ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 789 Storming the City of Rome ([-])
But Mejius was more cautious. He first reminded Paullus that it was when the Dionians landed that they rushed to attack and suffered a disastrous defeat, which led to Rome's dangerous situation today, so he suggested: Just because of this The support army is the greatest hope of the Roman people in the city, but the number of 8000 soldiers is still not enough. More soldiers need to be gathered to be more confident in defeating the Diolians in one fell swoop. This will not only save Rome, but also possibly bring down the Diorians. The Onians were driven out of the interior, so they should continue marching eastward to join the reinforcements from the city-states such as Prinister, Gabi, and Bonnet.

Both sides hold their own opinions, but are unwilling to split the team into two, because that will only weaken the offensive power of the army and lead to the failure of their respective plans.In order not to waste precious time, they could only make a decision and let the soldiers make the choice.

The nearly 3000 Latin reinforcements did not matter, but although more than 5000 Roman citizen soldiers had moved to three towns in the west of the Latium area due to land allocation, they still had relatives and friends they cared about in Rome, and they knew clearly: There are not many citizen soldiers in the city of Rome. If they delay and allow the city of Rome to be captured, the land they just owned will eventually be wiped out. Therefore, most soldiers are eager to thwart the Dionian siege. So support Paulus' opinion.

Major felt sorry, but sincerely blessed Paulus, and then quickly rushed east with only one escort.

Paulus quickly assembled the team. Although he was anxious, he still remained awake. He knew that although the Dionia camp ahead was still very crude, it might cost a lot to break it, and now time and Soldiers were the most precious to him, so he decided to bypass the camp and approach the city.

Just as the army was marching, the reconnaissance cavalry who risked escaping the interception of the enemy cavalry and returned injured brought back bad news: five to six thousand Dionian infantry appeared in front, as well as many cavalry.

Paulus was shocked. He did not expect that the Dionysians retained so many soldiers for defense while attacking the city on a large scale.

But he immediately calmed down: the situation had developed to this point, and there was no possibility of retreat. He could only lead his troops, attack forward without hesitation, and repel the enemies blocking the way. Only then could there be hope for the city of Rome!
He issued an order: the army stopped advancing and immediately began to form formation.

Considering that the enemy on the opposite side had a lot of cavalry, and the failure of the previous battle was caused by the powerful cavalry of Dionysia attacking the flanks, Paulus learned a lesson this time, and he cautiously shortened the length of the array and increased the number of cavalry. The thickness was increased, and more than 1000 light infantry from the Latin reinforcements were placed in the center of the military formation, protected by the heavy infantry... When the formation was completed, the entire military formation resembled an oval.

When the Dionian army came into sight of the Roman soldiers, the sound of the high-pitched bugle came from the opposite side.

The Dionians actually launched an attack on the Roman army first.

At the forefront were the cavalry regiments on both wings, with thousands of horses galloping, the sound of hooves thundering, stirring up dust and mist that filled the sky, and the distance of several hundred meters was reached in an instant.

Seeing the huge beasts rushing towards them with great power, the Roman soldiers on both wings felt fear in their hearts.

But in fact, this was just an illusion. The Dionysian cavalry did not have the ability to break through the heavy infantry formation head-on. When they passed by the two wings of the Roman formation, they threw the short spears in their hands with all their strength.

After all, these Roman soldiers had fought against the Dionian cavalry once before, and under the reminder of the squadron leaders, they raised their shields to defend.

At the same time, the light infantry in the military formation also fired arrows at the Dionian cavalry that was galloping past.

For a time, Roman soldiers were shot and fell to the ground, and Dionysian cavalry were shot and fell from their horses.

Just as the Dionian cavalry passed by the flanks of the Roman formation and rushed to the rear, the Dionian infantry formation was approaching. The Roman squadrons hurriedly shouted: "Be careful with the javelins and raise your shields to defend." !”

Clotokatax followed the surrounding comrades and threw the javelin in his hand together, and then hurriedly threw the second javelin almost without breathing.

At this time, the screams coming from the opposite side made him feel excited when he was new to the battlefield, but before he could savor the so-called sense of accomplishment, the soldiers in front began to charge towards the enemy. He led the palace guards Follow immediately.

Even though the rain of javelins caused some chaos in the Roman military formation, when the Dionian soldiers began to charge, the Roman soldiers also held up their shields and guns and strode forward.

One side marches forward bravely with the belief of defending their homeland and driving away the invaders; the other side is responsible for the safety of the entire army and must fight to the death to stop the incoming enemy.The two armies collided violently, and then each pierced the enemy with their spears and spears.

At the same time, Dionia's cavalry turned around and rushed towards the rear of the Roman army.

