Rome must fall.

Chapter 389 Crossbow Cavalry

In particular, the chief of the Deisitiatai, Temagis, rejected Broch's request for help on the grounds that "the tribe had signed a truce agreement with the Nixes." Although he also knew that peace with the Nixes could not be maintained for a long time and there would be a war in the future, the Deisitiatai's biggest enemy now was the Boyi.

In order to maintain the tribal alliance and obtain more help from the southern tribes in the future, the two great leaders of Disione and Perustai also sent messengers to Daisitiatae to persuade them, and finally forced Temajis to agree to send reinforcements.

The three tribes sent a total of 600 infantry, but the cavalry reached .

While asking for help, Brix was also carrying out an emergency military mobilization of the tribes in the territory. However, the Nix army successively captured the Brochi riverside camp where a large number of troops were stationed, leaving Brix with less than 5,000 troops (including some of the famous Segestica who were taken in). For this reason, he had to recruit older tribesmen into the team and put together a total of 7,000 people.

With the arrival of reinforcements from various tribes, the Pannonian coalition forces eventually reached 23,000 men, with an additional 800 cavalry.

When Maximus learned that reinforcements from other large tribes of Pannoni had arrived at the main camp of Brochi, he was overjoyed. In order to ensure that the best plan formulated before the war could be implemented, he deliberately slowed down the pace of the march.

On December 5, 67 BC (the sixth year after the establishment of the Nix tribe), the Nix army was still a short distance away from the main camp of Brochi, and the Pannonian coalition took the initiative to meet them, because Brix did not want to give the Nix people any time to rest, so that the Nix soldiers could fully recover their physical strength and have time to create those terrible and huge siege weapons.

Maximus accepted the challenge without hesitation, and the two sides set up their battle lines on the east bank of the Sava River.

Taking into account the strong navy of the Nicholas' army, and to prevent it from transporting soldiers through the river and bypassing the rear, the Pannonian coalition lined up in the southeast, with its back to the main camp of Brochi and away from the banks of the Sava River.

Because the last disastrous defeat left a shadow on Bricks, this time he led Brochi's army in the center, Andy's army on the left wing, Mazi's army on the right wing, and the reinforcements of the other three tribes were organized into the center and the right wing. The cavalry were all located on the outside of the right wing of the army, because there was enough space on this side for them to gallop.

Nix's army was located in the northwest, with its back to the Sava River. From left to right were five hundred cavalry, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth legions.

Since Maximus had stationed some troops in each captured camp before, the number of Nyx soldiers participating in this battle was less than 25,000, and the difference in strength between the two sides was not much.

In the afternoon, the sun began to set, both sides finished their battle formations, the noise stopped, and a tense atmosphere began to spread.

In the eyes of the Pannonian warriors: the Nyx soldiers on the opposite side were wearing iron helmets and armor, holding large shields and short swords, their bodies were as hard and straight as iron statues, flashing with cold light, and their faces showed a kind of crazy smile, like bloodthirsty demons...

Determination and fear were intertwined in the eyes of the Pannoni warriors. They tightly grasped their spears and wooden shields. Sweat began to seep out of their palms and their breathing became heavy, but they all understood that in order to defend their loved ones and their homes, they must fight to the death!
In the eyes of the Nix soldiers: the Pannoni warriors on the opposite side are not only enemies, but also the military merits that allow them to obtain more land and be promoted to tribal nobles! They have been holding back for three years. During these three years, craftsmen have been promoted, officials have been promoted, engineers, teachers, medical staff, farmers... tribesmen in other industries have been promoted, but the merits of these soldiers have remained unchanged.

The war finally came, but the first battle was too easy and was only rated fourth level by the Ministry of War. Half of the credit went to the Engineering Battalion, leaving not much for the ordinary soldiers. The same was true for the subsequent attacks on the camps.

But this battle was different. Before the battle formation, the captains of each legion announced to the soldiers: Since this battle would determine the life and death of Brochi and the decline of the remaining Pannoni tribe’s vitality, it was extremely important for the subsequent expansion of the Nixes. Therefore, Chief Maximus determined this battle to be the second level. After defeating the enemy, the soldiers would not only gain greater merit, but it would also determine whether the war would continue, adding more merit to them…

Therefore, every Knicks soldier is now extremely excited, and everyone is looking forward to the bugle being blown immediately.

The Nix army launched the attack first, but no bugle call was sounded. The crossbow battalions of each legion passed through the gaps between the army formations, quickly approached the enemy formation within 80 meters in a loose horizontal formation, and fired crossbow arrows.

Arrows flew like locusts, covering the front row of Pannoni's army.

Since the Brochi warriors were all equipped with thick square shields and were well prepared for the crossbowmen of the Nix army, they suffered almost no casualties in the center. However, there were some casualties on the left and right wings, especially the Andizeti army on the left wing. They had been fighting with the Skodischi tribe for a long time and had suffered great losses in weapons and equipment. Because most of them were in an offensive advantage, they did not pay much attention to protective equipment such as shields. Even the tribal leaders were holding simple wooden shields. As a result, they suffered a great loss before the battle even started.

