Despite Leotychides' aversion to Agesilaus, it did not prevent him from tending to agree with the old general's advice, who had campaigned in Asia Minor for many years, and using it to formulate a new battle plan.
In the following days, the proactive approach of the Persian army in Asia Minor also confirmed Agesilaus's judgment.
Leotychides did not rush to meet the enemy and engage in a decisive battle with the Persian army. Instead, he led his troops to retreat actively, but the direction of the retreat was not towards Ilion in the west, but towards Chios in the southwest.
The Persian army pursued closely, especially the cavalry as the vanguard, engaging in battles with the rearguard cavalry units left behind by the Greek allied forces on multiple occasions. The Persians, with their superior numbers of cavalry, naturally had the upper hand in the battles, and their repeated victories also boosted the morale of the Persians, making them even more eager to fight the Greek allied forces.
The Greek allied forces withdrew from the plain of Arisbe relatively smoothly, but the closer they got to the coast, the more undulating the terrain became, and the slower the marching speed naturally became. Finally, on the afternoon of the 12th day, the Persian army in Asia Minor was only six or seven li away from the Greek allied forces.
This time, Leotychides ordered the army to stop advancing early and set up camp to rest on the spot.
Half an hour later, the Persian cavalry arrived and were driven back by the archers who had already been deployed by the Greek allied forces, but they did not go far away, but hovered in the distance.
Leotychides also did not send out cavalry to drive them away, but stood on a high place with the other allied generals, looking towards the direction from which the Persian cavalry came.
As dusk approached, a huge cloud of dust slowly moved in from the north, stopping three li away, but the noise could be clearly heard by the generals.
"It seems that the Persians think we can't escape anymore and are preparing to set up camp and rest over there, and then come and fight us tomorrow." Ippamilondas pointed to the dust cloud in front and earnestly suggested: "General Prossous, you see that the dust cloud is still churning and not dissipating, which shows that the Persian army is a bit chaotic after stopping to rest. Their soldiers must be very tired from the long pursuit. Do we need to take this opportunity to lead our troops in a surprise attack?"
Leotychides pondered for a moment and shook his head, saying: "Our soldiers are also tired. Let them have a good rest for the night, replenish their energy, and fight the Persians decisively tomorrow. Besides, if we go to attack at this time, we might scare away the enemies who we finally managed to lure over."
Hearing this, the generals smiled knowingly.
"Gentlemen, follow me to the military tent for another military conference to re-discuss and clarify tomorrow's battle plan."
After Leotychides finished speaking, everyone agreed readily.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The meeting ended.
The allied generals bid farewell and left one after another. Only Leotychides and the four Daonian legion commanders remained in the tent, as well as a special figure, Agesilaus.
Leotychides was slightly surprised to see that Agesilaus was still in the tent and had not moved, and was about to ask.
The former Spartan king spoke first: "Generals, I would like to have a private chat with Commander Leotychides."
The four legion commanders looked at each other, and seeing that Leotychides had not spoken, but had not refused, they tactfully prepared to leave.
Leotychides said: "Wait outside the tent for a while, it won't take long."
After the four men left the tent, Agesilaus came to Leotychides and smiled on his wrinkled face: "When I led the Spartan army to campaign in Asia Minor, although I won some victories, I didn't achieve much success after spending so much time. On the contrary, after I led the army back to Greece, those places that I had conquered quickly became Persian territories again. This is my regret, and it is also the regret of the Spartans!
But this time, the war against Persia launched by Daonia is obviously different from the previous Greek wars against Persia. The slogan 'Revenge on Persia' that we have been shouting for decades may really be realized! Not only do I think so, but Ippamilondas, Iphicrates, and the others also think so, so they were just now scrambling to have their city-state's troops take on the most important offensive task.
Leotychides, you can serve as the commander of the Greek allied forces to defeat the Persian army. This will be ours Spartans'--"
Leotychides frowned and impatiently interrupted him: "I have told you many times that my name is Prossous. If you shout the wrong name again in the future, don't come into my tent again! If you have anything to say, say it quickly. I'm very busy, don't talk so much nonsense!"
A look of dismay flashed across Agesilaus's face. He took a light breath, made up his mind, threw the crutch in his hand aside, then squatted down tremblingly, supported the ground with both hands, slowly knelt down on both knees, bent his waist, "Bang!" His forehead touched the ground, once, twice, three times...
Leotychides was stunned for a moment, before lowering his face and whispering: "Agesilaus, what do you mean by this?"
Agesilaus straightened up, his forehead was black. The continuous kowtowing movements just now were a bit fast, making his breathing rapid. He coughed for a while, then said weakly: "...I'm sorry for your mother and you back then! ...I don't yearn to be forgiven by you! ...But I hope you can agree to one thing for the sake of you once being a Spartan..."
Leotychides looked down at him with a cold expression: "Tell me about it."
Agesilaus sighed: "Sparta was conquered by Daonia, and I have no complaints, because Daonia's strength is indeed far superior to Sparta, and they defeated us fairly. We have fallen to this point today, perhaps this is Zeus's punishment for our arrogance in Greece for decades!
But... even if the noble descendants of Heracles are down on their luck, it's not up to those lowly perioeci and helots to humiliate us! But they are not only humiliating us, but also want to gradually make us Spartans disappear! No, this is absolutely not allowed!"
Agesilaus clenched his fists, his thin body trembling with anger: "So this time I strongly requested King Davos that the Spartan warriors form a separate team to participate in the war, just to find a way out for us Spartans, to leave Lagonia, which has raised us Spartans for hundreds of years, and move to a new place. We are also forced to do so!
So I hope... I hope that when this war is won, can you please ask King Davos for us Spartans to allocate a small piece of land near the Hellespont in this plain of Arisbe, so that we Spartans can continue to survive and thrive..."
Faced with Agesilaus's expectant eyes, Leotychides frowned slightly: He had been in Daonia for so many years, and although he was highly valued by King Davos, he had never asked that supreme being for anything, because he was proud and found it difficult to open his mouth. What's more, since landing in Asia Minor, he has been in this land for several months, and he knows the fertility of the plain of Arisbe and the importance and prosperity of the Hellespont. Not only are the allied states coveting it, but it will definitely be a key area for the kingdom to control, and it may not be easy for Sparta to cut off a small piece of meat from the kingdom's hands.
He hesitated for a moment and still said coldly: "Why don't you ask His Majesty?"
Agesilaus slowly stood up. His numb legs almost made him fall. He hurriedly grabbed the wooden chair next to him and said, panting: "Of course I will ask King Davos... If he agrees, I will even kneel down and kowtow, but I'm just afraid that I don't have enough weight... It's not that I'm greedy, but if the new colony is not fertile enough, how can the people be willing to leave Lagonia... Moreover, when Daonia defeats Persia, the Hellespont and the plain of Arisbe will inevitably be under the control of the Daonian kingdom. Sparta is now small and weak, and living beside the powerful Daonians will be safer..."
This old guy is really... for the survival of Sparta... Leotychides looked at the old man in front of him who even had difficulty standing, and remained silent for a moment, hooked the crutch on the ground with his foot, and then handed it to him, rebuking in a stiff tone: "As a general, you should be very clear about how important the upcoming battle is to us. I must concentrate on fighting this battle well. Where do I have the mood to think about other things!"
Agesilaus took the crutch, but smiled: "I understand... I understand... Don't worry! In tomorrow's battle, the warriors under my command will never disgrace Sparta!"
After saying that, he leaned on his crutch and slowly walked towards the outside of the tent. When he was about to walk out of the military tent, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and said with an extremely solemn expression: "To tell you the truth, I am indeed deeply guilty about your mother's death!... But as for forcing you to leave Sparta, I now think it was a good thing! Leotychides, from now on, the old and young of Sparta will be entrusted to you!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Early the next morning, when Pharnabazus led the Persian satraps to the vicinity of the Greek allied camp to investigate, he hesitated about whether to engage in a battle here.
