Chapter 220 The Battle of Mayaro (3)

Macias did not expect that the Dionias would set up traps in the town of Meyaro, which caused a lot of trouble for the attacking troops. He could only let the light infantry catch up and assist the heavy infantry to drive away the "rats". At the same time, he urged the reinforcements to enter the battle as soon as possible.

It was of course impossible for the soldiers of the First Legion to set traps throughout the town, especially in the area where they and the exiles were staying, which Syracuse soldiers had entered over time.

At this time, the soldiers of the First Legion, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately greeted them, intercepted the Syracuses in the narrow street, and fought head-on.

The Syracuse soldiers continued to move forward. Once the front was blocked, they would try to bypass the streets on both sides, and other units of the First Corps would intercept them in the new streets. The attack of the Syracuses was like water, once blocked, the soldiers behind would bypass and move forward; while the defense of the Dionian soldiers was like a stone, blocking every street the enemy advanced.

With the development of the war, the Syracuse attacking troops actually went around to the rear of the First Army from both sides.

The more than 5,000 soldiers of the First Corps also included more than 1,000 light infantry and light armored soldiers. The strength was already stretched. If not more than 3,000 exile soldiers returned immediately after escorting their families, blocking the Syracuse soldiers from the rear. The attack, I am afraid that the first army has been attacked from the front and back.

Now the First Legion, the exile warriors and the Syracuse coalition are fighting fiercely in various streets, gradually forming a circle-like defensive circle centered on the small command of Antonios.

Apart from the adjutant and 20 guards and messengers, all the other troops were sent out beside Antonios. Don't look at him sitting on the top of the three-story building that used to belong to the consul's residence in Mayaro Town. In fact, my heart is uneasy: the first army has been surrounded by the enemy, and there is no way out except to fight to the death! And he has no reserve now, once a street is broken by the enemy, it will be a disaster for the entire First Army!

Therefore, Antonios not only kept the long shield spears at hand, but also had his adjutants, guards and some messengers fully armed. If there was any danger, he had to personally lead the troops into battle.

"Deng! Deng! Deng!..." A messenger ran up to the top of the building panting: "Report to the commander, the east... our allied troops in the east are very stable, and there is no situation where they are forced to retreat. "

"It seems that these exiles, as they say, have been fighting against the Sikelians and mercenaries in the western mountains all the year round, and even sometimes fighting with wild beasts, whether it is courage, fighting spirit or fighting skills are not weak. , we can rest assured for the time being." The adjutant said with relief.

Antonios was also relieved. What he was most worried about before was the performance of these exile soldiers.

That's why he specially sent messengers to keep an eye on it and report the situation at any time. At this time, he said: "Our brothers are responsible for the defense of three sides. They have more than 3,000 people, and they are only responsible for one east side, and they can resist the defense. The enemy's attack is also warranted."

"Lord Legionnaire, do you think we should draw some soldiers from them to form a new reserve?" The adjutant suggested.

Antonios was slightly moved. He looked up at the sky, and the sun had begun to move westward. He looked ahead again. On every street, the soldiers of the First Legion were fighting bravely to kill the enemy. The number of them was much smaller than that of the other side. They not only resisted the enemy's attack, but also seemed to cause some confusion for the other side.

"The real battle has just begun, don't rush, wait a while and then..." Antonios said thoughtfully.

Due to the continuous bombardment of ballistas for more than a day, the streets in Meyaro are not only covered with gravel and rubble, but also large stones lie in the middle of the road from time to time, which leads to the army of Syracuse in the streets Not only could it not be deployed, but also due to the above reasons, the dense infantry formations were split, unable to effectively form a combined force to push the Dionysian soldiers, instead, the Dionysian soldiers got into the formation caused by the terrain obstacles. Fissures and close combat, in such close-quarters combat, the Dionian soldiers' long shields and short swords exerted their power.

At the same time, the soldiers of the First Corps did not throw the two javelins in their hands before the battle as usual, but handed them over to their comrades in the rear. When the enemy slips under the feet and loses protection, it is thrown from the gap between the teammates in front, causing damage to the enemy. This is the reason why the First Corps, although the number of soldiers on each street is less than the Syracuse, can carry it. The main reason for keeping the opponent's offense and even slightly gaining the upper hand.

