The Persian archers withdrew a long distance before Alcines gave the order to withdraw.
The soldiers took back the long shield, stood up and looked at it, dumbfounded: the surrounding flat ground was full of arrows, and the same was true on the long shield, causing the weight to increase suddenly.
In order not to interfere with the use of the long shield, the soldiers immediately pulled out their short swords and slashed the arrow shafts on the shield surface.
"Your Majesty, the Persian archers have retreated, and our casualties are minor!" After listening to the instant messages from the messengers, Philisius reported to the king with a happy face.
Davos nodded calmly.
"30 years ago, we used this method to successfully defend against the long-range attacks of Persian archers. Now our legionnaires have better defense capabilities than we were at that time. The Persians still use the old method to deal with us, and it is impossible to take it. Anything cheap!" Amintas said disdainfully.
At the military meeting before the war, it was because of the advice of the veterans that Davos decided not to use light infantry first, but let the heavy infantry carry the Persian bow and arrow troops, which had the advantage in long-range attacks, in order to consume the opponent. , the plan now appears to have been successful.
At this time, Davos looked at the Persian archer who was receding like a tide, and said lightly, "The appetizers have been eaten, and it's time for dinner."
The distance of one mile made it impossible for the King of Persia and Trebassus to see the casualties of the enemy on the opposite side, but from the retreating general's mouth, Trebassus learned that the result was not ideal, and he was shocked: Sending Persian archers to confront them was his suggestion. Because through a detailed understanding of the battle of Asia Minor and reference to some of Dionia's previous battles, he found that the Dionysian army was different from the Greek army. Their light infantry was not weak, and they liked to fight first in the battle to disrupt The opponent's formation, that's why he made such a suggestion, hoping to use his powerful bow and arrow troops to crippling the opponent's light infantry, gain more advantages and also reduce the morale of the opponent's army, but he did not expect that the opponent's light infantry would actually Did not play, and the long-range attack on the Dionysian heavy infantry did not achieve great results...
And when Trebassus came to Artaxerxes, his face was no longer worried, but a look of joy: "Your Majesty, the attack of the archers has caused a lot of casualties to the Dionysian heavy infantry, we should Take advantage of the victory to attack, and the Dionysian army cannot be relieved!"
Artaxerxes was very happy after hearing this, and said without hesitation: "Then continue to attack!"
"According to the order, Your Majesty!" Trebassus turned around and gave the order: "The chariots and war elephants attack!"
The messenger cavalry galloped out, some of them rushed to the front of the array in the middle, and some of them rushed to the left flank.
Soon, Artaxerxes heard a high-pitched elephant roar coming from the front, and his spirits were lifted. He beat the carriage and said excitedly: "Crush the Dionysians for me!"
Under the command of the mahout, 50 elephants stepped forward with their sturdy limbs and began to move forward. Every step caused a slight tremor on the ground; when they were still slowly accelerating, the sickle chariots on both sides were already at full speed. As they moved forward, the war horses with their hooves flying and the fast-turning wheels made a rumbling sound, stirring up the billowing dust and mist. Although there were only more than 200 chariots, they created an imposing force of thousands of horses, like a roaring giant. The beast rushed towards the Dionysian army fiercely.
Even Legionnaires like Alcines had been trained to deal with chariots during their stay in Egypt, and they were nervous at the moment.
At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps sounded beside Alsinis. It turned out that the light infantry behind the infantry array quickly passed through the passage between the phalanxes and ran to the front of the array.
In fact, after the Dionysian Light Infantry Brigade knew the positions of the Persian chariots and war elephants on the opposite side, they had arranged their tactics in advance, so 5,000 light infantrymen rushed to the front of the formation and quickly lined up. , the javelin is facing the elephant in the middle, and the archers are facing the chariot on both sides.
There is no need for an order from the team officer. After the archers stand firm, they immediately draw their bows and shoot arrows in front of them. Even if the chariot is still 100 meters away, they use direct shots instead of projectiles because they have been trained in actual combat in Egypt. They know that it is difficult for projectiles to hit high-speed chariots. On the contrary, even if the direct shots are farther away, the rapid approach of the chariots will make them actively hit the flying arrows.
The archers just shot an arrow, and they didn't care what the result was, they immediately drew and shot again because the time left for them was very tight.
McGacides, native of Crete, was invited by the Dionysian Military Department after winning archery at the first Dionysian Games last year, and he finally decided to join Dionysus after much deliberation. Ya, with the special approval of King Davos, he only needs to serve in the army for three years before he can become a full citizen.
