ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 897 The Battle of Germe ([-])
The captain was stunned after hearing this.After a moment, he suddenly puffed up his chest and said in a deep voice: "General, you have been the commander of our Fourth Fleet for 10 years and have cared for us like a father. How could we abandon you and escape alone today? Please let us I will follow you and fight bravely as before!"

"Sir, please allow me to follow you and fight the enemy!"

"And I!"

"do not forget me!"

……

The crew members expressed their opinions one after another, and the determination they showed fully demonstrated that they were not just talking.

Miltias was finally moved. He looked around the crew and finally showed a relieved smile: "Very good, then let's go to the Elysee Paradise together!"

As he spoke, he raised the dagger that had been chipped by many Phoenician sailors and said loudly: "Speed ​​up the paddle and charge forward. The target is the Carthaginian cavalry!"

"Yes!!!" More than 100 crew members shouted in unison, arranged in a column similar to the shape of a ship, led by Miltias, striding forward, and at the same time singing the Hades hymn in their mouths: "I sing your praises, Great Hades, you are the master of the night, the master of the law, the protector of the Kingdom of Dionia..."

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

Just as the Carthaginian army massacred the crews and friendly soldiers of the Dionysian Sicilian fleet on many coasts from Germe to Minoa, the East Phoenician fleet did not turn out as Miltias imagined. After returning from the victory, they received the news through the clipper that "the Dionysian squadron attacked from the east and defeated some Phoenician warships". They hurriedly gathered the scattered warships, and then headed east to prepare. Fight.

Phoenician city-states such as Tire and Sidon have provided the navy for Persia for many years. The sailors born in the Phoenician area with a strong commercial atmosphere did not actually have a strong will to fight. Therefore, the Persian navy and the Greek navy (mainly Athens) In the decades of war history, the Phoenicians did not create any brilliant achievements. Judging from today's results, the East Phoenician fleet has easily won a brilliant victory. It is good at calculation and tactful. They can stop here and boast to Carthage about this achievement.

However, this fleet was jointly formed by Tire, Sidon and other East Phoenician city-states. Once they were forced by the Dionysian fleet to withdraw from this sea area, it meant that they could not clean the battlefield and be unable to conquer the enemy. He took away the damaged warships and was unable to rescue a large number of Phoenician sailors who fell into the sea or were killed and wounded by the soldiers on the crow warships...abandoned his compatriots in a foreign land thousands of miles away and became prisoners of foreigners, not only among the fleet Many people could not accept that after returning to the Phoenician region, they would be accused by the people of the city-state. This was the reason why they decided to continue fighting.

Of course, there is another reason. The Eastern Phoenicians believed that their number of trireme warships far exceeded that of their opponents, and they could completely defeat their opponents.

In the end, the Phoenician fleet gathered 97 warships and met the fleet led by Sekerian on the sea between Germe and Minoa. At this time, the Dionian squadron continued to flee as it moved forward. The Dionia warships have joined, and the number of warships has reached 51.

At this time, the Phoenician warships were almost twice as many as the Dionian warships, and half of the warships in the Dionian squadron were somewhat damaged, but the Dionian fleet was not afraid at all and was located in the ship formation. Under the command of Stefankas, the flagship of the Second Squadron of the First Fleet in the center raised three long blood-red streamers on the top of the mast, which means "Fight bloody to the end and never retreat until death!"

The Crow warship on which Sekerian was riding was still leading the charge. The sailors of all the warships were rowing hard regardless of fatigue, steering the warship to sprint forward. They wanted to wash away the embarrassment and humiliation before, and put away the pain and Bring death to your enemies!
The original plan of the East Phoenician fleet was to take advantage of the large number of ships, increase the width of the ship formation, and not engage in combat with the Dionysian warships on the front of the attack, but actively retreat, lure them deep, and then let the two This is a variant circumnavigation tactic.

But when two fleets meet, both sides usually line up first and then launch an attack. Who knows that the Dionian warships rush directly over in a mess (the East Phoenicians responded to the Dionian starry ship formation Not familiar with it, I thought it was because they were not in good formation), the East Phoenician fleet could only respond hastily, and the previous battle plan could not be fully implemented.

At the beginning, the East Phoenicians still had the mentality of dealing with the Dionian fleet first, and slowly unfolded their formation and implemented the original battle plan.Who knew that the attack of the Dionian fleet was swift, ferocious, and very efficient. As soon as the warships of both sides came into contact, the two Phoenician warships at the forefront were in danger. One was hooked by the crow warship, and the other was hooked by the crow warship. Damaged by a fast warship.

