"The place to cross the river is eight miles upstream from our camp. The width of the river is about 85 meters. The deepest point of the river reaches the waist span. The bottom of the river is stone sand, which is neither too slippery nor hard. The river bank is flat. , there are more rocks on the other side..." Clethhorpes briefly explained the situation of the exploration.
"It seems that this is a good place to cross the river! We immediately gathered the whole army and quickly crossed the river!" Timasong said excitedly.
"However, we have to consider that Orontas' troops will block us on the other side of the river and force us to cross the river, and the casualties of our soldiers will increase!" Zantiparis said cautiously.
"The Persians would never have thought that we would cross the river so easily! As long as we rush to the other side of the river at the fastest speed, we will definitely give them a sudden attack!" Timasong said confidently.
"Don't forget, we have the Duqyas behind us! What about our baggage battalions? Besides, the Persians have more troops than us, and they also have the Kardans, as long as they can withstand our onslaught on the riverbank for a while , we will be in trouble, who knows how long the sand in the river can support the soldiers!" Zantiparis said slightly worried.
Tima Song immediately asked back: "Then what can you do?"
Zantiparis said: "So everyone should discuss how to cross the river smoothly and minimize our losses?"
"I thought you had a good idea?" Tima Song glanced at him.
"I have a suggestion." Xenophon interjected: "We can divide a part of the soldiers to protect the baggage battalion. When the large force is ready to cross the river, this part of the soldiers will lead the baggage battalion to pretend to cross the river at the original pontoon, The Persians will definitely think that we are going to cross the river again from here and attack them from the rear. This will not only disperse the troops, but also protect the cargo battalion, what do you think?" Xenophon said somewhat contentedly.
I have to say that Xenophon's plan was good, and everyone fell into thinking. After a while, Crianno asked: "The train battalion is huge, how many soldiers do you need to protect? If there are too many, it will affect the time we have to defeat the Persians, and you let the train battalion and the soldiers go back and forth. Marching will not only make them tired, but also easily attacked by the Dukiya people, have you considered this?"
"This..." Xenophon was at a loss for words, and he said squirmly: "It is inevitable that there will be casualties in a war, as long as the losses can be minimized..."
At this time, Davos said: "Inspired by Xenophon, I also came up with a method."
As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone focused their attention, because it has been proven many times that this youngest leader has never spoken lightly, and his words can always solve problems.
"Today we will not cross the river during the day." Davos glanced at the leaders and saw that although they were a little surprised, they continued to listen quietly: "After the Persians have all gone to sleep at night, you can send a troop first. Cross the river, find a place to hide, wait until tomorrow when our large army is at war with the Persians, they will suddenly attack the rear of the Persian army, and they will be able to disrupt the formation of the Persians. It may even annihilate some of them, thereby weakening the power of the Persians, allowing us to enter Armenia and reach the Eoken Sea more smoothly…”
Everyone's eyes lit up, and Davos' suggestion was really original and different. In fact, the thinking of the leaders is still trapped in the military tradition of frontal impact that the Greeks have admired for hundreds of years, while Davos's plan to cross the river is inspired by the strategy adopted by the great red army in the previous life when the great red army liberated Hainan. Inspired by "the combination of the smuggling of small units and the frontal force of large units".
"Davos, the soldiers have no experience in crossing the river at night. How many people do you want to send to cross the river first? If they riot because of fear when crossing the river, it will easily lead to drowning and death, and even alarm the Persians, let us The operation failed, so that the Persians knew where we had worked so hard to cross the river!" Krianno's tone was much better than when he was dealing with Xenophon before, and the problem he was worried about was also an important reason why the mercenaries did not dare to cross the river at night. .
"And how to hide after the team goes ashore? When will they attack the rear of the Persians? I'm afraid these must be taken into account." Timasong reminded.
Davers said without hesitation: "For a unit, the problem you mentioned is not a problem!" After that, he looked at Kerethorpes.
Kerethorpes nodded tacitly.
That night, seven hundred Spartans smuggled across the Kentrit River smoothly.
… … … … …
Early the next morning, the mercenaries began to form their camps.
The Persians saw it and quickly gathered on the other side.
The mercenaries slaughtered three lambs, the leaders sacrificed to Okeanos, the god of oceans and rivers, and the whole army sang hymns devoutly.
Ojuntas had a premonition that the Greeks might have to cross the river, so he ordered the army to prepare immediately.
After the worship was over, the mercenaries began to march down the river bank. After walking for a few miles, they stopped and rested for a while. Then it turned to the upstream again...
The handsome Armenian governor who was favored by the Persian king did not understand where the Greeks were going, thinking that they were afraid to cross the river with the Persian army on the other side, and were trying to find a way out. Seeing them scurrying around like headless flies, I couldn't help but feel proud.
The Persian army continued to follow the march on the opposite bank.
The mercenaries finally reached the crossing point marked by Chrysosops, and immediately stopped their advance. Then, according to the previous plan, with the end of the left flank as the axis, the entire team quickly rotated towards the river bank...
By the time Ojuntas didn't understand, the mercenaries had already formed a formation facing the Kentrit River. The whole team was divided into three parts: the first part was the seven thousand soldiers who were preparing to cross the river to fight the Persian army. The formation of large columns and thick columns stood on the bank (because the stretch of the river was not long); the second part was the baggage battalion, and they were closely behind; the third part was three thousand soldiers, who were located in The rear of the baggage camp, facing the river bank, prevents the attack of the Dukiya.
Just as the Persian army was slowly adjusting its formation, the mercenaries blew the bugle of the attack, and 7,000 soldiers stepped into the Kent River without hesitation...
Ojuntas changed his face, and he finally understood: the Greeks are going to cross the river from here!
Not worrying about the long-range strikes of the mercenary slingers, Ojuntas shouted eagerly: "Quick! Let the infantry block up! Archers! Archers release arrows!" Slowing down the advance of mercenaries, and bow strikes can cause confusion among the Greeks, causing the Greeks to drown in panic and overcrowding. After that moment of panic, Orontas regained his composure. After all, he had personally tested the depth of this river.
Maybe this is my chance to make a big difference! He thought excitedly.
Davos followed the soldiers in front behind the right flank of the troops, stepping on the harder river sand and striding forward.
The river water in the early winter was a bit biting, but the soldiers with high fighting spirit at the moment had no time to feel it. Their hearts were filled with one thought: rush to the opposite bank as fast as possible!