The Rise Of An Empire In Ancient Europe

Just as Davos had predicted, the Crotone army crossed the river here, catching the Dionysian army, which had been ambushed there, unaware of their presence. The Dionysian army, with its large number of fresh recruits, took advantage of the terrain and employed novel tactics, inflicting heavy casualties on the Crotone army, renowned for its bravery in Magna Graecia, temporarily gaining the upper hand.

During his time in Persia, Davos was renowned for his ability to defeat the enemy, employ clever tactics, and maintain minimal casualties. However, at the time, Tormides, acting as the army's messenger and responsible for coordinating the entire mercenary force, was responsible for the strictest management of Davos's camp, so he was often only able to glimpse his military prowess.

Upon arriving at Thurii, he heard of Davos's numerous victories against larger forces, and he was eager to learn more. Tormid participated in the entire military operation as a deputy herald (because he was still a freeman). He witnessed with his own eyes how Davos, against all odds, conceived a military plan he had never seen before, and how he made all departments of the alliance act according to this plan:

— having old men and women wearing armor walk around the port to confuse the enemy fleet;— meticulous arrangements during the night march allowed even inexperienced recruits and freemen to reach Castellon smoothly;— the army enforced strict discipline and tightly sealed off Castellon to prevent any news from leaking out;— sent Izam's mountain reconnaissance team across the river to scout the enemy's movements and report at any time, and at the same time sent cavalry to intercept and kill the enemy The scouts crossed the river with a thousand men, leaving the enemy completely unaware of the situation on the other side of the Trionto;— before dawn, he led his army to this place quietly and swiftly, lying in ambush, and set up bait (referring to the 4,000 soldiers) on the riverbank ahead, at the same time blocking the army's tracks;— he also deliberately deployed more than a thousand men in the Trionto and the fording section downstream, so that the Crotones would not risk heavy casualties and would choose to take the safer middle section of the river...

Throughout the military operation, Davos's strategy was fully demonstrated: deception, rapid marches, reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, ambushes, and lures... perfectly combined to ultimately successfully mobilize the enemy, achieve his goal, and open Tormid's eyes.

In this era, wars between city-states were mostly fought by gathering soldiers at a mutually agreed location, or by one side, when stronger, holding its ground until reinforcements arrived before counterattacking. Generals on both sides focused on strategic maneuvers during the battle (a specialty of the Spartans). Unlike Davos, who devised a plan based on the situation from the outset and executed a series of complex and meticulous actions based on it to achieve his objectives, he practically sculpted the bloody battle into a work of art, like an exquisite Athenian vase.

As Davos himself said, "War is a matter of life and death for a city-state; it requires the utmost caution and reflection before action is taken."

Perhaps this was why Davos became the archon of a powerful alliance, while Timaeon died in battle in a small city! Tormids's thoughts ran wild.

"Thormid, hurry east and inform Xantiparis, Epithenes, Tsipit, and Laides that the enemy will soon cross the river. Tell them to prepare and act according to the plan," Davos ordered.

"Yes!" Tormidor jumped on his horse and galloped east. Although the tactics to the east would be even more bizarre, he already had confidence in Davos.

.........

Philadelphus was shocked when he learned from Euthydemus that Myron had led his army across the river, encountered the Dionysian army, and was in a difficult battle. The Dionysians had ambushed nearly 20,000 troops on the other side of the Trionto River upstream. He was completely surprised!

So, could there be an ambush here as well? He looked at the more than 1,000 Dionysian light infantry stationed on the opposite bank and couldn't help but think: Originally, he had hoped that Myron would cross the river and rush to help him drive back the enemy on the opposite side, thus reducing casualties. Now, he was leading his troops to help Myron. The situation was critical and he had no time to think.

The fording section of the river here could not accommodate more than 6,000 soldiers crossing the river at the same time. He quickly divided the troops into three parts: front, middle and rear.

At the forefront were more than 3,000 heavy infantry. With their strong protection, they were able to reduce casualties under the enemy's arrows and javelins, successfully reach the other side and disperse the enemy.

Following closely behind were 500 cavalrymen who could pursue the enemy's light infantry and defeat them. Finally, there were nearly 3,000 lightly armored soldiers.

After enduring the long-range attack of Dionysia and suffering some casualties, the Crotone heavy infantry landed on the river bank. There was no need for them to chase them. The Dionysia light infantry had already fled far away, and Philadelphus led his troops to cross the river smoothly.

