Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 1: Before the Battle

The next morning, the reinforcements from Scylletium and Trina arrived, and Croton also received intelligence from Thurii: about four thousand reinforcements had reached Thurii from Amendolara, and Daonian citizens on the Sybaris Plain were gradually entering the square to assemble—reportedly around eight thousand men—before moving into the camp north of Thurii. No further action was observed; Daonia seemed still to be awaiting reinforcements from Nerulum and Laüs.

This news prompted Myron to decide on immediate action. With his vigorous push, the Council passed a resolution to attack Thurii. Myron, the chief general, would serve as army commander, and General Philadelphus—another capable military leader—as his adjutant. They led an army of approximately twenty-seven thousand soldiers, including twenty thousand heavy infantry, six thousand five hundred light infantry (of which four thousand were lightly armored men in leather armor, carrying leather shields and spears, lacking missile capability), and eight hundred cavalry. Besides the regular troops, a large number of slaves and freemen transported supplies, swelling the actual total to forty thousand men.

To this end, Croton organized a huge fleet at its port. Simply loading supplies and embarking soldiers took nearly three hours. By noon, the troop transports sailed north under the protection of the Croton fleet. Passing Crimissa, another five hundred soldiers joined, bringing the combat force to twenty-seven thousand five hundred men.

Because the boarding process at Croton’s port had been cumbersome, delayed, and quite chaotic, Myron feared the landing on the beach would be even worse. He and Philadelphus were especially mindful of Tlatos’s earlier intelligence that “the Daonian coastline is monitored by cavalry.” To be safe, they did not dare land north of Castron. Instead, they immediately anchored after passing the marshes, right at the same sandy beach where Timasion’s mercenaries had landed a few days earlier.

Myron first had the cavalry disembark, expanding the sentry perimeter to two miles. After confirming no enemy presence, he began the large-scale landing. Countless soldiers, carrying weapons and equipment—some leading warhorses—leaped from the cargo ships, waded through the seawater, and reached the shore. Without a pier, slaves and freemen had to haul grain, tents, and other supplies ashore…

Looking across the whole beach, it was a sea of black heads, utter chaos: men shouting, horses neighing, officers frantic. Supplies piled in disorder here and there further hindered the troops from forming ranks. Philadelphus beat and cursed the slaves… It took a very long time to organize the landed troops and sort out the affairs. After all this commotion, men and horses were exhausted, and dusk had fallen.

After selecting a nearby campsite, Myron issued strict orders: each unit must build a solid camp, set up sentries, and not allow any negligence!

Melanthius’s defeat was a cautionary tale. This time Croton held an overwhelming advantage and the initiative; as long as they advanced steadily, victory was within reach.

Tomorrow, first capture Castron, making it a forward base for Croton’s army and fleet… Myron conceived the next steps of his military plan in his mind and gradually drifted off to sleep.

…

Inside the command tent of the Thurii camp, Davos, Military Affairs Officer Philistos, Legion Commander Capus of the First Army Corps, Legion Commander Drax of the Second Army Corps, and Cavalry Squadron Leader Laedes were analyzing the enemy situation.

On a clean wooden board two meters square in the center of the tent was a detailed map of Magna Graecia. Holding a wooden rod, Philistos pointed at the map and said, “Gentlemen, we have just received intelligence from the front: Croton has dispatched about thirty thousand soldiers and has already landed here—on the coast south of Castron. They will likely attack Castron tomorrow!”

“Thirty thousand?!” Cavalry Leader Laedes gasped. “Croton must have sent out all its citizens to deal with us!”

“What’s thirty thousand?!” Drax shouted defiantly. “If the Third Army Corps can arrive in time, plus the conscripted freemen, our numbers will exceed thirty thousand! And even without thirty thousand, Croton is no match for us!”

“But Croton’s soldiers are citizen soldiers!” Capus looked at Davos with slight concern. “Sir, are we really not waiting for the Third Army Corps and heading straight to Castron?!”

Davos said calmly, “There’s no time. Croton is determined to destroy Daonia this time, so they prepared early and advanced rapidly. If we wait, it means abandoning Castron—not only damaging the reputation Daonia has just built, but also letting the enemy enter the Sybaris Plain, breaking our earlier promise. Fighting Croton’s citizen soldiers on the plain gives us no certainty of victory; relying on city walls for defense would take too long, which is unfavorable for our newborn alliance!” Davos took the rod from Philistos, pointed at the curve marking the Trionto River on the map, and said in a deep voice, “So we must make full use of this river!”

