ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 792: Attacking the City of Rome ([-])
"Don't worry!" Davos said with a smile: "The reinforcements from the Latin city-states south of the camp are either fighting the army led by Tormid in the west, or they are now heading towards the Sixth Army. They cannot continue. If more soldiers come to attack our camp, the light armored brigade of the Second Army can defend the camp on its own."

Although Davos said it easily, the staff still felt a little uneasy, and then a staff officer rushed out to deliver the order, just as the adjutant of the Second Army arrived.

"Matonis requested to send more soldiers..." Davos was slightly shocked after hearing this. He asked the adjutant of the Second Army in detail about the situation on the battlefield, and sighed in a low voice: "This guy is also anxious!"

To be honest, according to the information that Davos had received before, all the young and middle-aged citizens in the city of Rome were transferred to attack Helnicki, and there were only 3000 soldiers left behind. This is why Davos dared to lead the army directly to attack the city of Rome.In his view, even if the Romans even sent old men and women to defend the city, they would not be able to compete with the more than 5 Dionysian soldiers who possessed advanced siege equipment and were strong and experienced in combat. But I didn't expect that the battle lasted for so long, and the various legions did not make obvious progress.

Are the Romans so resilient? !He secretly clenched his fists.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Seeing that Davos was in a daze, Henipolis shouted softly.

Davos immediately came back to his senses, his face quickly returned to calm, and he said to the adjutant: "There are no heavy infantry in the camp. You should immediately bring 300 light armored soldiers to support."

"Yes!" The adjutant respectfully performed the military salute and turned around to leave the tent.

Davos glanced at the slightly worried staff and said confidently: "I still have more than 200 palace guards. They are no worse than the legion's heavy infantry. Plus the remaining light armor, there are a thousand people. No need. Worried about the safety of the campground.”

As he spoke, he pointed forward again with a confident look on his face: "What's more, even if the enemy destroys the camp, it won't be a big deal, because the place we will camp tonight is the city of Rome!" In fact, he still had something to say in his heart. Out: If the siege fails today, he will lead his army to retreat to Ostia immediately. Of course, this camp will be of little use.

My army will definitely capture the city of Rome today! ...Davos cheered himself up in his heart.

At this time, another battle report came: It was reported that there were about 4000 enemy troops marching rapidly towards the military camp of the Third Army five miles away, north of the Roman Vertebra Bridge.

"What?!" someone on the staff exclaimed.

Davos's eyes suddenly shrank, and his right hand suddenly grasped the back of the chair tightly.

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At this moment, on the embankment on the west side of the south bank of the Roman Vertebral Bridge, the battle between Roman and Dionian soldiers did not look like fighting, but more like wrestling.

The Dionian legionnaire held the long shield with both hands against the opponent's shield, buried his head behind the long shield, avoided the stabbing of the enemy's spear in the back row, and pushed forward with all his strength to prepare for those who climbed up later. The comrades-in-arms gained a bigger foothold. For this reason, they roared lowly, their faces were swollen red, and the veins on their necks popped out. The reason why each of them looked so ferocious and painful was because they were all trying their best to fight against Rome with a thin array. In a thick military formation, one person often has to fight against the overlapping forces of five or six enemies. The reason why he can barely hold on is because his comrades behind them are squatting and stabbing out daggers between their legs. Stab the enemy's legs and feet, weaken the enemy's combat effectiveness, and make them unable to push them into the river with all their strength because of their worries.

Even though the Dionian soldiers fought so hard and caused a lot of casualties to the enemy, the battle line between the two sides was still close to the embankment, winding and intermittent.

Dionysian soldiers were constantly pushed off the embankment and fell into the river, while the Roman soldiers who rushed to the bank had to stop with all their strength, otherwise they would also fall into the river.

At this time, the Dionian soldiers lying on the Crow Suspension Bridge used long shields to protect their heads and used short swords to attack the enemy's legs, which often worked, forcing the opponent to retreat again and stand on the embankment again.

Therefore, this flat embankment has advantages and disadvantages for the soldiers on both sides. The Dionia soldiers could not gain a firm foothold on the embankment to form a solid line of defense, and the Roman soldiers could not destroy the drawbridge and cut off the enemy's attack.

Since the Roman garrison did not expect that the Dionysians would use warships to build pontoons, they did not prepare kerosene at all. After the fierce battle between the two sides, the kerosene could not be transferred to the embankment through the thick array.

Of course, there were Roman archers who shot rockets into the river by throwing them, but there were also sailors on the Dionian warships who were clearing these rockets in time.

