In the winter of 197 B.C., the struggle for hegemony between the East and the West entered a fierce war stage.

The Macedonian-Pontic War broke out. Both sides are committed to dominating the world.

Front-line casualties surged. In the Eastern Mediterranean, the flames of war are raging from land to sea. Since everyone used the tactics of sea raids, there is no longer a strategic front and rear between the two countries, and any location may be burned into ashes.

The battle on the peninsula of Asia Minor was at a stalemate, and the armies of the two countries were fighting in the narrow mountain passes, and neither could advance.

Local battles

Hingis returned with his legion and was confronted by Leocharis's troops, who were catching up. Both sides were fearless, and the battle began.

The Macedonian regiments with long-range weapons were the first to take up formation and shoot at the opposite side with crossbows. Hingis also did not hesitate, braving the enemy's artillery fire in a three-way formation and charging straight forward.

Faced with a fierce opponent, Leoch Charles was concerned about the strength of his infantry. Because his troops had lost half of their losses after successive attacks and had been replenished by many conscripted pikemen, the phalanx they formed was not as hard as it seemed on the surface, and its combat effectiveness was much inferior. It was only compensated for by the maneuvering movement of the cavalry.

The hard battle begins, and the queue moves. The two armies were on the plain.

The Pontic Bronze Shield phalanx fought hard and soon gained an overwhelming advantage over the pikemen on the levy. The Bronze Shield Pikemen are an elite class of troops with very strong offensive capabilities, and can still ensure a tight spear formation when moving. The frontal hard straight advance is unstoppable, and the conscripts are not opponents at all.

Under the suppressed and suffocating offensive of the Ponticians, the Macedonian infantry line became shaky, and the regular army fought to the death, but the four conscripted pike phalanx on the left flank had long been unable to withstand it. Momentarily defeated at a critical point, the rout and the flight of the troops created a gap in the defensive line. Only archers and light infantry desperately resisted.

The Macedonian cavalry was still strong, with superiority in mobility and combat qualities, coupled with Leocharius's skill in cavalry warfare, and defeated the main force of the enemy cavalry after a fierce and fast fight.

Now, then, in the face of an enemy army dominated by infantry, it should not be difficult to give full play to the mobile advantages of the hoplite cavalry and use the tactics of key assaults to turn the tables and annihilate the enemy.

Unexpectedly, the main force of Aspugus managed to break through from Troy and retreated to this place, posing a threat to the back of the Third Army.

Leo Charles had no intention of retreating, he ordered the cavalry and infantry to cover each other, and the combination of attack and defense skillfully threw the enemy in the same direction. There was a break in the fighting, and he ordered his troops to reorganize their formation. At the same time, the two armies of the opposing side converged, and Aspgus and Hingis fought side by side again. Morale on the Pontic side rises.

The friendly Carthaginian regiment was also reinforced by a light force. All the fighters present were out of breath, and everyone's physical strength was greatly consumed. The instability of the battle increased.

In this way, the two sides are basically tied. Leocharis's infantry suffered too many losses, and there was not enough hard straight to resist in the front, and it was difficult to play the cavalry's flank flank tactics. He calculated that he would be able to retain the cavalry force and part of the elite infantry. It just so happened that the opponent, Hingis, had no intention of fighting, and just wanted to fight a bloody way and retreat to Silesia.

The Campanian legions stood in the way of the enemy's retreat, and the Pontics had no choice but to fight their way through. So another round of battle began, and the two cars launched a confrontation.

As a result, the Bronze Shield phalanx broke the front line on the left flank of Macedonia and tore open the hole, and the main forces of most of the army in the headquarters poured out of the gap like a flood and went straight to the mountain pass. Leo Charlies saw Hingis's intentions and ordered the withdrawal of his troops from pursuit. Because there are no small losses on both sides.

"Don't be forced to be poor! Even if you chase it, you may not be able to win. The Pontus army is indeed tough.

Collect troops. ”

The generals on both sides left each other a way out, and everyone withdrew to their camps.

The Pontus general Curtis led 40,000 troops from Tarsus to respond. Reinforcements, Aspgus launched a second offensive.

Macedonian commander Thessaros also led the New Seventh Army to Mount Taurus at this time, and decided to carry this tug-of-war with Pontus to the end. Because he did everything possible to gather intelligence, he had a general understanding of the new deployment changes of the enemy army. Tarsus was doubly protected, and heavy troops were massed near Antioch, which means that the Pontus had turned Silesia and Syria into military fortresses, heavily fortified and guarded at every level. Along the road, large numbers of troops were stationed in cities, plains, passes, bridges, and even open areas that were easily accessible. The Macedonians could not do it if they wanted to sneak up on the crossing.

The Battle of Taurus broke out again.

The army under the command of the Macedonian commander Aspgus, the deputy generals Kotis and Hingis led more than 90,000 men to attack, the Macedonian commander Thessaros, and the generals Troy and Leochrics.

The two sides fought in the Taurus area, from the plains to the mountains. This time, the opponent met the opponent, the command skills were exquisite, and the brave soldiers were strong and the combat effectiveness was strong. In the end, the armies of both sides were exhausted, lost more than half of their losses, and could not continue, and the battle ended in a draw. Thessaros and Aspugus had no choice but to confront each other in front of and behind the mountain pass.

A new round of conscription begins.

North Africa

Honorary King Sith, who led his guards on the march. The general at the front made a serious mistake, he had to go and save the Macedonian 1st and 2nd Army Corps. That was the spine of the Eastern Mediterranean Army, and the next step was to face total annihilation. Sith was like a person at this time, knowing that holding the fire in his hand would hurt him, but he couldn't give up the only fire.

The house leak happened to rain overnight, and the ship was late and encountered a head wind. Halfway along the way, the Sith king received a letter from Carthage: his important adviser Ayases had fallen ill and died. His capital adds a bit of instability. The Sith felt the cold sea breeze, and his heart was slightly cold. There is also indescribable bitterness.

Sure enough, the Pontic army approached Siwa. Leading the way is Akhoris Ferrad Famahabir, these two are former Egyptian generals who defected to Pontus, and they have the ability to lead troops to fight, otherwise Bendu would not have to wait for idle people. Akhoris, in particular, was good at chariot warfare, and he himself had eighty-nine strong cavalry as guards; He led a group of Pharaoh's chosen archers, and his combat effectiveness increased greatly. Mahabal was brave and resourceful, and he commanded his troops well.

This operation was the idea of Akhoris, who saw the fatal mistake of the Macedonian generals and decided to eat the enemy's elite and make a meritorious contribution to the new owner. But the people of Pontus did not seem to trust them very much, and did not even provide enough money and food supplies for this operation, and only distributed a small half.

Of course, the Pontians did not miss the opportunity, and their own main battle army followed in the vanguard and advanced towards Siwa.

(End of chapter)