Chapter 255: The Battle of Jera (End)

The four detachments under the company commander Diocassis were stacked on top of each other, forming a section about twenty-six or seven meters long in the right flank array, and he was in the center and had been closely following the battle of the soldiers in the front.

Compared to the original battle in Minoa, it was far less dangerous, the enemy on the opposite side did not look tall or strong, the attack was not fierce, the impact on the array was not very strong, and the pressure on the soldiers was not too great...... But after a long period of close observation by Diocassis, he knew that his soldiers had met a fierce enemy.

Because first of all, the enemy on the opposite side has a strong defense, they are very good at defending with shields, and they cooperate well with each other; Secondly, they were very experienced in dealing with the short sword attacks of the soldiers, which made the melee short sword combat that the Dionian Legion infantry was proud of not very effective; Thirdly, they have rich combat experience and a good rhythm of attack, they do not easily swing the bayonet spear in their hand, but first concentrate on using the long shield to defend against the brave attack of the soldiers, use the appropriate retreat to cushion the impact brought by it, and when their strength is slow, they immediately use their spears to fight back, forcing the opponent back, and even stabbing the opponent...... Therefore, the company commanded by Diocassis was always in a state of three steps forward and two steps back, and the progress was slow.

Of course, he did not know that the Magonides had recruited Phoenician and Numibian exiles because they were cheap to hire, could endure hardships, and were not affiliated with any city-state or tribe, so they could easily cultivate loyalty. The Phoenu infantry did become the main force of the Magonid family in the Iberian Peninsula after rigorous training, because the enemies they faced for more than ten years were fierce natives, and the Phoenu soldiers, who were not superior in strength and speed, relied on tenacious defense and tacit cooperation, dragging down the enemy in a protracted confrontation, or sticking the enemy's main force, and then letting the swift Numibian cavalry or Mauritanian cavalry go around the enemy's rear to attack, and finally crush the enemy in one fell swoop. A common tactic used by generals such as Hasdruba against the indigenous Iberians. Since most of the Iberian natives used the Facata daggers, it was natural that the Firu infantry had a lot of experience in dealing with shortsword attacks.

As the senior officer of the Legion, Diocassis was anxious, before the battle, Ortizides had briefly told them about his battle intentions, the Eighth Legion was the key to the victory of the Dionian coalition in this battle, but Diocassis looked at the soldiers who were fighting hard in front, and he guessed that the situation of other companies would probably be the same, and the Eighth Legion had not only failed to open the door to victory since the beginning of the war, but fell into a fierce battle, and I am afraid that the dawn of victory will not be seen in a short time......

Just as Diocassis was thinking about it, a familiar shout came from behind him: "Warriors of the Eighth Legion, I am your Legion Commander!" I command you to intensify your offensive, defeat the enemy before you, and win honor and rewards for yourselves! The warriors of the Eighth Legion ......"

This is indeed the voice of the Commander of Prosous! Diocassis was first surprised, then uneasy, for Prosus, who had the impression of a cold, passionless character, had never been so loudly motivated to his soldiers, neither in training nor in previous battles, and that this time the tide of the battle had suddenly changed against us?

Some of the officers as sensitive as Diosis were equally uneasy, but the vast majority of the ordinary soldiers of the Eighth Legion were thrilled when they heard the voice of the commander who had been with them for 10 years, who had been strict with them and had brought them victory and glory, and their morale was once again high, and his shouts were exchanged for a tidal roar: "Hades!!" Hades!! Fight!! Fight!!! ……”

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While the soldiers of the Eighth Legion were motivated by Leotizides to intensify their attack, in the rear of the Carthaginian left flank, the Dionian cavalry was rapidly charging the Balearic slingers from both sides.

Although the Balearic slingers were engaged in long-range attacks with the Dionian light infantry, they were always on the lookout for the Dionian cavalry, so as soon as they noticed that the enemy cavalry was moving towards them, they immediately ignored the light infantry in front of them and concentrated all their efforts on the cavalry. At this time, there were still more than 1,000 slingers, and they were divided into two parts, and the dense lead pellets flew towards the charging cavalry, in a vain attempt to shoot them down.

For a time, the horses neighed, and the cavalry kept falling and rolling.

However, now that the Fourth Cavalry Regiment had already made a charge, it was impossible to stop it any longer, or it would bring greater losses, and they roared and rode their horses past their comrades who were wailing on the ground, and struck at the enemy who was constantly throwing the slings not far away.

Infected by the courage of the 4th Cavalry Corps, the friendly cavalry also followed.

