ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 912 Katanai Military Conference ([-])
In the Battle of Minoa, except for the Holy Corps of Carthage, which caused us some trouble, the other Carthaginian troops were simply vulnerable, especially the army composed of Numibians, which had very low morale. A charge of our heavy infantry can cause them to retreat, so our army can easily invade the west and force the Carthaginians to huddle in various cities for a long time, never daring to go out of the city to fight.During this time we found no opportunity to engage the Iberian troops who had been garrisoned at Palermos.

After Carthage sent a large army to land in Sicily for the second time, the situation changed. First of all, Carthage was led by Mago, the governor of Iberia. He had fought in Iberia for a long time and had rich battlefield experience.Based on all aspects of intelligence, this Mago brought more than 2 Iberian soldiers from Iberia. Together with the 2 Iberian soldiers in Palermos, there were more than 4 Iberian soldiers on Sicily. Leah soldiers, most of whom are Carthage mercenaries, have been fighting with Mago in Iberia for a long time, and their combat effectiveness is very strong.

In Gela, I led the Eighth Army, the Fourth Cavalry Army, and troops from friendly countries to fight against the Iberian army. The numbers of both sides were about the same. The Eighth Army attacked the Iberian heavy infantry, and even There was also the 4th Cavalry Corps assisting the attack from the flank, but the opponent always defended tenaciously and never retreated——"

"Oh?!" Hearing this, Breru sat up straight with a look of surprise on his face. Although the number of the Eighth Army was behind the Seventh Army, the Eighth Army pacified the West Kyle area a few years ago. They had previously defeated the Holy Legion, which the Carthaginians called the "strongest heavy infantry" in Minoa. In fact, they had more combat experience than the Seventh Legion, which had not fought in recent years. Although Brelu did not admit it on the surface, it was Deep down, he felt that the Eighth Army's combat effectiveness might be a little stronger than that of the Seventh Army, but now a heavy infantry army from Iberia could actually remain undefeated in the joint attack of the Eighth Army and the Cavalry Army. This really made him Surprised.

"Many of this Carthaginian army may be indigenous warriors from the Iberian Peninsula. They are tall, fierce in attack, and able to obey discipline. The most noteworthy thing is - they all hold a long shield in one hand and a sword in the other. Holding short swords similar to those of our legionnaires, they defeated the phalanx composed of Gela and Camanlina heavy infantry from the front, which ultimately led to my defeat in Gela..." Leotizides in When he mentioned this matter, his expression and tone did not change much, as if he was talking about something that happened to someone else.

However, not only Brelu, but also Sekerian and Sipulos were surprised in the conference room.

"It seems that the combat effectiveness of the heavy infantry in the Carthaginian army from Iberia is not weaker than that of our legionnaires!" Sipulos couldn't help but said. Like Sekerian, he only had a rough understanding of Leo. I haven't had time to understand in detail the process of Tizides' defeat in the Battle of Jela. Suddenly hearing the details, I can't help but feel uneasy.

"Not only the heavy infantry, but the light infantry of Carthage's Iberian army was also weak. During the battle, they had thousands of slingers who may have come from the Balearic Islands, and the lead pellets they threw were accurate and hard. , not weaker than the slingers in the light infantry brigade of our First Legion, and caused a lot of casualties to the light infantry brigade of the Eighth Legion. They also had hundreds of harpooneers composed of Iberian natives, throwing The javelin is not only heavy, but also has a hook. Once it is hit, it is difficult to pull out. The wound caused is very large, which will cause a lot of bleeding and death. The medical camp has no good solution for this." said When he got here, Leotizides' tone became slightly lower.

"It seems that only the cavalry, we Dionia can be stronger than -" After hearing what Leotizides said, Sekerian couldn't help but sigh, but he didn't want to hear a cough next to him.

He turned to look at the embarrassed commander of the Fourth Cavalry Regiment, Acethemis, and suddenly remembered that Carthage occupied the Numibian region, and there were many Numibian cavalry in the army. He recalled that during the South Italian War, The Central Numibian cavalry caused a big loss to the Dionian cavalry.

Sure enough, Leotizides continued: "It may be because this Carthaginian army was going to pass through the mountains and raid the rear, so they didn't let the cavalry accompany them, but the intelligence shows that among the Carthaginian troops that landed in Sicily, some 6 to 7 cavalry, mostly Numibian cavalry, and some Carthaginian cavalry, Mauritanian cavalry, and Iberian cavalry, the number of which exceeds the sum of the number of our four major cavalry legions."

