Chapter 242 The Battle of Asia Minor (End)
"Report to the commander, the cavalry of the Persian left flank has been completely defeated!"
After receiving the good news from the messengers, Leoticides still looked serious: Pass my order, and the cavalry and Epirus light shields on the right flank immediately attacked the Persian flank! "
He knew very well in his heart: according to what he had known before, although the cavalry on the left flank of the Persian army lost the opportunity, they were very heroic in the difficult situation. Paid a small price. But now is not the time to rest, because judging from the entire battle situation, although the coalition forces have the upper hand, they will not be able to defeat the Persians for a while, and the arrows that the Persian archers shoot from the rear of their army continue to consume their own side. A lot of energy of the soldiers at the rear of the army formation affects their strong support for the soldiers at the front of the formation.
What is more troublesome is the thousands of cavalry on the Persian right flank, although the Dionysian light armour and light infantry have been mixed together, with their backs to the main force of the Greek coalition, lined up in a relatively loose formation, paying close attention to the Persian cavalry. The movement, ready to defend its attack on the side of the main coalition army, but the speed of the Persian cavalry is fast, after all, it is really necessary to move quickly in a large area, the light armor and light infantry can only be far behind, and at the critical moment they are desperate. A full-scale surprise attack might bring a lot of trouble to the entire battle, so he hoped to establish a chance of victory as soon as possible.
While thinking about the entire battle situation, Leoticides was paying attention to the battle situation ahead. At this moment, his captain of the guard suddenly shouted: "Lord Commander, the Persian cavalry is charging at us!"
Leoticides hurriedly turned around and saw that the countless Persian cavalry that had been cruising in the distance were galloping in his direction. The light infantry fired arrows and javelins at them, and the Persian cavalry kept falling off their horses, but instead of retreating again as before, they accelerated their advance.
Leoticides' face changed slightly: his worries were fulfilled, but the target of the raid was actually himself - the commander of the Greek coalition forces.
As a former Spartan soldier, he did not lack courage, but as the commander of the coalition forces, he could not have accidents at the most important moment of the battle, and he could not let the flag of the coalition army held high beside him be taken away, which would greatly affect the soldiers. Their morale, so he did not hesitate to lead the escort to the place where the light armor and light infantry were most concentrated. And the officers of this mixed army also felt the crisis, and loudly greeted the soldiers to gather.
Facing the enemy in front, this Persian cavalry unit, mainly light cavalry, no longer chose to dodge as before, but instead held the horse's neck tightly, accelerated the horse's speed, and charged straight towards the opponent.
This indomitable momentum made many Dionian soldiers feel palpitations. The officers shouted "The Name of Hades" to stabilize the army, and at the same time commanded the light infantry to immediately conduct long-range attacks to hinder the enemy's charge.
The war horses shot by the arrows rolled down to the ground with the cavalry on their backs in the screams,
Then he was trampled into flesh by the Persian cavalry who followed closely behind...
Although the long-range attack of the Dionian light infantry failed to repel the Persian cavalry, it also slowed their charge, giving the light armorers time to rush into formation.
Facing the Persian cavalry who charged forward with amazing momentum, the Dionysian light armored soldiers, despite their pale faces, still held their leather shields and lined up in a dense array to block them.
"Peng! Peng! Peng!..." Dionysian soldiers were constantly being knocked away, bringing down their comrades in arms, but there were also soldiers who came to join the interception array. In the constant screams and exclamations, although Dionysian's array was shattered, it never collapsed, and the charge of the Persian cavalry was finally contained...
Leoticides has been paying attention to the battle situation behind him. At this time, he is not only relieved, but also happy in his heart. He is very clear that once the Persian cavalry, who are known for their swiftness, loses speed, if they do not retreat in time, they will only be waiting for them. Destruction, he can finally focus all his attention on the battle ahead.
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On the right flank of the Greek coalition army, the two elite troops next to each other, the Spartan warriors and the Thebes holy team, due to their previous grievances, in order to prove that they are stronger than each other and compete with each other, their enemies have suffered a lot. pressure.
At this time, the attack from the flanks of the Allied cavalry and light shields became the straw that broke the camel's back, and the Persian soldiers began to retreat...
Although it will take a certain amount of time for the local small defeat to affect the military formation that is as long as seven or eight miles, perhaps there may be other turning points for the Persian army during this time.
But Fanabazos, who learned the news, obviously did not have such a fluke. When the left, center and right lanes were all at a disadvantage, and no reinforcements were available, it was obvious that the defeat was set, and he made a decisive decision. The order to "retreat" was given.
