Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 259: Katana Military Conference (2)

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In the Minoan battle, apart from the troubles caused by the Holy Legion of Carthage, the other troops of Carthage were simply vulnerable, especially the morale of the Numibian army. Very low, our heavy infantry can cause them to retreat with a single charge, so our army can easily invade the west, and force the Carthaginians to stay in various cities for a long time, and they have not dared to go out of the city to fight. During this period, we did not find a chance to fight the Iberian army that had been stationed in Palermos.

After Carthage sent its army to Sicily for the second time, the situation changed. First of all, Carthage’s commander-in-chief was due to the Iberian governor Margo. He had been fighting in Iberia for a long time and had a very rich battlefield. experience. Comprehensive intelligence, this Margo brought more than 20,000 soldiers from Iberia, plus 20,000 Iberian soldiers in Palermos, Sicily has more than 40,000 Iberia. Leah soldiers, most of them were mercenaries from Carthage, who followed Margo to fight in Iberia for a long time, and their combat effectiveness was very strong.

In Gela, I led the Eighth Army, the 4th Cavalry Army, and allied armies. The same Iberian army fought, and the number of the two sides was not much different. The infantry and even the 4th Cavalry Regiment assisted the attack from the flanks, but the opponents always defended stubbornly and never retreated—"

"Oh?!" When Breru heard this, he sat up straight, with a surprised look on his face. Although the Eighth Army was numbered behind the Seventh Army, the Eighth Army put down Sikai a few years ago. In the Er region, previously defeated the Holy Corps, called the "strongest heavy infantry" by the Carthaginians, in Minoa. In fact, the combat experience is more abundant than that of the Seventh Corps, which has not fought in these years. Although Breru does not admit it on the surface , But deep down in his heart, he felt that the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Army might be a bit stronger than that of the Seventh Army, and now a heavy infantry army from Iberia can actually remain undefeated in the joint attack of the Eighth Army and the Cavalry Army. It really surprised him.

"And many of this Carthage army may be indigenous warriors on the Iberian Peninsula. They are tall, aggressive, and able to obey discipline. The most notable thing is that they are all armed with one hand. With a shield and a short sword similar to our army soldiers in one hand, they defeated the phalanx made up of Gela and Kamenlina heavy infantry from the front, which eventually led to my defeat in Gela..." When Des mentioned this matter, his expression and tone did not change, as if he was talking about something that happened to someone else.

However, not only Breru, but also Sekelian and Cipros were surprised in the meeting room.

"In this way, the combat effectiveness of the heavy infantry in the Carthaginian army from Iberia is not weaker than our legionaries!" Cipros couldn't help saying, he was just like Sekrian, just rough Knowing the process of Leotizides' defeat in the Battle of Gela, there is still no time for a detailed understanding. Suddenly hearing the details, it is inevitable to feel uneasy.

"Not only the heavy infantry, but the light infantry of the Iberian army of Carthage is not weak. During the battle, they had a group of thousands of slingers, possibly from the Balearic Islands, who threw lead shots. Accurate and ruthless, not weaker than the slingers in the Light Infantry Brigade of the First Army. They caused considerable casualties to the Light Infantry Brigade of the Eighth Army. They also had hundreds of Javelinmen composed of Iberian natives. The javelin thrown is not only heavy, but also has a hook. Once it is hit, it is difficult to be pulled out. The wound caused is huge, which will cause a lot of bleeding and death. The medical camp has no good way to do this. "At this point, Leotizides's tone was slightly lowered.

"It seems that there are only cavalry. We Dionia can be better than—" Sekrian couldn't help sighing after listening to Leotizides, but didn't want to hear a cough from nearby.

He turned his head and looked at the embarrassed 4th Cavalry Regiment Commander Asitmis. He suddenly remembered that Carthage had occupied the Numibian area. There were many Numibian cavalry in the army. The Numibian cavalry suffered a great loss to the Dionian cavalry in the Yugoslavia War.

Sure enough, Leotizides continued: "It may be that this Carthage army was going through the mountains and raiding the rear, so the cavalry was not accompanied, but the intelligence showed that the Carthage army was landing in Sicily. Among them, there are 6,000 to 7,000 cavalry, most of which are Numibian cavalry, and some Carthage, Mauritanian, and Iberian cavalry. The number of them exceeds the total number of our four major cavalry regiments."

