Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 12: Myron's Counterattack

Matonis cursed the cowardly Crotonians and reluctantly had some of his soldiers join in building the bridge.

The River Umbria was neither too wide nor too deep, and with plenty of labor, under the direction of the engineers, the soldiers on both banks were following the bridge-building steps outlined in the Military Code and were about to finish a wooden bridge. But then Matonis received a report from scouts: about 8,000 Crotonian light infantry were advancing toward him!

His lackluster face immediately perked up. "Brothers, get up! We've got a fight!"

Like commander, like soldiers. The men who had been sprawled around resting immediately sprang to their feet, put on their gear, quickly approached the earthen rampart, and peered outward with excitement, while the soldiers working on the bridge heard the news and hurried back.

Before long, they saw the figures of the Crotonians.

...

After Myron fled back to Crimissa, he had specifically questioned the few surviving soldiers under Philadelphus and reached a shocking conclusion: Philadelphus's army had been defeated by the Daonian light infantry! And now, with few heavy infantry and many light infantry under his command, he decided to learn from the enemy's tactics. He even had some of the crews from the fleet docked at Crimissa's port join the expedition force.

The 8,000 men landed on the south bank near the mouth of the River Umbria. Under his command, they marched in force along the river toward the Daonian garrison on the south bank.

Seeing the ditches and earth walls the Daonians had built, Myron actually smiled: the Daonians had tied their own hands, which was more favorable for a light infantry attack.

At two hundred meters from the Daonians, he spread his troops loosely, surrounding the Daonians' semicircular temporary defensive camp, which was backed against the River Umbria.

At his command, the archers advanced to within a hundred meters and began to fire volleys of arrows.

For the Daonian heavy infantry protected by the earth wall, the rain of arrows looked intimidating but did little harm—they only needed to rest their round shields on the wall to block their heads. The Daonian soldiers even joked, "The Crotonians must know we're almost out of arrows from the last battle, so they're kindly delivering more to us." But this lighthearted mood among the Daonian heavy infantry quickly vanished.

The Crotonian light infantry pressed forward. At about fifty meters, the accuracy of the arrows increased significantly.

Still, for the Daonian heavy infantry protected by round shields and the earth wall, the damage remained minor.

However, when the Crotonian javelinmen advanced further to twenty or thirty meters, the Daonian heavy infantry began to feel the pressure. Of course, crouching behind the earth wall would keep them completely safe—after all, the enemy was all light infantry and wouldn't dare engage in hand-to-hand combat. But playing the coward wasn't Matonis's style, and besides, if they hid behind the wall, they would lose sight of the enemy's movements. What if the enemy bypassed the line and went down to the river to burn the bridge under construction?!

As the commander of the south bank forces, Matonis knew very well what his responsibility was.

"Javelins!" he roared, suddenly standing up from behind the earth wall, quickly lowering his round shield, leaning back, and without a running start, relying only on his waist and arm strength, he hurled his javelin over twenty meters, piercing a Crotonian javelinman through the chest, then immediately crouched down.

The Daonian soldiers, who had been chafing under the arrow barrage, received Matonis's order and immediately counterattacked. Countless javelins flew over the earth wall and ditch, striking the Crotonian formation and splattering blood. Crotonian arrows and javelins also poured down on the Daonian heavy infantry. Casualties began to mount on both sides.

Myron stood before the archer line, watching the battle unfold, and began to appreciate the advantage of using large numbers of light infantry against pure heavy infantry. Unfortunately, the Daonian heavy infantry were not traditional Greek hoplites; their thrown javelins inflicted heavy damage on the lightly protected Crotonian javelinmen, and the casualty ratio was quite skewed.

But Myron figured: trading a few light infantry for one heavy infantry was a bargain worth making. Croton now had no shortage of freeman sailors, but what it lacked was citizens to serve as heavy infantry.

"Battalion Commander Epithenis, the enemy on the south bank is attacking fiercely! Battalion Commander Matonis requests your reinforcement!" The messenger brought Matonis's message.

"I understand!" Epithenis frowned, responding. He thought for a moment and said, "Ampiorix!"

"Here!"

"I want you to take the slingers and immediately cross the river to support Matonis!" Epithenis looked at his slinger company commander and instructed, "Remember! Do not enter Matonis's camp—the cramped space will make it impossible for you to avoid the attacks of the Crotonians' numerous light infantry! You must circle around to the enemy's periphery and use the slingers' long range to attack them!"

