Chapter 244 The Battle of Germay (4)

The captain was stunned after hearing this. After a while, he suddenly raised his chest and said in a deep voice: "General, you have been the commander of our Fourth Fleet for 10 years, caring and caring for us like a father, how could we abandon you and run for our lives alone today! Please let me I will follow you and fight bravely as always!"

"Sir, please let me follow you to meet the enemy!"

"And I!"

"do not forget me!"

...

The crew members expressed their opinions one by one, and the determined expressions they showed fully demonstrated that they were not just talking.

Miltias was finally moved, he looked around at the crew, and finally showed a relieved smile: "Very good, then let's go to Elysee Paradise together!"

As he said that, he raised the dagger that had cut many Phoenician sailors and had some gaps, and said loudly: "Speed ​​up the paddle, charge forward, target the Carthaginian cavalry!"

"Yes!!!" more than 100 crew members shouted in unison, arranged in a column similar to a boat, led by Myrtias, strode forward, and sang the ode to Hades: "I sing praises to you, Great Hades, you are the master of the night, the master of the law, the protector of the kingdom of Dionia..."

………………………………

While the Carthaginian army was slaughtering the crews and allied soldiers of the Dionysian Sicilian fleet on various shores from Germer to Minoa, the Eastern Phoenician fleet was not as Myrtius had imagined. Returning with a great victory, they got the news through the clippers that "the Dionian Squadron has attacked from the east and defeated some of the Phoenician ships", hastily assembled the scattered warships, and then sailed east, preparing to against.

Phoenician city-states such as Tyre and Sidon have provided Persia with a navy for many years. Sailors born in the Phoenician region with a strong commercial atmosphere are actually not strong enough to fight. Therefore, the Persian navy and the Greek navy (mainly Athens) In the decades of war history, the Phoenicians have not created any brilliant achievements, and from today's results, the East Phoenician fleet has easily won a brilliant victory, skilled in calculation, slick and sophisticated Of course, they can stop there and brag to Carthage about this record.

However, this fleet was jointly formed by the East Phoenician city-states such as Tyre and Sidon. Once they were forced to withdraw from this sea area under the pressure of the Dionysian fleet, it meant that they could not clean up the battlefield, and would not be able to take the victims out. Take away the damaged warships, unable to rescue the Phoenician sailors who fell into the sea or were killed by the soldiers on the crow warships... Abandoning their compatriots in a foreign land thousands of miles away, becoming prisoners of aliens, not only in the fleet Many of them could not accept it. After returning to the Phoenician region, they would also be accused by the people of the city-state, which is why they decided to continue fighting.

Of course, there is another reason, the Eastern Phoenicians believe that their three-tiered oars far outnumber their opponents, and they can completely defeat the opponent.

In the end, the Phoenician fleet brought together 97 warships, and met the fleet led by Sekelian on the sea between Germer and Minoa. The Dionian battleship joined, bringing the number of battleships to 51.

At this time, the Phoenician warships were almost twice as large as the Dionian warships, and half of the Dionian squadrons were somewhat damaged, but the Dionian fleet was completely unafraid and was located in the fleet. The flagship of the Second Squadron of the First Fleet in the center, under the order of Stefankas, raised three long blood-red ribbons on the top of the mast, which means "the bloody battle to the end, until the end!"

The crow warship that Cykrian was riding was still leading the charge and charging forward.

All the sailors of the warships, regardless of fatigue, are rowing hard, steering the warships to sprint forward, they want to wash away the previous embarrassment and humiliation, and bring pain and death to the enemy!

The original plan of the Eastern Phoenician Fleet was to take advantage of the large number of ships and increase the width of the ship formation. On the front of the Dionysian warship's attack, instead of fighting it, it took the initiative to retreat and lure it deeper, and then two A flanking warship launched an attack, which was a variant of the circumnavigation tactic.

But when two fleets meet, usually both sides will form an array first, and then launch an attack, who knows that the Dionysian warship will rush directly in a mess (Eastern Phoenicians are against Dionia's star-filled ship array). Unfamiliar, thought it was out of line), the Eastern Phoenician fleet could only fight hastily, and the previous battle plan was not fully implemented.

At the beginning, the East Phoenicians were still holding the mentality of dealing with the Dionysian fleet first, and slowly unfolded their battles to implement the original battle plan. Who would have known that the attack of the Dionysian fleet was fast, fierce and efficient. As soon as the warships of the two sides came into contact, the two Phoenician warships in the forefront were in danger. One was hooked by the crow warship, and the other was in danger. Crash by fast warships.