Because the two armies were located in a hilly area, the Greek allied camp was located at a high point, although the slope was gentle, it was not very favorable for the attacking Persian side. Moreover, the location of the camp was actually quite flat, but on both sides of it were continuous hills with higher terrain. Although the distance between the hills on both sides was nearly 10 li, which was not a narrow, defense-friendly terrain, according to previous reconnaissance, the number of Greek allied forces obviously exceeded 50,000. Once the battle formation was deployed, the flanks would not be far from the hills on the sides, and the cavalry would not have enough room to maneuver. From the current situation, the most advantageous force in the Persian army was the cavalry.
Pharnabazus voiced his concerns, but most of the governors still insisted on engaging the Greek allied forces in a decisive battle here. Besides the Persian nobles' arrogance in despising the Greeks, there was another important reason: the current position of the two armies was on the southwestern edge of the Mysia region, not far from the coast. The Persian army was vast, consuming huge amounts of military provisions. Coupled with more than ten days of continuous pursuit, the logistics transport line had been drastically stretched, making supply difficult. Moreover, most of the towns in this vicinity had submitted to the Greek allied forces, and the Greek allied fleet controlled the nearby sea, giving them an advantage in logistics supply. If the two sides continued to confront each other for another day or two, the Persian army would have to retreat due to lack of food, not only wasting previous efforts but also causing Persia to lose its prestige in this region.
Under their insistence, Pharnabazus finally solidified his resolve to fight a decisive battle against the Greek allied forces here.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Upon receiving the news that "the Persian army is marching towards the camp," Leotychides, who was already prepared, immediately sent messengers to notify the allied generals to gather their respective troops and prepare to leave the camp to meet the enemy.
At a distance of about one mile, the two armies began to form their battle lines.
The Persian Asia Minor Allied Army consisted of troops from various regions of western Asia Minor, Greek mercenaries, reinforcements from the Euchaean Sea city-states, and reinforcements from eastern Asia Minor, totaling nearly 80,000 soldiers. Because there were many Greek city-states in western Asia Minor and the Euchaean Sea, this Persian army differed somewhat from traditional Persian armies. Moreover, Pharnabazus had learned from previous encounters with the Greeks and specifically emphasized during military mobilization that each region should recruit as many Greek city-state infantry as possible. Therefore, in addition to the 15,000 Greek mercenaries led by Iason, the entire army also included more than 6,000 Greek heavy infantry with considerable combat strength, as well as Persian cavalry and Mesopotamian cavalry from eastern Asia Minor, plus cavalry from other regions, bringing the total number of cavalry to over 8,000. In addition, there were more than 40,000 traditional Persian infantry and archers, with a ratio of about 1:2.
Archers and cavalry were originally Persia's strengths, and now their original weakness—infantry—had also been enhanced. Coupled with the fact that the army's numbers were greater than the opponent's, although they did not have an advantage in terrain, Pharnabazus had great confidence in this battle. Therefore, he adopted a relatively balanced formation: Greek heavy infantry were at the forefront of the left, center, and right wing infantry formations, Iason's mercenaries were mainly in the center, with four thousand cavalry on each of the left and right flanks, and the archers were positioned behind the infantry formations…
Leotychides and the allied generals were not in a hurry to form their battle lines. Instead, they stood on high ground and observed the Persian formation for a good while, feeling that it did not exceed their expectations, before confidently beginning to arrange their formation according to the plan they had devised the night before.
The Greek allied forces consisted of nearly 30,000 men from the three Daonian legions and cavalry corps, about 27,000 men from Greece and the Ionian Islands, and 7,000 men from the allied Italic city-states, totaling about 65,000 men. Among them, there were more than 35,000 heavy infantry. In addition, the Italic allied forces also had more than 2,000 medium infantry, clearly giving them the upper hand in terms of medium and heavy infantry.
However, they had only the Daonian Thessalian cavalry corps, Macedonian cavalry, and cavalry from other Greek city-states, totaling just over 3,000 cavalry, less than half the number of Persian cavalry.
In terms of light infantry, there were three light infantry battalions from the Daonian legions, more than 1,000 Epirus peltasts recruited by Leotychides in the mountains around Thessaly, 2,000 light infantry from the Italic allied forces, and nearly 3,000 light infantry provided by various Greek city-states. The total number of light infantry was close to 10,000, but still far less than the number of Persian archers. Moreover, javelin throwers accounted for the majority, and their range was clearly inferior to that of the Persian army.
Based on the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy and our own troop types and the numerical disparity, the formation that Leotychides laid out was as follows: the Daonians were mainly stationed in the center, along with a small number of Greek soldiers; the Greek city-state troops were on the right wing; the front row of the left wing's formation consisted of Daonian soldiers, with Italic allied soldiers in the rear; and the cavalry was not placed on either end of the battle line, but remained behind the center.
The entire formation of the Daonian army was not completely parallel to the Persian army. Its right wing was slightly forward and its left wing slightly behind, actually forming an oblique formation, but unlike the formation of the Theban army at the Battle of Leuctra, Leotychides did not thicken his right wing. However, he placed the strongest troops from the three Greek allied states—the Spartan warriors led by Agesilaus, the Theban Sacred Band led by Epaminondas, and the Athenian elite heavy infantry led by Iphicrates—at the far right of the right wing. From afar, the entire right wing of the Greek allied forces was a uniform line of Greek heavy infantry (Leotychides even strictly forbade the Spartan warriors from wearing red cloaks), and even the thickness of the formation was consistent, making it impossible for the Persians to accurately judge whether the focus of the Greek allied forces' attack was on the right wing.
In fact, Leotychides's careful arrangement did work. It took the two armies more than an hour to form their battle lines, and neither side immediately launched an attack. During this standoff, the Persian military commander Pharnabazus had roughly understood the Greek allied forces' formation, but did not make any adjustments to his own formation, apparently believing that the opponent's formation was nothing special and that the Persian army could completely handle it.
However, the reason why he had been hesitant to give the order to attack was that he was considering that the Greek allied forces were on high ground, and it would be more disadvantageous for the Persian army to attack uphill. Therefore, he had been reluctant to order the entire army to advance, wanting to see if the opponent would attack first, so that the Greek allied forces would have to descend the slope and fight them on the plain. But it was clear that the commander of the Greek allied forces was very cautious and had better control over the entire force.
From afar, the Greek allied soldiers looked like small trees standing still, neatly planted on the hillside… This made Pharnabazus even more cautious.
But after a standoff of half an hour between the two sides, the Persian generals could no longer bear it and went to question Pharnabazus, because it was already noon and the weather was relatively hot, and standing for a long time would consume a lot of the soldiers' physical strength. If this continued, they would probably be unable to fight and would have to retreat.
Even the Mysian governor Theopompus threatened that if Pharnabazus still did not give the order to attack, he would lead the Mysian army alone to launch an attack against the Greeks.
Pharnabazus could not resist everyone's insistence, but he did not immediately give the order for the entire army to attack. Instead, he first notified the archers to move to the front of the formation.
After completing this formation change, he ordered again: the main force remains stationary, the archers advance first, and launch a ranged attack on the Greek allied forces.
More than 20,000 Persian archers, in a loose formation six or seven miles long, approached the Greek allied forces…
Upon learning of this situation, Leotychides immediately ordered: all allied light infantry move forward to the front of the formation, and prepare to shoot.
The two armies were no more than 500 meters apart, and the Persian archers were moving quickly. In a moment, they approached within a hundred meters, with the enemy still out of their range. But for the archers among the Greek allied light infantry, who were standing on higher ground, this was just barely within their range.
The officers of the Daonian light infantry battalions successively shouted: "Archers, prepare!"
The archers drew their bows and nocked their arrows, and thousands of arrows were launched into the air, then rained down on the Persian archers' formation, and screams rang out one after another.
Led by the Daonian light infantry, the other allied archers also began to shoot one after another.
