More than half an hour later, almost all the Daonian troops had completed their formation. This side quickly returned to silence, while the Persian side was still noisy and chaotic.
Two days ago, Artaxerxes, after listening to Teribazus's account of the Daonian camp, had his confidence in winning this battle greatly increased. Now, perched high on his chariot, he could clearly see the situation on the opposite side. The Daonian army's rapid and efficient formation was in stark contrast to his own side's chaotic delay, causing him to feel a bit uneasy again. Moreover, as far as the eye could see, it was a sea of black, the uniformity and oppressive feeling causing palpitations, making him involuntarily shout: "Teribazus, urge the troops to speed up their formation! Speed up the formation!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After the Daonian army completed its formation, the sun was almost at its zenith. The soldiers successively received orders from their officers: "Seize the time to replenish some food."
Just as the soldiers of the First Company of the Second Battalion of the First Legion were chewing on the bread they carried and passing around waterskins, someone exclaimed: "Company Commander, look! The Persians really have elephants!"
Arsinus, standing behind the company and serving the soldiers, immediately walked to the front of the formation upon hearing this and looked forward. He saw dozens of elephants in the opposing Persian army, their bodies covered with armor and their tusks fitted with swords, slowly walking to the front of the Persian lines under the command of their mahouts.
The elephants were enormous, and compared to the surrounding troops, they were particularly conspicuous. Their appearance immediately caused a stir among the soldiers of the First Legion and the surrounding legions.
Arsinus took a deep breath and shouted loudly to the soldiers who were discussing animatedly: "Legion Commander Matonis has already told us that there might be war elephants in the Persian army, what's so strange about that!"
"Captain, we're just curious, the Persians actually sent such docile animals to the battlefield!" a soldier responded.
"Even the most docile animals can be terrifying once they go wild, don't let your guard down!" Arsinus reminded them, then smiled and said: "But the Persians don't know that we've seen elephants countless times at the Thurii Zoo, thinking they can scare us with them. When the time comes, we'll make the Persians suffer for misusing elephants!"
"Captain, don't worry, we're not afraid of elephants, we just think it's a shame if such cute animals die in this battle," another soldier said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
Another soldier immediately chimed in: "I don't feel sorry, it's not our fault if these elephants die in battle. On the contrary, if we could taste elephant meat after the battle, that would be great!"
"Cripps, you glutton, you've eaten so much good food these days, aren't you satisfied yet! Do you think you'll become as strong as an elephant if you eat elephant meat!" Arsinus scolded with a smile.
"Captain, he just thinks his thing down there is too small and wants to make it bigger," a soldier joked loudly.
The soldiers burst into laughter.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
More than an hour later, the Persian army finally completed its formation.
In the front row of the center were loosely formed Persian archers, followed by a line of Indian war elephants and scythed chariots, with the war elephants in the center and the chariots on either side. Behind them were 3,000 Persian armored cavalry, and behind the cavalry, 20,000 Greek hoplites and 10,000 Immortals were deployed in a line. Artaxerxes was located in the rear, behind him were tribal units from Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf coast.
On the right wing, the front row consisted of Persian archers and mixed units of archers from Armenia, Parthia, and Media, followed by 100 chariots from Media and Babylon. Behind the chariots were infantry from Dukea, Armenia, and Persia, and behind them were tribes from around the Caspian Sea, such as the Syracalians and Tapurians. At the far right of the right wing were over 10,000 cavalry from Armenia, Parthia, and Media.
On the left wing, the front row consisted of mixed units of archers from Persia, Arabia, Bactria, and Arachosia, followed by infantry from Persia, Caria, East Uxians east of Susa, and Sitacenes. Behind them were Far Eastern tribal units led by Arachosia and Bactria. At the far left of the left wing were over 10,000 cavalry led by Persia, Scythia, and Bactria, with 500 Arabian camel cavalry in the front.
From the Persian formation, it was clear that the Persian formation had a thick depth, with the strongest force in the center.
The Persians made this arrangement because they considered that the Daonian army had many hoplites and strong close combat capabilities. Therefore, they increased the depth to enhance their ability to hold their ground in close combat. Whether it was for safety considerations or to eliminate Artaxerxes's fear (Artaxerxes suffered javelin wounds from Cyrus the Younger in the battle with Cyrus the Younger, and had psychological shadows), the strength of the center must be strengthened.
Therefore, Lala Basus took the opportunity to suggest: hoarding heavy troops in the center, using war elephants and chariots to tear open the enemy's defense line, and then using armored cavalry to charge, completely disrupting the enemy's hoplites, and then the Greek hoplites and Immortals would follow up and charge, completely collapsing the enemy and winning the battle…
Artaxerxes finally adopted his suggestion.
The formation adopted by the Daonian army was:
The center was deployed by the First Legion, the Fourth Legion, the Seventh Legion, the Twelfth Legion, and the Fifteenth Legion in a checkerboard formation, with a combined thickness of 10 columns. Behind them in the center were 5 light infantry battalions. The commander of the entire center was Matonis.
The left wing was deployed by the Second Legion, the Fifth Legion, the Eighth Legion, the Fourteenth Legion, and the Sixteenth Legion in a checkerboard formation, also with a combined thickness of 10 columns, with no other troops behind them;
The far left of the left wing consisted of the First Cavalry Legion, the Third Cavalry Legion, the Gallic Cavalry Legion, and 2,000 Numidian light cavalry, followed by nine light armor battalions.
Behind them were 6 light infantry battalions and 2,000 Baliarian slingers.
The right wing was deployed by the Third Legion, the Sixth Legion, the Eleventh Legion, the Thirteenth Legion, and the Seventeenth Legion in a checkerboard formation, with a combined thickness of 10 columns, with no other troops behind them.
