ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 553 Battle of Mayaro ([-])
Mathias did not expect that the Dionians would set traps in the town of Meyaro, which caused a lot of trouble for the attacking troops. He could only let the light infantry catch up and assist the heavy infantry to drive away the "rats". At the same time, reinforcements were urged to enter the battle as soon as possible.

It was certainly impossible for the soldiers of the First Legion to lay traps throughout the town, especially in the area where they and the exiles were staying, which Syracuse soldiers had moved into over time.

At this time, the soldiers of the First Legion who had been waiting for a long time immediately rushed forward, intercepted the Syracuse people in the narrow streets, and fought head-on.

The Syracuse soldiers continued to advance. Once the front was blocked, they would try to go around the streets on both sides, and other units of the First Army would intercept them in the new streets.The attack of the Syracusans is like water. Once blocked, the soldiers behind will go around and move forward; while the defense of the Dionian soldiers is like stones, blocking every street where the enemy advances.

As the battle situation developed, the Syracuse attacking troops actually circled to the rear of the First Army from both sides.

The more than 5000 soldiers of the First Army also included more than 1000 light infantry and light armored soldiers. The strength of the troops was already stretched thin. If it were not for the more than 3000 exile soldiers who returned immediately after escorting their families, blocking the Syracuse soldiers from the rear. Attack, I'm afraid the First Army has been attacked from both sides.

Now the First Legion, the exile warriors and the Syracuse coalition were engaged in fierce battles in various streets, gradually forming a circular defense circle centered on Antonios' small headquarters.

Except for the adjutant and 20 guards and messengers, all the other troops were sent out beside Antonios. Even though he was sitting on the top of the third floor of the former governor's residence in Mearo Town, he seemed to be calm and relaxed. In fact, I feel uneasy inside: the First Army Corps has been surrounded by enemies, and there is no way out except fighting to the death!And now he has no reserve team. Once a street is breached by the enemy, it will be a disaster for the entire First Army!

Therefore, Antonios not only kept the long shield and spear at hand, but also had his adjutants, guards, and some of the messengers fully armed. Once there was danger somewhere, he would have to lead the troops into battle himself.

"Kick! Kick! Kick!..." A messenger ran to the top of the building panting: "Report to the commander of the army, to the east... our allied forces to the east are holding firmly and have not been forced to retreat. "

"It seems that these exiles are just like what they say. They have been fighting against the West Kells and mercenaries in the western mountains all year round, and even sometimes fighting wild beasts. They are not weak in courage, fighting spirit or fighting skills. , we can rest assured for now." The adjutant said with relief.

Antonios also breathed a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about before was the performance of these exile soldiers, so he sent special messengers to keep a close eye on them and report the situation at any time. At this time, he said: "Our brothers are going to Responsible for the defense on three sides, they have more than 3000 people, and they are only responsible for the east side, so they should be able to withstand the enemy's attack."

"Legion Commander, do you think we should transfer some soldiers from them to form a new reserve team?" the adjutant suggested.

Antonios was slightly moved.He looked up at the sky and saw that the sun had begun to set towards the west.He looked ahead again. On every street, the soldiers of the First Legion were fighting bravely against the enemy. Their numbers were far smaller than that of the enemy. They not only resisted the enemy's attack, but also seemed to cause some chaos to the enemy.

"The real battle has just begun, don't be impatient, wait a moment..." Antonios said thoughtfully.

Due to the continuous bombardment of ballistae for more than a day, the streets in the town of Mearo were not only covered with gravel and rubble, but also large stones lay in the middle of the road from time to time. This caused the Syracuse army to Not only could it not be deployed, but due to the above reasons, the dense infantry formations were fragmented and could not effectively form a joint force to push the Dionian soldiers. Instead, the Dionian soldiers got into the formation caused by terrain obstacles. The cracks were used to fight close to each other. In such close combat, the long shields and short swords of the Dionian soldiers exerted their power.

At the same time, the soldiers of the First Army did not throw both javelins in their hands before engaging in battle as usual, but handed them over to their comrades in the rear. They either stood on rocks and threw them condescendingly, or took advantage of the opportunity to throw them. When the enemy slips under his feet and loses protection, he can throw it from the gap between the teammates in front, causing damage to the enemy. This is what the First Army can carry despite having fewer soldiers than the Syracuseans on every street. The main reason for blocking the opponent's attack and even gaining a slight upper hand.

After Mathias learned about the battle situation in front, he was surprised by the fighting power of the Dionians, but he was also anxious that his advantage of having more soldiers could not be used. After thinking about it, he ordered the troops who were blocked in the rear to carry ladders from the rear. Climb up and over the houses between the streets to provide support for the soldiers trapped in the streets, forcing the Dionians to divide their forces.

