NOVEL WEB Chapter 214 Myron's Counterattack
Martonius cursed the cowardly Crotones and reluctantly asked some of his soldiers to participate in the bridge construction.
The Umbria River was not too wide or too deep, and there was plenty of labor. Seeing that the soldiers on both sides of the river were about to complete the construction of a wooden bridge under the command of the engineers according to the steps of bridge construction in the "Military Law", Martonius received a report from the scouts: about 8,000 Crotone light infantry were attacking him!
His listless face suddenly became energetic: "Brothers, get up, there is a battle to fight!"
Like people lead like soldiers. The soldiers who were originally lying in a mess to rest immediately stood up, put on their equipment, and quickly approached the earthen rampart, looking out with excitement. The soldiers who were building the bridge also hurried back after hearing the news.
Soon, they saw the figures of the Crotone people. After fleeing back to Crimea,
Myron
specifically questioned the few surviving soldiers of Philadephos and came to a startling conclusion: Philadephos's army had been defeated by the Dionysian light infantry! With fewer heavy infantry and more light infantry, he decided to learn their tactics. He even had sailors from the fleet docked at Crimea's harbor join the expedition.
8,000 men disembarked from the southern bank of the Umbria River estuary. Under his command, they marched down the Umbria River in a mighty force, attacking the Dionysian garrison on its southern shore.
Seeing the Dionysian trenches and earthen walls, Myron smiled: The Dionysians had tied themselves up, making the light infantry's attack even more advantageous.
Two hundred meters from the Dionysian camp, he deployed his troops loosely, surrounding the Dionysian makeshift defensive camp, which formed a semi-arc with its back to the Umbria River.
At the command, the archers advanced within a hundred meters and began hurling arrows.
For the Dionysian heavy infantry, protected by the earthen wall, the hail of arrows seemed intimidating, but it posed little threat. They simply rested their round shields against the wall to shield their heads. The Dionysian soldiers even joked, "The Crotones must have known our arrows were nearly exhausted from the last battle, so they're kindly sending us arrows." But the Dionysian heavy infantry's relaxed mood quickly vanished. The
Crotone light infantry continued their advance, and at a distance of around fifty meters, their bows' accuracy increased significantly.
Of course, they still inflicted little damage on the Orian heavy infantry, protected by their round shields and earthen wall.
However, as the Crotone javelin throwers advanced another twenty or thirty meters, the Dionysian heavy infantry began to feel the pressure. Of course, hiding behind the earthen wall wouldn't hurt them at all. After all, the enemy were light infantry, unwilling to engage them head-on. But cowardice wasn't Martonius' style. Furthermore, once he retreated behind the earthen wall, he'd be completely oblivious to the enemy's movements. What if they bypassed his defenses and descended to the river to burn the wooden bridge under construction?
Martonius, now commander of the troops on the south bank, was fully aware of his responsibilities.
"Javelin!" he roared, abruptly rising from behind the earthen wall. Quickly dropping his round shield, he leaned back. Without a running start, relying solely on the strength of his waist and hand, he hurled his javelin over 20 meters, piercing a Crotonian javelin thrower's chest. He then immediately crouched down.
The Dionysian soldiers, frustrated by the constant barrage of arrows, immediately launched a counterattack upon Martonius's command. Countless javelins flew over the earthen walls and trenches, piercing the Crotonian formations, splashing blood everywhere. Crotonian arrows and javelins rained down upon the Dionysian heavy infantry, and casualties on both sides began to mount.
Myron, watching the battle unfold before the archers, began to appreciate the benefits of deploying large numbers of light infantry against a single heavy infantry force. Unfortunately, the Dionysian heavy infantry were not traditional Greek heavy infantry, and their javelins inflicted significant damage on Crotone's less-protected javelin throwers, resulting in a significant disparity in casualties between the two sides.
However, Myron believed that trading a few light infantry for one heavy infantryman was a worthwhile trade. Crotone had no shortage of freedmen sailors, but rather citizens to serve as heavy infantry.
...…
"Captain Epithenes, the enemy attack on the south bank is fierce! Captain Martonius would appreciate your reinforcements!" a messenger brought Martonius' message.
"I understand!" Epithenes frowned and responded. He thought for a moment and said, "Ampiolecus!"
"I'm here!"
"I want you to lead the slingers and cross the river immediately to support Martonius!" Epithenes looked at his slinger captain and instructed, "Remember! Do not enter Martonius's camp. Otherwise, the small camp will make it impossible for you to avoid the attack of Crotone's large number of light infantry! You must go around the enemy's perimeter and use the slingers' long-range attack to attack the enemy!"