The front of the far right of the right wing consisted of the Second Cavalry Legion, the Fourth Cavalry Legion, the Iberian Cavalry Legion, and 2,000 Numidian light cavalry, followed by nine light armor battalions.
Behind them were 6 light infantry battalions and 2,000 Baliarian slingers.
King Davos's command center was located in the rear of the center. In addition to the protection of the palace guards, the Eighteenth Legion, the Nineteenth Legion, and the Twenty-first Legion were located on its left and right as reserves.
From the formation of the Daonian army, it can be seen that the Daonians concentrated heavy troops on both ends of the two wings, obviously wanting to defeat the Persian cavalry first, and then outflank from the two wings. The Persian cavalry was obviously stronger than the Daonian cavalry, but Davos actually wanted to start from the enemy's strongest point, which can be said to be knowingly heading towards the tiger mountain.
Although the number of Persian troops was twice that of the Daonian army, due to the Persian King Artaxerxes's caution, the depth of the formation was significantly increased, while the Daonian army, due to King Davos's confidence, the infantry formation only maintained a thickness of 10 columns. Therefore, the length of the two formations was almost the same, both reaching 15 miles.
The Persian army had complex sources of troops, not only with different clothing and different weapons, but even the soldiers themselves were very different. Therefore, even if the entire formation was mostly a dense formation and stood on a flat battlefield, the experienced Daonian scouts could still roughly judge the troop deployment in the front of the Persian formation through careful observation.
The Daonian army was almost entirely black helmeted and black armored, and the types of troops were relatively simple. Moreover, Davos deliberately did not want the enemy to see the reality of the formation, so after the heavy infantry and cavalry in the front of the formation completed their formation and were able to block the enemy's line of sight, they began to deploy the troops in the rear.
At the same time, Davos also specifically ordered: the soldiers in the rear of the formation must not raise their weapons before the battle!
At this moment, Philius, leading the staff officers, had already drawn a sketch of the troop deployment in the front of the entire Persian formation based on the scouts' reports.
Davos took the wooden board he handed over, carefully read the sketch on it, and felt a slight surprise: "Oh, the Persians have 100 more chariots, which is somewhat different from the number Izam told us."
"They may have just arrived recently," Philius explained.
Davos thought for a while and quickly made a decision: "Then let… the light infantry battalion on the right wing send out 2,000 people first to deal with these chariots."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Philius immediately went to convey the order.
"Your Majesty, it's past noon, eat something first," Hennipolis reminded him from the side.
"I'm not hungry yet," Hennipolis had asked several times, so Davos waved his hand a little impatiently. After the messenger left, he kept looking anxiously to the left, even though it was impossible for him to see the troop movements several miles away from his position.
After a while, he suddenly realized something and asked: "Have Hilonimus and Amyntas eaten?"
Before Hennipolis could answer, Hilonimus's voice came from behind: "Your Majesty, we are old and don't participate in the battle, it doesn't matter whether we eat lunch or not—"
"Yes, Your Majesty, we don't have the leisure to eat anything now, we're just waiting for the battle to start quickly!" Amyntas interjected impatiently.
"No need to rush," Davos said calmly: "The longer the time is delayed, the more unfavorable it will be for the Persians…"
As he was speaking, Izam rode over from the left at full speed and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, I have found the location of the Ksocontes tribe warriors in the Persian army!"
Davos perked up and immediately asked, "That's great! Where are they?!"
Philistius understood and handed him the wooden board.
Izamus, panting, took the board, carefully examined the diagram of the Persian army formation drawn on it, and then pointed to the central front of its right wing, excitedly saying, "Right here! Remus followed the code I agreed upon before I left, having those tribesmen rhythmically wave the bronze shields provided to them by the Persians up and down in the sunlight, making them clearly distinguishable from other Persian troops. Even standing here, I can see it clearly. Back then, during the conquest of Aspurtum City, our Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade used a similar method—"
"Very good! You've done a great service!" Davos interrupted his rambling and then asked, "Which unit is opposite us?"
"The Third and Fourth Battalions of the Eleventh Legion." Izamus immediately replied.
"Your Majesty, the Eighteenth Legion, held in reserve, can be sent over so that when Brother Izamus's troops retreat, we can better exploit the opportunity and intensify the attack on this section of the Persian formation!" Philistius also suggested excitedly.
"One legion is not enough!" Davos shook his head, forcefully pointing at the wooden board, and said resolutely, "Send the Nineteenth Legion over as well. This will be our infantry's breakthrough point!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Just as the two Daonian legions were quietly maneuvering behind their lines, Mardonius had ridden to the Persian King's chariot, saying somewhat anxiously, "Your Majesty, the troops have long been arrayed. Why hasn't the order to attack been given yet?!"
Artaxerxes said hesitantly, "…Should we wait for the Daonians to attack first?"
"The Daonians have fewer soldiers and are unlikely to attack us first!" Mardonius, suppressing his dissatisfaction, turned to look at Teribazus not far away, venting his anger on him: "Aren't you known as the most resourceful minister in the kingdom? How are you advising His Majesty on military matters! Since an offensive plan was decided before the battle, you should assist His Majesty in executing it! The army has been arrayed for almost half an hour, and the soldiers are still standing there waiting foolishly. Do you know that when I came here from the left wing, I saw that several auxiliary units were already showing signs of wavering morale, and even the formation of the East Uxians had begun to become chaotic!"
Teribazus remained silent, not refuting. He had urged the Persian King several times before, but the Persian King seemed to have some concerns and had not made a decision, which is why it had been delayed again and again.