The Dionian warship rushed forward and backward, breaking into the center of the East Phoenician fleet, disrupting the order of the entire ship formation, and the two sides soon fell into a fierce melee.

The crew of the Dionian fleet fought hard with the determination to die.During the battle, even if the hull of the ship is damaged and sea water seeps in, they will block it while still charging at nearby enemy ships or protecting the flanks for their comrades and blocking the enemy ship's attack; the soldiers of the Crow Warship rush to the enemy ship Later, if there is no time to return, the crew will not hesitate to pull up the suspension bridge and then smash the suspension bridge against another enemy ship that is preparing to attack them. Then the sailors will pick up the weapons left by the soldiers who jumped into the sea before and board the ship. combat; even when the warship was hit by the enemy, the crew's first thought was not to seal the gap and escape from the warship, but to throw multiple rope hooks from the deck to hook the enemy ship, and then the crew members joined forces to fight. …

It is precisely because the Dionian crew broke out with a powerful fighting force without fear of death that they were able to compete with the East Phoenician fleet in a critical situation with a huge disparity in the number of warships, and their terrifying fighting will shocked The East Phoenicians had always acted as vassals of Persia and rarely fought independently. Therefore, after more than an hour of fierce fighting, the East Phoenicians chose to retreat out of fear.

Although the Dionia crew members are very tired, they still have to complete one important thing before they can return to Selinus City - that is, cleaning the battlefield and searching for and rescuing their comrades who fell into the water. This is why they fight desperately .

The first person to be searched and rescued was Sekerian. The warship he was riding in charged forward and was naturally heavily attacked by the Phoenicians. He was eventually sunk. Because the fierce battle was in full swing at the time, the surrounding warships had no time to rescue him. rise.Now, he was quickly rescued on Stefankas' ship.

After soaking in the sea water for several ten minutes, he was still full of energy. When he got on the boat, he asked: "Did the enemy really retreat?"

The commander of the squadron, Stefakas, immediately went forward to report: "My lord, I have sent several fast ships to track the departing enemy. If there is any abnormal situation, they will report back immediately. I also sent eight warships here Maintain combat vigilance, just in case."

"Well, the arrangement is very detailed and reasonable. It's much better than that bastard Miltias!" As soon as Miltias was mentioned, Sekerian became very angry. He immediately asked loudly: "Find it?" Is that bastard Miltias?"

"There is no news about him yet."

"It seems that he has no face to see me and hid!" Sekerian sneered, and then asked: "How many warships do we have left?"

"... There are 25 ships left, including 18 crow warships, 7 fast warships, and another 6 warships that are not too seriously damaged. They should be towed back to the naval base and can be repaired..." Stefankas He said with a heavy tone.

"This is all Miltias's fault! More than 100 warships! It was his wrong decision that led to more than 100 warships being rammed and sunk by a group of cowardly enemies! Many of the crew members did not even engage in real combat. , just watching his warship sink! This is really... This is really... Oh!..." Sekerian was heartbroken and even shed tears. He not only felt sad for the losses in this naval battle, but also remembered The big storm that made him unbearable...

Yes, the Dionian Navy, which once claimed to be "No. 850 in the Western Mediterranean", has four major fleets and more than [-] warships, but in the months after the war with Carthage, it suffered heavy losses in a row. There was very little left of the [-]st, [-]nd, and [-]th fleets. How could he not shed tears of pain by bringing them back to the size of the navy when it was first established in one fell swoop?

Although Stefakas also felt distressed, he still comforted: "My lord, we have captured some enemy ships, pulled them back to the base, and modified them slightly, so that they can join the fleet and enrich our strength."

"How many?" Sekolian asked immediately.

"The specific number is not clear yet." This answer of Stefankas is understandable, because the battlefield is not limited to this place, and there are battlefields everywhere in the sea from Minoa to Germe.

Therefore, Sekerian did not criticize Stefankas, but looked up at the sky and said: "It is still afternoon, let the brothers search every part of the sea carefully, try not to miss any brother who fell into the water, and Soldiers, do not miss any warship, and then let them pilot the captured enemy ships and return to Selinus together."

"Yes, my lord."

Neither of them talked about transporting reinforcements to Agrigento during the conversation, because under the current circumstances, it was impossible to rush to Agrigento and they urgently needed to return to the port to rest.

The pursuit of the Carthaginian army on the coast forced many Dionian crew members who had already swam ashore to swim into the sea again and soaked in the cold water for an hour or two. Some crew members were already exhausted. Thanks to It was only through the mutual assistance of the comrades that the battleship rescue arrived.

(End of this chapter)