Although Persian archers were constantly falling, for their vast numbers, this was just a small splash. Moreover, in order to counter the Persian archers, the Greek allied light infantry also stretched their formation to several kilometers, but their total number was less than the opponent's, and there were even fewer archers among them. Therefore, the ranged attack power spread to each section was naturally weakened a lot, not enough to cause a devastating blow to the Persian archers in that section. So the Persian archers firmly withstood the rain of arrows and advanced even faster.
When the distance was shortened to sixty or seventy meters, the javelin throwers in the Daonian light infantry battalions roared, and heavy javelins were thrown at the Persians like lightning, while the archers also changed from parabolic shooting to direct shooting. More Persian archers fell, but at the same time their counterattack also began.
Within a distance of tens of meters, arrows and javelins flew back and forth, and because neither side had much protection, the sky-covering arrows and javelins caused the casualties on both sides to increase sharply.
The Persian archers gradually stabilized their output from the initial hasty shooting and gradually turned the situation around, and gradually began to gain the upper hand. They were indeed one of the most powerful weapons for Persia to dominate the Middle East and Asia Minor. Except for the well-trained Daonian light infantry who could fight against them, the allied light infantry began to be a little overwhelmed. The Epirus peltasts even used leather shields to protect their heads and rushed over to engage the Persian archers in close combat.
The Persian archers were fearless and drew their specially equipped short blades to meet the enemy. Although the peltasts were better equipped, the Persian archers, with their superior numbers, actually gained a slight advantage.
The entire battle situation began to be a little unfavorable to the Greek allied forces, but Leotychides, who had been paying attention to the battle situation from above, did not appear anxious. He simply ordered: move the entire cavalry force to the far right of the entire battle line.
Then he calmly ignored the allied light infantry's hard struggle and took no further action. Because in his opinion, although the allied light infantry were at a disadvantage, they could use the advantage of the high ground to hold out against the Persian archers, who far outnumbered them, for a long time. Even if they were all killed, the Persian archers' arrows would have been almost exhausted by then, posing no great threat to the allied infantry. Therefore, he would rather continue the standoff than give up the advantage of terrain that he had so painstakingly gained and give the order for the entire army to attack. Moreover, he firmly believed that the Persians probably did not have as much patience as he did.
In reality, the plight of the light infantry at the front also had a certain impact on the Greek allied soldiers in the rear. However, generals with great abilities such as Agesilaus, Epaminondas, and Iphicrates had similar ideas to Leotychides, and therefore firmly controlled their respective armies, remaining motionless in place.
Although there was some minor commotion among the Italian allied troops, they had been attached to the Kingdom of Daonia for more than 10 years. Long-term close interactions and military cooperation had made them accustomed to obeying the orders of the Daonian commander. Without an order to attack, they would never easily strike.
On the other hand, some Greek city-state troops, both generals and soldiers, became restless and uneasy as they watched the light infantry at the front constantly fall. Fortunately, Leotychides dispatched more than a dozen messengers to ride across the rear of the entire right wing, shouting his orders and forbidding them from attacking, which barely managed to control the entire army.
Conversely, upon learning that enemy cavalry had suddenly appeared on its right flank, Pharnabazus, worried that the Greek allied forces would use a cavalry raid to exploit the overextended Persian archers and reverse the current disadvantage, quickly issued the order for "the entire army to advance," wanting to shorten the excessive distance between the main force and the archers, and provide support and protection for the archers.
Pharnabazus's idea was good, but when an army formation stretching seven or eight miles and numbering up to 80,000 men began to move forward, the entire situation was no longer under his control.
Some Persian generals in charge of leading the cavalry had long been impatient with the prolonged confrontation. Ignoring Pharnabazus's order to merely advance, they directly ordered their cavalry to launch an attack on the enemy opposite them.
Their unauthorized actions naturally spurred on the other Persian cavalry, and soon the cavalry on both ends of the Persian army formation increased their speed and charged towards the flanks of the Greek allied army.
Even if Pharnabazus was furious upon receiving the news, he had no choice but to order the buglers to sound the attack.
Leotychides, standing on horseback at a high point, saw the rapidly approaching Persian army and immediately had the buglers sound the call to arms.
The two similar sounds, with different rhythms, echoed across the entire battlefield one after another, easily confusing untrained soldiers. But for the Daonian light infantry battalion, this was not a problem at all. Under the reminders of their officers, the soldiers supported their wounded comrades and quickly retreated, passing through the gaps in the checkerboard formation and withdrawing to the rear of the entire army. The other allied light infantry had been repeatedly instructed by their generals before the battle began to "closely follow the pace of the Daonian light infantry battalion," so they followed suit.
The retreat of the entire Greek allied light infantry undoubtedly provided the Persian archers with a good opportunity to attack, but the Persian archers did not take the opportunity to advance. On the contrary, they retreated even earlier than the enemy's light infantry, because the Persian infantry formation was relatively dense. If they waited until the Persian infantry had moved behind them before the Persian archers retreated, it would inevitably lead to some disorder in the formation.
And if, at this moment, the Greek allied forces, already very close, suddenly launched an attack, then the entire Persian army would encounter big trouble.
The archers, who had finally retreated to the rear of the Persian army, closely followed the advancing infantry formation. The Daonian light infantry battalion, after retreating to the rear of the formation, quickly rushed towards the left wing of the entire formation. At this time, there was no cavalry at the left end of the Greek allied left wing, but there were three Daonian light armored infantry battalions arranged in a relatively loose formation, perpendicular to the left wing of the army, to guard the flank.
The Epirus light shield infantry, whose numbers were already less than a thousand, did not follow the light infantry battalion to the left wing. Instead, led by Daonian officers, they went to support the cavalry on the right wing.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
On the main battlefield, facing the increasingly close Persian infantry formation, the Greek allied formation remained standing still, but the allied cavalry on the left wing moved.
The Persian infantry was still halfway there, but the Persian cavalry had already rushed down the hillside. At this time, the Greek allied cavalry on the right end of the right wing was arranged in a square formation. The Thessalian cavalry legion commander in the front row immediately issued an attack order, waving the legion flag embroidered with Pegasus, and finally pointing forward with force.
The cavalrymen tightened their horses' bellies, shook their reins vigorously, and the warhorses spread their hooves and began to run…
From top to bottom, the speed increased very quickly. First the Thessalian cavalry, followed by the Macedonian cavalry, and finally the cavalry from various Greek city-states, gathered into a powerful force, like a torrent rushing down a mountain, making a deafening roar, and roaring towards the Persian cavalry at the foot of the mountain.
Most of the Persian cavalry were light cavalry. Some were equipped with javelins, some with bows and arrows. Close combat was not their forte.
Although the Thessalian and Macedonian regions were relatively flat, the edges were mostly hills, and their main opponents were the natives in the surrounding mountainous areas. Warhorses galloped on the hills, and riders could not maintain a stable posture to throw javelins or shoot arrows. On the contrary, they were more easily caught up by the natives, thus forcing the cavalry to improve their close combat capabilities. Therefore, most of the Thessalian and Macedonian cavalry were melee cavalry.
In fact, not only them, but also the Gallic cavalry and Lusitanian cavalry in the western Mediterranean were like this. Only the Numidians had developed the ability to ride horses, shoot arrows, and throw javelins in the flat and vast African interior.
After Daonia incorporated the Thessalian cavalry into the legion, it equipped them with a full set of leather armor, 3-meter-long spears and sabers specially made for cavalry, which enhanced their close combat capabilities without weakening the cavalry's balance and flexibility on horseback.
The Persian cavalry originally wanted to inflict casualties on the Greek allied cavalry and infantry with javelins and bows and arrows after approaching the flanks of the Greek allied forces, thereby disrupting the enemy's formation. Their formation was loose and their speed was very fast, but the speed naturally slowed down when going uphill.
And at this moment, the Greek allied cavalry, which had been still, suddenly rushed down on them, as fast as lightning, and rushed to the front in an instant. The Persian cavalry could not make a timely dodge, and relying on their numerical superiority, they braced themselves and went up to meet them.