Artaxerxes's expression changed. He could, of course, tell that Mardonius was subtly criticizing him, but he couldn't openly get angry and reprimand him, partly because the enemy was currently at hand, which would affect morale,
and partly because he felt guilty. Before the war, he had indeed repeatedly discussed with several important ministers and formulated a tactic based on offense, but when he saw the Daonian army opposite him arraying themselves in a concise and rapid manner, and then the soldiers in their formation standing silently, with a steady, mountain-like aura, compared to his own army's scattered and noisy state, a strong sense of unease suddenly arose in his heart. The experiences of several past failures surfaced in his mind, inevitably making him hesitant and worried again.
But when he heard Mardonius's later words, he was startled.
Teribazus, who was good at observing expressions, immediately said, "Your Majesty, those auxiliary troops are not our well-trained Persian army. Although they have undergone rigorous training during this period, it is difficult for them to maintain their formation for a long time. We must launch an attack as soon as possible!"
Artaxerxes looked at Teribazus, then at Mardonius: "Then give the order to attack?"
Mardonius said urgently, "Your Majesty, don't hesitate any longer, give the order quickly!"
Artaxerxes gripped the handrail of the chariot tightly, his gaze sweeping over the imposing Immortals in front, the bronze-walled, iron-clad Greek mercenaries, the huge war elephants, the terrifying killing weapon chariots, the well-trained archers… Finally, he looked remotely at the silent, mountain-like Daonian army. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and said loudly, "Prepare to attack!"
Mardonius's face lit up with joy, and he turned his horse to gallop back.
Teribazus then shouted loudly, "Prepare to attack! Prepare to attack! …"
"Woo… Woo…" As the Persian military horn sounded, Teribazus continued to issue orders on behalf of the Persian King: "Archers, attack!"
A flag embroidered with a bow and arrow was raised high in front of Artaxerxes's chariot, but only the archer units in the central front of the middle road could see the flag waving. The entire army formation was more than ten miles long. Not to mention seeing the flag being raised, even the soldiers on both wings and ends might not be able to hear the military horn sounding, but the Persian army had its own methods.
Two teams of Persian messengers wearing brightly colored military uniforms rode out from both sides of the chariot, passed through the gaps in the ranks, rushed to the forefront, and then galloped wildly along the army formation to both sides, shouting repeatedly, "Archers, attack! Archers, attack! …"
The archers in the middle road moved! The archers on the left wing moved! The archers on the right wing moved! The archers in the front row of the Persian army formation, arranged in a loose formation of more than ten miles long, began to slowly advance towards the Daonian army formation like a long snake that had just awakened from hibernation.
As soon as he heard the horn sound from the opposite side, Alcines, like other squad officers, immediately perked up and shouted to his soldiers: "Brothers, pay attention, the Persians are going to attack!"
While shouting, he saw that some soldiers in the squad were too excited, looking eager to try, and immediately reminded them: "Everyone must strictly follow the pre-war arrangements and be prepared for defense! Anyone who dares to violate military orders will be severely punished!"
The soldiers' hearts tightened, and their expressions became solemn.
"Captain, the Persian archers are coming!" the soldiers in the first row shouted.
"Prepare for defense!" Alcines's heart tightened, watching the front.
The Persian archers advanced very slowly because the Persian generals in command of them had learned about the detailed course of the Battle of Asia Minor and knew that there were also a considerable number of light infantry with weak combat effectiveness in the Daonian army. Therefore, they were carefully guarding against the appearance of the opponents.
However, they were already less than 250 meters away from the Daonian army formation, but the opponent's light infantry still did not appear in front of the formation. Although the generals were puzzled, they did not stop the soldiers from advancing.
When approaching 100 meters from the Daonian army formation, the archers consciously stopped advancing.
"Loose arrows!" In the shouts of the generals, the archers nocked their arrows, drew their bows, and raised them high at a large angle.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! …" The originally very light sound of the bowstrings, gathered together by thousands, could be heard exceptionally clearly by the Daonian soldiers hundreds of meters away.
"Testudo formation!" Alcines shouted loudly.
The soldiers of the squad, who were originally arranged in a dense formation, quickly shrank inward, while blocking the long shields in their hands on the outside and above of the small square formation, as if a layer of black iron sheet had been added to the 50-man team in the blink of an eye, protecting them tightly.
Alcines, located in the middle of the square formation, looked up through the small gaps between the long shields, and saw arrows covering the sky and the sun like a pouring rain. Even with the protection of thick long shields, he couldn't help but feel nervous.
"Puff! Puff! Clang! Clang! Puff! …" The arrows continued to fall on different parts of the long shields, making different sounds, like playing a melody of death.
The Daonian soldiers in the testudo formation were all nervous, but when the melody disappeared, no one was injured.
Before they could catch their breath, the melody sounded again.
After repeating three or four times, there was finally a long break.
This was because the generals of the Persian archer mixed force found that the front-line troops of the Daonian army had adopted this peculiar formation, making their lob shots hardly cause any casualties. Therefore, they urged the soldiers to continue to advance, using a closer distance to increase the penetration of the arrows.
Approaching to a distance of 50 meters, the Persian archers dared not advance any further, because they had heard that the Daonian heavy infantry could throw javelins, and if they were too close to the enemy, when they shot arrows, the Daonian soldiers on the opposite side suddenly launched a charge, and they would be difficult to escape. It was precisely because of this danger that not all archers were willing to continue approaching the Daonian army formation, and some archers of other races shrank back even with the Persian generals urging them again and again.
The front-line soldiers of the Persian archer force used direct shots, and the rear-line soldiers used lob shots, and they shot at one testudo formation more concentratedly, instead of a large-scale attack that led to low efficiency, because the Daonian chessboard grid formation made the entire army formation more scattered, causing many lob shots to fall on the open space.
More dense sounds rang out outside the testudo formation formed by Alcines's squad, like heavy rain hitting lotus leaves. Each long shield was like a hedgehog covered with arrows, and the soldiers also occasionally let out a painful muffled groan, which was the sharp arrowhead pierced through the shield surface, touching the Daonian soldiers' exposed arms or thighs. Occasionally, arrows passed through the gaps in the shield formation, but they did not cause major damage because they were blocked by thick helmets and breastplates.
