Chapter Eighty-Seven: Lian
It was an open area, and in front of the high ground where the Sixth Army was located was a gentle slope, which was comfortable to walk on. The rear slope is slightly steeper, but does not affect the cavalry maneuverability. Abrias chose this place to take advantage of his legion's mobility, and the flat gentle slope invisibly strengthened the power of the cavalry when charging.
The Gallic army attacked the high ground on its back. The Macedonian corps held the high ground and faced the enemy, initially braking with static. This gave full play to the advantages of the infantry defense, making it possible to win with a outnumbered outnumber. As the distance between the two armies narrowed, the tension between the soldiers on both sides reached a peak. Abrias reiterated the battle over and over again, soothing the soldiers' hearts and quieting them. The target goes into range!
The battle begins! The Macedonian archery troops, with an increased range, were the first to launch long-range strikes. Javelins and a rain of arrows were fired at the Gauls fiercely, and javelins were aimed at anyone who came into range. Archers are ordered to concentrate on attacking the enemy's bow troops, reducing or removing their ability to assist in hot combat. The Gallic army was rarely equipped with archers in normal times, and this time Vicentoli specially brought a special army of archers, called forest hunters, from the remote coastal areas of Western Europe. It is an elite archer unit.
This forest hunter has a longer range and a stronger bow. In addition to the greater lethality of their arrows, they were each equipped with a short spear to defend against cavalry raids. On weekdays, these hunters are bound to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies, and they are known for their elite. Today, however, they have lost their former range advantage. Macedonian archers standing on a high ground gain gravitational potential energy, which not only increases the range, but also increases the kinetic energy and angle of the arrows from top to bottom. It was even more lethal when the fire was concentrated, and rows of arrows killed the forest hunters.
Most of the archers specially arranged by the Gallic generals were wiped out before they could make a move. These high-ranking soldiers instead act as cannon fodder, objectively fighting for opportunities for other friendly forces, but there is no way. The Gallic infantry had no choice but to speed up the heights and meet the Macedonian infantry in close quarters. The Macedonian light infantry flexibly withdrew to both sides of the phalanx, projecting the enemy from the flanks. The archers withdrew to the rear of the infantry line.
This time, Abrias deployed the spear phalanx in a rectangle, and the front and rear lines of defense were staggered, so that the entire hoplite defense line was thicker and more flexible, and formed resistance to the Gaul sea shock tactics. Of course, this undoubtedly gave up the length of the hard straight front, so light infantry was used on both sides to arrange the formation. Although the light infantry did not directly confront the enemy, they were strong enough to protect the flanks of the central heavy infantry.
The light infantry had no armor, was lightly equipped, and was mostly good at running for Orion. When the enemy pursues, they turn around and run; Unable to catch up and turning to the central phalanx, they turned back and struck with javelins. Throwing javelinmen into battle can definitely make a big difference. Especially in the middle and late stages, the role of light infantry in mobile and fast-in, fast-out hand-to-hand combat came into play.
The Gallic infantry fiercely rushed in front of the phalanx of pikes, desperately attacking the phalanx. The Macedonian infantry stabbed with spears five or six meters long, and many Gallic infantry fell to the ground. Then the enemy changed formation, and the Gallic warriors in the back row moved to both sides, and the gap in the middle was filled by javelin infantry to continue the battle. It is obvious that the enemy forces want to encircle the sides of our army's phalanx, and the situation is urgent. Aburias gave the order, and the phalanx in the rear row on the right turned back, and the light infantry stood in an L-shaped right angle. In this way, the right flank of the front was temporarily secured.
At this time, the Gallic light cavalry was dispatched, outflanked from both sides, and was menacing. Abrias knew that cavalry warfare was crucial, and he decided to concentrate all his cavalry on one flank. The Macedonian cavalry group, moving from behind the infantry line to the left, went around the phalanx and rushed towards two squadrons of light cavalry in Gaul. The cavalry of the two armies collided fiercely in an instant, and the Macedonian cavalry was superior in numbers, and surrounded the Gallic cavalry in a few strokes. Vicentoli saw that the Macedonian cavalry was attacking the right, so he himself led his guards to seek a breakthrough from the left. The Gallic side, having concentrated its cavalry on the left flank, rushed to the Macedonian right flank.