"Turn back! Turn back!" Under the command of the Roman squadron captains, the heavy infantry squadrons arrayed at the rear of the Roman army turned around and raised their long shields facing the cavalry, assuming a defensive posture.The Roman light infantrymen in the center of the military formation also turned around and bent their bows and arrows, and javelins and arrows once again intersected in the air...

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

The Roman soldiers fought bloody battles against the enemy at the top of the city, and the people in the city were not idle either. They were organized by the senators and kept transporting various consumed defense materials to various sections of the city walls, and at the same time, they continuously carried the wounded into the city.

Seeing their loved ones injured or even dead, although the Roman people were sad in their hearts, they had no time to cry. They must seize every moment and do their best to help the army defend their homeland, because less than an hour after the enemy began to attack the city, the situation became It's a bit serious.

"General Marcus came to report that the enemy's offensive was fierce. In order to prevent the enemy from attacking the city, the soldiers suffered a lot of casualties. We hope to get reinforcements!"

"General Servius came to report that the troops he led were trying their best to defend the enemy from attacking the city, but they were unable to prevent the enemy from using siege equipment to continue destroying the city wall. He hoped to send more soldiers behind the city to form a defensive formation to prevent the wall from collapsing. After that, we can block the enemy’s breakthrough!”

"General Pullot came to report that the enemy used warships to build many pontoon bridges on the Tiber River, so that their attack could not be limited to the Vertebrae Bridge. Now the soldiers are trying their best to defend the entire embankment, but the enemy's offensive is fierce and they continue to fight. If we go down, the soldier's physical strength cannot support us, and we hope to get more support!"

……

The Roman Senate originally asked Scipio to be responsible for the defense of the entire city. However, after the siege battle began, Scipio found that it was difficult for him to control the combat defense of the entire city of Rome because the city of Rome was too large and the city walls were too large. It is too long, and the roads in various neighborhoods in the city are winding and uneven. Whether it is conveying orders or sending reinforcements, it is time-consuming.Therefore, he decisively handed over command to the Senate and concentrated on dealing with the siege of the Dionians due south.

The Senate quickly completed the handover of command power. In order to more conveniently coordinate and organize the people of the city to defend the city, the senators came to the Roman Forum to work. Military command was mainly handed over to Potitus and Marugine Ensi. Si and other senators who have served as consuls many times are not only because of their seniority, but also because as consuls, they often have to lead troops to fight, so they have rich combat experience.

But even Potitus, who had served as consul five times and promoted Camillus on the battlefield many times, had never experienced and witnessed such a siege: countless powerful ballistae, huge attack City towers, spliced ​​wooden carts that can hide people, strange ways of filling trenches, terrifying belly bows, warships building pontoons... What's even more terrifying is that the Dionian soldiers who attack the city are not only well-trained, but also brave and powerful.

According to Potitus and his team's previous experience in sieges: a big city like this was guarded by tens of thousands of soldiers. Without 10,000+ people, it would be impossible to capture it without taking two to three months to half a year.

But in less than two hours since the start of the battle, the city defenders seemed to be unable to hold on.

The elders were also panicked. At this time, they could no longer think about clan rights and private interests. They organized the slaves in their respective families and notified their clans to take action. Men and slaves were summoned to the Roman Forum, about ten thousand people, and they were urgently formed into formations, distributed with weapons, and then sent one by one to the battlefield where they were in urgent need...

The old Roman Forum, which is usually quite spacious, is crowded and noisy at this time: on the one hand, the elders are urgently rehearsing the newly formed troops, and on the other hand, the people are helping the wounded lying on the ground.

Seeing that the nearly 1000 troops in the audience who were relatively dense not long ago soon only had more than 1000 people left. Those slave soldiers were not used to wearing helmets, shaking their heads from time to time, holding weapons with blank eyes... Potitus An uncomfortable feeling suddenly arose in his heart. He tightened the back of the chair with his hands and said with difficulty: "Send the last [-] or so people to Scipio. Although he did not send anyone to ask for help, other armies We have all encountered difficulties, and it is impossible to defend easily in the south. I know Scipio, and he must be doing his best to avoid embarrassing us..."

"Hey, Rome hasn't been attacked by the enemy for decades, and the people lack the experience of defending the city! What's more, the enemy is Dionia!..." Ambustus sighed regretfully: "It's only our fault In recent years, we have only focused on expansion and have not properly re-planned and repaired the city defenses!"

This remark made the elders next to me feel the same way: if the crooked Roman city wall is pulled out, it will be flat and straight; Filling; if a city wall was built on the embankment in the north of Rome; if deer stockades had been arranged on both sides of the moat; if the streets in the city had been planned early to facilitate traffic... I am afraid that defending the city today will not feel so difficult!
(End of this chapter)