The Daonian soldiers gritted their teeth and persisted without moving. Of course, they were almost shoulder to shoulder, back to chest, tightly pressed together, and even if they were injured, they could not dodge and retreat.
As the squad leader, Alcines not only had to peek at the movements of the enemy in front from time to time, but also listened to the frequency of the arrows hitting the long shields.
Suddenly, he said in a deep voice: "Brothers, hold on for a while, the Persians should not have many arrows left!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound outside the formation began to become sparse, and it disappeared soon after.
The Persian archers still had three or four arrows left in their quivers, but they chose to retreat at this time, partly because continuous drawing of the bow caused their arms to become sore and numb and they needed to rest, and partly because they also needed to provide support for the infantry in the upcoming melee. This was the traditional Persian tactics, and of course, they could not use up all the arrows at this time.
The Persian archers retreated a good distance before Alcinius gave the order to withdraw the formation.
The soldiers put away their long shields and stood up to look, dumbfounded: the surrounding flat land was covered with arrows, and so were the long shields, causing their weight to increase sharply.
In order not to affect the use of the long shields, the soldiers immediately drew their short swords and vigorously cut off the arrow shafts on the shield surfaces.
"Your Majesty, the Persian archer unit has retreated, and our casualties are not significant!" After listening to the immediate news relayed by the various messengers, Philius reported to the king with a look of joy.
Davos nodded calmly.
"Thirty years ago, we successfully defended against the long-range attacks of Persian archers using this method. Now, the defensive capabilities of our legion's soldiers are even better than they were then. It's impossible for the Persians to gain any advantage by using the old methods against us!" Amyntas said disdainfully.
At the pre-war military conference, it was due to the suggestions of the old generals that Davos decided not to use light infantry first, but to have the heavy infantry withstand the Persian archer unit, which had an advantage in long-range attacks, in order to exhaust the enemy. Now it seems that the plan has succeeded.
At this moment, Davos looked at the Persian archers retreating like a tide and said faintly, "The appetizer has been eaten, now it's time for the main course."
The distance of one mile made it impossible for the Persian king and Tiribazus to see the casualties of the enemy opposite, but from the mouths of the returning generals, Tiribazus learned that the results were not ideal, and he was immediately shocked: sending the Persian archer unit to confront the enemy first was his suggestion. Because through a detailed understanding of the Battle of Asia Minor, and referring to some previous battles of Daonians, he found that the Daonian army was different from the Greek army. Their light infantry was not weak, and they liked to take the lead in battles to disrupt the opponent's formation, so he made this suggestion, hoping to use his powerful archer unit to cripple the opponent's light infantry, while gaining more advantages and Strike the morale of the enemy army, but he did not expect that the opponent's light infantry did not come out, and the long-range attack on the Daonian heavy infantry did not achieve great results...
When Tiribazus came to Artaxerxes, his face no longer showed worry, but joy: "Great King, the archer unit's attack has caused considerable casualties to the Daonian heavy infantry. We should take advantage of the victory to attack and not let the Daonian army recover!"
Artaxerxes was very happy after hearing this and said without hesitation, "Then continue the attack!"
"As you wish, Great King!" Tiribazus turned around and gave the order: "Chariots and war elephants, attack!"
Messenger cavalry galloped out, some heading to the front of the central formation, and some heading to the left wing.
Soon,
Artaxerxes heard the loud elephant roars from the front, and his spirits were lifted. He patted the chariot and said excitedly, "Crush the Daonians for me!"
Fifty elephants, under the command of their mahouts, strode forward with their thick limbs, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly; while they were still slowly accelerating, the scythed chariots on both sides were already moving at full speed, the horses' hooves flying, the wheels spinning rapidly, making a rumbling sound, stirring up billowing dust, although there were only more than 200 chariots, they created the momentum of thousands of troops, like roaring beasts, fiercely pouncing towards the Daonian army formation.
Even legion soldiers like Alcinius, who had received training in how to deal with chariots during their stay in Egypt, could not help but feel nervous at this moment.
At this moment, hurried footsteps sounded beside Alcinius. It turned out that the light infantry, located behind the infantry formation, quickly passed through the passages between the company formations and ran to the front of the formation.
In fact, after the Daonian light infantry battalion learned about the positions of the Persian chariots and war elephants, they had arranged their tactics in advance, so the five thousand light infantry ran to the front of the formation and quickly formed their formation. Javelin throwers were in the center, facing the war elephants, and archers on both sides, facing the chariots.
Without the company officer's order, the archers immediately steadied themselves, drew their bows and shot arrows forward. Even though the chariots were still a hundred meters away, they adopted direct shooting instead of parabolic shooting, because they knew from their practical training in Egypt that parabolic shooting was difficult to hit fast-moving chariots. On the contrary, direct shooting, even if it was farther away, would cause the chariots to actively crash into the flying arrows as they quickly approached.
The archers shot an arrow and immediately drew another arrow without looking at the result, because the time left for them was very short.
Miccagiddes, a Cretan, won the archery championship at the first Daonian Games last year. The Daonian Ministry of Military Affairs sent him an invitation. After repeated consideration, he finally decided to join Daonia. After special approval from King Davos, he only needed to serve in the army for three years to become a formal citizen.
After the city hall of Thourioi deliberately publicized this news, it aroused heated discussions among the people of various allied states. Athletes were even more eager to try and actively train, preparing to win excellent results in the second Daonian Games competition, in order to gain the favor of the King of Daonia. However, the Daonian Games, like other Greek Games, were held every four years, and the time was still relatively long.