If the entire Greek allied cavalry was a sharp knife thrust out quickly at this time, the Thessalian cavalry was the sharp blade on this knife. Although the speed of the gallop made them feel palpitations, they still stared ahead with wide eyes, hugged the horse's neck tightly with their left hand, and gripped the spear tightly with their right hand, immediately releasing their right hand the moment they pierced the enemy, to avoid being knocked off the horse by the powerful impact.
Although the Thessalian cavalry had undergone countless charge training in the past few years, many people still fell off their horses as a result. Of course, more Persian cavalry fell off their horses, and they were either dead or injured.
What was even more terrifying was that due to the powerful kinetic energy of charging straight down, the allied cavalrymen could not stop their horses. They watched helplessly as the warhorses under their crotches slammed into the Persian cavalry in front, not only knocking them away, but also causing themselves serious injuries. The subsequent allied cavalry stepped on the wounded soldiers and horses all over the ground and quickly broke through the Persian cavalry formation.
The charge of the Greek allied cavalry caused the Persian cavalry not only to stop advancing, but also to crowd together, horses neighing and people shouting, in chaos, unable to quickly restore unified command.
And those Thessalian cavalrymen who fell off their horses immediately drew their sabers from their waists after getting up from the ground, and wantonly slashed and killed the surrounding enemies and warhorses, making the scene even more chaotic.
The allied cavalry, having broken through the enemy formation, quickly circled back and launched another attack on the chaotic Persian cavalry…
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
The 4,000 cavalry on the right wing of the Persian army successfully approached the left wing of the Greek allied forces, but with the Daonian light armored infantry guarding their flanks, the arrows and javelins they fired caused some casualties to the light armored infantry, but did not achieve the purpose of disrupting the main formation.
Subsequently, the light infantry arrived one after another. Their bows and javelins had longer ranges, more stable and accurate output, posing a great threat to the Persian cavalry, forcing them to retreat to a greater distance, thereby relieving the pressure on the light armored infantry.
At the same time, the soldiers of the Persian army had gradually stepped onto the gentle slope and began to move upwards.
When the winding Persian army formation was about fifty or sixty meters away from the Greek allied main force, and the Persian archers behind them began to draw their bows and nock arrows, the Daonian soldiers in the center and left wings of the Greek allied forces suddenly took a big step forward in unison and forcefully threw the javelins in their hands.
Previously, when the light infantry was at a disadvantage in the fierce battle with the Persian archers, the legion soldiers did not step forward to help their comrades under the strict orders of their officers, waiting for this moment.
The Persian army did not know much about the Daonian legion's tactics. Although Iason had heard of it before, he had never fought a battle with the Daonian army. In addition, the silence of the Daonian legion soldiers before had made the Persian infantry and Greek mercenaries relax their vigilance. As a result, when the javelins that covered the sky and the sun struck, they hurriedly defended, but it was too late.
Because the Daonian soldiers were located at a high point, the javelins they threw were more lethal. After one round, a group of people fell, either dead or injured.
While the Persian army was still in shock, another round of javelins followed, like a gust of wind blowing through, and the front of the center and right wings of the Persian army formation instantly became fragmented.
"Woo!… Woo!…" At this moment, the Greek allied forces' attack bugle sounded.
Whether it was Daonian soldiers, Greek soldiers, or Italian allied soldiers, they all roared in unison and launched a charge one after another. The army formation, six or seven miles long, poured down like an avalanche, with amazing momentum.
The Persian archers desperately pulled their bowstrings, wanting to weaken the enemy's charge with arrows that covered the sky and the sun, but most of the arrows landed on the heavily armored heavy infantry, basically causing no damage. Therefore, when the two armies collided head-on, it almost presented a one-sided situation. The left, center, and right wings of the Persian army were all coping with the enemy's attacks in a panic. Under the tremendous pressure, the entire army formation was being forced to slowly retreat.
"Report, Commander, the Persian left-wing cavalry has been completely defeated!"
Receiving the good news from the messenger, Leotychides remained serious: "Pass down my order, the cavalry on the right wing and the Epirus light shield infantry will immediately launch an attack on the Persian flanks!"
He knew very well that according to the information he had, although the Persian left-wing cavalry had lost the initiative, they had performed bravely in their predicament. Although his own cavalry and light shield infantry had joined forces to defeat them, they had also paid a considerable price.
But now was not the time to rest, because judging from the overall situation, although the allied forces had the upper hand, they would not be able to defeat the Persians for a while. Moreover, the arrows constantly fired by the Persian archers from behind their formation were continuously consuming the energy of the soldiers in the rear of his own formation, affecting their strong support for the soldiers at the front of the line.
What was even more troublesome were the thousands of cavalry on the Persian right wing. Although the Daonian light infantry and light infantry had been mixed together, facing away from the main force of the Greek allied forces, and lined up in a relatively loose formation, they were closely watching the movements of the Persian cavalry, ready to defend against its surprise attack on the flanks and rear of the allied army.
However, the speed of the Persian cavalry was swift after all. If they really moved quickly over a large area, the light armor and light infantry could only watch them go. And if they launched a full-force surprise attack at a critical moment, it might bring big trouble to the entire battle situation, so he hoped to establish a winning opportunity as soon as possible.
While Leotychides was thinking about the overall battle situation, he was also paying attention to the situation in front. At this moment, his personal guard captain suddenly shouted: "Commander, the Persian cavalry is charging towards us!"
Leotychides hurriedly turned around and saw countless Persian cavalry, originally wandering in the distance, galloping towards him. The light infantry shot arrows and javelins at them, and Persian cavalrymen kept falling from their horses, but they did not retreat again as before. Instead, they accelerated their advance.
Leotychides' expression changed slightly: His worries had come true, but the target of the opponent's surprise attack was actually himself—the commander of the Greek allied forces.
As a former Spartan warrior, he did not lack courage, but as the commander of the allied forces, he could not afford to have any accidents at the most important moment of the battle. He could not allow the allied flag held high beside him to be taken away, as that would greatly affect the morale of the soldiers. Therefore, he did not hesitate to lead the guard to the most concentrated area of light armor and light infantry. The officers of this mixed force also felt the crisis and loudly called on the soldiers to gather.
This Persian cavalry unit, mainly composed of light cavalry, no longer chose to dodge as before when facing the enemy in front. Instead, they hugged the necks of their horses, accelerated their speed, and charged straight towards the opponent.
This fearless momentum made many Daonian soldiers feel palpitations. The officers shouted "In the name of Hades" to stabilize the morale of the army, while directing the light infantry to immediately launch long-range attacks to hinder the enemy's charge.
One warhorse after another, shot by arrows, fell to the ground with the cavalry on their backs in mournful cries,
Then they were trampled into minced meat by the Persian cavalry following closely behind…
Although the long-range attacks of the Daonian light infantry failed to repel the Persian cavalry, they slowed down their charge and gave the light armor infantry time to hastily form a formation.
Facing the Persian cavalry who were charging close with an astonishing momentum, the Daonian light armor infantry, despite their pale faces, still held up their leather shields and lined up in dense formations, blocking in front of them.
"Peng! Peng! Peng!…" Daonian soldiers were constantly knocked flying, knocking down the comrades around them, but soldiers continued to come to join the intercepting formation. In the continuous screams and exclamations, the Daonian formation, although fragmented, never collapsed, and the charge of the Persian cavalry was finally contained…
Leotychides had been paying attention to the battle situation behind him. At this time, he not only felt relieved, but also felt joy in his heart. He knew very well that once the Persian cavalry, known for their swiftness, lost their speed, they would only be destroyed if they did not retreat in time. He could finally devote all his attention to the battle ahead.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
On the right wing of the Greek allied army, two elite units—Spartan warriors and the Theban Sacred Band—were competing with each other to prove that they were stronger than the other due to their past grievances, putting great pressure on their enemies.