After the news was intentionally publicized by the Turii City Hall, it aroused heated discussions among the people of all allied countries. The athletes were gearing up and training actively, preparing to achieve excellent results in the 2nd Dionysian Games, in the hope of winning the championship. The favor of the King of Onia, but the Dionysian Games, like other Greek games, is also held every 4 years, which is still a long time.
After McGacides immigrated to Turiyi, he temporarily lived in the barracks, where he received military training while also assisting military trainers in training and improving the archery skills of the recruits.
Light infantry, especially archers, rely more on personal skills. In the traditional Greek army, archers do not have any special tactics, but rely more on their own personal skills. However, the Dionysian army is different. The tactical ability requirements are relatively high. McGacides has only been in the barracks for half a year, and he has just become familiar with light infantry tactics when he encounters this war. Turii Barracks did not intend to recruit him, but he became a full-fledged citizen as soon as possible in order to make military exploits. , repeatedly requested. Considering his amazing archery skills, the captain of the First Army Light Infantry still recruited him and became an ordinary soldier.
At this moment, McGacides ran to the front of the array with his teammates, and saw the fast-moving chariots rushing through the dust mist, rushing towards them aggressively, and the soldiers shot arrows in their hands. Although it was the first time for him to experience such a magnificent scene, he was born with a big heart. Otherwise, he would not have defeated many strong players in the first Dionysian Games and won the archery championship. He did not release the arrow immediately, but quickly Breathing calmly, while seeing the position of the chariot in front of him, he aimed for a while, and then let go of the bowstring.
As the main weapon used by the Persian army to rush into the formation, the Persians of course knew that the target of the sickle chariot was too large and vulnerable to long-range attack, so not only did the horses of the pack chariots be covered with armor, but also the crossbowmen and shooters on the chariot Wear armor. Although many arrows hit the warhorse, they were blocked by the armor and did not cause fatal injuries. On the contrary, under the eager whipping of the crossbowmen, they rushed forward with a scream.
At this moment, the arrow shot by McGacides penetrated the head of the war horse that was not covered by the armor, and the galloping war horse suddenly fell down. The hand and the shooter were thrown into the air, screaming and smashing into the place where McGacchides was.
McGadgets and his teammates hurriedly dodged.
"Be careful! Chariot! Chariot!!..." The terrified shouts of the soldiers behind made McGacides turn his head in a hurry, only to see a chariot not running straight forward, but rushing towards them sideways. .
The distance was already very close, and McGadgets rolled and scrambled to dodge, but there were also soldiers who couldn't dodge in time. Unfortunately, one leg was rubbed by a flash of white light on the axle, and was immediately twisted into several pieces, falling to the ground and wailing. .
The soldiers around were all shocked when they saw this tragic scene.
It was only at this time that McGacides discovered that the driver and shooter on this chariot had fallen down with arrows.
When he and his teammates aimed their bows and arrows at the war horses, the two frightened war horses seemed to sense danger, and ran back in panic with the chariots on their backs. With a loud "bang", they faced a chariot of their own. collide.
Amidst the screams of the war horses, McGacides and the others were relieved.
Compared with the teammates who were standing in place to shoot arrows, the javelinmen in the light infantry brigade did not stop after rushing out of the array, but accelerated forward.
When they were only a few dozen meters away from the slowly approaching war elephant, they risked being shot by the archer on the back of the war elephant and threw their javelins with all their might.
The skin of the war elephant is tough and thick, and the arrows are impenetrable, so the Persians did not put armor on it, but the Persians never imagined that the Dionysians they despised not only did not fear this behemoth, but also took the initiative to step forward. In the face of the battle, dozens or hundreds of heavy javelins were concentrated to shoot a war elephant, but it was enough to threaten the life of the war elephant.
For the Dionysian light infantry, the war elephant was large and slow, and was easier to deal with than the chariot in the Mercedes-Benz.
A war elephant was soon shot into a hedgehog.
Although these war elephants have been specially trained, their gentle nature has not changed. Sensing the danger ahead, they turn around and run back one after another, completely ignoring the instructions of the mahout. Only a few elephants, frenzied with pain, sped forward, and then fell groaning as the harpooneer threw round after round.
When the light infantry rushed up, the legionnaires did not relax their vigilance. As the sub-commander, Alsinis even ran to the forefront, staring nervously at the battle ahead.
After seeing a chariot in front of him passing through the blockade of the light infantry, he rushed straight to the phalanx and shouted eagerly: "Dodge! Dodge!"
Since the Dionysian formation is a loose checkerboard array, there is enough space for the soldiers to dodge around. The rushing Persian chariots had difficulty turning due to inertia, so they could only move forward along the passage that the Dionian soldiers quickly gave way. .