After Miccagiddes immigrated to Thourioi, he temporarily lived in the barracks, receiving military training while also assisting the military training officer in training and improving the archery skills of new recruits.
Light infantry, especially archers, relied more on personal skills. In traditional Greek formations, archers did not have any special tactics, and they relied more on their own personal skills. However, the Daonian army was different. It had higher requirements for the tactical ability of archers. Miccagiddes had only been in the barracks for half a year and had just become familiar with light infantry tactics when he encountered this war. The Thourioi barracks originally did not intend to conscript him, but in order to gain military merit and become a formal citizen as soon as possible, he repeatedly requested. Considering his amazing archery skills, the commander of the First Legion's light infantry battalion still recruited him as an ordinary soldier.
At this moment, Miccagiddes followed his teammates to the front of the formation. Seeing the chariots rushing out of the dust and charging towards them aggressively, the soldiers shot the arrows in their hands one after another. Although this was the first time he had experienced such a grand scene, he had a natural big heart, otherwise he would not have defeated many strong players and won the archery competition championship at the first Daonian Games. He did not release the arrow immediately, but quickly calmed his breathing, while looking at the position of the chariot in front, while aiming slightly, and then released the bowstring.
As the main weapon used by the Persian army to charge into battle, the Persians certainly knew that the scythed chariots were too large and vulnerable to long-range attacks, so they not only covered the horses pulling the chariots with armor, but also the crossbowmen and archers on the chariots wore armor. Although many arrows hit the horses, they were blocked by the armor and did not cause fatal injuries. On the contrary, under the crossbowmen's urgent whipping, they wailed and accelerated forward.
At this moment, the arrow shot by Miccagiddes pierced the head of a warhorse, which was not covered by armor, without deviating. The galloping warhorse suddenly fell down, and the entire chariot overturned due to inertia, throwing the crossbowmen and archers into the air, screaming and smashing towards the place where Miccagiddes was.
Miccagiddes and his teammates hurriedly dodged.
"Careful! Chariot! Chariot!!..." The terrified shouts of the soldiers behind made Miccagiddes hurriedly turn his head, only to see a chariot not far away not rushing forward in a straight line, but rushing towards them horizontally.
The distance was already very close, Miccagiddes rolled and crawled away, but some soldiers were unable to dodge, and one leg was unfortunately grazed by a flash of white light on the axle, and then twisted into several pieces, falling to the ground and wailing.
The surrounding soldiers were horrified to see this tragic scene.
Miccagiddes then realized that the driver and archer on this chariot had both fallen down after being hit by arrows.
When he and his teammates aimed their bows and arrows at the warhorses, the two frightened warhorses seemed to feel the danger, carrying the chariot and running back in panic, with a loud "bang", they collided head-on with a chariot of their own.
Amidst the wails of the warhorses, Miccagiddes and his teammates breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared with the teammates who stood in place and shot arrows, the javelin throwers in the light infantry battalion did not stop after rushing out of the formation, but accelerated forward.
When they were only a few dozen meters away from the slowly running war elephants, they risked being shot by the archers on the elephants' backs and threw the javelins in their hands with all their might.
The skin of the war elephants was tough and thick, and arrows were difficult to penetrate, so the Persians did not put armor on them, but the Persians never expected that the Daonians they despised not only were not afraid of this behemoth, but also took the initiative to meet the challenge. Dozens or hundreds of heavy javelins concentrated on one war elephant were enough to threaten the life of the war elephant.
For the Daonian light infantry, war elephants were large and slow, making them easier to deal with than galloping chariots.
One war elephant after another was quickly shot into hedgehogs.
Although these war elephants had undergone special training, their gentle nature had not changed. Feeling the danger ahead, they turned around and ran back, completely disobeying the mahouts' instructions. Only a few elephants went berserk due to pain, accelerated forward, and then fell down wailing in round after round of javelin throws.
After the light infantry rushed up, the legion soldiers did not relax their vigilance. Alcinius, as the company commander, even ran to the forefront, nervously gazing at the situation ahead.
Seeing a chariot break through the light infantry's blockade and rush straight towards the phalanx, he shouted anxiously, "Dodge! Dodge!"
Because the Daonian army formation was a loose checkerboard formation, there were enough gaps for the soldiers to dodge. The onrushing Persian chariot could hardly turn due to inertia, and could only advance along the passage quickly vacated by the Daonian soldiers. The Daonian soldiers took the opportunity to attack the chariot from both sides with pikes, killing the horses and drivers.
Although the Persian scythed chariots were formidable instruments of charge, they posed minimal threat to the Daonian army's well-prepared tactics, either being shot down by light infantry or eliminated by legionary soldiers.
Due to the dust and mist kicked up by the chariots and war elephants, Artaxerxes and Tiribazus, hundreds of meters away, couldn't see the situation on the opposite side. Once the attack was launched, it had to proceed according to the pre-arranged plan. Therefore, shortly after the chariots and war elephants moved out, the Persian king dispatched 3,000 armored cavalry from the front ranks of the center, hoping they could closely follow the chariots' and war elephants' charge and completely break through the Daonian army formation.
The Persian Immortals included not only infantry but also chariots and cavalry. These 3,000 armored cavalry were part of the Immortals, selected as elites from the vast Persian cavalry. They rode the strongest and tallest warhorses, which were equipped with armor. The cavalrymen wore full leather armor, wielded Persian long sabers, and were also equipped with double-bladed hand axes and bows. In the traditional tactics of the Immortals, this cavalry unit was to launch the second wave of attack against the enemy formation after the chariots, often defeating the enemy before the infantry even engaged. They hoped to repeat this success this time.