Seeing the enemy horsemen emerging from the dust and mist, slaying at them with a compelling momentum, the Balearic slingers finally felt panicked, and they began to run backwards.

The Dionian cavalry rushed to the front, stabbed with spears and rammed with horses, completely scattering the slingers, and then deliberately drove them to flee to the Carthaginian army in front.

Forced to charge the rear of the Carthaginian left flank in battle, the Phoenus infantry in the rear had to turn around and slaughter them to prevent them from disrupting the battle, while also having to be careful to deal with the javelins thrown by the Dionian cavalry, which inevitably distracted them from the attack of the Eighth Legion.

At this time, the soldiers of the Eighth Legion, inspired by Leotizides, were doing everything to launch a new offensive.

Originally, the Phoenus infantry were not afraid of this, but would have rejoiced in their hearts, because the enemy had exhausted their spare strength too soon, and it was their turn to counterattack. But now, they can't resist and have to retreat again and again.

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On the right flank of the Carthaginian army, it was the side of the Ionian coalition that retreated.

The Carthaginian army already had more soldiers than the Ionian coalition, and it was in the same length as the opponent's formation, which meant that the Carthaginian army's array on the right flank was even thicker than the opponent's. The Dionian Coalition soldiers were weaker than the Lusitanian warriors in terms of individual combat effectiveness, and they were also inferior to the other party in terms of overall strength pushing, so after more than an hour of fierce fighting, the little advantage that the Lusitanian warriors had at the beginning of the battle had become extremely obvious.

Although the attack of the Lusitanian warriors was much weaker than at the beginning, the resistance and counterattack of the soldiers of Kamanlina and Gera weakened more obviously, and the sound of their comrades falling and screaming from time to time increased the panic in their hearts, so the left flank array of Dionya continued to retreat under the pressure of the Lusitanian attack, and the originally dense formation became more and more sparse in the retreat.

The Lusitanian warriors took the opportunity to squeeze into these gaps and attacked the enemy from the flanks, constantly widening the gaps, burning the flames of battle to the rear of the Kamanlina and Gela arrays.

Eventually, fear overwhelmed the fighting spirit, and some of the Kamanlina soldiers at the back of the formation began to turn and flee, and their escape immediately affected their teammates who were also unstable, and everyone fled, and the rout was inevitable......

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The left flank began to retreat?! Although Leotizides was mentally prepared, he was still a little distracted after hearing the news.

After a moment, he lifted his spirits and looked ahead. In order to understand the battle situation more conveniently, he was already close to the rear of the Eighth Legion array at this time, and on horseback, he could even see the faces of the enemy who were fighting with the soldiers: although the enemy was already retreating in great strides due to his supervision and the attack of the Fourth Cavalry Corps he sent from the flanks and rear, there was no excessive panic on their faces, and the thin horizontal column of the Eighth Army could not seize this opportunity to increase the pressure on the forward and carry out a more effective breakthrough...... Therefore, judging from the current fighting situation, the stalemate on the right flank will continue for some time, and what the Eighth Army lacks now is time.

Having been in Sparta for more than 20 years, he knew very well that once the traditional Greek heavy infantry on the left flank appeared to break out, it would not be too long before the entire left flank completely collapsed, and then it would spread to the center......

Leotizides immediately decided: "Order the whole army...... Fall back! ”

Although Leotizides remained expressionless, the volume of his speech still showed the change in his mood.

Mukru on the side was also in a complicated mood, and when he repeated the order again, even his voice trembled a little: "Quick...... Blow the ...... Retreating bugles! ”

Since the trumpets of Dionia's retreat were different from those of the Greek city-state army, the trumpeters had to blow it twice.

When the trumpet sounded similar to the attack of the Greek army, the soldiers of the Eighth Army were a little incredulous, because the enemy on the opposite side had not yet retreated, and the sound of this trumpet at this time meant: ...... We're defeated?!

Although it was difficult to accept, the habit of strict military discipline that they had cultivated over the years made them choose to obey, and after the sudden onslaught forced the enemy back in front of them, the soldiers quickly turned and retreated......

"Order the soldiers to speed up their retreat and enter the city through the north and east gates of Gera!" Leotizides then ordered, he was not dazed by the defeat, and knew very well that once the coalition army was completely defeated, most of the panicked soldiers would instinctively flock to the west gate of the city of Gela, which was closest to them, which would inevitably cause congestion and easily become the target of slaughter by the pursuing enemy. Although the north gate is farther away, it will allow soldiers to enter the city faster because of the smooth road. And because most of the soldiers of the Eighth Army were on the right flank when they were arrayed, they were closer to the north gate than they were on the center and left flank.