Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 3: The Battle of Trionto (Part 1)

Not only the soldiers—the moment the Daonia army appeared, Myron’s mind also went blank. He trembled all over, his face pale. He knew: he had been deceived! Tricked by the cunning Daonians! Thinking the enemy was too few, he had rashly allowed his army to cross the river in front of an equally vast enemy force—for any competent general, this was an extremely grave military error! But now it was too late to retreat. Withdrawing in the face of the enemy, and then having to recross the river, was an even greater taboo for city-state citizen soldiers who lacked extensive training. That would mean a rout without a fight, while the Daonians could attack at their leisure, turning this seemingly gentle Trionto River into the grave of Croton’s citizen soldiers.

Myron had not expected the battle between Croton and Daonia to begin here and now, so abruptly. But faced with this decisive conflict that concerned the fate of his city-state, he forcibly calmed himself, casting aside guilt and fear to focus on the fight before him: “Sound all the trumpets! Beat all the drums! Let the soldiers charge! Bravely cross the river—only then can we have hope of victory!” He shouted anxiously, raising his arms.

The messengers immediately spurred their horses into the river, shouting loudly.

The suddenly intensified horns and drums urged the army forward. The officers in the ranks also understood the danger, leading from the front.

Croton’s army began to accelerate its advance, but the Daonian army reorganized its formation quickly and closed in. Because the ground was covered in pebbles, neither side charged as heavy infantry usually did; instead, they approached steadily…

When they were only twenty-plus meters apart, Kolebus saw the enemy opposite suddenly stop at the shouts of their officers. The front row crouched slightly, and countless glints of cold light rose from the rear ranks. The movement made him instantly understand what was about to happen. Before he could even utter the word “javelin,” he hastily crouched down.

A sharp “whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!…” followed by continuous whistling, like a sudden gale, accompanied by cries of agony. In the blink of an eye, the front row of Croton’s entire formation collapsed in a heap. Not only did it halt the advance of Croton’s soldiers, but the formation’s leading ranks were also shattered in places.

But the Daonians did not relent. They immediately followed with another volley of javelins. At such close range, heavy javelins were devastatingly lethal.

Just as Croton’s soldiers were frantically dodging javelins and helping wounded comrades, throwing their formation into chaos, the Daonians took the opportunity to advance in large strides, smashing into the terrified Crotonites with their round shields, while two or three spears simultaneously thrust at the enemies who had survived the javelins…

If the rear ranks had not filled in promptly, Croton’s front line would have nearly collapsed. But this kept Croton’s forces pinned at the riverbank. Myron’s carefully prepared formation, twenty-plus ranks deep, now became a liability: on most stretches of the river, half the men were on the bank and half in the water. In heavy infantry combat, apart from face-to-face fighting, using the depth of the formation to push the enemy like a tug-of-war was another effective method of breaking through, but Croton’s current situation made it impossible to form a unified force; instead, under the enemy’s powerful shoving, they slowly retreated.

…

When the sky-darkening javelins flew into Croton’s ranks, Myron felt his heart almost stop.

Daonian heavy infantry could actually throw javelins! Myron now deeply regretted his carelessness in not studying the tactical characteristics of the Daonian army in detail. Looking at their light infantry and heavy infantry, this was clearly a uniquely trained and disciplined force!

As Myron grieved for the dead and wounded soldiers, lamenting his own negligence, his subordinate stared intently at the fighting across the river and shouted anxiously: “Damn Daonians, they have so many heavy infantry! Their reinforcements from Nerulum and Laüs must have arrived!”

Indeed, according to reports from messengers on both wings, the Daonian battle line was almost equal in length and able to push back their own formation. Even taking advantage of the terrain, it probably wasn’t much thinner than their own line. Could it be that the Daonians now also had about twenty thousand men? Hearing his subordinate’s curses, a flash of lightning struck Myron’s mind. Bent on revenge, he had always carefully studied the secret reports from Thurii, so he had some understanding of the Daonia Alliance.