"I understand, Battalion Commander!" Ampiorix hurried to assemble his men.

The organization of the light infantry battalion (the Seventh Battalion) in the Daonian Army Corps differed somewhat from that of the heavy infantry. According to the Military Code, a heavy infantry battalion consisted of five companies of 200 men each, totaling 1,000 men. While a light infantry battalion, though also 1,000 strong, had only three companies—a slinger company, an archer company, and a javelin company—each with variable numbers of men.

This was because, compared to heavy infantry, light infantry required more specialized skill. Javelinmen were relatively easy, but archers and slingers could not become合格的 light infantry without long-term training. Therefore, the composition of a Daonian Army Corps light infantry battalion often depended on the actual situation in its region. For example, the First Army Corps' light infantry battalion had roughly equal numbers of the three types, but its javelinmen were actually Thracian peltasts. The Second Army Corps' light infantry battalion came mainly from Thurii's preparatory citizens, most of whom were freemen and sailors, so there were many archers and some peltasts. The Third Army Corps' light infantry battalion came mainly from Lucanians, so javelinmen were the majority. Since light infantry formations were loose, flexible, and rarely came into direct contact with the enemy, having a few more or fewer of each type had little impact on command and operations.

"Battalion Commander, Ampiorix has taken the slingers away. If the Crotonian warships anchored in the river see our numbers reduced, might they take the chance to sail upstream and destroy our newly built bridge?" the light shield company commander Zeniaris said with concern.

"I really hope they do! Even with fewer men, I'm confident I could destroy them! Instead of this—unable to attack or retreat, pinned down by those boats, unable to support our comrades across the river!" Epithenis said angrily.

"If they won't come, why don't we go and attack them?" a handsome young guardsman beside Epithenis interjected.

Epithenis lightly slapped him on the back of the head and scolded with a laugh, "Idiot, the enemy warships are anchored where the riverbank is low. If we go there to attack those ships, it's like attacking enemies on a city wall—we'd suffer heavy losses for little gain. Why would I, Epithenis, knowingly pick a losing fight?!"

"Right now we're on the high ground by the river, and there's a barrier cable across the river. Knowing that rowing here would put them at a disadvantage, would they be foolish enough to do that?" the handsome guardsman retorted.

Epithenis was momentarily at a loss for words, then gave him a gentle push and scolded with another laugh, "Not bad, you're improving!" Then he sighed in frustration: "It looks like we're stuck in a standoff with the enemy warships. The commander told us to protect the bridge. I thought it was a simple task, but now it's turning into real trouble!"

While Myron and Matonis were engaged, Davos had already received the news. He was surprised that Myron dared to attack with only light infantry, but he wasn't worried: "Inform Laedes that his cavalry squadron is temporarily under the command of the First Army Corps. I believe Capus will soon drive back the enemy!"

Capus, the First Army Corps legion commander, who had received Davos's authorization, immediately assembled three heavy infantry battalions and the cavalry squadron, forded the river quickly, planning to circle behind the Crotonians and cut off their retreat.

But Myron, upon learning that Daonian reinforcements were approaching, despite having the upper hand, decisively ordered a retreat.

The battle ended hastily. Matonis's 2,000 heavy infantry suffered 500 casualties, mostly wounded. Myron's 8,000 men sustained over 700 casualties, but most were dead. Matonis felt he had come off worse, while Myron considered it a small victory for Croton—it had dampened the Daonians' arrogance and would surely slow down their progress in building fortifications and besieging Crimissa.

But when Myron returned to the city, he immediately received bad news: a large army was approaching from the north and entering the Daonian camp.

That must be reinforcements from Nerulum! Myron tensed up immediately.

In fact, entering the Daonian camp were not only 5,000 soldiers from Nerulum but also 3,000 allied troops from Laüs, bringing the Daonian frontline strength to 22,000 men.

The already high-spirited Daonian camp erupted in cheers everywhere...

Davos left the camp to welcome the weary Avinogis, the magistrate of Laüs, as well as several senior officers of the Third Army Corps: First Battalion Commander Bacule, Adjutant Asiastes, and Second Battalion Commander Lizaru.

"Commander, we're late!" Asiastes saluted respectfully and spoke apologetically.

"Arriving from Nerulum to Crimissa in just over three days—is that really slow?!" Davos returned the salute formally and praised with a beaming smile: "You've arrived at just the right time. The coming battles will depend on you!"