"The Carthaginian army from Iberia, its heavy infantry and light infantry are not weaker than our legionnaires, and its cavalry is slightly stronger than ours. It seems that this is our strong enemy!" During his legionary career, he fought against the army of Syracuse, Mesapi, and Puccietti. The armies of these city-states and races always had flaws of one kind or another, which made him always respect Dionysus. He was proud of the strength of the runner-up army. It was the first time he heard that there was an army that was not weaker than the Dionysian army in every aspect. While feeling uneasy, there was also a trace of excitement in his heart.

He asked cautiously: "Except for the army from Iberia, what is the combat effectiveness of the other Carthaginian armies?"

"According to intelligence, in addition to more than 4 soldiers from Iberia, the enemy troops that landed in Sicily this time also included about 6 soldiers from the basic city of Carthage, the Phoenician allies in Africa, and Numibia. Among them, the Numibians are the largest. After the Carthaginian army surrounded the city of Selinus, I asked the army to take the initiative and conducted a night attack on the Carthaginian army, which was successful. According to the reports of the returning soldiers, Many of the enemies they killed were Numibian soldiers. After being attacked, these Numibians could not organize an effective defense, and most of them just ran away..."

When Leotizides said this, he saw that the expressions on the faces of the other people became much more relaxed, and then continued: "Then this army was sent to attack Minoa. We all know that the Carthaginian army I had attacked the city of Minoa before but failed to make progress, which led me to lead my army to rescue. But this time the Minoa people clearly felt the pressure. They frequently sent envoys to me for help, and In the end, I had to evacuate from the city of Minoa...

I asked the people who fled Minoa, and they said that the dark-skinned Numibians attacked the city wall as if they were desperate, repelling one wave, and soon another wave came up, constantly consuming their little energy. The strength of the defenders led to the final failure of the defense... It can be seen that the combat effectiveness of this army is not weak.From the defeat of the night attack to the capture of Minoa, these were completely like two armies.I guess that Mago must have done something during this period of time to improve their morale..." Leotizides analyzed calmly.

"10 people! 10 soldiers with strong combat effectiveness!" Brelu couldn't help but sigh.

"This time Carthage's army is more than 10." Sekerian interjected: "When I was at the port of Lilibi, I once inquired privately that there were more than 1 soldiers in Lilibi, and like Phoenician city-states such as Mazara, Elyx, and Palermus had thousands of citizen soldiers. If they were all gathered together, the number of Carthage's troops would far exceed 10."

Sipulos took a breath, touched his chin, pondered for a while, and said: "Such a huge army must also require a huge supply of military rations."

"Master Cypros, your words hit the crux of the problem!" Sekelian praised, then pointed to the map of Sicily placed in the center of the wooden table where everyone was sitting, and said loudly: "So we must defend Sekelian. Linus, as long as we have it, our fleet can frequently attack the western waters, attack their merchant ships and cargo ships, cut off the sea route from Carthage to the west of Sicily, and make it difficult for the Carthaginian army to supply food. I can even send fleet infantry to land and attack the rear of the Carthaginian army... After all, judging from the current situation, compared with the army, our navy has a greater advantage in facing Carthage."

Seclian looked at Leotizides and said confidently: "Although the Carthaginian navy is equal to ours in terms of courage and ship maneuvering ability, and is more familiar with the sea conditions in the western sea than we are, they still use traditional It is impossible to change the naval tactics in a short period of time. As long as the warships of the Sicilian fleet return to their previous number, I can even blockade the port of Carthage!"

Sipulos reminded helplessly: "The Senate has passed a resolution on this matter. All the port cities in the kingdom are manufacturing warships. However, time is too short and we cannot yet manufacture hundreds of warships to satisfy you." requirements.”

"But there is one thing you can help." Sekelian said seriously: "Now the naval base in Catania is docked before... the twenty warships captured by Frarios in the sea of ​​Cerrodiham ships, and the [-] warships I captured on the south coast this time, as long as some repairs and refits are carried out, some of the warships can be incorporated into our fleet and go to sea to fight. In this way, the battleships of the Sicilian fleet The number of ships can reach sixty or seventy in a short period of time, and the advantage over the Carthaginian navy can be maintained. Therefore, I need you, Lord Cypros, to temporarily gather the shipbuilders in several cities in Sicily to the naval base , help us refit these Phoenician warships as soon as possible!" This time, Sekerian spoke sincerely.

　There is a dinner party tonight, so update in advance!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)