"I understand, captain!" Ampiolecus hurriedly gathered his soldiers.
The organization of the light infantry battalion (the 7th battalion) in the Dionysian Legion was somewhat different from that of the heavy infantry. According to military regulations, a heavy infantry cohort consisted of five companies, each consisting of 200 men, for a total of 1,000 men. A light infantry cohort, while also consisting of 1,000 men, consisted of only three companies: slingers, archers, and javelinmen. The number of men in each company varied.
This was because light infantry required more technical skills than heavy infantry, though javelinmen were more competent. Without extensive training, archers and slingers could hardly become qualified light infantry. Therefore, the composition of a Dionysian cohort often depended on the specific conditions of the region in which it was located. For example, the first legionary cohort consisted of roughly equal numbers of the three types of troops, but its javelinmen were actually Thracian peltasts. The second legionary cohort was primarily composed of reserve citizens of Thurii, mostly freemen and sailors, so it had a higher concentration of archers, as well as some peltasts. The third legionary cohort was primarily composed of Lukarians, so it had a higher concentration of javelinmen. Because the light infantry's formations were loose and flexible, and they rarely came into direct contact with the enemy, the number of different light infantry units didn't significantly impact their command and combat effectiveness.
"Captain, Ampiolecus has taken the slingers. Will the Crotonite warships anchored in the river, seeing our numbers are reduced, seize the opportunity to sail upstream and destroy our newly built wooden bridge..." Light Shield Captain Zeniaris worriedly said.
"I truly hope they come! Even with our small numbers, I'm confident we can destroy them! We're not stuck like we are now, unable to attack or retreat, held back by these stranded ships, unable to reinforce our comrades on the other side!" Epithenes said angrily.
"Since they won't come, why don't we just attack them?" a handsome young man, one of Epithenes's personal guards, interjected.
Epithenis slapped him lightly on the back of the head and scolded him with a smile, "Fool! The riverbank where the enemy warships are anchored is low. If we go there to attack those warships, it would be like attacking the enemy on the city wall. Our losses will be greater, and the enemy will suffer less. What would I, Epithenis, do in such a battle when I know I will suffer a loss?!"
"We are now on the high ground of the riverbank, and there are barricades on the river. The enemy knows that if they row here, they will be attacked passively. Will they do such a stupid thing?!" the handsome guard asked back.
Epithenis was speechless for a moment, then he gave him a light push and scolded him with a smile, "Not bad, you are making great progress now!" Then he sighed helplessly, "It seems that we are fighting with the enemy warships. The commander asked us to protect the wooden bridge. I thought it was a simple task, but now it seems that it is really a troublesome thing!"
During the battle between Myron and Martonius, Davos had already received the news. Although Davos was surprised that Myron dared to attack with only light infantry, he was not worried at all: "Inform Ledes that his cavalry will be temporarily under the command of the First Legion. I believe Capps will soon be able to drive back the enemy!" With
Davos' authorization, Capps, commander of the First Legion, immediately mobilized three heavy infantry battalions and cavalry, waded across the river at a rapid pace, and tried to get behind the Crotonians and cut off their retreat.
However, Myron learned that reinforcements from Dionysia were approaching, and despite having the upper hand, he simply ordered a retreat.
The battle ended abruptly. Of the 2,000 heavy infantry led by Martonius, 500 were killed or wounded, most of them wounded. Of Myron's 8,000 men, over 700 were killed or wounded, most of them dead. But Martonius believed he had suffered a loss, while Myron believed Crotone's minor victory, because it had dampened the Dionian's arrogance and would surely slow their progress in building their camp and besieging Crimisa.
However, upon returning to the city, Myron received bad news: a large force was approaching the Dionian camp from the north.
It must be reinforcements from Nieutum! Myron suddenly became nervous.
In
fact, the Dionian camp contained not only 5,000 soldiers from Nieutum but also 3,000 allied troops from Laos, bringing the Dionian frontline strength to 22,000.
The Dionian camp, already high morale, was now filled with cheers.
Davos emerged to greet the arrival of Avinogenis, the Laotian Archon, along with several senior officers, including Bagules, the First Captain of the Third Legion, his lieutenant Asistes, and Lizalu, the Second Captain.
"Commander, we're late!" Asistes saluted respectfully, then apologized.
"It took just over three days to get from Niutum to Crimesa. Is that considered slow?!" Davos returned the salute earnestly, then praised with a smile, "You've arrived just in time. The battle ahead depends on you!"