Chapter 322: Reconnaissance before the Battle of Finita River
Davos had chosen to camp here because he does not have any plan to fight the Bruttii Union now. At the same time, he thought that the Bruttii Union would be more cautious after their failed attack on the fortress the day before. However, he did not expect that the enemy would abandon their land advantage and march for dozen of kilometres to challenge them. But since they are here, then let’s fight!
Both sides were equal in strength, and although half of the Theonian soldiers might be exhausted from building the camp, that was no reason to avoid a war. Davos stood up abruptly and asked. “How is the camp construction?”
“We have already dug the trench and are currently building the earthen wall.” Answered Tolmides, then he asked, “Do you want for the soldiers to retreat behind the trenches?”
Davos waved his hand and refused because the Theonian army has always been on offence. Although the trench would make it difficult for the enemy, it will also limit their offensive capabilities and hinder the soldiers’ morale. That’s why besides some exceptional circumstances, he will never do that.
“Sound the salpinx, gather the soldiers, and then call legatus Kapus and Drakos, as well as the cavalry’s strategos, Ledes…and also, call Epiphanes and Cid.” Davos gave his orders.
“Roger.” Tolmides swiftly transmitted the orders.
“Are we going to fight the Bruttians here?” Asked Teriphias, who was slightly nervous.
“Yes, it seems that the end of the war with Bruttii would be shift earlier!” Davos smiled confidently, and Teriphias has gotten affected by this smile and relaxed. He then gave a Greek military salute, “Then allow me to gather my soldiers first!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pian led the army towards the Finita River, over a high slope and down to a wide, flat meadow. On the field were countless Greeks gathering and forming up, and when viewed from up high, it looked like a hollowed-out mound, which was quite a messy sight.
“Stop moving and prepare to form up!” He immediately ordered.
Although the Greek’s formation had not yet taken shape, he already has a general impression while looking down from the high slope. On the right side of the Theonians is the intersection of the Finita River and the Crati River. To the left was a flat grassy area without any obstacles, and in the rear was a messy mound of earth that they had dug.
After watching for a while, he finally made up his mind: Since it was difficult to rush on the side near the river as there was little room for attack and manoeuvring, so he placed five thousand tribal warriors, who he had forcibly recruited from the various tribes, on the left; In the middle were the more than five thousand warriors from the city of Anbania and Vergae; While on the right were the twelve thousand warriors of Consentia.
Obviously, he was trying to use the most numerous and battle-hardened Consentian warriors on the right flank to get the victory.
Pian’s idea was to take advantage of the enemy’s disorganisation and quickly set up a good battle formation to attack!
However, in order to form up a good formation with more than twenty thousand men from different tribes in a short time, not only does it need a complete command system, but also long-term military training and highly disciplined soldiers. But these Bruttians failed to meet those requirements. Thus the whole Bruttians’ army could only form up slowly, with horns being blown, drums ringing, people shouting and pushing each other. The entire scene was noisy and chaotic.
Pian was leisurely watching the enemy’s movement while waiting for his side’s formation to be completed, but after a while, his face becoming a bit unsightly.
Because the messy Theonians had soon formed “small phalanxes”, and then the countless small phalanxes were like building blocks, which then moved quickly and without interference into their fixed positions like building blocks. Soon, the Theonian formation took shape.
It was a formation that Pian had never seen before, with the “small phalanxes” not tightly pack together, leaving gaps between them. From above, it looked like a blanket of green and white wool (because the linen breastplate was white). Although Pian doesn’t know how powerful such a strange formation would be, the speed with which the Theonians formed up made him uneasy.
He then loudly said to Petaru, who was beside him, “Hurry and tell Bodiam to act faster!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
The chaotic formation of the Theonians that Pian saw was the moment when the soldiers of the first legion scrambled out of the hot camp, help each other wear their armours and returned to their own teams. Now the true formation has appeared, and Davos’ slightly nervous mood has settled down.
“Milord, our right flank is still trying to form up and has not yet into position!” Tolmides reported anxiously.
“There’s no need to hurry. The right flank consists of mixed soldiers of our allies’ troops and the legion’s reserves.” Davos rode on his horse and looked to the left. At the end of autumn, with no rain for more than ten days, the land was dry, and the movement of tens of thousands of soldiers had already stirred up the dirt, so he could only catch a slight glimpse of the right flank.
Davos leisurely said, “Rather than rushing the formation, Teriphias’ had instead reorganised his soldiers first, which reassures me.”
He then pointed forward, “As you can see, the Bruttians are still not moving on the grass slope, as they are probably still forming up, which just gave us enough time to have the soldiers of the first legion to rest and recover a bit of their strength.”
