kept up with them in time, while others were still trying to slow down their horses. On the empty battlefield in front, a vague "human wall" suddenly appeared in the dust and mist. The war horses quickly made them see clearly: that was not a "human wall", but a "spear wall"!
Those long sharp spears were densely stretched out towards them, which not only made their hair stand on end, but the horses under their crotches also kept screaming, but the inertia still caused the Celtics to hit them with both men and horses...

Suddenly, people screamed, horses neighed, blood spattered, and spears broke...

Fortunately for the spearmen, the dense spear wall formed by the four-meter-long spears prevented the enemy cavalry from sprinting in front of the soldiers and being stabbed.Since they heard the shouts of the spear brigade in advance, most of the Celtic cavalry were already consciously slowing down, and the length of the spears also weakened the force transmitted to the soldiers after the cavalry collided. Therefore, most of the front line The soldiers relied on the support of the rear soldiers to offset the momentum, and only a few staggered back together with the rear soldiers.Therefore, the Celtic cavalry bumped into the spear phalanx one by one. Although it caused some chaos in the array, it did not fragment the formation.

Of course, if the subsequent cavalry continues to attack, Dionia's spear phalanx will inevitably be breached and the soldiers will retreat.However, in this era, there were no heavy cavalry that had been specially trained to attack dense infantry phalanxes head-on. Even the fierce Celtic cavalry only dared to attack the sides and rear of the infantry phalanx or rely on horsepower and speed to attack loose bodies. The light infantry team would not be stupid enough to risk their own lives to charge the front of the heavy infantry phalanx, let alone the terrifying spear phalanx in front of them. Even people who dare to mount horses would not dare to do so unless they put their horses' eyes into it. Cover it, otherwise it will jump and scream, throw the cavalry off, and then turn and run away.

After the Celtics discovered something strange in front of them, they hurriedly reined in the running horse. The reins suddenly tightened, making the horse feel extremely uncomfortable.Some of them went into a frenzy and threw their owners off their horses; a few of them fell forward due to sudden pressure on their necks and lack of oxygen. Due to the inertia, the riders were thrown into the approaching spear wall and were pierced by the sharp spear points. …

The leader Gaba and many Celts in the rear finally stopped the advancing horses. At this moment, Gaba could no longer care about being angry for the tragic death of his men. Looking at the dense wall of spears approaching in front, he panicked. Shouting: "Retreat! Retreat!..."

There was no need for him to shout. Every surviving Celtic cavalry wished they could grow wings under their ribs and fly away from the terrifying spear phalanx that was approaching quickly.But just as they were turning their horses to retreat, the second wave of attack - the Numibian cavalry galloped over. In the dust and fog, they found the Celtic cavalry who were turning around. They wanted to stop the nearly two thousand running horses immediately. It's not that easy to move a war horse and make evasive maneuvers.

For a moment, the cavalry screamed, the horses neighed, and the two sides collided...

Some riders fell off their horses and were trampled by countless horses' hooves before they could get up. They died without even uttering a scream. Some riders and horses were knocked back and directly hit the front. The advancing spear wall…

More than 2000 Numibian cavalry and Celtic cavalry were mixed together, and the horses stopped as if they were stuck in a quagmire.The horsemen who realized the danger wanted to escape from this completely chaotic battlefield immediately, but the cavalry were entangled and squeezed with each other, and there was no extra space for the horses to start. Obviously, it was impossible to restore order in a short period of time. The cavalry retreated smoothly.

　Thanks to fans of Wind and Rain, 49:[-], Zhan Billy, and Handsome West Big Fat for their tips!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)