After the Persian king issued the order, the cavalry unit began to slowly advance in three horizontal lines spanning the entire front of the center (Tiribazus did not adopt a dense diamond formation because he considered that the chariots' and war elephants' charge must have already caused damage to the Daonian army formation, and the cavalry's charge would not be greatly hindered. Therefore, he wanted to maximize the attack range of the cavalry unit, causing greater damage to the Daonian formation, making it difficult to recover, so that the subsequent infantry charge could completely defeat the Daonian army's center).
However, the cavalry unit encountered some trouble shortly after setting off. They ran head-on into the retreating war elephants. These behemoths, made sensitive and irritable by their injuries, saw the Persian cavalry charging towards them and, believing it to be a threat, angrily swung their trunks, trampling and colliding wildly, disrupting the cavalry unit's charge formation. Then, the war elephants, with eyes reddened with rage, charged towards the Persian infantry formation. The elephant drivers on their backs had to painfully drive long iron nails into the war elephants' brains, causing them to collapse in agony.
A very few war elephants, in their uncontrolled rampage, threw off their riders and crashed straight into the dense infantry ranks, causing a commotion.
Artaxerxes, witnessing this scene, felt somewhat uneasy: "Tiribazus, what is going on?!"
Tiribazus didn't dare to respond directly, but urgently reminded: "Your Majesty, the Immortal cavalry has already moved out, it's time to launch a full-scale attack!"
"Now?" This was originally a pre-arranged plan, but when it came to the moment, Artaxerxes seemed a little hesitant again.
Artaxerxes' hesitation did not displease Tiribazus. On the contrary, he was glad that the Persian king's attention was diverted. Having led troops on many expeditions, he knew that the biggest weakness of war elephants was their uncontrollability. In the past, incidents of them charging into their own formations had occurred from time to time, but never as many as in today's battle.
At this moment, he didn't have time to think about the reasons, but loudly urged: "The chariots, war elephants, and cavalry have successively launched attacks on the Daonian army's center. We must seize this opportunity, launch a full-scale attack, and completely defeat the enemy opposite!"
Tiribazus' words temporarily dispelled the haze that had risen again in Artaxerxes' heart. He perked up and nodded.
Hearing the high-pitched bugle call and seeing the Persian messengers galloping past in front, constantly shouting, Remy took a deep breath. He knew that the crucial moment that would determine the life and death of his tribe had finally arrived. The sudden heavy mood was mixed with a bit of relief, because he had been suffering for some time, and now there would finally be a result.
He looked back at the Persian commander who was constantly shouting for an attack in the rear, and a hint of contempt appeared on his face.
At the forefront of the Persian army's far right wing, Mardonios, who had been waiting somewhat impatiently, received the Persian king's order conveyed by the messenger, and immediately turned his anger into joy, impatiently waving the long saber in his hand: "Attack! Attack!…"
He was so excited not only because he was a descendant of Gobryas, but also a descendant of Mardonius, the commander of the Persian army who commanded the Battle of Plataea. Mardonius died heroically on the battlefield, but because of the failure of the Battle of Plataea, he was heavily criticized by the Persian nobles, which also affected the reputation of the entire family. Mardonios had decided to make the first contribution in this battle to wash away the family's shame.
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The horizontal formation of the Immortal cavalry was very long, and the slight chaos caused by the retreat of a dozen war elephants was not enough to affect the advance of the entire team, but the rain of arrows shot by thousands of Daonian light infantry caused greater trouble for the Persian cavalry.
McAgades watched with satisfaction as the Persian cavalry in the distance fell to the ground with their men and horses. Just as he was about to draw his second arrow, he heard the shouts of the squad leaders beside him, but the battlefield was too noisy for him to hear clearly. He didn't react, but the teammate next to him pulled him and shouted urgently: "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
McAgades was dragged back by his teammate, and said unwillingly: "There is still time, I can shoot another arrow!"
"Bullshit!" The teammate scolded: "The heavy infantry needs time to form up!"
McAgades was speechless. In traditional Greek battles, light infantry acted as auxiliaries, and they were completely in charge of their own attacks and retreats. However, in the Daonian army, various arms needed to cooperate closely, and as a recruit, he had not fully adapted.
McAgades and his teammates quickly fled into the infantry ranks, while Alcinus and other squad leaders nervously watched the front. The Persian cavalry was coming very fast, and it was already very close to the infantry formation.
"Javelins!" Alcinus roared, and the legionary soldiers, who were already prepared, threw the javelins in their hands with all their might.
This was an even more terrifying wave of death than the previous rain of arrows. The armor of the Persian cavalry and warhorses was easily pierced by the heavy javelins, and they fell in pieces amid screams and wails, also hindering the advance of the cavalry behind.
Taking advantage of the enemy formation's chaos, the rear squad phalanxes that had thrown their javelins quickly rushed up and connected with the front phalanxes, but at the same time, they also blocked some of the light infantry who had not been able to retreat to the rear of the formation outside the formation.
The Immortal cavalry, who had luckily escaped the ranged attacks, never imagined that the Daonian army formation, after experiencing the charge of chariots and war elephants, could still remain so intact. Although surprised, as the most elite and bravest soldiers of Persia, they continued to charge without hesitation in the face of the heavily guarded shield wall and spear wall, having already reached the front of the formation.
Although the dense thrusting spears pierced the warhorses, they could not stop the huge kinetic energy contained in the continuous running of nearly a thousand pounds of weight. Amidst the wails of the warhorses, the resounding sound of "Boom! Boom! Boom!…" continued to ring out, accompanied by exclamations. The soldiers facing them were knocked flying, and gaps instantly appeared in the center of the army formation.
But unfortunately, the Persian cavalry only had three horizontal lines, and had been weakened a lot by arrows and javelins. After experiencing this round of impact, they could no longer continue, and the Persian infantry formation was still halfway in its advance. Therefore, the Daonian legionary soldiers quickly eliminated these Immortal cavalry trapped in the formation.
