Chapter 415: First Big Victory
Chapter 415: First Big Victory
The wounded Samnites said, “The Theonians are coming! Theonia’s reinforcements are coming!!…” which is the same as what the archers on the sentry tower in the camp said but in a happier tone, “Our reinforcements are coming! Our reinforcements are coming!!…”
‘Finally!’ Alexius breathed a sigh of relief when he heard those words.
When the soldiers heard the shout, their morale shook their tired body, filling it up with strength. And they also roared in unison to drive out the enemies who had rushed into the camp.
When Tolek heard the shout, he didn’t want to believe it. But when he turned around and saw the surging Theonian army, swallowing up any stranglers in an instant, his whole body became drained out with energy. He stumbled and fell to the ground with only one thought in his mind, “It’s over! I have fallen into the Theonians trap!”
The Samnites, who had been struggling and were also exhausted, saw the fierce Theonian legionaries coming from behind. Although they were frightened, most of them did not turn around to escape. Instead, they picked up their spears and turned around to face the enemy’s attack, with only having one thing in their mind, ‘Fight!’
However, the continuous arrival of new troops and the attack on their backs made the Samnite warriors’ resistance futile, which only affected their time to escape from getting surrounded.
As the Samnites continued to fall, the remaining warriors’ morale finally faded, and they began fleeing…some who were already exhausted had simply abandoned their weapons and surrendered…the battle lasted for some time before it was basically over. The only thing remaining was to chase the defeated Samnites.
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The third legion’s soldiers in the Theonian camp are either gathering the bodies of their comrades, receiving treatment in the medical camp or lying on the ground or against the wall resting…
Alexius, the legatus of the third legion, listened seriously to his adjutant’s report on the casualties of the legion, “According to the preliminary statistics of the medical camp, our legion has suffered 412 deaths, 251 were seriously wounded and 537 having minor wounds, with a total of 1,2000 casualties…”
‘1,200!’ Alexius clenched his fist. That is already 15% of the legion’s main force, which is really big!
Seeing the pained expression of the legatus, the adjutant comforted him and said, “There is nothing we can do. We are facing the fierce Samnites, who are about three times our number…”
Alexius sighed and said nothing.
At this time, a commotion arises in the quiet camp.
Alexius then saw Davos entering the camp with his guards. He walks towards the centre of the camp while sincerely conversing and expressing his condolence with the soldiers he met.
Alexius hurriedly greeted him.
But before Alexius could approach, Davos rushed forward and gave him a powerful hug, “Alexius, legatus of the third legion. You have done well!”
This sentence immediately dissipated most of Alexius’ lament, grievance and dissatisfaction. He stood at attention and saluted and responded, “Reporting to the Grand Legatus. The third legion has completed its combat mission and is now taking a rest.”
“You have done more than what your combat task requires!” Davos looked around at the soldiers that were quickly gathering, with exhaustion filling their dusty and bloodstained faces. He clenched his right fist and slammed it into his left chest, “Brothers of the third legion! You have made a tremendous contribution to the entire battle by defending this isolated camp, fought an enemy three times your numbers and finally wiped out the incoming Samnites! You have saved Potentia! You have relieved us of the invasions on our Lucanian territories! Changed the entire northern battlefield of Theonia! Not only do I want to thank you, but every people in Theonia would want to thank you! You are the heroes of Theonia and will be remembered in the Temple of Hades in Thurii! For the third legion!”
Davos’ affectionate and passionate words reached every soldier, whether they were Lucanian or Greeks. They all became so excited that they burst into tears.
“For the third legion!!!”
“Hail Davos!!!”
“Long live Theonia!!!”
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The continuous cheers rang out throughout the camp. And when the captured Samnites heard this noise, they all had unspeakable pain and frustration on their faces…
In this war, Davos used the third legion as bait to attract more than 26,000 Samnites warriors. He then took advantage of their exhaustion and secretly mobilised two more legions to besiege and wipe them out…the Samnites suffered more than 7,000 casualties while tens of thousands of Samnite warriors were captured, and only nearly 3,000 managed to flee into the mountains. At the same time, the Theonians easily recaptured the city of Poseidonia, obtaining a large number of supplies that were left in the city and had not yet been transported to the Samnite camp in Potentia. This battle could be said to be a complete victory for the Theonians.
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On the same day, the Syracusan army, which had broken through the north bank of the Allaro river, remained in place. They built a rough camp between the Allaro river and the Corta river, then built a pontoon bridge with dozens of ships to transport the baggage and supplies from Hipponion to the Syracusan camp, finally giving the soldiers a good meal.
