Did you break through? Philadelphia and the others have arrived? ! Miron, who couldn't wait to go ashore with the soldiers, felt a burst of excitement in his heart. But after a while, the troops stopped advancing, and were then forced to retreat little by little...
"Hold on, soldiers! Keep working harder, the enemy is dying!" Miron, who was not sure, thought it was because the troops were weak in attack. Knowing that his shouting wouldn't have much effect, he couldn't help shouting loudly. , want to arouse their fighting spirit.
But the Crotone army was never able to go any further. At the forefront of the Dionysian army that has completed the transformation of the array are the newly replaced soldiers of the original second line. Their physical strength is still sufficient, which makes up for their lack of heavy infantry experience. After fighting for more than three hours, he was already exhausted, struggling to protect himself, and naturally powerless to attack.
Just as they were struggling to support, the Crotone light infantry behind them who had retreated to the other side of the Trionto River suddenly shouted in panic: "The enemy! The enemy is coming!!..."
Although Miron, who was in the center and rear of the formation, couldn't quite hear what they were shouting, the frightened voice made him turn his head to look back subconsciously. He was stunned when he saw: I saw hundreds of people appearing on the river beach behind. The cavalry rushed towards the Crotone light infantry who fled in panic like wolves, and behind the cavalry were countless unarmored soldiers, who quickly dispersed the formation, drew bows and arrows, and held javelins. own direction. Where did so many enemies come from? ! Philadelphia and his troops? ! ! ... At this moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind in horror, and in the end there was only one sentence in his heart: We lost! ! !
In fact, not only did he see the scene of the river bank behind him, but many Crotone soldiers also saw it, and the Dionysian scout standing on the opposite bank also saw it. When the hearts of the soldiers were floating, Davos gave an order full of pride: "All troops attack!!!"
The bugle of the attack sounded, and then the same trumpet sounded on the other side. Just as the Dionysian heavy infantry began to attack bravely, the Dionysian light infantry, consisting of nearly 6,000 freemen, fired the first round of arrows and the first round of flying stones at the rear of the soldiers on the right flank of Crotone. , the first round of the javelin...
The front is the heavy infantry who are still fierce after a long battle, the cold river is under their feet, and the arrows and javelins that take their lives away from the rear are different. The tired Crotone soldiers can no longer hold on. First, the right wing The rout, followed by the middle, and then the left wing. Crotone's line of more than two miles and more than a dozen columns collapsed quickly like an avalanche. The soldiers rushed to the south bank, and the freemen kept long-range firepower. It accelerated their rout, and the charge launched by the Dionysian heavy infantry made this large-scale rout even more chaotic. Nearly 20,000 people were attacked from both sides. picture
Zantiparis, who had witnessed the entire passage on the South Bank, could not bear to look back when he later spoke to Ancitanos, who wrote the Great History of Greece, about the collapse of Crotone, recalling: "… All of them shouted in horror, 'Run for your life! We are defeated! . . . The volume even overshadowed the sound of our bugle. In order to escape, the chasing Crotones madly knocked down the people in front with shields and stabbed them with spears... Alas... The Trionto River is not deep, but the people who fell in the river were almost unable to get up again. , because once it falls, not only will there be no one to support it, but because of the heavy equipment on its body and the constant squeezing and collision of others, it will only drown in the river in the end... In fact, whether it is the pursuit of heavy infantry, or the long-range of our light infantry The casualties inflicted by the attack on the river can't make up for the damage that the river did to the Crotones... That must be Poseidon's wrath! Reminds me of the expedition's battle against the Persians on the Kent River The scene at that time... Well, after the battle, when I returned, I saw the Crotone corpses floating on the Triminto River, as if the river was blocked, which made my scalp tingle! It is said that later There were more than 3,500 corpses recovered, not counting those that floated into the sea…”
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The Crotone soldiers who fled back to the south bank had no time to breathe. Although the Dionysian heavy infantry were tired, they were still attacking under the urging of Davos, and continued to put psychological pressure on the routed soldiers; while the large number of freemen light infantry did not have the burden of heavy armor, and they pursued The main force, they swooped up from the flank, almost dumping the entire Crotone right flank. The Crotones who lost their fighting spirit were intercepted in the front, and the chasing troops were desperate, and they surrendered one after another.
After the light infantry handed over the prisoners to the heavy infantry, they continued to pursue.
