Chapter 441 Battle of Aquileia (IV)

Trebonius's escape accelerated the complete collapse of the already shaky left-wing battle formation.

...

Although Antony was young, he had rich war experience. He had fought in Syria, Egypt, Gaul and Greece, and had fought against the infantry of several major Mediterranean forces. He always believed that although the Greek heavy infantry had a tight formation and thick armor, they were afraid of close combat. Once the formation was disrupted, they would be lambs to be slaughtered;

The infantry of Eastern countries such as Parthia and Egypt also had strict discipline, were well-trained, and fought bravely, but their armor was thin and their equipment was insufficient, making it difficult for them to withstand the frontal impact of heavy infantry;

And the barbarian warriors such as Gaul and Germanic were strong and fierce, with strong personal combat power, but their weapons and equipment were simple, they had no discipline, lacked training, and did not understand strategy and tactics. As long as they could withstand their initial fierce attack, they would often be defeated in the end... So Antony always proudly believed that the Roman legion soldiers were the best soldiers in the Mediterranean!

He thought that facing the impact of the best Roman Ninth and Tenth Legions, the barbarian soldiers who confronted them head-on would not last long and would be defeated. However, after a period of fighting, the two sides were still in a stalemate, and even their own front line could not advance a few meters.

In order to better understand the situation, Anthony, who was puzzled, simply rode close to the rear of the front-line soldiers and watched the battle between the two sides from a high position.

He found that these barbarian soldiers were not wearing Roman weapons and armor for show. They were very skilled in using large shields for defense and daggers for stabbing, and were not afraid of fighting with Roman veterans in close combat. But at the same time, they did not rely too much on personal bravery, and paid great attention to mutual cooperation with teammates to maintain the basic integrity of the entire formation. Even if a barbarian soldier was surrounded and killed by Roman veterans because of his excessive advance, the gap in the queue behind him would be filled in time by the soldiers in the back row... This is the reason why the battle-hardened Ninth Legion has not been able to gain the upper hand so far. If it were not for the different appearance, Anthony would even think that the opponent was simply an excellent Roman legion!

No, not one! Two! Even... Anthony not only watched the battle of the Ninth Legion carefully, but also paid attention to the battle of the Tenth Legion. He was in a very bad mood: If the combat effectiveness of all the teams of this barbarian army is so strong, then we are in big trouble! Because the combat effectiveness of the left wing is not good, although they have stopped attacking and taken a defensive posture, if the barbarians take the initiative to attack, can the left wing resist? !

Anthony remembered the reminder that Caesar said before leaving, and felt very regretful for underestimating the enemy, but the battle has already begun. How can we save the situation, save the army, and even win?

Anthony felt very conflicted:

If he drew out the third line soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth Legions to reinforce the left wing (the Roman Legions were in the traditional three-line fish scale formation before the battle. When the battle started, the first and second lines merged into an offensive formation, and the third line stood by in the rear, ready to rotate with the first two lines at any time. Even though Anthony was attacking all along, he still habitually adopted the usual offensive tactics after discovering that the enemy was ready), he might be able to stabilize the left wing, but the army on the right wing had not rested much after a long march and was thrown into battle. If there were no new forces to rotate and rest, even if their morale was high, they would not be able to maintain a long battle due to fatigue. At that time, the Ninth and Tenth Legions, which were originally the main force, would not only fail to defeat the enemy and win, but would be at a disadvantage due to the weakening of their strength, which would not be worth the loss;

But if he did not reinforce the left wing, the enemy on the right wing was not weak in combat power, and it would be difficult for the Ninth and Tenth Legions to defeat them in a short period of time. During this period, the left wing could not withstand the enemy's attack and collapsed, and the entire army would be in danger...

What to do? ... Anthony hesitated until the scout came and told him in panic: the cavalry on the left wing was defeated by a large number of barbarian cavalry, and the barbarian cavalry began to attack the flank of the left wing.

Anthony finally made up his mind: urgently mobilize all the third-line soldiers in the middle to reinforce the left wing!

Although Anthony knew that the situation in the middle was not much different from that on the right wing, he had no choice now.

The unfavorable situation did not make Anthony nervous, on the contrary, he looked resolute and full of fighting spirit.

He sent all the messengers to the captains of the right wing to issue the order "Let the second-line soldiers move forward immediately and fight in rotation", then he jumped off his horse, took the big shield and short sword from his followers, led the guards to the center of the three-line array on the right wing, and shouted to the surrounding soldiers: "Brothers, those who have the courage follow me closely! Those who don't have the courage, get out of the way, today I will fight the barbarians to the end!..."

The guards shouted in unison: "Fight to the death with Anthony! Fight to the death! !..."