At this time, the allied cavalry and light shield infantry's attack from the flank became the last straw that broke the camel's back, and the Persian soldiers began to rout…
Although a small local defeat would take some time to affect the seven- or eight-mile-long army formation, perhaps other turning points might occur in the Persian army during this time.
However, Pharnabazus, who learned of this news, obviously did not hold such luck. With the left, middle, and right routes all at a disadvantage, and no reinforcements available, the defeat was obviously inevitable. He decisively issued the order to "retreat."
The Persian soldiers turned around and fled upon hearing the horn, and the allied soldiers took advantage of the situation to cover up and kill.
The entire battlefield was like a dam bursting, with river water rushing in all directions.
The tens of thousands of Greek mercenaries in the middle were not only slow to react due to the thick armor affecting their hearing, but also slow in speed, falling behind and becoming the best target for the allied soldiers to pursue.
Iason no longer cared about the mercenaries he had painstakingly cultivated for several years. He threw away his conspicuous helmet and heavy breastplate, and rode his own warhorse, fleeing the battlefield as quickly as he had fled Greece a few years ago with mixed feelings…
At dusk, the allied soldiers, who had long stopped pursuing, were cleaning up the battlefield. They stripped off the armor and weapons from the corpses, or searched the prisoners for valuable items, and could not help but laugh…
The allied generals gathered in twos and threes, happily looking at the battlefield littered with corpses, and excitedly discussing the previous battle.
Leotychides sat alone on the hillside, closing his eyes to rest. Hearing footsteps beside him, he asked directly without opening his eyes: "What are the losses?"
The Greek allied army staff officer, also Leotychides' old partner, Muckeru, said in a deep voice: "According to preliminary statistics, we have more than 6,400 casualties, including 1,300 cavalry casualties, with a mortality rate as high as 60%. There are more than 3,000 light infantry, with a mortality rate of only 30%. There are also more than 1,000 light armor infantry, with a mortality rate of only 30%… Among the remaining casualties of heavy infantry, there are mostly allied soldiers, and the largest number of casualties is—the Spartan warriors who are lined up separately."
Leotychides suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at Muckeru.
Muckeru seemed to expect him to react like this, and continued with an unchanged expression: "According to the messenger's report, the Spartan warriors did perform very bravely in this battle. They were the first to defeat the enemy in front of them, and of course they also paid the price of nearly a hundred casualties for this…"
Leotychides did not speak, but his right hand silently tore off a blade of grass beside him.
"There is one more thing… I think you should know…" Muckeru said in a hesitant voice: "Agesilaus is dead…"
Leotychides suddenly widened his eyes.
Muckeru lowered his voice even more: "I heard that after the Persians were defeated, Agesilaus, who was originally sitting behind the Spartan army to command, was so excited that he wanted to follow the soldiers to pursue, but he fell and never got up again…"
That old guy is finally dead… The burden that had been pressing on Leotychides' heart for many years suddenly disappeared, but at this moment he did not feel relaxed. Instead, he felt a little empty in his heart. He looked around the battlefield with a lost expression, and finally his gaze settled on a corner on the left side of the battlefield: There, several hundred strong men with long braids and bare upper bodies were solemnly bowing their heads and praying for something. In front of them was a row of corpses, and there must be Agesilaus's remains among them…
Leotychides thought this in his heart, but he did not go over to mourn with them. He just sat there quietly, the words Agesilaus said when he left last night echoing in his ears…
Just as he was lost in thought, Muckeru's report continued: "The Persians left nearly 6,000 corpses and wounded soldiers on the battlefield, mostly cavalry. We also captured more than 6,000 rout soldiers, most of whom were Greek mercenaries…"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Yalita Card, a well-known Tyre nobleman, had twice served as the commander of the Tyre fleet, followed the Persian army to conquer Egypt, and had also made contributions in the war to quell the rebellion in western Asia Minor, and was rewarded by the Persian King.
Therefore, after the turmoil in Egypt, the Persian King, who wanted to take the opportunity to regain Egypt, obviously did not forget him. He sent messengers to Phoenicia, requiring the Phoenician city-states to gather all warships, commanded by Yalita Card, and prepare to cooperate with the Persian army to attack Egypt.
But not long after, the Daonian Empire declared war on Persia. Immediately afterwards, Daonian troops landed in Egypt, quelled the turmoil, stayed for a long time without leaving, and even their troops were stationed in Pi-Ramesses, threatening the safety of Gaza… A series of news came one after another in more than two months, making the entire Near East tense.
During this period, Persia, which was carrying out a full-scale military mobilization, required Cyprus, Syria, Issus, and other coastal areas to concentrate the warships they owned in the military ports of Tyre and Sidon to form a unified Persian fleet, and appointed Yalita Card as the commander of the Persian fleet, requiring him to lead the fleet to protect the Near East waters and prevent the Daonian fleet from invading.
Yalita Card, who was entrusted with the sole responsibility for the first time, was naturally very diligent. He repeatedly sent envoys to urge Cyprus, Syria, and other regions to provide warships as soon as possible, while seizing the time to reorganize and train the warships under his command.
The cautious Ariarathes even refused the request of Pharnabazus, the newly appointed military commander of the western region of Asia Minor, on the grounds that he was following the Persian king's orders and guarding the Near Eastern waters. Pharnabazus hoped that the Persian fleet could assist the Asia Minor army in cutting off the sea transport lines of the Greek army landing in Asia Minor. In the end, Pharnabazus had to let the coastal city-states of western Asia Minor form a new fleet.
Ariarathes refused Pharnabazus partly out of selfishness: the Phoenicians and the Greeks of Asia Minor were in commercial competition, and historically the two races had a lot of grievances (the Persian fleet, mainly composed of Phoenicians, assisted Darius in conquering the Greek city-states of western Asia Minor), so the relationship between the two races was not good.
However, when he learned the news that "the newly formed Asia Minor fleet was ambushed by the Daonian fleet and was completely destroyed," although he was glad that he had not agreed to Pharnabazus's request, he also felt very uneasy: After the Daonian fleet controlled the waters of western Asia Minor, it was likely that its next target would be the Near Eastern waters!
Therefore, he not only stepped up patrols of the Near Eastern waters, but also increased the intensity of training for the entire Persian fleet. To this end, he severely punished several Cypriot and Syrian generals who disobeyed orders, and received the full support of the Persian king.
Before long, another important message came from the south: "The Daonian king personally led a large army to land in Egypt." Both the Jews and the Phoenicians began to panic, because they realized that the Daonian army was really going to invade Persia from Egypt!
However, more than a month passed, and the Daonian army in Egypt did not move at all. The Persian general stationed in Gaza City sent scouts several times to cross the desert and scout the Egyptian border, but all the results were fruitless.
In order to avoid losses, the Persian general repeatedly sent envoys to Cyprus, requesting that the Persian fleet send fast ships to the Egyptian coast to scout the movements of the Daonian army.
Ariarathes agreed to the request and sent fast ships to Egyptian waters many times, but most of them never returned. The crew members who managed to escape back reported to him that the Daonians had deployed many warships patrolling the Egyptian waters, with strict defenses, and it was difficult for fast ships to approach the coast.
In order to avoid losses, Ariarathes no longer sent ships south to scout Egypt, but he also strengthened his defenses in the southern waters.
During this period, the Phoenicians had been looking forward to the arrival of the Persian army, but according to news from Babylon, the Persian army had been stationed near Baghdad, not far from Babylon, and showed no intention of marching west to aid the Near East. Of course, the most popular explanation was that Persia's territory was too large, and the full military mobilization took too long. The Persian king was still waiting for the Persian elite troops, the Scythians, and the Indians with their very different tactical styles, stationed far to the east in Persepolis...
Among the many rumors, one statement caused anxiety among the Phoenicians,
"The Persian king is afraid of the power of the Daonian army, so he needs more time to gather more troops in order to confront them."
