Macedonia launched a sudden and swift offensive against Carthage, undeclared war.

Receiving the unified order of Podare Ríos, the Macedonian "Ferry Naval Regiment", escorted by the naval fleet, marched in unison to break through to the North African border of Tangier, Palma de Malla, and Sardinia. At this time, the main force of the Carthaginian army was mostly deployed in the east to fight against Numidia.

Podarre Rios' sortie struck Carthage's soft ventral region like a lightning storm.

The first area to start fighting must have been Mauritania. Because the king's 42nd expeditionary force, the Second Roman Legion, set out from the port of Betica and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to reach there. Tangier is an important port city of Carthage in North Africa. Aloyos couldn't wait to pounce.

Carthage attached great importance to the defense of Tangier and arranged a large number of troops to defend it. But they lacked a unified native soldier, and the Carthaginian Senate gave "gorgeous but unrealistic care" to this remote gateway. Let's take a look at Tangier City's "gorgeous" lineup.

Iberian infantry and Libyan spearmen were the only Carthaginian warriors, and 24 elephants guarded the city. The rest of the troops were mercenaries, Numidian cavalry, North African javelinmen, mercenary pikemen, oriental infantry. The size of this complex unit is considerable, but the actual combat effectiveness is not.

Because mercenaries are not loyal to one side, but only to money. The corrupt Carthaginian officers exploited the military budget layer by layer, and the salaries paid to the soldiers became less and less. Now in the sixth month, the mercenary has not been paid for a long time.

Aloyos' army landed on the western beach, while Tangier's main garrison was stationed in the harbor, separated by a hill. In this way, Macedonia reached a surprise.

When they landed, they went straight to Tangier, and the city was empty. Only elephants and part of the Iberian infantry. With a complete siege team, it is not difficult to open the city gates.

The Macedonian phalanx mixed with the royal pikes and stormed the city and quickly defeated the Iberian light infantry. The elephant is indeed intimidating to fight with other troops, but there is nothing special about it alone, using javelins, rockets, guns and spears, you can deal with it.

However, in the face of these behemoths, many soldiers are still afraid. The front-line commander hesitated and tried to shoot the elephants at a distance with javelinmen and archers first.

As a result, these big guys have rough skin and thick flesh, and they feel that the bow and arrow blow can't hurt Hao Mao at all. The recoil came over but the action was very fast, and many javelinmen were thrown up so high, piercing the intestines and stomachs, and the scene of flesh and blood flying shocked the vision. Elephants are so cruel to go to war!

Then the archers were caught up and fled in disarray by the elephant herd.

The commander was in a hurry and realized that he should have put the stunning troops on the ground and dealt with the elephants with a phalanx of spears. The troops can no longer be allowed to collapse, and the enemy must be stopped from moving immediately.

In the end, four well-arranged phalanxes surrounded all 24 elephants in the central square. Winning or losing is only a momentary courage.

Macedonia seized the city.

Knowing that Tangier was in an emergency, all the mercenaries in the port hurried back to the rescue. When they came to the city, they found that the flag had been changed and the city had changed hands.

When the Macedonians offered to pay for the military, the Carthaginian mercenaries immediately defected.

Aloyos disbanded most of his mercenaries, leaving only a handful of good warriors. For example, the Numidian cavalry and the mercenary phalanx infantry.

The second way, starting from the port of Iberia, was crossed by the invincible army led by Prince Sis across the Mediterranean to seize the nearby Balearic Islands.

The suddenness of the attack left the opponent defenseless. The Sith easily captured Parma. They would then march into North Africa to assist the king in his war.

The third way, starting from the port of Rome, was led by Ducarus to fight for the island of Sardinia in Carthage. The garrison of the Sardinian port city of Calaris was Ahito Torremes, who had a small army and an elephant army.

The operation was well prepared in advance, and the Macedonian vanguard was equipped with large siege equipment, so it arrived immediately and immediately attacked the city.

After landing on the shore, Ducarus marched towards his destination, encountering a part of the defenders along the way. In a great battle between the two sides, the Carthaginian army was defeated, and the defender Aziran was also killed.

Therefore, siege warfare is much easier.

The expeditionary general Ducarus was full of confidence, led the army to sit outside the city, and only sent the first siege echelon to clear the city.

Not long after, the head of the city was replaced with a Macedonian flag, and the signal corps came to report that the city had been taken and that the siege echelon suffered heavy casualties.

"There were 36 elephants in the city, and we met them in the streets and drove them off. As a result, when chasing the javelinmen in the square, the enemy elephant lost control, and the mad elephant ran wildly without distinguishing between friend and foe. The three phalanxes in pursuit were caught off guard, and the elephants were in disarray when they came.

Several mad elephants burst directly into the formation, slamming into the formation, splitting the densely positioned infantry like waves. The Macedonian soldiers were scattered, and the scattered resistance organized was effective but the battle loss ratio was extremely low. Elephants also fell one after another. Intense situations occur in an instant, and the situation becomes unsettling.

All three phalanxes were defeated, and only the royal spear phalanx behind the palace was ready. The platoon of spears facing the elephants is sharp and cold, unwavering. Although a phalanx of spears looked a little thin in front of several elephants, the elite Macedonian soldiers were not afraid.

The mad elephants all end up dying in front of the pike. ”

"Normal, the instability of war elephants in the war is too great. It's good to win. ”

The Macedonians captured the city of Calaris, which soon took control of all of Sardinia. This is the hub of the Western Mediterranean waterway and its location is important.

So far, all three major assault directions have achieved results.

"Attack it unprepared, take it by surprise."

Everyone is working according to plan, busy but not chaotic. Consolidate the bridgehead stronghold and receive the follow-up troops. Now more and more Macedonian troops are stepping on North African soil.

The king had already planned the route of the march. He personally led the main offensive on the outside; The 1st Army and the Auxiliary Corps were led by Parmanuel to turn inland and capture Gaturia and the Sahara.

The Carthaginian Senate sent more troops to try to stop the attack in Numidia, and the Battle of Seta broke out.

In this battle, the scale of the armies of the two sides is really considerable, but the battle process is very simple, and the battle duration is only a few hours. The Macedonians seized the high ground with the advantage of cavalry and then swooped down to attack. Carthaginian soldiers were largely passive all the time.

Aloyos led an elite army to overwhelm the enemy, and the Carthaginian general Ashitatiadon and his lieutenant Micadon were defeated and captured, and most of his soldiers were Iberian infantry from Spain, who surrendered one after another.

Having eliminated the living forces of Numidia, the Macedonian army broke through the city of Seta in one fell swoop. The defender, Amikas, was also a Spaniard and was beheaded.

The loss of Numidia, with the Carthaginian capital already exposed, was even more dangerous.

(End of chapter)