The shouts of the guards stirred the morale of the surrounding soldiers, and the shouts of the surrounding soldiers also led the other third-line soldiers.

The trumpet sounds from the Roman right wing and the shouts of the officers intertwined, the soldiers in the front row stopped fighting and slowly retreated under the protection of the big shield, while the soldiers in the third row widened the gaps between the ranks and slowly moved forward...

The changes on the battlefield were clearly seen by Maximus and Pequot, who were on the tower of the western wall of Aquileia. After the left wing of the Roman army was defeated, they left the northern wall and came to the west where the battle was most intense.

"Your Majesty, the Romans have already sent their third line, and it seems that they are preparing for a final fight. We should also send our third line accordingly, so that the more physically fit soldiers can better suppress the enemy's dying struggle!"

Maximus stared at Antony, who was walking in the front of the Roman three-line formation. His tall and burly figure and towering bright feather helmet were the most conspicuous signs. The soldiers surrounding him all held their heads high, and their morale was obviously higher.

Maximus tapped the battlement: "Just as you said, notify the First and Second Legions to change their formation immediately and completely put an end to the Romans' delusion! In addition, notify Dorin to let the crossbowmen take off their leather armor and put on short swords. Once the Roman army is defeated, immediately pursue them with light equipment!"

"Yes."

"When will the cavalry arrive?"

"Don't worry, my king. After all, from the left wing to the right wing, the distance is more than ten miles. They have to save horsepower. It will definitely take some time, but I think it should be soon."

"Yeah."

……………………………………………………………………

The first to arrive at the right wing of the Roman army was Trebonius's messenger. Unfortunately, Antony was already fighting on the front line at this time and could not convey the news that "the left wing has been defeated" to him.

But Antony's order to the center was faithfully executed.

Decitas was once a brother of Antony in Rome. When the internal affairs of Rome broke out and Antony was ordered to stay in Rome, he took the initiative to join Antony and serve him. Later, he followed Antony to cross the sea to Greece to reinforce Caesar...Antony trusted him and promoted him many times. This time, he also let him stay in the center.

Therefore, Decitas still faithfully followed Antony's orders and dispatched the third line of troops to rescue the left wing even though he knew that the situation on the left wing was worrying.

When the rescue troops were arranged in a marching column and marched north quickly, a large number of driven left-wing fleeing soldiers came like a tide. The unprepared reinforcements were soon disrupted, and the soldiers were also dragged into the fleeing crowd, which also made the center of the Roman army completely unable to stop the fleeing soldiers...

After defeating the Roman cavalry, the cavalry led by Ibiger killed the light infantry and fled in all directions. Then he gathered the troops and marched towards the southwest, making a big circle and quietly came to the rear of the Roman right wing.

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At this time, the soldiers of the first and second Roman legions who were replaced from the front line were too tired, so most of them sat on the ground to rest, with their shields and short swords aside, and some even took off their helmets...

Ibig led the cavalry to launch a surprise attack, and the Roman soldiers who rushed to fight were quickly dispersed. They were already exhausted physically and mentally, and there was no Antony to stabilize the morale of the army. Facing the swift attack of the Nicholas cavalry, the soldiers quickly collapsed in morale and turned to flee.

And the direction they fled was exactly the teammates who were still fighting hard...

When the sun set in the west, the battle in Aquileia finally ended, and Nicholas won a glorious victory.

Except for some light infantry, a few cavalry and heavy infantry who escaped, the rest of the Roman soldiers were either killed in battle or captured, and the Nicholas army only suffered more than a thousand casualties.

The reason why the Knicks won such a brilliant victory was mainly because the Roman army fell into the trap of the Knicks and launched an attack eagerly after a long march, which consumed the soldiers' physical strength excessively and exposed their own weaknesses.

The Knicks army took advantage of its powerful cavalry to defeat the Roman cavalry and the flank of the Roman left wing at the same time, causing the Roman left wing to collapse, and then rushed to the right wing of the Roman army, causing its collapse. Then the cavalry on both sides cooperated with the infantry to press the Roman fleeing soldiers to the middle, thus forming a large encirclement... The military planning of the Knicks' military department before the war was finally perfectly presented.

At this moment, Maximus stood in front of a pile of Roman soldiers' bodies, and Antony, lying in the middle, was shot by several arrows and covered in blood. Even after death, his eyes were still wide open.

Akeguo, the captain of the First Legion, introduced in a heavy tone: "...This Roman general was very fierce and killed several of our soldiers. The Roman soldiers around him also fought desperately under his leadership, causing our formation to be unable to hold on. Fortunately, the Roman army was defeated later, and we recovered.

But this group of people still did not collapse under the leadership of this Roman general. Even if we surrounded them, they still used the tortoise shell formation to resist. Later, I called in crossbowmen and killed them all..."