"Your Majesty, it seems that our infantry phalanx has blocked the impact of the Persian cavalry, and there have not been too many casualties… There is no need to use the reserve team for the time being, replace them." Philistus said happily and loudly, closely monitoring the battle in the center.
Amyntas, Epitenes, and other veterans breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this. They had been in the army all their lives and had extremely rich war experience, but they had never encountered such a dangerous scene as today's battle, where chariots, war elephants, and armored cavalry took turns charging the army formation. Although there were careful plans in advance, they were all holding their breath.
Davos remained calm, staring at the front, vaguely revealing countless figures on the dusty battlefield.
"The Persian infantry is coming up, and their cavalry on the flanks should also be starting to attack…" Davos said in a steady tone, paused, and asked: "Have our slingers started attacking?"
The Persian full-scale offensive had just begun. The Balearic slingers were located on the flanks of the army formation, eight or nine miles away from the command center in the center. Even if the messengers reporting the battle situation ran as fast as possible, they could not reach Davos in an instant.
Philistus was momentarily speechless, but Tolmides next to him reacted quickly: "Your Majesty, please rest assured! Although fewer Balearic citizens have been conscripted since the Balearic Islands were incorporated into the kingdom, they have been participating in Iberian military camp training for many years, and there are absolutely no problems with their cooperation with other arms. I believe they will complete the task you have given them very well!"
Davos nodded after listening and said leisurely: "As long as we can defeat the Persian cavalry again, I have nothing to worry about in this war."
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Giddy up! Giddy up! Yo! Yo!… Amidst the continuous shouts of various tunes, more than 30,000 cavalry on the flanks gradually began to advance, like a flood overflowing its banks, and their momentum was far more terrifying than the infantry's attack in the center.
Looking at the wall of dust rolling in from the distance ahead, the First Cavalry Regiment Commander Cuchius did not have a trace of tension on his face, and he even had the leisure to look back.
"450 meters!… 450 meters!… 450 meters!" The observers at the forefront of both ends of the Daonian army formation transmitted the distance between the Persian cavalry units and the army formation to the Balearic slingers at the very rear of the army formation. These soldiers carried only a sling and a few bags of lead bullets, and had no other protection on their bodies. After the opposing cavalry moved out, they had already begun to swing their slings under the orders of the squad leaders.
"Loose!" Amidst the commands of the officers, the Balearic slingers readily hurled Soné's lead bullets with all their might.
Immediately after, they loaded the smallest size lead bullets (according to multiple tests by the Department of Military Affairs, an excellent Balearic slinger could hurl this size bullet approximately 400 meters) into their pouches, once again swung their slings, and once again hurled the lead bullets, repeating this process without pause.
Even a lead bullet the size of a jujube couldn't inflict much damage if it directly hit someone, but when such bullets rained down from the sky, they caused significant trouble for the Persian mixed cavalry that was accelerating. Whether they struck the cavalrymen or landed on the warhorses, they easily caused men to fall and horses to stumble, some even dying tragically under the hooves of the cavalry behind them. Especially the camel cavalry running at the front, after being struck by lead bullets and toppling over, their massive size became a major obstacle, tripping up teammates behind them who couldn't evade in time.
The Persian mixed cavalry on the flanks originally had a loose formation, which became even more dispersed after the advance. Each had a line stretching two li in length and nearly one li in thickness. The 4,000 lead bullets rained down separately, not causing too many casualties to the entire Persian cavalry, but they fell continuously like hail, from 450 meters to 150 meters. The Balearic slingers actually hurled five volleys, continuously inflicting damage on the Persian cavalry, not only making their formation sparser but also forcing them to slow their overall advance speed and lowering their morale.
"150 meters! 150 meters!…" When the observer's voice reached the light infantry in front of the slingers, nearly ten thousand archers on both sides of the entire Daonian army formation simultaneously released the arrows in their hands.
At the same time, Cychreus said loudly, "Now it's time to see our cavalry!"
The standard-bearer beside him, upon hearing this, immediately waved the fluttering military flag and pointed it forward forcefully.
The Daonian cavalry spurred their warhorses and began to trot forward.
The Daonian cavalry formation was the opposite of the Persian mixed cavalry. The warhorses were very close together, and the formation had only two ranks, so its length was also nearly two li. The Numidian light cavalry, originally behind them in a loose formation, after receiving the order to attack, quickly moved laterally to the outermost side, revealing the thousands of light infantrymen concealed behind them.
These light infantrymen, wielding leather shields and short swords, quickly followed the cavalry legion in front.
To avoid accidentally injuring their own cavalry, the Daonian archers on the flanks only fired two volleys, but because their numbers were more than three times that of the slingers, and the lethality of arrows exceeded that of lead bullets, the damage to the Persian cavalry was even greater.
Mardonius, full of ambition, had not expected that the cunning Daonians had actually ambushed light infantry behind the cavalry. After he led the cavalry forward, a rain of stones fell from the sky non-stop, followed by a hail of arrows that blotted out the sky.
The guard cavalry originally surrounding him gradually became sparse, and even he himself was struck by an arrow, fortunately blocked by thick scale armor, preventing fatal damage.
Shaken, he desperately spurred his horse, with only one thought in his mind: to engage the Daonian cavalry as soon as possible, defeat them, and everything would be safe!
However, when he saw the Daonian cavalry approaching, he was immediately stunned: the Daonian cavalry were lined up one next to another, like a rapidly moving long wall. In his decades of military career, he had never seen such a cavalry charge.
In fact, such wall-like charge training occasionally occurred in Daonia's peacetime military training, but this was the first time it was used in actual combat, and in such an important battle, so Cychreus, leading the cavalry forward, had palms full of sweat.