Originally, these ladders were just a habitual preparation for Mathias before attacking the city. With so many ballistas in his possession, he never thought of using them this time, and now they just came in handy.

The soldiers carried it and started climbing away from the battle.

The houses of the Greeks, whether rich or civilians, basically had four walls and a roof, with an open courtyard in the middle. Therefore, the Syracuse soldiers climbed in and out, climbing over one shabby house after another, and sometimes had to fight with hiding The battle among the Dionian light infantry was very hard and dangerous.

More than half an hour later, Antonios received urgent reports from messengers one after another: "The commander of the legion, the first battalion captain Geogris said that the enemy had penetrated from residential buildings and threatened the flanks of his troops. He There are no more soldiers to intercept, please retreat first!"

"Report to the Legion Commander, Second Captain Zantiparis..."

……

"Retreat, let each group and the exile soldiers retreat to the prescribed areas according to the pre-war deployment, and form defensive formations! Go and inform Tsipit to lead all the light infantry to gather here!"

"Yes!"

Before the battle, Antonios had considered the worst-case scenario when discussing with the captains, so there were remedial measures, but he did not expect to be forced to this last step so quickly: "The commander-in-chief of Syracuse It’s not simple!”

Antonios sighed secretly, looked up at the sky again, turned around and asked Serofanis: "The riot you planned has already started, right?"

Serofenis certainly knew that the situation of the First Legion was not good at this moment. He answered without hesitation: "Based on my understanding of Antrapolis, since he dares to make requests to you, he must be fully prepared. . And judging from the current time, I’m afraid it’s all over.”

Xenophanes' words made Antonio feel a little relieved, and he said in a deep voice: "In this case, let the First Army and the Syracuseans fight the final battle here!"

The soldiers of the First Legion retreated slowly and in an orderly manner.

Due to the limitations of the terrain and the fear of javelins that might be fired from the enemy's formation, the Syracuse soldiers did not attack fiercely, but also approached cautiously. This allowed the companies and detachments of the First Army to withdraw from the streets smoothly.

Things didn't go so well for the exiled soldiers.During the retreat, they lacked training and experience, so they were slightly panicked. The Syracuseans took advantage of the situation to strengthen their attack, leading to increased chaos.Fortunately, Syracuse has the smallest number of troops in this direction, and the exiles are only responsible for the defense on the east and have enough soldiers. Moreover, they all have a deep hatred for the Syracuse people, so that even if they suffer increased casualties due to chaos, , and would never turn around and run away, so they finally withdrew from the street.

As the administrative center of Mearo, the consul's residence where Antonios is located is not adjacent to other residential buildings. Due to the prior preparation, the first brigade and the exile soldiers can smoothly surround it, forming a thick enough A dense circular array.

However, the Syracuse coalition soldiers who followed the enemy and gathered in front of the formation did not have much preparation. There were chaos and gaps between the teams coming out of each street.

The First Army did not rely entirely on defense, but seized the opportunity to counterattack. They launched short charges in an orderly manner, one company at a time.

At the same time that a company launched a charge, the soldiers of the seventh group on the roof of the consul's palace immediately threw javelins and arrows into the area, regardless of the soreness in their arms.

This tactic of the First Army plunged the Syracuse coalition soldiers in front of them into chaos...

Mathias, who hurried to the rear of the team, saw this scene and hurriedly asked the trumpeter to blow the attack bugle. At the same time, he ordered his hundreds of mercenaries to form a long column and drive back the retreating soldiers. If they did not listen, Rectify the law on the spot.He also asked the city-state tyrants who followed him, such as Siculi, Catanai, and Leotini, to rush forward to calm their somewhat turbulent army.

Because he was worried that the exiles would not be able to cooperate tacitly, and he was also worried that the First Legion's too few troops would fall into the enemy's siege after breaking away from the formation, and he also had some trust in what Serofanis said, so the cautious Anton Rios They did not choose a full-scale charge, thus giving the Syracuse coalition forces a chance to breathe. Chaos is returning, and the generals are directing the soldiers to reorganize into battle formations...

At this time, Mathias gave the order: "Go and bring in a few ballistae from outside the town."

The adjutant advised in surprise: "General, our soldiers are fighting with the enemy now, and we may be easily injured..."

　Thanks to Reuss, Elfasil’s Heroes, Qiankun Feiyu, Zhanbili, and zxcvbnmqdgn for their rewards!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)