More sailors were patrolling the deck. When they saw the fallen soldier, they immediately jumped into the river and rescued him. 20 pontoons are 20 life rafts. Even if some soldiers who fell into the water were unlucky and missed them, there were more than a dozen speedboats cruising on the river downstream of these pontoons. Therefore, although many Dionian soldiers fell into the water, most of them They were all in good health, and even after being rescued, they took a short rest on the warship and were able to fight again soon.

The Roman soldiers seemed to have the advantage, but soldiers continued to be injured in their legs and feet and withdraw from the battle, causing the number of soldiers able to fight to slowly decrease.

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In the direction of Roman Shiibashi, the fighting situation was completely different.

At the beginning of the battle, the Roman soldiers blocked the enemy at the bridge in time, but they could not rely on the strength of a large number of people to push the opponent down the river like the comrades on the embankment. They could only bear the enemy's impact from the front.

The first brigade of the Third Dionysian Legion crowded the entire Roman Vertebral Bridge. The enemy soldiers in the forefront used their long shields and stabbed with short swords, while the soldiers behind pushed with their bodies and stabbed with spears. While pushing forward with all their strength, the soldiers also threw javelins...

At the beginning of the battle, the two sides were still in a stalemate. After half an hour, the Roman soldiers, who were mainly composed of the old and the weak and supported by their strong belief in defending their homeland, gradually could not resist these Dionis who far exceeded them in terms of physical strength, skills, and fighting spirit. The impact of the soldiers of the Second Army began to retreat little by little. Even if Cassius came anxiously to supervise the formation in person, he still could not restore the decline.

More and more Dionia soldiers rushed across the bridge, expanding the attack area of ​​the first brigade, and increasing the difficulty of defense for the Roman soldiers. If it weren't for the timely arrival of more than 3000 reinforcements, the Roman soldiers defending the bridge would probably have died. rout.

But even with so many reinforcements, Cassius' brow still did not relax.

Because Roman citizens, whether old or young, have been receiving formal military training from Rome since childhood. Even if they are insufficient in strength or experience, they can still rely on the whole to resist the attack of the Deolian soldiers, but these free people and slaves even if they are Wearing Roman armor, holding long shields and spears, they had no understanding of Roman tactics, especially some slaves, who didn't even know how to use shield spears.

For this reason, the hardest work was for the team officers who were temporarily responsible for commanding them. They had to shout loudly to remind their recruits what to do on the battlefield where the killing was loud. Soon, all their voices became Hoarse, but the formation of the new reinforcements has not improved much and is still loose and messy.

Cassius was worried and began to blame: When the city of Rome was rebuilt, why didn't the Senate call on the people to build a wall on this embankment? !Otherwise, with the protection of the city wall, these recruits can play a greater role even if they have no combat experience.

At this moment, he vaguely heard the familiar bugle sound coming from the other side, and his spirits suddenly lifted: Are our reinforcements coming? !
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A few minutes ago, Lizaru, the commander of the Third Army, who was standing at the bridge on the other side and nervously paying attention to the battle situation, received news of the incoming Roman reinforcements.

Since there had been reports from scouts that "Roman reinforcements were gathering north of their camp", he was already prepared for this and did not appear panicked.

"There are only more than 4000 enemies. I think our troops staying in the camp can completely repel them in the field!" Lizaru said confidently.

The naval commander of the Third Fleet, Midorades, who was standing aside, said with concern: "The soldiers defending the camp have all gone out to fight. If another enemy comes -"

"Meidolades, you have to believe in the capabilities of the Third Legion's reconnaissance cavalry and mountain reconnaissance team. Except for the coming Roman reinforcements, they have not found any other enemies within ten miles. Our soldiers are defeating them. After that, there is plenty of time to return to the defensive camp!" In order to eliminate his worries, Lizaru explained seriously: "I asked the remaining troops to take the initiative, not because I am warlike, but because the camp we built is too Big, if it is just pure defense, the soldiers will suffer a lot!"

Midorades understood what he meant: Yesterday, the Third Army and the Third Fleet set up two camps on the north bank of the Tiber River, one at the bridgehead and one by the river west of the bridgehead. In order to accommodate these more than 40 huge trireme warships, and at the same time, there must be enough space between the warships to facilitate the warships to be towed, enter the water and prevent fires, so the camps along the river are long and wide. This leads to an increase in the defensive area of ​​​​the soldiers. To completely defend, the number of troops is slightly insufficient...

The reason why Midorades was worried was that if the soldiers were defeated, they could escape, regroup, and fight again. But if the enemy rushed into the riverside camp, his warships would be tied to the riverside and connected in a row. , can be burned easily, and then the Third Fleet will be completely finished.

But after all, he has been through the battlefield for a long time, and he knows that there is no room for hesitation in this critical moment, so he said decisively: "I agree with your opinion, and temporarily transfer the command of the fleet infantry to you!"

(End of this chapter)