When the Persian soldiers heard the trumpet, they immediately turned and fled, and the coalition soldiers took advantage of the situation to cover up.
The entire battlefield is like a dam bursting, and the river is rushing in all directions.
The tens of thousands of Greek mercenaries in the middle of the road were not only slow to respond, but also slow to move due to the thick armor that affected their hearing. They fell behind and became the best targets for the coalition soldiers to pursue.
At this time, Jason could no longer care about the mercenaries he had spent years training hard. He threw away his eye-catching helmet and heavy breastplate, and rode his own horse, like fleeing Greece a few years ago. The same complex mood quickly escaped the battlefield...
At dusk, the coalition soldiers who had already stopped chasing were cleaning the battlefield. They stripped off the armor and weapons from the corpses, or found valuable items from the captives, and they could not help laughing...
The coalition generals gathered together in twos and threes, looking at the battlefield filled with corpses happily, and excitedly discussing the previous battle.
On the other hand, Leoticides sat alone on the hillside with his eyes closed, and when he heard footsteps beside him, he remembered, and without opening his eyes, he asked directly, "How is the loss?"
The Greek coalition staff officer and Leoticides' old partner, Mukru, said in a deep voice: "According to preliminary statistics, we have more than 6,400 casualties, including 1,300 cavalry casualties, and the death rate is as high as 60%. There were more than 3,000 light infantry, and the death rate was only 30%. The light armored soldiers also exceeded 1,000 people, and the death rate was only 30%... The rest of the heavy infantry who suffered casualties were mostly allied soldiers, and the one with the most casualties was the Spartans who lined up alone. warrior."
Leoticides suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at Mukru.
Muklu seemed to have expected this reaction, and continued with his face unchanged: "According to the report of the messenger, the Spartans really showed great bravery in this battle. They were the first to defeat the enemy in front of them. Of course, it also paid the price of nearly 100 casualties..."
Leoticides didn't speak, but his right hand quietly tore off a piece of grass beside him.
"One more thing... I think you should know..." Mukru whispered hesitantly, "Agasilaus is dead..."
Leoticides suddenly widened his eyes.
Muklu's voice was lowered: "I heard that after the Persians were defeated, Agsilaus, who was sitting behind the Spartan army and commanded, was so excited that he wanted to chase after the soldiers, but he fell. , never got up again..."
That old guy is finally dead... The block that had been pressing on Leoticides' heart for a long time suddenly disappeared, but at this moment he did not feel relieved, but felt a little empty in his heart. The line of sight is fixed on a corner on the left side of the battlefield: there are hundreds of strong men with long braids and shirtless bowing their heads solemnly and praying for something. In front of them is a row of corpses. Gesilaus' remains...
Leoticides thought so in his heart, but he didn't walk over to pay homage with them. He just sat quietly, with the words that Agesilaus said last night when he left echoed in his ears...
Just when he was lost, Muklu's report continued: "The Persians left nearly 6,000 corpses and wounded soldiers on the battlefield, most of them cavalry. We also captured more than 6,000 routed soldiers, most of them Greek mercenaries..."
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Yalitaka, a well-known Tyre noble, led the Tyre fleet twice and followed the Persian army to fight in Egypt. He 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 king of Persia, who wanted to take the opportunity to recapture Egypt, obviously did not forget him, and sent messengers to Phoenicia, asking the city-states of Phoenicia to gather all the warships, commanded by Yalitaka, and do a good job. With the preparation of the Persian army to attack Egypt.
But it didn't take long for the Dionysian Holy Kingdom to declare war on Persia, and then the Dionysian army landed in Egypt, quelled the unrest, stayed for a long time, and even its troops were still stationed in Pe-Ramses, threatening Gaza's Security... and so on, a series of news came one after another in more than two months, making the entire Near East region tense.
During this period, Persia, which was undergoing comprehensive military mobilization, required that the coastal areas such as Cyprus, Syria, and Issus must concentrate the warships owned by their own areas in the naval ports of Tyre and Sidon, form a unified Persian fleet, and appoint Asian Litaka was the commander-in-chief of the Persian fleet and asked him to lead the fleet to guard the Near East Sea to prevent the invasion of the Dionysian fleet.
Yalitaka, who was assigned the only important task for the first time, was naturally very diligent. He repeatedly sent messengers to urge Cyprus and Syria to provide warships as soon as possible, and at the same time seized the time to reorganize and train the warships under his command.
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