Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 8: The Battle of Trionto (Part 6)

Breakthrough? Have Philadelphus and his men arrived?! Myron felt a surge of excitement as he hurried ashore with the soldiers, eager for news. But after a while, the advance stalled, then began to slowly, reluctantly, fall back...

"Hold fast, soldiers! Push harder—the enemy is faltering!" Unaware of the true situation, Myron thought the attack was losing momentum. Though he knew his shouts would do little good, he couldn't help but bellow, hoping to rouse their fighting spirit.

But the Croton army could not advance another step. The Daonian front line, having completed its formation change, was now manned by fresh soldiers from the second rank. Their strength was still ample, making up for their lack of heavy infantry experience. The Croton soldiers they faced, after more than three hours of fierce fighting, were utterly exhausted—barely able to defend themselves, let alone attack.

As they struggled to hold on, panicked shouts suddenly arose from the Croton light infantry, who had retreated to the far bank of the Trionto River: "Enemy! The enemy is attacking!!..."

Myron, positioned in the rear center of the phalanx, couldn't make out the words clearly, but the terrified voices made him instinctively turn his head to look back. What he saw stunned him: on the riverbank behind them, several hundred cavalrymen were charging like wolves and tigers at the fleeing Croton light infantry, and behind the cavalry came countless unarmored soldiers, quickly spreading into formation, drawing bows, and raising javelins—their target clearly his direction. Where had so many enemies come from?! What about Philadelphus and his troops?! In that instant, a thousand thoughts raced through his terrified mind, but only one lingered in his heart: We are defeated!!!

In fact, he wasn't the only one who saw the scene on the riverbank behind them. Many Croton soldiers saw it too, and the Daonian scouts stationed on the high ground across the river also witnessed it. As Myron stood frozen in panic and the morale of the Croton troops wavered, Davos gave the order with a surge of boldness: "All troops, advance!!!"

The attack bugle sounded, and the same horn echoed from the opposite bank. Just as the Daonian heavy infantry began their fierce assault, nearly six thousand Daonian light infantry, composed of freemen, unleashed their first volley of arrows, sling stones, and javelins at the rear flank of the Croton right wing...

Facing a heavy infantry line that remained ferocious after prolonged combat, standing in the icy river, and with arrows and javelins raining down from behind to claim their lives, the exhausted Croton soldiers could no longer hold. First the right wing collapsed, then the center, followed by the left. The Croton formation, over two stadia long and more than ten ranks deep, shattered like an avalanche. Soldiers scrambled to flee to the south bank. The unrelenting ranged attacks from the freemen only accelerated their rout, and the Daonian heavy infantry's timely charge turned the large-scale retreat into utter chaos. Nearly twenty thousand men caught between two forces, trying to cross the river in full retreat—what a sight of carnage!

Xanthiparis, who witnessed the entire process from the south bank, later recounted the Croton collapse to Antistanos, the author of *History of Magna Graecia*. He could barely bring himself to recall it. He said: "...The Crotonians all screamed in terror, 'Run for your lives! We've lost!...' Their voices even drowned out our bugles. They fought desperately to reach the south bank, shoving and pushing each other. Some of those lagging behind, chased by our soldiers, would crazily knock down the men in front with their shields or stab them with their spears just to escape... Alas... The Trionto River is not deep, but those who fell in could barely get back up. Once down, no one helped them; instead, weighed down by their heavy gear and constantly jostled by others, they simply drowned in the river... In truth, the casualties caused by our heavy infantry's pursuit or our light infantry's ranged attacks were nothing compared to the river's toll on the Crotonians... That must have been Poseidon's wrath! It reminded me of our expeditionary army's battle against the Persians at the Kenthrites River... Alas, when I returned after the fighting ended, I saw the Trionto River covered with Croton corpses, as if the very flow of the water had been blocked—it made my scalp crawl! They say that later, some 3,500 bodies were recovered, not counting those that drifted out to sea..."

...

The Croton soldiers who managed to escape to the south bank had no time to catch their breath. Though exhausted, the Daonian heavy infantry, urged on by Davos, continued their advance, keeping psychological pressure on the fleeing troops. The vast numbers of freemen light infantry, unburdened by heavy armor, became the main force of the pursuit. They surged forward from the flanks, nearly encircling the entire Croton right wing. With their morale shattered, the Crotonians, trapped between blocking forces ahead and pursuers behind, surrendered in droves.