He remembered that the secret reports had said: It took at least three days to travel from Thurii to Nerulum, and the same to Laüs. So even if the mobilization order for the cavalry reached Nerulum and Laüs, and the troops immediately assembled and marched, it would require six days round trip to Thurii—after all, the Thurii–Nerulum–Laüs road had only just begun construction. And from the declaration of war until now, only four days had passed—unless the Daonians had called up their forces in advance. Yet three days ago, those mercenaries had not yet attacked Crimissa. He had tortured several prisoners, including Cleanho and Tolikos, and they all consistently admitted that they had concealed their actions from Davos and decided on their own to seize Crimissa. Therefore, the reinforcements from Nerulum and Laüs should still be on their way to Thurii. So where did all these Daonian heavy infantry come from?

The citizens of Thurii and Amendolara were not that numerous. Myron was certain of that. Suddenly, he remembered something: …freemen!? Those so-called registered freemen of Daonia!!

Myron suddenly recalled that the previous secret reports had also mentioned that Daonia frequently organized their freemen for military training. He also remembered that many in the Croton Council had sneered at Daonia for being so desperate and turning crude freemen into citizens of the city-state—sheer madness! But what he saw before him proved that Daonia’s method was effective. The armor and shields and spears these former poor freemen now carried were probably all taken from the last army of Croton that had been killed or captured!

Though Myron was furious, he realized more clearly that if Thurii had even sent these freemen into battle, they were probably throwing everything they had. So could they have any extra troops left?

Myron gazed at the battlefield ahead, clamoring with the roar of combat, but his spirits lifted: “Eutydemus!”

“General, what is it?” responded the subordinate who had been shouting a moment ago.

“Lead these two thousand soldiers immediately to the east and place them under the command of Philadelphus.”

“What?! Didn’t you earlier want this unit to go forward to reinforce the center?” Eutydemus asked doubtfully.

“Obey orders!” Myron glared. This son of his friend was diligent enough, but too impetuous: “Tell General Philadelphus that the enemy on the opposite bank won’t be too numerous. Have him cross the river as quickly as possible, regardless of casualties, defeat the enemy, then come back to attack the main Daonian army from the flank! The outcome of this battle depends on his action!” Myron said with utmost solemnity.

“Understood!” Eutydemus, reminded by Myron, saw the opportunity for victory and rushed off excitedly to carry out the order.

Myron dismounted, took up his shield and spear, and led his guard into the river, wading to join the battle line, shouting constantly to encourage the soldiers to fight bravely.

Since most of the Daonian heavy infantry were composed of preparatory citizens, he did not believe that these newcomers—who had been freemen only half a year ago and had never had any experience as heavy infantry—could master the essence of heavy infantry combat in six months. That was where his confidence lay. He firmly believed that even if Croton’s soldiers were in a difficult position, they could hold out until Philadelphus’s army arrived.

At the rear of the center of the Daonian battle line, a large banner stood tall. At its peak was also a statue of the Lord of the Underworld Hades, but it was notably larger than the army corps banners, and the flag was larger too, embroidered with the large golden letters “DAVOS.”

The Daonia Alliance currently had three Army Corps. Davos had naturally stepped aside to return to his original role. According to tradition, the magistrate concurrently served as the commander of the city-state’s army, so Davos’s highest position in the alliance army was Commander-in-Chief of the Daonia Alliance Army (i.e., Supreme Commander).

At that moment, Davos was also watching the enemy’s movements on the opposite bank.

“Commander, the enemy is sending troops downstream!” Aristocrates shouted loudly in warning. As a talent Davos valued, Davos intended to train him comprehensively like Asiastes, so he kept him close during battle, but since he was still a freeman, he could only temporarily be given the title of secretary.

Davos had been waiting for this moment: “Tolmides!”

“Commander, please give the order!” Tolmides’s response came from genuine respect.

Originally, Croton’s rapid advance had greatly surprised the generals. With the forces from Nerulum and Laüs unable to arrive in time, the disparity in numbers was somewhat large. During the war council, many had proposed abandoning the relief of Castron and fortifying Thurii, waiting for reinforcements before giving battle. But Davos overruled all objections, insisting on pushing the front to Castron. Because of the prestige he had built over time, he eventually persuaded them.

He had conscripted all citizens and registered freemen from Thurii and Amendolara who had undergone training and could fight, even some freemen who had just arrived in Thurii. This was indeed a great risk. At that time, Daonia’s main army was concentrated at Castron, leaving Thurii and Amendolara in the rear almost defenseless except for a small force at the harbor. If the Croton fleet landed on the coast of the Sybaris Plain, Daonia would be unable to resist for some time, but Davos dared to take such a bold action.