At this time, the cavalry became the main force of the pursuit. Nearly 300 cavalry spread out under the leadership of Ryders, crushing the soldiers back and forth. The Crotone people were not knocked down by the running horses and could not afford to be injured. It was forced to change the escape route, and was eventually captured by the light infantry who caught up.
The Crotone soldiers who escaped were trembling along the way, and finally fell down on the road because of exhaustion. The Onia light infantry all did the work of escorting the prisoners.
In the end, the Crotone people fled into the swamp area, and many people rushed into the dangerous area in a panic. The Dionian cavalry also followed into the swamp, but because of the unfamiliar terrain, horses fell into the mud many times, and because the sky was getting dark, they finally had to give up their pursuit.
The battle to decide the fate of Dionia and Crotone is over.
The Crotone side invested about 27,000 people, and finally 7,000 casualties (because it was defeated, it was almost impossible for wounded soldiers to escape), about 12,000 people were captured, and 8,000 people fled the battlefield. Only those who really escaped back to Crimea Less than 5,000 people, more than 3,000 lost in forests and swamps, some escaped after a few days, and some never got out again. Under the desperate protection of the guards, Miron was lucky to escape back to Crimea.
The Dionysian side also invested about 24,000 people, and in the end only more than 4,000 casualties were obtained, and they won a brilliant victory.
…
On this day, the chief general of Castellon City, Amicklis, has been closely watching the development of the entire battle. Arrows and javelins, so Amicris is also responsible for organizing and delivering army materials to the battlefield. When the Crotone troops walking downstream were wiped out, he got the news even earlier than Davos, when he excitedly told the members of the Castellon Council that Dionysian's victory had been won. Certainly.
Everyone will be skeptical. After all, Crotone has been tyrannical in Great Greece for many years. The city-states are already deeply afraid of it. In addition, its main force is not damaged. Who knows if it will make a comeback.
It was not until an hour later that countless corpses floated down the upper Trionto River, attracting the whole city to watch at the port. After the guards checked them one by one, it was determined that they were all Crotones. When the news came out, the uneasy hearts of the Castrons finally fell: there is no doubt that the Dionysian Alliance has won! Our Dionian League is victorious! !
When cheers resounded throughout the city, the shadow of the threat of Crotone in the hearts of the Castrons was finally removed. The generals and council members looked at each other and smiled reassuringly: they had endured the threat of the Crotones, and the decision to take the risk of supporting Dionia was indeed the right one!
When Davos led his army back to Castellon, the whole city was illuminated by candles. Amicklis led the members of the council and the people out of the city to greet him. The momentum was so great that Davos was a little surprised, so he hurriedly dismounted and walked on foot.
"Wan Sheng, the Dionysian Alliance!!!" The crowd erupted in cheers like a landslide and tsunami, which was deafening.
"Congratulations, Lord Davos! It's unbelievable, you have achieved a brilliant victory!!" Amy Kris sincerely congratulated Davos.
"It's all thanks to Hades' blessing! And the full help of you, the Castrons!" Davos replied modestly.
"After the failure of this battle, Crotone may no longer be able to attack." Amicris tactfully wanted to know Davos's next plan.
Davos, of course, heard what he meant, and smiled slightly: "If the injured lion doesn't take the opportunity to hunt and kill it, won't it wait for it to recover and then come to avenge it! Tomorrow we will attack Crimea, take it down, and then fight against Ke. Rotone!"
Amikolis was relieved, and reminded: "I think Crotone may ask for peace talks as last time, in order to release these captives."
"Peace talk?" Davos sneered a few times, looking at the 12,000 prisoners who were being escorted past in front of him. He initially wanted to force these prisoners to be the vanguard tomorrow, attacking Crimea, and even attacking Croto. If you want to come to the Crotone people to face the attack of their compatriots, they will inevitably shrink back, so that Dionia can easily capture these two cities. This is one of the common tactics used by the Mongols and Jurchens to seize the world.
However, Davos, who has lived in this era for a year and a half, thought about it and chose to give up. Because he knows that the Greeks of this era still retain some of the characteristics of the ancient times, respecting heroes, advocating strength, and like to fight head-on. Killing the enemy in battle is understandable, but using captives to siege a city and gain victory is undoubtedly disgusting and contemptuous. So in the previous city-state war, no one has ever done it.
Thank you Feng Zhifeng and a$ "卐" Sand Boat "Xiankong" for your rewards! Your support is the biggest motivation for my writing! !
Play tonight, update in advance!
Happy Valentine's Day brothers and sisters! ! !