The others present were well aware of Davos’s strategy. Philistos opened his mouth but finally voiced his doubt: “Lord Davos, will the Crotonians rashly lead their army across the Trionto River? I’ve heard their commander Myron is a battle-experienced general.”

Davos smiled and said seriously, “No plan can be guaranteed to succeed completely. But Myron has been deceived by the false intelligence I leaked. Look how eagerly he assembled his army, trying to reach our city before we finish our concentration—it’s very likely he’ll fall into the trap. Of course, if he doesn’t take the bait, we can withdraw to Thurii and fight a protracted defensive war against the Crotonians!”

“He will take the bait!” Drax voiced the hope of all the officers present. They too did not want Crotonians to set foot on Daonian soil.

“How many cavalry do they have?” Laedes asked an important question.

“About eight hundred,” Philistos answered.

Laedes clenched his fist. His cavalry held no advantage in numbers or experience—it all depended on whether Lord Davos’s ingenious tactics would work.

“Brothers!” Davos looked at these commanders who had faced life and death together and were now eager for action. He knew no pep talk was needed; their morale was bound to be high. So he said calmly, “It’s getting late. Return to your units immediately and act according to the plan! Hades will bless us; tomorrow everything will go smoothly!”

“Yes!”

That night, the Croton camp was quiet and uneventful.

The next morning, the sky was clear, no rain. Myron woke feeling refreshed and energetic. Timely intelligence from Thurii also arrived: reinforcements from Laüs and Nerulum had not yet arrived; in the afternoon, three thousand men from Thurii were heading to Castron.

This secret letter had likely been sent last night; moreover, Croton warships cruising off the Thurii coast that morning had seen no signs of large-scale troop movements along the Thurii–Castron road… Myron pondered: the Daonians must already know of Croton’s arrival, but still in the midst of war mobilization, they had only sent three thousand reinforcements. Yet with just those three thousand, they thought they could hold Castron?! As far as he knew, even counting Castron’s own soldiers, they had no more than four thousand. And Castron’s city walls, less than four meters high, could not possibly stop Croton’s army from crossing the Trionto and taking Castron. In fact, Myron hoped Castron would send all its forces to block his crossing, so he could inflict maximum casualties in the field and capture Castron all the more easily. The weather and enemy situation favored Croton—this was Apollo’s blessing! Croton must seize the moment before the Daonian Alliance completed its mobilization and its army could assemble and arrive. He must swiftly cross the Trionto River, take Castron as quickly as possible, and then fight the decisive battle against the Daonian army!

Myron immediately conferred with Philadelphus and settled on a river-crossing plan.

Pressed repeatedly by Myron, the army quickly assembled. Twenty-two thousand soldiers under Myron marched northwest; another four thousand five hundred soldiers and five hundred cavalry under Philadelphus marched north.

The Trionto River had two ideal fording points: one in the middle reaches—shallow, with a flat shore and a fording stretch over two miles long, exactly where Davos had crossed to ambush Melanthius; the other in the lower reaches, west of Castron, where the river segment was short and the water deeper.

The Croton crossing plan was: Philadelphus with his five thousand men would pin down and distract the enemy, but not cross immediately; Myron’s main force would make a full-strength crossing at the wide middle stretch.

Myron’s Croton army advanced in eight columns, forming a long snake five or six miles in length.

Riding at the center of the column, Myron’s ears were filled with the noisy clatter of footsteps and clanking armor—yet he found it exceptionally pleasing. The massive force gave him abundant confidence; he even had the leisure to think: Castron and Crimissa were both built on the north bank of the river because they were originally sub-colonies of Sybaris, pro-Sybaris and guarding against Croton. After this war, he would force them to move their cities to the south bank! As for Thurii… if all went well, he wouldn’t mind destroying it for the fourth time!

“Report, General! The scout riders sent across the river were intercepted by enemy cavalry. Four dead, two escaped.”

“Any findings?”

“They saw several thousand enemy troops moving along the north bank.”

Several thousand? Following us? Myron thought for a moment and asked, “Has Philadelphus reached his destination?”