Ariarathes did not pay attention to these rumors. What he was concerned about was to do his best to ensure the safety of the Near Eastern waters before the Persian king personally led the army. Therefore, every day he would arrive early at the fleet headquarters located in the largest military port in Cyprus, carefully listen to the reports of the respective patrol teams, and understand whether there were any abnormalities in the entire Near Eastern waters.
On the last day of March, Ariarathes came to the fleet headquarters as usual. Everything was the same as usual. He thought it would be another peaceful day, but when the sky was bright, a patrol boat returned to the military port at full speed. The captain hurriedly ran into the headquarters and reported to Ariarathes in a panic: A large Daonian fleet was found in the southern waters of Cyprus!
Subsequently, patrol boats returned to the military port one after another. Ariarathes synthesized the information they had learned and was shocked: A fleet of about a hundred ships, mixed with troop transports and cargo ships, was sailing towards Cyprus under the escort of hundreds of Daonian warships...
The Daonians' intention was very obvious, they wanted to occupy the island of Cyprus! ... Ariarathes immediately became nervous. Of course, he understood that in order to prevent the Daonian army from landing on the island of Cyprus, and even completely destroy this troop transport fleet in the sea, he must first defeat the Daonian fleet escorting the fleet, which would be a super-large-scale naval battle!
Before he could summon the generals, the Cypriot naval generals who were worried about the safety of their motherland broke into the headquarters. As the two pillars of this Persian fleet—the Phoenician and Cypriot naval generals—rarely reached a consensus quickly, formulated a battle plan, and then rushed to the military port where their respective fleets were stationed at the fastest speed, urgently ordering the crew members to board the ships and leave the port.
..........................
Escorting the Daonian troop transport fleet were the First and Second Fleets. When departing from Egypt, the First Fleet escorted the right side of the entire fleet, and the Second Fleet was on the left, almost protecting the troop transport fleet in the middle, arranged in a relatively dense mixed ship formation that was more than a mile wide and three or four miles long.
The Third Fleet, as a reserve force, departed from the port of Naucratis a few hours after the First and Second Fleets departed, escorting the supply fleet full of supplies, and sailed towards Cyprus.
But after several days of continuous sailing, this huge ship formation composed of the First and Second Fleets and the troop transport ships was no longer as neat as when it first set out. Although it did not encounter a storm during the voyage, the strong south wind the day before yesterday caused more than a dozen crow warships and troop transport ships to capsize, and the entire ship formation was blown apart, and it took most of the day to regroup.
And by the early hours of today, due to the influence of the sea fog and the changeable sea breeze, Sekelian received the news when the sky was bright: the entire ship formation was scattered again, the first and second sub-fleets of the First Fleet, most of the third sub-fleet of the Second Fleet, part of the fourth sub-fleet, and nearly 100 troop transport ships were still gathered together, while the whereabouts of the other ships were unknown.
Sekelian, who had always been energetic, was a little tired after these days of drifting at sea, and did not even want to complain, but helplessly issued an order: Send fast ships in all directions to search for other ships, and notify them to approach him as soon as possible.
To this end, he then ordered: The ships slow down their speed, and let the guides determine the approximate location of the fleet as soon as possible.
The vast sea has no reference objects, and besides, it is daytime and the constellations in the sky cannot be seen. Even the most experienced guides cannot determine the location, and can only roughly judge that the entire fleet is still heading northeast according to the rising sun.
But Sekelian's distress did not last long. He received news from the lookout on the fast ship at the front of the fleet: A small warship was found ahead, and it quickly turned around and sailed away.
Is it a patrol boat of the Persian fleet?! ... Sekelian was not surprised but happy: Finding traces of Persian ships here, doesn't this mean that the Persian military port is nearby! Maybe the island of Cyprus is not far ahead?!
He immediately made a decision and sent two more fast ships to investigate along the direction in which the Persian warship disappeared.
While waiting for news, several more small Persian warships appeared near the fleet one after another, and then quickly sailed away.
The situation is already very obvious. There must be a Persian military port nearby. After these Persian patrol boats go back to report, it is likely that the Persian fleet will come to intercept them. However, at this time, most of the Daonian warships are missing. It is very likely that they will be at a disadvantage in a head-on confrontation. The situation is a bit grim! ... But after thinking for a moment, Sekelian decisively issued an order: All ships raise their sails and accelerate forward to the northeast.
At the same time, he left two fast ships to stay in place and wait for the fast ships searching for the remaining fleet to return, and then take the found fleet and ships to the island of Cyprus.
It can be said that Sekelian's decision was quite risky, but due to his prestige in the navy, none of the naval generals and ship owners present dared to express any objection, so the entire fleet had to speed up north.
About twenty minutes later, they encountered the fast ships that had gone to explore the way and returned, and learned that the island of Cyprus was 15 miles ahead. Whether it was the crew or the soldiers, they were immediately in high spirits.
With the help of the not-so-strong south wind, the fleet approached the island of Cyprus in forty minutes.
The soldiers on the troop transport ships cheered and began to actively sort out their packages and weapons, while the crew members rowed even harder.
Under the guidance of the guide, the fleet sailed around the western waters of the island of Cyprus towards the beaches that could be landed on. All the warships were guarding the outer edge of the troop transport fleet, and the lookouts climbed up the masts, each staring at the movements of the outer sea.
Knowing that there were no enemies defending the landing beach, and that there were no Persian fleets appearing in the surrounding waters for the time being, Sekelian breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his adventure had been successful: Although the fleet was discovered by the Persian patrol boats, due to the sudden incident and the rapid movement of the fleet, even if the Persian fleet or the enemy troops on the island of Cyprus received the news, they obviously did not have enough time to prepare for a counterattack.
But Sekelian did not dare to take it lightly. He knew that the Persian fleet could appear at any time, so he ordered the crew and soldiers of the fleet to seize the time to replenish food and water and recover their strength.
More than 4,000 Daonian legion soldiers finally landed on the beach, and began to unload the supplies from the cargo ships in batches.
Seeing this situation, the captain of the flagship of the First Fleet immediately asked Sekelian for instructions: "Sir, our mission to cover the landing has been completed. Should we return to reunite with the Second and Third Fleets first, and then come back here to find the Persian fleet for a decisive battle?"
Sekelian gently shook his head and said calmly, "The reason His Majesty asked us to come here at great risk and travel a long distance is that capturing Cyprus is only a secondary objective. The most important thing is to eliminate the Persian fleet and control the dominance of the Near East sea area... Now that more than 4,000 heavy infantry have landed, this has already posed a great threat to Cyprus and has undermined the Persian fleet's attempt to intercept us at sea. Under such circumstances, they are likely to choose a temporary retreat in the face of the threat from our powerful Daonian fleet, and instead transport reinforcements and supplies to towns such as Nicosia on the island, so that it cannot be easily captured by our army.
After all, our fleet has traveled a long distance, and the supplies it carries cannot guarantee the material consumption of our fleet's large crew. If the army cannot quickly capture towns such as Nicosia, our fleet will have to retreat first. By then... hum, the Persian fleet can easily cut off the sea supply line of the landing troops, and then the army will be in big trouble—"
Speaking of this, Sekelian's face became very serious: "The army's misfortune is secondary. The key is that His Majesty personally led a large army this time, wanting to obtain the great honor of conquering Persia. Our navy has been entrusted with the important task of eliminating the Persian fleet and obtaining maritime dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean. If the mission of luring the enemy fails due to passive avoidance of war, or even leads to the failure of the first battle, affecting the entire war to conquer Persia, I will be ashamed of His Majesty's trust, and even have no face to meet those army generals I once ridiculed!"
"It's not that serious, is it..." the flagship captain murmured.
Sekelian glared at him dissatisfied and said in a deep voice, "I am the commander of this operation, and I must seize every possible opportunity to ensure the smooth progress of the operation, so we must stay here and cannot leave! For the Persian fleet, what could be more attractive than eliminating a Daonian fleet that is far smaller than them, while completely besieging thousands of Daonian troops on the island!"
