Chapter 1: The Plunder (I)
"Tactical tactics are only a small part of the command of the army." -- Xenophon, who believed that discipline, regulations, and the political system behind the army were far more important than intrigues
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"Oh!" Some of the soldiers of the Sixth Legion, seeing Rabinus's arrogant provocation, roared a little desperately, and threw their spears at him, but they were all lightly dodged by Rabinus, and when he saw that Libidaeus and the guards were protecting the eagle banner, heading towards the center of the ranks, and seemed to be preparing to be defeated and retreat back to the camp, the momentum became even higher, so he struck his horse again, rushed to the distance of the spear throwing of the Sixth Legion, pointed at the young soldiers who were helpless against his cavalry, and said, "You are all recruits with no combat experience, I'm not wrong at all, you've tarnished the name of this legion, recruits! ”
At this moment, a short centurion with a black and white horsehair helmet with a gold chain and medallion on his breastplate and a circle of "Amira" (a gold armband, awarded by the commander of the legion) suddenly ran out of the queue, and suddenly shouted to Rabinus, "I am not a recruit, Rabinus!" ”
"Then you should prove it, centurion." Rabinus, though a little surprised, made the request.
Then the other party took off his hat and helmet in front of him, and Rabinus saw that the other party was indeed a veteran with scars, but he did not recall that he had served with this centurion in the past, and in the moment he was stunned, the centurion threw down his hat and helmet and picked up a hunting spear. And he threw it at Rabinus like lightning. Rabinus hurriedly pulled the reins and prepared to dodge. But the technique and accuracy of the opponent's spear throwing were by no means comparable to those Li Bida soldiers before.
Rabinus's mount let out a scream, and its belly was pierced by a hunting spear, but Rabinus was quick to roll on the sand the moment he fell, and the cavalry around him were afraid that the horse's hooves would accidentally injure the commander, so there was a strong commotion, and everyone scattered in all directions. Even the military flag was accidentally put down.
Then, Hebrida, who threw the spear, pointed at Rabinus, who had risen from the ground, and yelled, "Don't be complacent, Rabinus, this is what the Six Legions have given you!" ”
Just as the banner of Rabinus fell, the second echelon of Pompey's army in the distance, the infantry under the command of Ignagius, also rushed up, and Li Bida was determined not to give himself time to slacken, and he immediately called all the tribuns and centurions to convey the order. "Don't hug each other, so that the person in the middle will be squeezed alive and die. Everyone stretched out according to the horizontal line of the hundred-man team with all their might. Then, at intervals of the formation distance, the left side will fight in the direction indicated by the team marker, and the right side will fight in the opposite direction indicated by the team mark. ”
Although the Sixth Legion was a young, inexperienced legion, it had been in the camp of Little Yama before, and the most basic drill and tactical training were still in place, since the cavalry commander gave such a clear order, its left flank, right flank and center army were quickly divided into two defensive lines, the front and rear, but the infantry surrounded by Rabinus was divided into two halves that could not be taken care of, and it happened to be the moment when the Rabinus cavalry rushed up and prepared to trample, when the cavalry entered a distance of about fifty Roman feet, All the soldiers of the Sixth Legion threw the "Pirum" heavy javelin with all their strength and in great intensity.
In an instant, the desert light cavalry under Rabinus, the men and horses were rolling on the ground, and there was nowhere to stand at all, and then the soldiers of the second column of the six legions also rushed out alternately, and then threw out the second wave of "Pirum", and many Numidian cavalry who had just struggled to get up from the ground were poked to the ground again, and blood flowed all over the ground.
"All the soldiers of the brigade with their faces facing the front of the team logo, this time they can launch a counterattack, don't relax, and drive the enemy out of the battlefield in one go!" So, the soldiers in the front positions of the Sixth Legion shouted and launched a fierce counterattack, and then the brigade in the opposite direction counterattacked the cavalry of Rabinus who had crossed the flanks, and the cavalry of Vibichinas also remounted their horses, and squeezed these severed enemies in front of the trenches of their camp, leaving them with no way out, and the lightly wounded, sick and slaves in the camp came out with weapons in hand, and killed all the enemies between the wooden fence and the trench.
And Rabinus himself also paid the price for his hasty recklessness just now, he changed horses, but he still could not contain his own rout, thanks to the reserve force of the chief brigade of the first army of Lelias, which stepped forward, to block the counterattack of Li Pida's sixth army.
At this time, it was already noon, the scorching sun was rising, and the men and horses on both sides were sweating and exhausted, so they set up their own rearguard teams and slowly retreated in the opposite direction.
After returning to the camp, he immediately rewarded Hybrida with ten Talents, and punished some of the centurions who had been flogged in the battle, but he was still satisfied with the fact that the battle had inflicted a lot of damage on Rabinus, and his plan for a quick attack was ruined.
By the next day, as the surrounding forces continued to move closer to him, Li Bida had no worries at all, and he ordered all the cities to defend themselves firmly and not give Pompey's followers a chance, and then he gathered all the elite cavalry, galloped along the water source outside the camp, and demonstrated towards Rabinus, "My strength is getting stronger and stronger." ”
Indeed, Rabinus's scouts reported that Lybida began to expand and fortify his camp, and more and more ships, cavalry, archers, and equipment entered, "We must withdraw to Zeta in time, or Lybida will seize the opportunity and eat us in turn." Eventually, after a change in the situation on the battlefield, Rabinus decided to retreat.
After Rabinus fled, Condisius and Scipio of the city of Lyptis could not stay any longer, because the hatred in the eyes of the inhabitants of the city was growing day by day, and if the stalemate continued, sooner or later there would be a riot, and when the sun was on the moon in October, Scipio took all his precious beasts and animals, and under the escort of the cavalry of Condisius, he also retreated towards Zeta.
Five days later, Lypida's army recaptured Lyptis, and the entire Libyan coast was taken into his hands.
The cavalry commander was very excited, now there is still a full month before the winter camp in theory, not to mention the weather in Africa, even if the winter camp is not held, Li Bida, who is full of enterprising thoughts, immediately asked Sabo to draw up a package plan for the in-depth capture of Zeta, and then wait for the delivery of logistics supplies with peace of mind.
Soon after, grain from Cyrene and Egypt arrived, and the coastal cities provided a lot of grain, as well as furnaces and a large number of craftsmen, entered the camp, forged lead ball stones, and forged new and sufficient weapons, which made Li Pida, who had to make rounds every day, very satisfied, and he waited for the grain from Sardinia and Rome to arrive, and as long as these supplies were in place, he could proceed to the next step of the war. (To be continued......)