The young Daonian cavalrymen didn't think so much. They held their spears in one hand and pulled the reins in the other, leaning their bodies forward and constantly pressuring their warhorses with their legs: "Drive! Drive!…" The rapidly soaring speed of the warhorses made their blood boil, and the close proximity of their comrades beside them made them feel at ease, so they were fearless in the face of the approaching enemy cavalry.
In a short distance of a hundred meters, the rapid acceleration of the horses made it difficult for the Daonian cavalry formation to maintain its compactness, but the two armies were already close.
In an instant, cavalry collided, blood splattered, spears broke, soldiers fell, warhorses wailed… The Daonian's winding cavalry line disappeared in the blink of an eye, but at the same time, the Persian cavalry's momentum of rapid advance was also curbed, and the cavalry battlefield basically came to a standstill.
Mardonius, who had fallen from his horse, was helped up by his guards. He drew the sword from his waist and was about to lead his guards to kill the enemy who had also fallen from his horse, when he was horrified to see countless Daonian soldiers in black helmets and black armor, wielding leather shields and short swords, surge out from the gaps between the cavalry and charge towards them.
The cunning Daonians had actually hidden infantry behind the cavalry!… Seeing this situation, Mardonius trembled all over, his mind blank.
"My lord, run!" The guards hurriedly carried Mardonius on their backs and fled in panic.
The Persian cavalry, having lost their speed advantage, were no match for the well-trained Daonian light infantry in close combat, and the Persian light cavalry, such as the Scythian cavalry, were restrained by the Numidian light cavalry and could not provide support. The Persian mixed cavalry was completely at a disadvantage under the attack of the Daonian light infantry, which was precisely why Davos had required the Daonian cavalry legion to adopt this dense linear formation attack.
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Seeing the enemy holding round shields and thrusting spears, cautiously approaching, Arsinus knew that these were the Greek soldiers hired by the Persians that the legion commander had mentioned.
"Traitors!" He spat contemptuously, then shouted, "Javelins!"
The prepared soldiers hurled the last remaining javelin with all their might.
This did not cause any damage to the prepared Greek mercenaries, but it did make them stop temporarily.
"Charge!" Arsinus shouted again.
"Hades!!!" The soldiers roared in unison, charging towards the enemy 30 meters away.
The infantry on both sides began to fight successively in the center, on the left wing, and on the right wing, along the long ten-mile battle line. This battle was finally fully launched.
Even though the Daonian army had a considerable advantage in close combat, the infantry battle could not be decided in a short time. Moreover, the Persians knew the weaknesses of their army well, and had made some changes to this end. In addition to the Greek mercenaries and the Immortals, who were not weak in close combat, they also equipped the valiant Carduchian, Dyrkian and other mountain tribes with iron helmets, chainmail, bronze shields, and one-handed hammers, hoping that they could resist the Daonian legion soldiers.
It was a pity that not long after the battle began, the Dyrkian Xoconti tribe warriors, under the command of the great chieftain Remi and the chieftains, suddenly retreated, while shouting loudly, "We've been defeated, we've been defeated!!…"
The Persian generals responsible for supervising this unit were panicked by this sudden change. They even attempted to send the enforcement team beside them to hack and kill the Dyrkian warriors who were leading the escape in order to force them to stop running and return to battle.
However, the Xoconti tribe warriors had prepared for the retreat. How could the enforcement team's small number of men withstand the attack of thousands of Dyrkian warriors? They were quickly all knocked down, and even the Persian general was hacked down.
The retreat of the Xoconti unit caused a gap of nearly 200 meters to suddenly appear on the right-wing infantry line of the Persian army. The Daonian Eleventh Legion soldiers fighting against them closely followed the Dyrkian soldiers, poured into the gap, and quickly advanced under the command of the officers, rather than immediately attacking the enemies on both sides of the gap, so that the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Legions, which were in reserve behind them, could continue to pour into the gap.
The sudden retreat of the Xoconti tribe warriors also seriously affected the Dyrkian warriors on both sides, especially when they saw the Daonian soldiers constantly pouring through the gap and appearing on their flanks and rear. The panic in their hearts can be imagined, and their fighting spirit was rapidly declining.
Not far behind the formation formed by the Dyrkian warriors were the Persian archers. They followed their own infantry formation, originally intending to use the few remaining arrows to remotely attack the rear of the Daonian infantry formation and provide support to the troops in front. This was the traditional tactic of the Persian army. Now, seeing that the Dyrkian warriors in front had just engaged in battle and were already collapsing, and had also attacked and killed the supervisors, they were all shocked.
At this critical moment, the commander of this archery unit resolutely ordered the archers to draw their short daggers and step forward to meet the enemy in order to block the gap and prevent the collapse of the line.
Having light infantry directly confront the Dyrkian warriors and Daonian legion soldiers equipped with sophisticated weapons was simply toying with life, but the archers at this time showed the Persian spirit. They gathered from all around and engaged in fierce fighting with the enemy, attempting to maintain the line, while also sending messengers to rush back to the main camp for reinforcements.
Artexerxes, after learning of the terrible situation on the right wing, was frightened and turned pale.
"Teribazus, now we… what should we do?" He asked his most trusted advisor in a panic.
Teribazus was equally flustered, but he pretended to be calm: "Your Majesty… the archers led by General Artayos cannot hold off the enemy for long. We must quickly press the reserve troops up! We have a strong force. As long as we can restabilize the Dyrkian line, the advantage is still on our side!"
Artexerxes regained some confidence after being told this. He not only immediately issued orders, but also cursed angrily: "The cursed Dyrkians, how could I have believed these shameless villains before? When I win the battle, I will definitely wipe them out completely!"
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"Your Majesty, the Persian reserve troops have moved!" Philius, having received the news, reported to Davos.
As soon as he finished speaking, Tolmides exclaimed excitedly, "Look! The Persian King is also coming up!"