"Sir, our warships are too few after all. I am worried that the Persian fleet... will really regard us as a delicious meal and swallow us in one bite—"
The captain stammered only halfway through his words before being interrupted by Sekelian's stern voice: "Even if the number of Persian warships is two or three times that of ours, the fleet led by me, Sekelian, will definitely be a hard rock that will break the teeth of the Persian fleet! What's more, I believe in Midolades. Not only is he experienced in naval warfare, but he also has a good intuition and will definitely lead other warships to join us in time to wipe out the Persian fleet!"
After Sekelian made up his mind, the flagship captain dared not persuade him any more. Instead, he conveyed the fleet commander's order to all the warships: All crow warships are to be equipped with drawbridges and prepared for battle!
More than an hour passed, and no trace of enemy ships was found, but a small number of Cypriot cavalry had appeared on the island. They peered at the Daonian legion soldiers building camps near the beach from a distance, but never dared to approach. It seemed that the Cypriots did not intend to assemble an army and engage in a decisive battle with the landing Daonian army.
Of course, the landing Daonian legion also had no such intention.
What they have to do now is to hold the landing site and provide convenience for the arrival of subsequent troops.
"A yellow flag has been raised by the fast ship in the south!" The lookout on the flagship's mast suddenly shouted loudly.
Sekelian, who was waiting anxiously, did not feel excited. Instead, he muttered to himself with some doubts: "Are there even fewer Persian warships coming than us?"
Seeing the unsatisfied expression on Sekelian's face, the flagship captain breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Sir, should we notify the warships to prepare for battle?"
Sekelian paced back and forth on the deck, pondered for a while, and then said in a deep voice, "Wait a little longer! Let all the fast ships be divided into two parts, one part goes around the Persian warships and continues to scout south, and one part goes north to scout."
The flagship captain's heart moved: "Sir, do you suspect that the Persian fleet has divided its forces?"
Sekelian replied calmly: "I don't think the Persians are so bold as to lead a small number of warships to attack us. What's more, I firmly believe that our fleet doesn't actually need to prepare too much, and can easily defeat all the enemy ships of this number!"
Just as the crew members on the southernmost warship of the Daonian fleet could see the outlines of the enemy ships in the far distance, the Daonian fast ships speeding south conveyed the information back to the fleet by changing the flags on the mast.
"Two yellow flags!" The lookout's shout kept Sekelian silent. Instead, the flagship captain, upon hearing another report from the lookout, clenched his fists nervously: "Persian warships are less than four li away from us!"
He looked at Sekelian, who was sitting on the deck like a clay sculpture, and hesitated several times.
At this moment, the lookout's voice rang out again: "Three yellow flags! The fast ship in the south has raised three yellow flags! There is still no change in the north!"
Sekelian suddenly jumped up: "Three yellow flags! The number of Persian warships exceeds us, which means their main force is here. The Persians have taken the bait!"
Sekelian was so excited that he gesticulated and immediately said his well-thought-out battle plan: "Blow the horn and let all the warships be arranged in a circular formation to carry out defensive operations!"
"Circular formation?" The flagship captain was slightly stunned.
"What? You thought I could only attack and not defend?!" Sekelian said with a smile.
"I will go and convey it immediately!" The flagship captain's worries were relieved. Obviously, his respected fleet commander had not lost his composure due to the arrival of the opportunity.
"By the way, arrange all the ironclad ships at the forefront of the circular formation, facing the direction of the Persian fleet's attack!"
"Yes!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
This Persian fleet, led by Phoenicia and Cyprus, had nearly a thousand warships stationed in various naval ports in eastern Cyprus. After receiving the order from Ali Taka, the Cypriot sailors acted most actively. They boarded their warships at the fastest speed and rushed out of the naval port, and then, without waiting for the warships behind to line up together, they set off west along the coast of Cyprus Island.
By the time Ali Taka's flagship sailed out of the naval port, he realized that under the leadership of the Cypriots, many warships had not stayed after leaving the port, and were heading west in a swarm.
Ali Taka, as the commander of the fleet, stomped his feet in anger, but could do nothing about it. He could only curse the Cypriots for being stupid, while hoping that when the entire fleet reached the waters off the west coast of Cyprus Island, the Daonian fleet would not have arrived yet, and he would still have time to reorganize the fleet.
The Persian fleet had already formed a long column after leaving the port, and in the process of sailing, due to the different levels of involvement of the crew members belonging to various regions of Persia, this long column gradually began to fall apart. The Cypriot warships were at the forefront, the Phoenicians were in the center, and Syrian and other warships were at the rear... And the Cypriot warships at the front were also out of sync. The warships coming out of the Larnaca naval port on the westernmost side were at the forefront...
After more than three hours of sailing, the Cypriot warships bypassed the westernmost cape of the island from the south. With the help of the south wind, the speed increased again. After only 20 minutes, the lookouts on the Cypriot warships saw the Daonian fleet staying in the bay, the many Daonian cargo ships docked on the beach, and the Daonian soldiers constantly walking from the cargo ships to the beach (in fact, the Daonian soldiers were carrying goods back and forth from the cargo ships. Due to the distance and psychological effects, the Cypriot lookouts had an illusion).
The Daonians are landing!... This news made all the Cypriot sailors feel nervous. The belief in defending their homeland made them forget their fatigue and also made them feel the urgency of the situation. According to military orders, they should have stopped advancing after discovering the Daonian fleet, and after joining up with other warships, they would then launch an attack according to the orders of the fleet commander.
But at this moment, under the command of the Cypriot naval generals, they only slowed down a little in the process of changing formations. After completing it, they accelerated continuously, and launched an attack on the Daonian fleet in a double column formation.
During the Hippo War, the city-state warships in the Near East were known for their large and heavy hulls and large number of crew members. As a result, they were defeated by the small and flexible Greek Allied warships in the Battle of Salamis, and were repeatedly defeated by the Athenian navy in the subsequent expansion of Athens to the Eastern Mediterranean, forcing the city-states in the Near East to abandon the large and unsuitable warships and rebuild a fleet mainly composed of trireme warships. Even the Phoenician city-states were the same. Therefore, later, those double-headed dragon warships, quadreme warships, and quinquireme warships were only still used by Carthage in the Western Mediterranean. The composition of the Persian fleet, with the city-states of the Near East as its main naval force, was already completely the same as the Athenian fleet.
At this time, although the Cypriot warships had lowered their sails, the sailors rowed hard, and the forward speed of the warships was accelerating. Soon, the Daonian warships were close at hand. The Cypriot sailors on the deck were even curiously looking at the high-standing and constantly shaking crow drawbridges on the enemy ships in front, while nervously maneuvering their ships. Although they had never fought the Daonian fleet before, they had also heard of this peculiar warship of the Daonian navy, and they were somewhat wary.
Since the Daonian warships were almost only rotating in place, the bows of the two sides' warships were always facing each other. At this time, the Cypriot warships did not want to die with the other side, so the helmsman slightly turned the rudder, and the captain shouted to the bottom cabin at the same time: "Stop rowing!"
The sailors quickly retracted their oars, and the opposing warship also skillfully retracted its oars in time. The two warships almost brushed past each other. The Cypriot sailors could even clearly see the enemy sailors through the narrow portholes. Their expressions were indifferent and confident, and many even wore a mocking smile.
'They're about to die, what's there to be proud of!'… The Cypriot sailors thought resentfully.
With a resounding crash, the 12-meter-long drawbridge slammed down, nailing itself onto the deck of the Cypriot warship. The forward momentum of the Cypriot warship suddenly gained a heavy burden and quickly came to a standstill. Forty infantrymen from the Daonian fleet quickly crossed the drawbridge and charged towards the enemy ship.
At this moment, another Cypriot warship in the double column formation made a small turn and charged towards the hull of the 'Corvus' warship, which was already unable to move.
