Chapter 28: The Battle of Rhode Island (2)
Alexander's flagship was very brave, and under the command of Ares, he had already captured two five-oared ships and a three-row oared warship, and because of the tense battle, in order to avoid a repetition, all the soldiers on the enemy ship were killed, and there were not many sailors left, and the oarsmen, because most of them were slaves and paupers, obediently sailed to the rear after receiving certain promises. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info Ares' marines basically suffered no losses, because most of the opponents were light infantry, and they were almost lambs to the slaughter after receiving the broadside, and they had no ability to resist. Many enemy ships did not dare to approach when they saw these warships with drawbridges retreating, because once they approached, they would not escape the doom if they were caught by the drawbridge. So Alexander threw all the frigates around him into battle to extend the victory.
"General, many enemy ships have trebuchets on them, and they shoot large fireballs instead of stones, and most of the fires of our warships are caused by fireballs, and their archers fire rockets that burn our sails, and many ships are captured because they cannot escape. In addition, there is a drawbridge in the bow of the enemy ship, and as soon as the ship gets close to it, the drawbridge is lowered, and the soldiers on board will rush to the deck of our ship and kill our soldiers, while our fleet has very few soldiers, and most of them are archers who attack from a distance, and many of them are captured by the other side. ”
"I didn't expect this to happen, who invented this method of warfare, it's really terrible." Cassander looked very decadent, and suddenly he turned his head, startling Glausias, "Why don't you hit the horns and sink them?" ”
"Their large warships are guarded by small warships nearby, and they are fighting steadily, although we have organized several attacks, but now the morale is low and chaotic, it is really difficult to organize an effective attack, although we have tried several times but have little effect!"
"How can this be reasonable, which one is the flagship, find out for me at once, and concentrate on attacking the enemy's flagship. Capture Alexander, they will lose even if they kill all our ships, hahahahaha! ”
"Alexander is only 7 years old, it should be impossible to personally command the battle, it is estimated that he is hiding on the island!"
"Nope! I could feel his presence, he was like a hungry wolf, watching me and trying to tear me apart, but I, Cassander, am not so easy to deal with, and I want him to pay! ”
"Look, General, the biggest ship may be the flagship!"
Cassander looked at a warship as large as his own flagship, and he was almost certain that this was his goal, because there were not many six-oared ships in the whole of Greece, because it was too large and expensive, it could carry 360 oarsmen, 150 soldiers and 60 sailors, and at that time in the Greek world, it was like a giant, so Cassander immediately ordered the siege of this ship. Alexander's rash command of the frigate led to his precarious situation, and by the time Cassander's twenty or so ships besieged him, there was not a single ship left to guard him.
"Your Majesty, it's not good, there are more than twenty enemy ships besieging you!" Ares said anxiously.
"What!" Alexander and Polybeccon exclaimed in surprise almost simultaneously.
Without any hesitation, the two immediately rushed to the deck, and Alexander saw that there was not a single ship beside him, and said in a hurry: "Retreat immediately!" ”
"Yes!"
"Our ship is too slow to run." Polybocon said regretfully, sighing: "We are too light on the enemy, and the number of enemy ships is far greater than ours, but we think that they have been stunned by us and have lost their due vigilance. At this time, it is already difficult for them to win, so they have to make a desperate bet, our ship is so big, at a glance you know that it is a flagship, and it is easy to become a target for the opponent's attack. ”
"It's me who underestimated the enemy too much, didn't listen to you, so much so that now so many soldiers are in danger, I'm confused!" Alexander was so embarrassed and angry that he punched the deck, and blood was already oozing from his fingers.!
Ares looked at it and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, with me here, I will do my best to protect you and the old general!" ”
"Humph! Do you think I'm old and incompetent? When do you need someone else to protect you! Polibocom roared.
"The subordinates don't dare!"
"Seeing that the other party is about to catch up, wait for me to kill the enemy with you, Alexander, you must protect yourself."
"Don't worry, I will, you can go in peace." …,
"Boom!" Alexander's flagship dodged the ramming angle of the five-oared warship rushing ahead, and rammed the opposing ship from the left side, because Alexander unloaded the ramming horn in order to capture the enemy ship, so he could only engage in broadside combat, and the soldiers flocked to the enemy, and Polybecon rushed to the enemy ship first, slashing left and right with a broadsword rarely used by the Macedonians, and inspiring his companions to swell. However, after only 50 people went up, Polybergon ordered the drawbridge to be retracted, and the rest of the men continued to protect the flagship. Then the second ship sailed forward, and Ares came into play......
At this time, Alexandre, who was fighting nearby, saw that the flagship was under siege and immediately rushed to the aid of several warships around him. By the time they arrived, the flagship had already been knocked through two holes, but fortunately it wasn't very fatal. Polibercon and Ares had captured two enemy warships and turned their spears against the Cassander fleet, and the slaves and civilians seemed to have no mind, more like machines, and could make each other work for themselves without much effort. At the same time, Cassander's reinforcements were arriving, and he had almost pinned his hopes on Alexander, and he didn't care about anything he lost as long as he could catch him, and now he was completely paranoid. In fact, Alexander's departure was tantamount to giving him a golden opportunity to become the ruler of Macedonia, but his paranoia made him and Alexander stubborn, and now like a gambler, everything is worth it if he wins, and if he loses the bet, he not only loses the entire fleet, but also loses the trust of his allies, and even may be captured.
At this time, Alexander was also very difficult, although after rescue, the loophole was temporarily blocked, but there were a large number of enemy warships, and they were constantly pouring over, fortunately, the two captured ships were on top of the back, and they took a breath for a while. But what Alexander didn't know was that not far away, the Athenian general Ephialtes was leading his remnants of his troops to move closer to the Chinese army and take revenge, Cassandris's sneak attack was successful, Ephialtes did not kill the Macedonian soldiers after falling into the water, in fact, the scene was too chaotic to take care of, so the rescue team successfully saved most of the soldiers who fell into the water, but there were still more than a dozen soldiers who died. Efe Altes was determined to carry out a retaliatory strike after regaining his strength, but due to the severe damage to his strength, he had no choice but to lead the remaining warships to move closer to the Chinese army and abandon the original encirclement strategy. As a result, Alexander began the second round of fierce battles with Cassander after the success of the first tactical strike, at this time the Cassander fleet had lost nearly a hundred ships, and the organization was in disarray, but it did not have much disadvantage in numbers, and Alexander's fleet was still very difficult to fight. Soon, however, Alexander's generals began to send marines to the captured Cassander ships to begin the battle, and although the effect was not very satisfactory, the number decreased and increased. The contrast is greater, and they are all replaced with the flag of the Ajd dynasty, which is very deterrent.
But King Alexander was in a very disadvantageous position, and he slowly fled to the east due to the attack of Ephialtes from the west. At this time, the fog had not completely dissipated, and in the hasty escape, gradually, the flagship lost its way. This situation is very unfortunate, although it managed to escape the group fight, but in the fog, there is an unknown danger haunting the flagship. Ares and Polybecoon were still at war, and the Rhodes fleet of Arestonos and Manon was competing with the Antigonus fleet of Telethphros to the east.
After about three hours, the fog that had spread over the sea had completely dissipated, and at this time it was faintly visible that there was land ahead, but Alexander found that it was northeast, and knew that his ship was getting farther and farther away from the battlefield, but the ship was already scarred and dilapidated, and the oarsmen's physical strength had reached its limit. Alexander then ordered the ships to move closer to land. Because Rhodes was north of Lykia, Alexander was sure of his suspicions, and he was correct, but what he didn't know was that he had come to Termesos (present-day Fethiye, Turkey).