Vicentoli pounced on the heights, but found that the Macedonian infantry had changed formation without any flaws. He led the cavalry on a further circumambulation to the rear of the Macedonian line. Here a brigade of archers is trying to shoot arrows. The sudden appearance of the Gallic cavalry really panicked, and the general and cavalry were not around, and the infantry could not cover them, so they chose to flee rather than move closer to the larger army. The Gallic cavalry hurried some distance and caught up with them, dividing them by two, and the archers were wiped out.
Abrias defeated the Gallic light cavalry and found that the Gallic warriors were slashing and slashing behind the phalanx, so they withdrew and charged from behind the enemy, striking a counter-encirclement. The Gallic warriors were in disarray with the enemy's position on their backs, and the phalanx infantry on this side freed up their hands to turn their spearheads and counterattack, forming a flanking attack. This part of the Gallic army broke up and fled, and the cavalry hurriedly pursued.
Vicentoli led the cavalry back and joined forces with the infantry on his left flank to attack the Macedonian right flank. The Gallic cavalry assault scattered the javelinmen, who then charged hard. The phalanx on the right flank of Macedonia was split, and the right flank was not secured. The collapse of the right front was exacerbated by the rout of the javelinmen, and the pikemen who were conscripted no longer held out, shouted and fled in all directions. Only the well-disciplined pikemen of the Macedonian phalanx were left to hold their positions, and they were faced with the enemy in front and behind, desperately resisting the enemy's infantry and cavalry, and these warriors were fighting to the death.
Seeing that the right flank was not secured, Abrias immediately abandoned the pursuit and quickly gathered his cavalry to turn around and go for reinforcements. As he galloped his horse, he shouted for the rest of the infantry to maintain the line and regroup. Luko, the deputy commander of the Gallic side on the opposite side, also saw that Vicentoli's lone army needed support in depth, so he ordered all the second-line reserves to be thrown into battle. The decisive moment has arrived.
The Macedonian general galloped with his cavalry, the horses were snorting and panting, and Abrias did not relax at all, whipping and kicking the horse's belly. It was man-made, and seeing that the right flank troops were eaten, the friendly cavalry finally arrived. They rushed straight into the Gallic cavalry group, and dealt a heavy blow to the Gallic cavalry from behind, and even the Visenti hoplites could not hold up, and each of them was stabbed and dismounted. Abrias was a mediocre force, but he was brave, and fortunately he had two top guards at his side and was murderous. In the melee, Vicentoli was killed, the Gallic cavalry was in disarray, and the rest fled in defeat.
Before Abrias could breathe a sigh of relief, the second line of troops in Gaul rushed up again. He turned back and inspected his troops, which were already incomplete, with more than half of the infantry on the left flank lost, the middle was still sound, and the right flank was almost completely destroyed. Only a few dozen light infantry remained, and the cavalry also lost a third. Looking at the corpses on the hillside, the first Gaul attacks were crushed, and the Macedonian side suffered heavy casualties. Abrias's mouth was dry, and he shouted hoarsely:
"It's not over yet, brothers, hold on. I'm going to fight to the end, who stands with me! "Defend your position to the death!" The soldiers who remained on the front said resolutely.
The Gallic infantry was approaching, and Abrias knew that positional warfare was no longer effective. He decisively closed the phalanx in a dense formation and rushed down the high ground. The Macedonian pikemen cut through the center of the enemy in a square formation. The phalanx is neither hasty nor slow, advancing at a neat pace, with strong propulsion. The Gallic infantry on the opposite side of the phalanx fell under the fire of guns, and the Gallic warriors on both sides surrounded them. The battle enters the hand-to-hand phase.
Taking advantage of the advance of the infantry, Abrias divided the cavalry into two teams, bypassing the infantry line on the left and right and directly taking the enemy general Luko. He had nothing else in sight at this time, only one goal - to kill the enemy!