Faced with this dangerous situation, the Daonian sailors remained calm. Under the command of the captain, they used the fixed drawbridge as a fulcrum and tried their best to slightly deflect the entire warship, so that the hull was not perpendicular to the enemy ship's ram, but had a certain angle of inclination. This effort seemed futile, because according to past experience, this degree of violent collision could still cause considerable damage to the warship, but…
"Boom!" After a loud noise, all three warships shook violently. However, the Cypriot sailors on the deck widened their eyes in surprise: the area of the Daonian 'Corvus' warship that was hit by their warship only dented inwards into a small pit, and was not broken into a large gap.
It turned out that this 'Corvus' warship was an ironclad ship!
In recent years, through the full cooperation of the Daonian Academy, the Thurii Shipyard, and the Ironworks Workshop, after repeated experiments, special iron sheets were fastened to the weak hull of the 'Corvus' warship. This greatly enhanced the warship's impact resistance while preserving its ability to float and balance at sea. The only drawback was that the sailing speed was slower.
Because the entire warship was painted black, people who didn't know the inside story had no idea about the special nature of this warship. Therefore, the Cypriot sailors were very surprised to see that the Daonian warship was unscathed even after such a violent collision.
The Daonian sailors breathed a sigh of relief. Although the ironclad ship had undergone many tests in peacetime training, this was the first time it was used in actual combat, and it obviously did not disappoint their expectations.
At this moment, the fast warship hiding behind the ironclad ship rushed up like a ghost and quickly rammed into the enemy ship that was still squeezed together with the 'Corvus' warship.
The Cypriot sailors, unable to dodge, could only hope for a miracle like the 'Corvus' warship, but… no… Seawater poured into the bilge through the broken gap…
At the same time,
After the fleet infantrymen rushed onto another Cypriot warship, they did not charge into the cabins, but killed the crew and helmsman on the deck, completely destroyed the rudder, and then quickly returned to the 'Corvus' warship and pulled up the drawbridge.
The Cypriot warship, having lost its rudder, completely lost its ability to turn flexibly and became a target for the enemy ships. The best way to avoid being sunk was to withdraw from the battlefield.
When Ariarathes led the main Persian fleet to the vicinity of the battlefield, he was surprised to find that the Cypriot warships were gathered together, waiting for his arrival.
Soon he knew the reason: the Daonian fleet in the bay was not only sturdy, but also had strange tactics and strong defensive capabilities. The Cypriot fleet, whose number of warships was slightly larger than the opponent's, not only failed to gain the upper hand in the attack, but also failed to achieve great results after damaging more than a dozen warships. The morale of the crew was hit, and they had to temporarily retreat and wait for reinforcements.
Although the combat effectiveness of this Daonian fleet was surprising, Ariarathes, as the commander of the Persian fleet, was secretly pleased by the small setbacks suffered by the Cypriots for disobeying orders. He believed that this was a great opportunity to increase his prestige in the fleet.
After listening carefully to the Cypriots' account of the battle, he still decided to adopt the double column formation, but abandoned the Cypriots' tactic of concentrating attacks on one side. Instead, he used the huge advantage of having more than twice the number of warships to launch a full-scale attack, wanting to make the Daonian fleet's defense stretched thin.
The Daonian legion soldiers on the high ground of the beach saw countless Persian warships on the distant sea, spread out like a huge fishing net, posing a fierce posture to completely trap the Daonian fleet, which was huddled into a ball. They couldn't help but sweat for the safety of the fleet.
Sekelian, who was in the eye of the storm, laughed calmly: "The Persian fleet has finally come up with all its forces, great! These timid Persian servants will soon know how powerful the Daonian fleet is! Woo!"
"…Woo!…Woo!…" Along with the loud bugle call, three red flags were raised on the main mast of the Daonian flagship, fluttering in the air.
Fight to the death!!!… Every crew member who received the captain's message looked at the oncoming enemy ships with a calm expression and began to hum the Hymn to Hades in a low voice…
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
When the thick sea fog cleared and the sky brightened, Miltiades immediately realized that something was wrong. Although he could not know the specific location of the fleet, the rising sun, which should have appeared diagonally in front of the fleet to the right, appeared diagonally behind to the right, obviously deviating greatly from the course.
He managed to gather the warships and cargo ships scattered nearby, and then sent fast ships in all directions towards the sun to search, while also ordering the entire fleet to sail towards the sun.
During the voyage, he also gathered some scattered warships and troop transports. The fleet he led gradually included the 1st, 2nd, and 5th squadrons of the Second Fleet, part of the 4th squadron, and the 3rd, 4th, and 5th squadrons of the First Fleet, and part of the 6th squadron, totaling more than 700 ships, in addition to nearly 400 troop transports… With such a large mixed fleet, Miltiades also increased the distance between the ships, so that the area of the entire ship formation was doubled outward. It was this measure that finally enabled the fast ships sent by Sekelian to discover them.
Several hours later, Miltiades led the fleet to the bay where the Daonian army landed. He saw countless Persian warships overlapping and circling around a certain place near the sea, like vultures covering the sky and sun sharing their food. He could hardly see the figures of the Daonian warships.
Although Miltiades was anxious, he did not rush to launch an attack immediately. He ordered the troop transport fleet to stay away temporarily, and ordered all the warships to face the Persian fleet and spread out in a fan shape during the march. Then, with the fast warships in front and the 'Corvus' warships in the rear, he launched an attack in the "Starry Sky" formation.
Ariarathes' flagship had been coordinating and directing the battle from the rear. After a hard battle, the Persian fleet finally broke through the Daonian fleet's defense and disrupted its formation. Just as he was preparing to crush it completely in one fell swoop, he received an urgent report from a fast ship: an even larger Daonian fleet was approaching rapidly!
This news immediately extinguished Ariarathes' enthusiasm for gaining the glory of victory. Alarmed, his only thought at this time was to order the fleet to retreat immediately, but the warships that had been scattered in the vast coastal waters and were in battle could not quickly receive his orders.
The newly arrived Daonian fleet, however, rushed towards its prey like a giant eagle spreading its wings amidst the loud bugle calls.
The Persian fleet had been fighting hard for a long time, with warships damaged, sailors exhausted, strength dispersed, and no formation. Although the Daonian fleet led by Miltiades had traveled a long distance and the crew was relatively tired, their belief in rescuing their comrades and defeating the enemy made their morale high. Moreover, the ever-victorious "Starry Sky" formation doubled their strength.
As a result, the Persian fleet was almost defeated at the first touch, fleeing in all directions, and the Daonian warships took advantage of the victory to pursue.
Even more unfortunately, the Persian fleet encountered the Daonian Third Fleet, which was escorting the supply fleet, on its way south. As a result, under the double attack from the front and rear, the losses were even more severe…
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Miltiades jumped off his flagship, waded through the sea, and walked onto the beach.
The beach was now full of Daonian soldiers who had landed. Under the shouts of the officers, they gathered in squads and platoons and began to march towards the camp that the previously landed Daonian soldiers were building.
Miltiades' destination was the same as theirs. Because of his conspicuous commander's helmet, soldiers, whether they knew him or not, saluted him respectfully when they met him.
If it were in peacetime, he would have smiled in return, but now he was anxious and quickly walked into the temporarily built medical camp tent as if he hadn't seen them.
Here, no one saluted him. The doctors and nurses were busy rescuing the wounded.
The Daonian legion soldiers who landed had not fought with the Cypriots. These wounded soldiers all came from the Daonian fleet that had just finished fighting.
Miltiades stopped a soldier who was helping to clean up the dirt and asked in a deep voice: "Where is Sekelian?"
The soldier glanced at him and hurriedly pointed forward, saying: "In… in the innermost part."
Saying it was the innermost part, it was actually on the other side of the tent. These tents dedicated to medical camps were equipped with multiple curtains in order to ensure air circulation, convenience during rescue, and to facilitate the recovery of patients. Sekelian's hospital bed was next to a curtain, and a small opening was opened in the curtain, and the sunlight projected in happened to shine on Sekelian. In this light, two nurses were carefully cleaning his wound.