Therefore, the great leader Antosius had to blow the horn first to let the warriors who were standing and being shot launch the attack quickly.

In a flash, the Pannonian coalition launched an all-out attack. The Nix crossbowmen fired only two rounds before they had to retreat in time to allow the infantry formation to close in and take over. The infantry began to charge, but the cavalry was the first to engage.

After the horn sounded, the Pannonian cavalry began to spur their horses, spreading their four hooves and trotting forward.

Compared with the weak infantry, the Pannoni cavalry has a psychological advantage, especially the cavalry from the three northern tribes. They have not been at an absolute disadvantage in the long-term contest with the Boyi cavalry, and their combat effectiveness is indeed not weak.

In contrast, the Nix Cavalry was only established in recent years and had never participated in any major battles and had no record of any kind. Moreover, the Pannoni Cavalry had 300 more people than their opponents, so they had an absolute advantage.

Therefore, Brix placed the chance of victory in this battle mainly on the cavalry, and the cavalry were full of confidence in this.

In the last war, the Pannoni cavalry suffered a crushing defeat without even engaging in a real battle, hindered by the infantry and restricted by the terrain. But now the terrain is flat and open, perfect for them to exert their power and avenge their previous defeat.

The Pannoni cavalry looked at the approaching opponent with fighting spirit in their hearts. They even felt sorry that the opponent adopted a thin and wide horizontal formation when they were confronting each other, because the side with weak cavalry was better off adopting a denser and thicker vertical formation, so as not to be easily penetrated and lead to a rapid defeat. Although it was a pity, the Pannoni cavalry also deployed in a goose formation accordingly.

The Pannoni cavalry's horses began to speed up, but the Nix cavalry continued to move forward steadily.

Eight hundred Pannoni cavalrymen galloped forward in an arc fan shape, raising a cloud of dust. Their horses' hooves struck the ground like rolling thunder, with an awe-inspiring momentum.

The cavalry captain Hagux, who was at the front of the queue, tried to control the excitement of the warhorse under his crotch so as to closely stare at the enemy in front of him. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions as much as possible, and then stretched his right hand to the right side of the saddle...

The saddle of the Knyx cavalry is unique. It not only inherits the characteristics of the Celtic cavalry, but is also a four-cornered saddle that allows the rider to sit firmly on the horse and is easy to manipulate and exert force. The saddle cushion also extends backward to the horse's buttocks, and there are two cloth pockets on each side, which can hold two crossbows each.

The cavalry crossbow, as the name suggests, is a "crossbow used by cavalry". It was specially made for the Knicks cavalry by Maximus at the iron workshop. It is smaller in shape and lighter in weight than the arm crossbow used by infantry, making it easier for cavalry to use on horseback. Naturally, its range is shorter and its lethality is weaker.

Hagux drew out the crossbow on his right side. Before the attack began, he had already pulled the string and loaded the arrow. He first raised the crossbow in the air and swung it twice, which was a command to the other cavalrymen. Then he held the crossbow arm with his right hand, hooked the trigger with his left hand, stared at Wangshan, and clamped his legs around the horse's belly... This set of movements was as smooth as flowing water, which was the result of hard training in the military training ground for more than a year.

Aiming at the enemy right in front of him, he pulled the trigger with his finger and the crossbow arrow shot out, hitting the warhorse under the enemy's crotch because it was a large target and easy to hit.

While Hagux was shooting the crossbow, the other Nyx cavalrymen followed suit. Suddenly, countless crossbow arrows cut through the air and whizzed towards the enemy.

In an instant, the wails of the war horses and the screams of the Pannoni cavalrymen caused them to fall forward with their horses, which also hindered the charge of their teammates in the rear.

The Knicks cavalry quickly put the crossbow that had shot the arrows back into the saddle, took out another crossbow on the left side, and fired at the enemy cavalry again.

Then the scene of people falling to the ground and horses falling appeared again.

As both sides spread out in a fan shape and the crossbows exerted their maximum power, more than half of the Pannoni cavalry fell. Although most of the injured were horses, the cavalry was almost completely scrapped without their horses. Moreover, the remaining Pannoni cavalry were shocked and dazed by the sudden attack. They forcibly reined in their horses and were at a loss for what to do because the leaders who led them in the charge had already fallen to the ground.

After shooting the crossbow arrows, Hagux drew out his sword without hesitation, increased his horse's speed and launched a charge.

A few of the Nix Cavalry Battalion were veterans of the original rebel army, and most were people from Skodischi and Segestica. Although they were all good at riding, they did lack experience in horse warfare. However, their morale was greatly boosted by the effectiveness of their tactics, and they remembered that Captain Hagux had specifically reminded them before the attack that "if you can defeat the enemy cavalry first and gain the first merit, you will get more rewards", so they all bravely took the lead.

(End of this chapter)