"The Carthage army from Iberia, its heavy infantry and light infantry are not weaker than our Legionnaires, and the cavalry is slightly stronger than us. It seems that this is our strong enemy!" Brelu looked solemn. In the past legion career, he fought with the armies of Siracusa, fought with the armies of Mesapi and Puchetti. The armies of these city-states and races always have defects of one kind or another, which made him always be against He was proud of the toughness of the Dionian Legion. It was the first time he heard that there was an army that was not weaker than the Dionian Legion in all aspects. While feeling uneasy, there was also a hint of excitement in his heart.

He asked cautiously: "Except for the army from Iberia, how effective are the other Carthage troops?"

"According to intelligence, in addition to the more than 40,000 soldiers from Iberia, there are about 60,000 soldiers from the basic city of Cartha, the Phoenician ally in Africa, and Numibia among the enemy troops who landed in Sicily. Among the soldiers, Numibia is the most. After the Carthage army surrounded the city of Serinus, I let the army take the initiative to attack the Carthage army at night and succeeded. According to the returned soldiers We reported that many of the enemies they hacked were Numibian soldiers. These Numibians could not organize effective defenses after being attacked. Most of them only knew to escape..."

Leotizides said this, seeing the expressions on the faces of the others lightened a lot, and then continued: "Then this army was sent to attack Minoa. We all know that Ka The Taiji army had attacked Minoan City before, but it was still unable to make progress. This led me to lead my army to rescue. This time the Minoans obviously felt the pressure, and they frequently sent envoys to me. Asked for help, and eventually had to evacuate from Minoa City...

I asked the refugees in Minoa. They said that the dark-skinned Numibians attacked the city wall desperately, repelled a wave, and quickly rushed up again, continuously consuming them. The few defenders of the city led to the failure of the final defender... It can be seen that the combat effectiveness of this army is not weak. From the night attack to the fall of Minoa, it was completely like two armies. I guess that Marge must have done something during this period of time to boost their morale..." Leottizides calmly analyzed.

"A hundred thousand people! One hundred thousand soldiers who are not weak in combat effectiveness!" Breru couldn't help but sighed softly.

"Carthage's army is more than 100,000 people this time." Sekrian interjected: "When I was in the port of Lilivi, I asked in private that there were more than 10,000 soldiers in Lilivi city. , And Phoenician city-states like Mazara, Eryx, Palermos and so on have thousands of citizen soldiers. If they are assembled, the number of Carthage’s army far exceeds 100,000."

Ciplos took a breath, touched his chin, pondered for a while, and said: "For such a huge army, the supply of rations must be very large."

"Master Cipros, you have said the crux of the problem!" Sekrian praised, then pointed to the map of Sicily placed in the center of the wooden table where everyone was sitting, and said loudly, "So we Selinus must be guarded. With it, our fleet can frequently attack the western waters, attack their merchant ships and cargo ships, cut off the Carthage route to western Sicily, and let the Carthaginian army supply food. When difficulties arise, I can even send a fleet of infantry to land and attack the rear of the Carthage army...After all, judging from the current situation, our navy has a greater advantage in the face of Carthage than the army."

Sekrian looked at Leotizides and said confidently: "Although the Carthage Navy is equivalent to us in courage and ship handling ability, and is more familiar with the sea conditions in the western waters than we are, they use It is still the traditional naval tactics, which cannot be changed in a short time. As long as the number of ships in the Sicilian fleet is restored to the previous number, I can even block the port of Carthage!"

Siplos reminded helplessly: "The Senate has passed a resolution on this matter. All port cities in the kingdom are manufacturing warships, but time is too hasty, and it is still impossible to build hundreds of warships. To meet your requirements."

"But there is one thing you can help." Sekrian said earnestly: "Now before the naval base in Catania is docked...the two captured by Flarios on the surface of Cerro Diham. Ten warships, as well as the 30 warships I captured on the south coast this time, as long as some repairs and modifications, some of these warships can be incorporated into our fleet and go to sea. In this way, Sicily The fleet can reach sixty or seventy ships in a short period of time, and it can continue to maintain its advantage over the Carthage navy. Therefore, I need Master Cypros, you will temporarily gather all the shipsmiths in several cities in Sicily. Go to the naval base and help us refit these Phoenician warships as soon as possible!" This time, Sekrian spoke earnestly.