When Marcias learned about the battle situation ahead, he was surprised by the fighting strength of the Dionysians, and at the same time worried that his advantage of having a large number of soldiers could not be used. After thinking about it, he ordered the troops blocked in the rear to carry ladders from The houses between the streets climbed up and over to provide support for the soldiers trapped in the streets, forcing the Dionians to divide their forces.

Originally, these ladders were just a habitual preparation for Macias before sieging the city in the past. With so many ballistas, he never thought of using them this time, and now it just came in handy.

The soldiers carried it and began to climb away from the battle.

The houses of the Greeks, regardless of whether the rich or the common people, are basically four walls with a roof, and an open courtyard in the middle. Therefore, the soldiers of Syracuse climbed in and out, turned over one dilapidated house after another, and sometimes had to hide with them. The Dionian light infantry in it fought hard and dangerous.

More than half an hour later, Antonios received urgent reports from heralds one after another: "Master Legionnaire, First Division Captain Giorgris said that the enemy had penetrated from the residential house and threatened the flanks of his troops, and he No more soldiers to intercept, please retreat first!"

"Report to the Legion Commander, the Second Commander Zantiparis..."

...

"Let's retreat, let the battalions and the exile soldiers retreat to the designated area according to the pre-war deployment, and form a defensive formation! Go and inform Tspit to lead all the light infantry here to gather!"

"Yes!"

Before the battle, Antonios had considered the worst-case scenario when negotiating with the captains, so there were remedies, but he did not expect to be forced to this last step so quickly: "This commander of Syracuse's army It's not easy!"

Antonios sighed secretly, he looked up at the sky again, turned around and asked Serofannis: "The riot you planned should have already begun?"

Of course, Serofannis knew that the situation of the First Army was not very good at the moment, and he answered without hesitation: "Based on what I know about Antrapolis, since he dares to ask you, he must be fully prepared. .And judging from the time now, I'm afraid it's over."

Xenophanes' words made Antonios feel a little relieved, and he said in a deep voice: "In this case, let the First Legion and the Syracuses fight this final battle here!"

The soldiers of the First Corps slowly retreated in an orderly manner.

Due to the restrictions of the terrain and the fear of javelins that might be shot from the enemy's line, the soldiers of Syracuse did not attack fiercely, but also approached cautiously, which allowed the companies and divisions of the First Army to withdraw from the street relatively smoothly.

The exile soldiers did not fare so well. When retreating, they lacked training and experience, so they were a little flustered, and the Syracuses took advantage of the situation to intensify their offensive, which led to increased confusion. Fortunately, in this direction, Syracuse has the least troops, and the exiles are only responsible for the eastern defense, and have enough soldiers, and they all have a deep hatred with the Syracuses, so that they even increase casualties due to chaos. , and would never turn around and run away, so he eventually withdrew from the street.

The consul's mansion where Antonios is located is the administrative center of Meyaro, and it is not adjacent to other residential houses. Due to prior preparations, the first brigade and exile soldiers smoothly surround it, forming a thick enough. dense circle.

However, the Syracuse coalition soldiers who followed the enemy and gathered in front of the battle did not have much preparation, and there were chaos and gaps between the teams coming out of various streets.

The First Corps did not base itself entirely on defense, but seized the opportunity to counterattack, and they launched a short charge in a company, a company order.

At the same time that a company launched the charge, the soldiers of the seventh brigade on the roof of the consul's mansion immediately shot javelins and arrows into the area, regardless of the numbness of their arms.

This tactic of the First Corps has thrown the Syracuse coalition soldiers into chaos...

Seeing this scene, Macias, who hurried to the rear of the team, hurriedly asked the trumpeters to sound the bugle of the attack, and at the same time ordered hundreds of mercenaries under his command to form a long line and drive the retreating soldiers back. Law on the spot. He also asked Sikuli, Katanai, Leotini, the city-state tyrants who followed him, to catch up to appease their somewhat turbulent army.

Because I was worried that the exiles would not be able to cooperate tacitly, I was also worried that the too few troops of the First Army would be surrounded by the enemy after breaking out of the formation, and I had some confidence in what Serofenice said, so that the cautious Anton Rios A full-scale charge was not chosen, thus giving the Syracuse coalition a respite, the chaos was returning, and the generals were directing their soldiers to rearrange the battle...

At this time, Marcias gave an order: "Go and bring in a few ballistas from outside the town."

The adjutant persuaded in surprise: "General, now our soldiers are at war with the enemy, I'm afraid it's easy to hurt ourselves..."