"General, do you want to pursue them?" asked the cavalry captain Arsossis.

Philadephos shook his head and said cautiously, "We must rush to Myron's aid immediately. Your cavalry will guard the outer perimeter of the column. Do not attack rashly."

Philadephos had just turned westward when a resounding bugle call rang out from the north.

Philadephos's heart sank: An ambush indeed!

Just then, Arsosses quickly arrived, his expression slightly puzzled as he announced, "General, we've spotted an enemy force from the north, advancing towards us. They number approximately six to seven thousand, consisting entirely of archers, slingers, and peltasts, along with several hundred cavalry."

Philadephos was stunned. "No heavy infantry?"

"No!" Arsosses nodded confidently.

Though somewhat puzzled, Philadephos was visibly relieved. He decisively gave the order, "All troops, march north!" Since the attacking Dionysian army lacked heavy infantry and the ability to engage in a frontal assault, Philadephos wouldn't mind defeating them before advancing to minimize harassment.

"Arsosis, how many enemy cavalry are there?"

"Over four hundred."

"That's not bad. We have twice as many cavalry as they do," Philadephos said, looking even more relieved. "Arsosis, your cavalry is particularly important in a battle with light infantry. I need you to lead your cavalry to defeat the enemy cavalry. Try not to pursue them, but instead attack their center and flanks. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Arsosis turned his horse and rode away.

The Dionysian army was advancing rapidly. Soon, their figures came into Philadephos's sight. Once he had a clear view of the enemy, he was stunned. The enemy's light infantry was incredibly light. Whether archers or javelin throwers, they all wore thin linen clothing. Even the cavalry were some armored, some unadorned—extremely shabby.

Could these be freemen, improvised conscripts from the port of Thurii? Philadephos couldn't help but smile. Myron's suspicions were indeed correct. Dionysia had few citizens, and the manpower was scarce. He could even sweep them with just light armor and cavalry!

The Dionysian troops halted over 500 meters away and began to regroup.

"I think the Crotonites will be very surprised to see us. They must think we're merely harassing them, never realizing we allowed them to cross the river with the intention of annihilating them here," Tolmides lamented.

"This battle will prove to the Greeks that light infantry is just as important as heavy infantry. With the right strategy, light infantry can easily defeat heavy infantry!" Epithenes said confidently.

"The key lies in whether Ledes and Xantiparis can first annihilate the enemy cavalry." Tolmides remained somewhat concerned.

"Don't worry, that was the carefully designed plan of our Lord Davos, the one favored by Hades! He is the one favored by Hades!" Tspit said with admiration: "Neither you nor I thought of it, let alone the enemy, they will definitely be fooled!"

Even as he spoke, Epithenes had jumped off his horse and walked into the team, ordering the soldiers to increase the distance between them and make the formation more loose to facilitate throwing and running.

Tspit rushed to the right wing and issued the same order. On the left, Ledes' cavalry formation was similarly loose. Thus, the entire Dionysian formation, left, center, and right, like a loaf of leavened bread, had nearly doubled in both horizontal and vertical dimensions.

This was a new situation for Philadephos, who hesitated for a moment before deciding to thin out his formation, but he maintained his usual dense formation. He reasoned that while both heavy infantry and light armor lacked projectile power, their powerful melee combat capabilities necessitated a dense formation, a crucial weapon for defeating the enemy.

At this moment, conventional thinking took over Philadephos's mind, resulting in the Crotone formation being only as long as the Dionysian center, creating a subtle semi-arc that enveloped the Crotone army.

But Philadephos was unfazed. He knew the numbers on both sides were actually quite even. As long as the Crotone soldiers engaged the enemy, victory would be assured. His greatest confidence came from having twice as many cavalry as the enemy. Because the enemy's formation was too long, to facilitate the battle, he ordered Arsoses' cavalry to detach from the center and face the enemy cavalry directly.

Crotone's center consisted of 3,000 light armored troops, who were faster than the heavy infantry. Once the cavalry defeated the enemy and flanked the center, the light armored troops' speed could match theirs and together they would crush the enemy's center.

As for the 3,000 heavy infantry on the left wing, Philadephos knew that the heavy infantry's clumsy pace would make it impossible to catch up with the light infantry. He simply needed to advance slowly, protect himself, and pin down the enemy's right flank to prevent them from reinforcing the center.