The Dionysian warship rushed forward and back, broke into the center of the Eastern Phoenician fleet, disrupted the order of the entire fleet, and the two sides soon fell into a fierce melee.

The crew of the Dionian fleet fought to the death with determination. In the battle, even if the hull is destroyed and the sea water seeps in, they will block, while still charging the nearby enemy ships or protecting the flanks for their comrades and blocking the attack of the enemy ships; the soldiers of the crow warships rushed to the enemy ships. Later, before returning, the crew would pull up the drawbridge without hesitation, and then smash the drawbridge to another enemy ship that was about to attack them. Then the sailors would pick up the weapons left by the soldiers who jumped into the sea and board the ship. Combat; even when the warship is hit by the enemy, the first thing the crew think of is not to close the gap and escape the warship, but to throw multiple rope hooks from the deck to hook the enemy ship, and then the crew members jump to fight ...

It is precisely because the Dionysian crew broke out a powerful fighting force that did not fear death, which enabled them to compete with the East Phoenician fleet even in the critical situation of the disparity in the number of warships, and their terrifying fighting will deterred them. The East Phoenician sailors who have always acted as Persian vassals and rarely fought independently by themselves, so after more than an hour of fierce fighting, the East Phoenicians chose to retreat out of fear.

Although the Dionia crew were very tired, they still had to complete one important thing before they could return to Serinus City, which was to clean the battlefield and search and rescue comrades who fell into the water, which was why they fought desperately.

The first person to be searched and rescued was Sekelian. The warship he was riding was charging ahead, and was naturally besieged by the Phoenicians, and was eventually sunk. Because the battle was in full swing, the surrounding warships did not have time to rescue him. rise. Now, he was soon rescued aboard Stefankas' ship.

After being soaked in the sea for dozens of minutes, he was still in high spirits. He got on the boat and asked, "Did the enemy really retreat?"

Squadron commander Stefankas immediately went forward to report: "Sir, I have sent a number of fast ships to track the departing enemy. If there is an abnormal situation, they will report immediately. I also let eight warships here. Maintaining combat alert, just in case."

"Well, the arrangement is very detailed and reasonable, much better than that bastard Miltias!" As soon as Miltias was mentioned, Cykrian became angry, and he immediately asked loudly: "Find the Miltias that bastard?"

"There is no news from him yet."

"It seems that he has no face to see me and hid!" Sekelian sneered, and then asked: "How many warships do we have left?"

"...There are 25 left, including 18 crow warships, 7 fast warships, and 6 warships that were not seriously damaged. They should be towed back to the naval base and should be able to be repaired..." Stefankas Said in a heavy tone.

"It's all Myrtias' fault! Over 100 warships! It was his wrong decision that caused over 100 warships to be rammed and sunk by a group of cowardly enemies! Many of the crew didn't even engage in real combat. , just watched his warship sink! This is really... this is really... ah!..." Sekelian was heartbroken, and even shed tears, he was not only saddened by the loss of this naval battle, but also remembered The big storm that made him unbearable...

Yes, the Dionysian Navy, which once claimed to be "the first in the Western Mediterranean", had four major fleets and more than 850 warships, but in the months after the war with Carthage, it suffered continuous heavy losses. The First, Second, and Fourth Fleet are all left, and how can they be brought back to the scale of the Navy when it was first built, how can he not let him cry in pain.

Although Stefanakas was also distressed, he comforted: "Sir, we have captured some enemy ships, pulled them back to the base, and made some modifications to join the fleet and enrich our strength."

"How many?" Sekelian asked immediately.

"The exact number is not clear." Stefankas's answer is understandable, because the battlefield is not limited to this place, and the sea area from Minoa to Germay is full of battlefields.

Therefore, instead of criticizing Stefankas, Cykrian looked up at the sky and said: "It's still afternoon, let the brothers search every sea surface carefully, try not to miss any of the fallen brothers, and Soldiers, don't miss any of the ships, and let them drive the captured enemy ships and return to Serinus together."

"Yes, my lord."

Neither of the two talked about sending reinforcements to Agrigento during the conversation, because under the current circumstances, it was impossible to rush to Agrigento, and it was urgent to return to the port to rest.

The pursuit of the Carthaginian army on the coast forced many Dionysian crew members who had already swum ashore to swim back into the sea. After soaking in the icy water for an hour or two, some crew members were already exhausted, thanks to The mutual assistance of the comrades in arms only supported the arrival of the warship rescue.