Tolmides fixed his gaze at the front, five hundred metres away, which was also covered with dust.
“Tell Ledes.” Davos once again ordered, “To send seven or eight cavalry platoons to harass the left, centre and right side of the enemy, slow down their formation and observe their response. Afterwards, report back to me.”
“Understood.”
“Wait. Tell Ledes that I am talking about harassment and not fight recklessly. If the enemy’s cavalry comes after them, have them immediately return. Don’t let our cavalry get harm!” Repeated Davos.
“Understood, milord.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Children, keep up!”
“Uncle, we can run faster than you without riding a horse.”
“Stinky boy, does your skin itch? I’ll beat you up after we return.”
“Captain, you should have done that a long time ago!”
In a burst of laughter, the cavalry platoon led by Solikos crossed the battlefield and reached the Finita River.
“Halt!” Solikos extend his spear, and the whole platoon unit stopped.
“Everyone, dismount!”
“Why, captain?! We are still not in front of the enemy!” A cavalryman clamoured.
“Obey the orders!” Shouted Solikos.
Although the cavalrymen were reluctant, with the influence of the military, they still obeyed. But with unwillingness, he shouted in dissatisfaction, “Captain, the other unit has already thrown javelins at the enemy! Do you want us to be deserters?!”
“Zip it! Our platoon’s order was to harass the enemy’s left flank. However, with the distance being too long, the horses were already a bit tired. So have them rest for a while so as to better complete our mission! Don’t worry, since I brought you out, I will also make sure to bring you back safely!”
“Alright, captain, we will listen to you. But how long we have to wait?!”
“Until I give the order.”
The cavalrymen had no choice but to pat the restless horses while observing the grey battlefield ahead and watch their teammates in the distance, sometimes rushing into the dust, sometimes withdrawing…screams resounding in their ears, making their hearts itch.
Time passed so slowly that they became a bit impatient. “Get on the horse!” the shout of Solikos was like rain in a long drought, which greatly invigorated them.
The fifty horses began to gallop, gradually forming a wedge formation as they advanced.
Solikos, who was at the front, raised his spear and brandished it forward twice, “Speed up!”
A thirty-metre high grassy slope appeared at the front. Although it is not steep, it is important to prevent the horses from slowing down on their way up while being attacked by the enemy.
The horses looked like flying with all four of their hooves. The cavalrymen clung to the horse’ neck and leaned forward to speed up the horses’ ascent.
Solikos was the first to reach the grassy slope. Dozen of metres away, dense Bruttians stretch out from the bank of Finita River, not knowing how long it extend that it was difficult to count how thick their formation was.
Solikos felt that he was like an ant standing in front of an elephant. The invisible pressure pressed down on his chest, making him have trouble breathing. He took a deep breath, drew out a spear, clamp his legs on the horse’s belly, and speed up his horse again while the cavalry under him followed closely.
Fifty metres, forty, thirty…the raised horse’ hooves landed on the dry, cracked earth like a drumstick hitting a drum, sending out loud noises, coupled with the rapid advance of the cavalry platoon creating a considerable momentum and causing a commotion in the Bruttian formation that had just been set up.
Just as the soldiers of Bruttians pushed each other and exclaimed, Solikos threw his javelin. Then dozens of javelins plunged into the enemy’s formation, causing a lot of screams ringing out one after another.
The Bruttians were even more confused that some have withdrawn in panic, while some rushed up in anger…
With a wave of his spear, Solikos and his men turned left more than twenty metres away from the enemy’s formation and galloped forward along the front of the Bruttian’s phalanx. Wherever they went, it was like a stone crashing into a calm water surface, but the ripples could not be stopped for a while. At the same time, the enemy’s panic and confusion were reflected in the eyes of Solikos. He realised that they had completed their mission, so he decisively ordered, “Turn left!”
As soon as the cavalry turned around, the Bruttian cavalry arrived and chased them.
However, the Theonian light infantry came out to meet them in time and scared back the hundreds of Bruttian cavalry with their javelins.
Davos’ clever use of the cavalry’s “reconnaissance” to get a response from the Bruttians had given him a general idea of their formation, as reported by Ledes. The Bruttians’ left flank was the worst in terms of its response to the cavalry’s harassment, while the right flank was the strongest, costing the Theonian cavalry a dozen of casualties. Evidently, the Bruttian’s plan was the same as that of Davos, that is, to place the weakest troops on the side near the river and the strongest troops on the other side. After all, this is in line with the principles of the art of war.