Volume 3: The First Croton War, Chapter 41 Surprise Attack (Part 1)

Originally, Timaras saw that the baggage was too much and suggested shipping some of the spoils back to Croton first. Melanthius refused, his reason being: “Castron and Crimissa have joined our Croton alliance for the first time. We need to show them the fruits of conquering Thurii and the serious consequences of opposing Croton!” In truth, he had another reason he didn’t voice: he feared that the goods sent by ship would be secretly divided up by those in the city hall, leaving him with a much smaller share of the wealth.

As for why they hadn’t burned the pontoon bridge? Davos’s worry was entirely unnecessary. Melanthius didn’t take Amendolara seriously at all. He believed that with Thurii destroyed, there was no longer any force in the north of Magna Graecia that could threaten Croton. And since the people of Croton would soon be migrating to the Sybaris Plain for convenience, he kept the bridge intact.

Croton’s marching column stretched over ten miles long, more than half of it loaded wagons, so the march was extremely slow. By dusk, the forward units had only just arrived at the city of Castron. The people of Castron were indeed afraid. Their chief general, Amykles, led the city’s high officials with broad smiles, opened the gates to welcome the victorious Melanthius, and offered to hold a grand victory feast for him while also banqueting the officers of Croton. At the same time, they tactfully told Melanthius: “Castron is a small city and cannot accommodate such a huge army. Besides, storing so much baggage inside the city might lead to losses and cause conflict.” They also stated that Castron had prepared plenty of fine wine and food for the soldiers of Croton to celebrate their victory, as an apology for not being able to let them into the city.

Melanthius was never one to think of his soldiers. Seeing that the Castronians had been so considerate, he gladly agreed and led Timaras and a dozen or so high-ranking officers into the city with Amykles. On the way in, Melanthius heard a scout’s report: “The people of Amendolara have rushed to the Sybaris Plain to rescue the Thurians.” He immediately laughed loudly and said: “Amendolara is wasting their effort. We’ll be back soon. The Sybaris Plain can only belong to Croton!”

When the Croton soldiers heard there was wine and meat to be had, they quickened their march. It was already late, and they began to set up camp. They merely pitched their tents and then eagerly started drinking and eating, celebrating their victory. They carried on noisily until late into the night, until their weary bodies succumbed to the god of sleep and they sank into a deep slumber…

…

Antistanos did not write in his book that on this day the citizens of Amendolara, contrary to their usual training habits, roughly pitched tents, hastily built a simple camp, and then all went to sleep. In fact, during the afternoon, those who had gone to rescue the Thurians outside were mainly women, youths, and the elderly of Amendolara… For this battle, Amendolara had almost emptied the entire city.

That night, Davos did not let the Thurian people enter the newly built camp to stay. The exhausted Thurians fell asleep in the open under the sky. Meanwhile, in the camp, the citizen soldiers of Amendolara were being woken up one by one by their officers. Sleepy-eyed, they silently began to eat freshly baked bread, drink steaming hot goat soup, and a little mutton and cheese. Although they had already eaten dinner a few hours earlier, these foods would store more protein and calories for them to consume during the long march and the fighting ahead. Then they began to put on their breastplates and greaves taken from the wagons, and checked their spears, swords, and round shields.

At this time, in an open space in the center of the camp, several torches were set up. Davos, along with the battalion commanders, company commanders, and platoon leaders, was using the faint firelight to carefully study a model of the Croton camp, made from simple clay based on intelligence gathered by Izam and his men.

“Melanthius is still a bit cautious. He had his troops cross the Trionto River and camp south of Castron, thinking that with Castron blocking them, they would be safe. But that will only make his soldiers even less vigilant.” Davos tapped the model of the Trionto River, which separated Castron from the Croton camp, with his wooden stick. “But Izam and his men repeatedly tested different sections of this river. He said there is a section that can be waded across, located in the middle reaches, far from the Croton camp and won’t be discovered. He also sent word back saying, ‘The Crotonians spent the whole night drinking and reveling in their camp.’ I believe when we attack tomorrow morning, they will still be sleeping like dead pigs.” Davos’s words drew knowing chuckles from the group.

“They didn’t dig a ditch, didn’t set up palisades or abatis. I doubt there will even be sentries by dawn. Do they think they’re strolling in their own courtyard? So careless!” Hearing the situation Davos described, the officers were not amused but angered, and secretly resolved to show no mercy to these arrogant Crotonians.

