ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 53

"The place to cross the river is eight miles upstream from our camp. The river is about 85 meters wide, and the deepest part of the river reaches waist span. The bottom of the river is gravel and sand, which is not too slippery and relatively hard. This side of the river bank is flat, and the other side is flat. There are more rocks..." Chrysops briefly explained the exploration situation.

"It seems like this is a good place to cross the river! Let's gather the whole army immediately and cross the river quickly!" Timasong said excitedly.

"However, we have to consider that Orontas' troops will intercept us on the other side of the river and force us to cross the river. The casualties of our soldiers will increase!" Zantiparis said cautiously.

"The Persians would never have thought that we would wade across the river so easily! As long as we rush to the other side of the river at the fastest speed, we will definitely give them a sudden attack!" Timasong said confidently.

"Don't forget, there are Dukeyas behind us! What about our supply battalion? Besides, the Persians have more troops than us, and they also have Kardans, as long as they can withstand our impact on the river bank for a while , we will be in trouble, who knows how long the sand in the river can support the soldiers!" Zantiparis said slightly worriedly.

Timasong immediately asked, "Then what good idea do you have?"

Zantiparis said: "So everyone needs to discuss carefully how to cross the river smoothly and minimize our losses?"

"I thought you had something good to do?" Timasone glanced at him.

"I have a suggestion." Xenophon interjected: "We can detach a part of the soldiers to protect the baggage camp. When the large army is preparing to cross the river, these soldiers will lead the baggage battalion to pretend to cross the river at the original pontoon bridge. The Persians will definitely think that we are going to cross the river again from here and attack them from the rear, so they will divide their troops to defend. When the large army defeats the enemy on the opposite side, these soldiers will protect the baggage camp and return to the place where the large army fought to cross the river. This not only disperses the troops but also protects the supply camp, what do you think?" Xenophon said with a slight complacency.

I have to say that Xenophon's plan was good, and everyone fell into thinking.After a while, Crisiano asked: "The team of the baggage camp is very large. How many soldiers do you want to allocate to protect it? If there are too many, it will affect the time we have to defeat the Persians, and you let the baggage camp and the soldiers go back and forth. Marching will not only make them tired, but they will also be easily attacked by the Dukiyas. Have you considered this?"

"This..." Xenophon was at a loss for words for a while, and he said awkwardly: "It is inevitable that there will be casualties in war, as long as the losses can be minimized..."

At this time, Davos said: "Inspired by Xenophon, I also came up with a way."

As soon as he spoke, everyone focused their attention, because it has been proven many times that this youngest leader never speaks lightly, and his speech can always solve problems.

"We will not be able to cross the river during the day today." Davos glanced at the leaders and saw that although they were a little surprised, they continued to listen quietly: "At night, after all the Persians go to camp and sleep, you can send a force first Cross the river and find a place to hide. When our large army fights with the Persians tomorrow, they will suddenly attack the rear of the Persian army, disrupting the Persian array, and attack from both front and rear. Not only can they defeat the Persians, It is even possible to annihilate part of them, thereby weakening the strength of the Persians, so that after we enter Armenia, we can reach the Uk Star Sea more smoothly..."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and Davers' suggestion was really original and unique.In fact, the thinking of the leaders was still trapped in the military tradition of frontal impact advocated by the Greeks for hundreds of years, and Davos's river crossing plan was inspired by the strategy adopted by the great red army in the previous life when they liberated Hainan. Inspired by "the combination of the smuggling of a small group of troops and the frontal forced crossing of a large group of troops".

"Davos, the soldiers have no experience in crossing the river at night. How many people do you want to send to cross the river first? If they riot out of fear when crossing the river, it will easily lead to death by drowning and even alarm the Persians. Let us The operation failed, thus letting the Persians know the crossing point we worked so hard to find!" Crisano's tone was much better than when he told Xenophon before. The problem he was worried about was also an important reason why the mercenaries did not dare to cross the river at night. .

"And how will the team hide after they get ashore? When will they launch an attack on the Persian rear? I'm afraid these must be taken into consideration." Timasong reminded.

Davos said without thinking: "For an army, none of the problems you mentioned are problems!" After saying that, he looked at Cleethorpes.

Cleethorpes nodded tacitly.

That night, [-] Spartans successfully crossed the Kent River.

....................................

Early the next morning, the mercenaries began to set up camp.

The Persians saw it and quickly gathered on the other side.

The mercenaries slaughtered three lambs, and the leaders sacrificed them to Oceanus, the god of oceans and rivers. The whole army sang hymns devoutly.

Orontas had a premonition that the Greeks might cross the river, so he ordered his troops to prepare immediately.

After the worship was over, the mercenaries began to march down the river bank. After walking a few miles, they stopped and rested for a while.Then it turned and headed upstream...

This handsome Armenian governor, who was favored by the Persian king, did not understand where the Greeks were going, thinking that they were afraid to cross the river with the Persian army on the other side, and were trying to find a way out.Seeing them scurrying around like headless flies, I couldn't help but feel proud in my heart.

The Persian army continued the march on the other side.

The mercenaries finally arrived at the crossing point marked by Chrysopus and immediately stopped advancing. Then according to the pre-planned plan, the entire team quickly rotated towards the river bank with the end of the left wing as the axis...

Before Orontas understood it, the mercenaries had already formed a formation facing the Kentrite River. The entire team was divided into three parts: the first part was [-] soldiers who were preparing to cross the river to fight the Persian army. The formations of horizontal and thick columns stood on the bank (because the stretch of river that can be crossed smoothly is not long); the second part is the baggage camp, and they are closely behind; the third part is the three thousand soldiers, who are located Behind the baggage camp, with its back to the river bank, to prevent attacks by the Dukeyas.

Just as the Persian army was slowly adjusting its formation, the mercenaries sounded the bugle call for attack, and seven thousand soldiers stepped into the Kentrite River without hesitation...

Orontas' expression changed, and he finally understood: The Greeks were preparing to cross the river here!
Regardless of worrying about the long-range attacks of the mercenary slingers, Orontas shouted eagerly: "Quick! Let the infantry block it! Archers! Archers release arrows quickly!" He shouted while placing his hope in the water of the Kentrite River. Slow down the advance speed of mercenaries, and bow and arrow strikes can cause chaos among the Greeks, causing the Greeks to fall into the water and drown due to panic and crowding.After that moment of panic, Orontas regained his composure. After all, he had personally tested the depth of the river.

Maybe this is my chance to make a big difference!He thought excitedly.

Davers followed the soldiers in front at the rear of the right wing of the army, stepping on the harder river sand and marching forward.

The river water in early winter was already biting, but the soldiers, who were so eager to fight at this moment, had no time to feel it. Their hearts were already filled with one thought: rush to the other side as quickly as possible!

　Thank you brothers for your full support!Today this book has entered the top ten of the weekly recommendation list in the history category of foreign history. It’s not easy!
　　There is one more chapter tomorrow, and the first volume is over!
　　Let's work together!
　　


(End of this chapter)