In the west of the Syracusan camp and close to the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Terinians panicked. The only thing they could do now was just to send a lot of scouts to closely watch the Syracusan camp while sending messengers to Scylletium and maintain contact with Clampetia.
In Scylletium, even if the 17,000 Crotonian troops arrived and increased the number of soldiers in Scylletium by 30,0000, the people were still distressed. After all, the Syracusan camp was no more than 15 kilometres away from the city of Scylletium, where they could march and reach the city in just a few hours. Now, all the Scylletians have abandoned their homes outside the city and fled into the city with their families.
As for Crotone’s assistance and support, the higher ranking officials of Scylletium led by Phrytinas stopped blaming them. After all, the Crotone-Scylletium army could not do anything against the pressure of the Syracusan army besides sending scouts to the south at regular intervals to find out the movements of the Theonian army.
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The fourth and fifth legions of Theonia began to leave the camp in the early morning. And in order to stop the Syracusans from using this abandoned camp, they not only withdrew their tents and pulled down the wooden defences but also pushed down the earthen walls and filled up the trenches. Why did they spend more energy? It is to repay the kindness of the Caulonians and make up for their guilt.
Last night, when Philesius informed the Caulonians that the Theonian troops were preparing to withdraw, although they knew that the matter was irreversible, Phlarinus and the others still tried their best to make these reinforcements that could protect the safety of Caulonia stay.
However, Philesius could only bear to refuse their request.
Today, almost everyone in Caulonia still came out to see the Theonian army off when they were departing. They had not only helped the soldiers pull out of the camp but also brought freshly heated bread, wheat porridge and soup, hoping that the soldiers would have a full meal before they set out.
Caulonia’s deep friendship and heart-wrenching words had moved many Theonian soldiers. Still, they had to go north due to military orders, and they could only roughly give similar words to comfort the Caulonians, “Don’t worry! As long as you defend the city of Caulonia, we will come to rescue you as soon as we defeat the Syracusan army after joining up with the troops of our other allies!”
Philesius said the same thing to Phlarinus but a bit more tactful.
Phlarinus didn’t seem to notice the uncertainty in Philesius’ words as he said with a determined expression, “Locri has besieged us for too many times that there are no city-states in Magna Graecia that are better in defending, than us. We will defend Caulonia until you return as I know that the Theonians keep their promise!”
Phlarinus’ words gave Philesius a bit more pressure.
Near dusk, the fourth and fifth legions finally arrived at Scylletium. At the same time, the Syracuse-Locri coalition led by Phacipessas heavily surrounded the city of Caulonia.
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In the evening, at the headquarters of the South Italia Alliance in Scylletium, Philesius – the commander of the southern battlefront of Theonia, Ansitanos – the special envoy of the Senate, Ascamas – the strategos of Crotone, Phrytinas – the polemarchos of Scylletium, Asesias – the strategos of the Scylletian army, and Athopias – the envoy of Terina, sat around a large wooden table where the map of the Ophemian plain is laid.
Asesias stood up, took a stick in his hand and explained the current situation to everyone present, “Milords, according to our scouts, the Syracusan army has camped at the junction of the two rivers.”
Asesias then pointed a mark on the map with the wooden stick, “This is the edge of the Ophemian plain. And 7 kilometres to the west is Terina-”
“To be precise, it should only be 6.95 kilometres!” Athopias stressed loudly.
“Cough…Lord Athopias naturally knows much more about the west than we do.” Asesias corrected himself with a slight embarrassment, “The Syracusan camp is only 6.95 kilometres away from Terina. Although the terrain is flat, they would need to cross the Allaro river, which is not a small problem for the Syracusans-”
“The Syracusan navy already occupies the Allaro river, so it is easy for them to send troops across the river!” Athopias stressed again.
Asesias became a little angry, “Lord Athopias if you like interrupting so much, why don’t you continue explaining it to everyone!”
Athopias shook his head and said, “I’m just adding information to the situation you are presenting. Didn’t you also say earlier that ‘We, Terinian, knew more about the situation in the west than you do?’ So with that, all the lords here can have a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the situation of the whole battlefield, which is beneficial to us to make a more reasonable counter plan. After all, this war is no longer just a matter of Scylletium or Terina, but a crisis that the whole South Italia Alliance needs to face together!”
“Lord Athopias is right! Asesias, relax and speak slowly and in more detail.” Phrytinas hurriedly said to appease the two.
“Indeed, everyone is a bit anxious now that the war has reached our territory. However, the more this is the case, the calmer we should be to be able to defeat the powerful enemy.” Ansitanos said to comfort them.