“The only trouble is that their tents are pitched very haphazardly, with wide gaps. The southern part sticks out a large piece because that’s where all the spoils they looted are concentrated.” Davos drew a large circle above the camp model with his stick and said gravely: “Our citizen soldiers, plus Bacule’s Lucanian battalion, total only about five thousand men (Artemis had sent people to the eastern Mediterranean to recruit some freemen from Thrace, Rhodes, and Crete—about five hundred—making the Seventh Battalion nearly complete). To fully surround the Croton camp, our attack formation can only be a single line of soldiers.”

“Legion commander, don’t worry. One line is enough! Dealing with people is a bit troublesome, but dealing with a bunch of sleeping pigs is easy!” Amyntas’s words made the others cover their mouths and chuckle.

Davos smiled slightly and said to Capus beside him: “The south side of the camp is for your First Battalion. You will launch the attack first. Since the south area is large and there are many wagons and supplies blocking the advance, you and your men need to figure out how to solve these problems. I have only one requirement: Whether the First Battalion can become the first of the entire army depends on whether you can keep up with the attack speed of the other battalions, or even be faster!”

Capus, usually steady, was now excited: “Legion commander, rest assured. The First Battalion will not let you down!”

Davos nodded and turned to Drax: “The Second Battalion will go to the east side of the camp. After the First Battalion launches the attack, you can begin your attack. The east side of the camp is close to Castron. The panicked enemy’s first thought will be to flee into the city. So you must use the fiercest assault to make them abandon that idea!”

Drax glanced at Capus and said: “Legion commander, our Second Battalion will prove with action that we are no worse than the First Battalion!”

“Good, that’s the confidence I want!” Davos praised, then turned to Hieronymus: “The Third Battalion will attack from the west. Although most of you are new soldiers, I believe the Third Battalion will perform excellently.”

Hieronymus clenched his fists and said: “Rest assured!”

“Epithenis.”

“Here.”

“You and Tsipet will lead the peltasts of the Seventh Battalion to attack from the north.”

“Legion commander, isn’t our attacking force a bit too small?” Epithenis immediately questioned.

“Don’t rush. Is Bacule here?” Davos asked.

“I’m here!” Bacule said from behind the crowd.

“Come to the front.” Davos beckoned him closer and then said solemnly: “Your Lucanian battalion will join the northern attack, with Epithenis as the commander.”

Bacule hesitated slightly, glancing at Epithenis. Epithenis gave him a friendly smile. He lowered his head and said, “Alright.”

“Peltasts are good at close combat, and your Lucanian warriors’ charge is also very powerful. Besides, the enemy might not initially consider fleeing north because the Trionto River blocks them. I’m not worried about your attack, only that your lack of coordination or too reckless a breakthrough might create gaps. So after this, you need to communicate well and figure out how to improve cooperation and control the pace of the attack.”

“And there’s one more important thing!” Davos stressed, his expression turning stern: “Bacule, I’ve told you before, but I’ll repeat it: Before the battle, whether marching or lying in ambush, you must keep quiet. Do not alert the enemy! You must warn your tribesmen well and keep them under control. If anyone disobeys orders and affects this operation, according to the Military Code of Amendolara, the offender will be executed for serious cases!”

“I understand.” Bacule was secretly alarmed and decided to discuss with Asiastes as soon as he returned: how to prevent his tribesmen from making mistakes.

“Legion commander, aren’t our archers and slingers participating in this operation?” Alpuens asked anxiously, seeing no place for his unit in the camp assault deployment.

“Of course you’re not left out.” Davos smiled. “Alpuens, lead the archers and slingers to ambush by the road leading to Castron on the east side of the camp. If anyone comes out of the city to rescue, inflict maximum casualties!”

“Yes!”

“According to Izam’s intelligence, the soldiers of Castron who fought alongside Croton did not return to the city because they were celebrating victory in the camp. There shouldn’t be many soldiers in the city capable of fighting, and their fighting strength should be weak. Oh… and those Croton generals who are enjoying themselves inside the city—by tomorrow morning, their legs will be weak, let alone lifting their weapons…” Davos finished, and the crowd laughed ambiguously.

“After this, go and deploy your subordinate companies in the attack line positions. But remember—there must be no gaps in the attack line between platoons, between companies, or between battalions!”