The light infantry handed the prisoners over to the heavy infantry to process and pressed on.

Now the cavalry became the main striking force. Nearly three hundred horsemen, led by Laedes, spread out, riding back and forth, crushing the routed soldiers. Crotonians were either knocked down and injured by the charging horses, forced to change their escape routes, and ultimately captured by the light infantry.

Along the way, the fleeing Croton soldiers panicked at every shadow, many collapsing from sheer exhaustion or, like Tlatos, who had already been captured once, simply squatting down to surrender when escape seemed hopeless... In the end, the Daonian light infantry were all busy escorting prisoners.

Eventually, the Crotonians fled into the swamps, and many, in their blind panic, entered dangerous areas. The Daonian cavalry followed into the marsh but, unfamiliar with the terrain, lost several horses to the mud. As dusk fell, they were forced to abandon the pursuit.

Thus ended the decisive battle between Daonia and Croton.

Croton had committed approximately 27,000 men. They suffered 7,000 casualties (since they were defeated, wounded soldiers had almost no chance to escape), about 12,000 were captured, and 8,000 managed to flee the battlefield. Of those, fewer than 5,000 actually made it back to Crimissa; over 3,000 were lost in the forests and swamps, some escaping days later, others never to return. Myron, protected by his guards who fought desperately, luckily escaped back to Crimissa.

Daonia had also committed about 24,000 men but suffered only a little over 4,000 casualties, achieving a glorious victory.

That day, Amykles, the chief general of Castron, had been watching the battle's progress nervously, staying closely informed. To ensure ample ammunition for the Daonian light infantry, Davos had requested that Castron supply sufficient arrows and javelins, so Amykles was also responsible for organizing and transporting military supplies to the battlefield. When the Croton force that had waded the river downstream was annihilated, he received the news even before Davos. Excitedly, he told the Castron Council members that Daonia's victory was certain.

The members were skeptical—after all, Croton had dominated Magna Graecia for many years, and the other city-states had deep-seated fear of it. Moreover, its main force was still intact; who knew if it might rally and turn the tide?

Not until an hour later, when countless corpses floated down the Trionto River, drawing the entire city to the harbor to gawk, and guards confirmed after inspection that all were Crotonians. When this news spread, the uneasy hearts of the Castronians finally settled: It was certain! The Daonia Alliance had won! Our Daonia Alliance had won!!

When cheers echoed through the city, the shadow that Croton's threat had cast over the Castronians' hearts was finally lifted. The generals and council members exchanged glances, smiling with relief: Their risky decision to endure Croton's threats and support Daonia had indeed been correct!

When Davos led his army back to Castron, the entire city was already lit with torches. Amykles led the council members and citizens out to greet him. The scale of the welcome surprised Davos, and he hastily dismounted to walk.

"Hail, the Daonia Alliance!!!" A deafening roar erupted from the crowd, like an avalanche.

"Congratulations, Lord Davos! Unbelievable—you have won a glorious victory!" Amykles offered his heartfelt congratulations.

"It is all thanks to Hades' blessing, and to you—the full support of the Castronians!" Davos replied modestly.

"After this defeat, Croton likely won't be able to attack anymore," Amykles ventured, hinting at Davos's next move.

Davos understood the implication and smiled slightly. "If a wounded lion is not killed while it's weak, should we wait for it to recover and seek revenge? Tomorrow we will attack Crimissa, take it, and then march straight for Croton!"

Amykles felt a wave of relief but cautioned, "I suspect Croton may, as before, sue for peace to secure the release of these prisoners."

"Peace?" Davos sneered. He watched the twelve thousand prisoners being marched past. His initial thought had been to force them to serve as the vanguard tomorrow, attacking Crimissa and even Croton. Surely the Crotonians would be reluctant to fight their own countrymen, making it easy for Daonia to seize both cities. That had been a common tactic of the Mongols and Jurchens when they conquered their empires.

But after living in this era for a year and a half, Davos reconsidered and abandoned the idea. He knew that the Greeks of this time still retained some archaic traits: they respected heroes, revered strength, and favored face-to-face combat. Killing enemies in battle was acceptable, but using prisoners to attack cities and secure victory would undoubtedly be met with contempt and scorn. In the city-state wars of the past, no one had ever done such a thing.