Where there are ideals, hell is heaven. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Where there is hope, pain becomes joy.

- Plato (one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of Western culture)

The Zama Plain is a flat, vast plain, which is extremely suitable for large-scale corps melee battles and cavalry battles; At the time of the rearmament, Hannibal became aware of the existence of the Augustus Guards Cavalry Legion.

However, Hannibal did not think that the five thousand cavalry of the House of Augustus would be a match for the four thousand shield cavalry under his command; Even the cavalry of the Augustan family had more advantages in terms of weapons and equipment, but those four thousand long shield cavalry were real lions of a hundred battles!

Will four thousand male lions be afraid of five thousand sheep with sharp swords? A lion is always a lion, and a sheep is still a sheep after all; In Hannibal's eyes, the Roman cavalry was always a joke!

Therefore, Hannibal did not choose the Galdus River as the place of the decisive battle this time, but chose the Zama Plain, which was more suitable for cavalry combat, as the decisive battle; You know, Hannibal not only has 4,000 elite shield cavalry under his command, but he also has 80 war elephants from the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, which is the trump card army in Hannibal's hands!

After leading his army to the Zama Plain, Hannibal first led his cavalry troops to survey the terrain and distribution of the entire Zama Plain; After that, Hannibal chose a relatively commanding height as the base of his army.

In order to better meet the army of the Augustusian family, Hannibal did not let all his troops be stationed in one military camp, but divided the army into three military camps.

These three barracks were distributed in a zigzag shape at the southern end of the Zama Plain, and directly in front of them was the main army camp of Hannibal himself leading his army; Twenty-four thousand troops led by Hannibal himself, four thousand shield cavalry led by Hasduba, and eighty war elephants were stationed inside.

Five hundred meters southeast of the main military camp was Theophanes' barracks, in which were stationed fifteen thousand Marco's old mercenaries led by Theophanes; Five hundred meters southwest of the main army camp was the military camp of Mahabal, which was garrisoned by 6,000 infantry and 6,000 Greek troops led by Mahabal.

This way of distributing the barracks ensured that Hannibal's army would not be attacked by the Augustan army at any time; Because it is impossible for the army of the Augustus family to have the strength to sneak attack three military camps at the same time, once the army of the Augustan family sneaks up on one military camp, it will immediately fall into the predicament of being attacked by the enemy.

More importantly, this zigzag distribution of barracks also prevented Hannibal's army from being too concentrated; When a major war breaks out, the speed of the mobilization of troops must be much faster than that of an army in a barracks.

In fact, it is most appropriate to divide the whole army into three barracks that are in opposition to each other; If there are fewer than three barracks, the dispatch of troops will be slower and it will not be conducive to mutual assistance.

If there are more than three barracks, the speed of dispatch will indeed be increased again, but it will greatly reduce the strength of the garrisons in each barracks; In the event of an unforeseen circumstance, an army in a barracks is simply not enough to stand alone.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Hannibal arranged the three military camps in the shape of a zigzag at present; With Hannibal's decision, generals such as Mahabal and Husduba naturally obeyed his orders.

Perhaps because of habit, when Hannibal's generals fought under Hannibal, they were always reluctant to take the initiative to think about the battle situation, and they would not easily guess Hannibal's intentions; They had become accustomed to following Hannibal's orders and winning battles.

Hannibal was in no hurry to make any specific military deployments until the Augustusian army had not reached the Zama Plain; He was only sending out a large number of scouts to keep a close eye on the movements of the Augustus army, that is, training the soldiers under his command in the barracks.

Of course, it is not only Hannibal's military camp that is training soldiers, Theophanes and Mahabal are also training soldiers in their respective military camps, and they want their soldiers to establish greater feats in the next decisive battle!

From the first time he commanded the battle, Hannibal, who had never been defeated, had the greatest trust of the soldiers under his command; At the same time, the generals under his command were also full of confidence in him. In the eyes of all, Hannibal himself represents victory and glory!

Three days passed in a flash, Hannibal would receive several scouts every day, and the movements of the Augustan army were all in Hannibal's hands; Not only the movements of the Augustan army, but even the details of the troops of the Augustan army, Hannibal was already fully aware.

The eight thousand cavalry and the large armament troops owned by the Augustus family were known to Hannibal in advance; However, Hannibal was not very worried about this, and could even be said to be fearless.

Although Augustus had twice as many cavalry as Hannibal, were the Romans really a match for their own cavalry? Hannibal has absolute trust in his cavalry and Huskiduba, which is the pride of the cavalry god of war!

As for the large-scale equipment that existed in the army of the House of Augustus, this was quite a headache for Hannibal; The Kingdom of Carthage was not devoid of such ballistas and stone catapults, but Hannibal never liked to use these weapons that could be considered pure siege weapons, so that Hannibal did not have such troops in his army.

However, these Augustan instruments only gave Hannibal a headache, and could not make Hannibal feel afraid at all; Because Hannibal is deeply aware of the weaknesses of these equipment, as long as his own army is functioning properly, the equipment of the Augustan family is just a pile of waste materials in Hannibal's eyes.

After the Augustus family officially arrived on the Zama Plain, Hannibal personally led the Hushduba and 4,000 elite longshield cavalry out of the main camp; From a distance of five hundred meters, he quietly observed the actions of the Augustan family to set up camp.

The army of the Augustan family naturally discovered the anomaly of Hannibal's cavalry troops, when Hannibal's cavalry had not yet reached a distance of 500 meters from his own army; The three legions led by Luquis himself were ready for battle, they lined up in a neat formation, all their weapons were drawn, and they quietly confronted Hannibal's cavalry five hundred meters apart.

In addition to Luquis's three legions, Quintus continued to lead his two military camps to build a military camp; Oscar also asked the cavalry to put down all the ballistae and stone catapults, and once Hannibal's cavalry really attacked, then the first thing to greet them would be the crossbow arrows and artillery shells of the equipment troops!

In fact, Hannibal had no intention of taking the opportunity to attack the Augustan army, he just wanted to get a closer look at the newly emerging Roman Augustusian family; See what the generals and army of his family were, what kind of opponents they belonged to, and why the Balearic Islands and Betica provincial capitals had fallen one after another.

Originally, Hannibal thought that the arrival of his army would make the Augustan army, which was busy building a military camp, busy; Unexpectedly, the army of the Augustus family could continue to do their own things step by step, and also sent half of the army to confront their cavalry in a clear division of labor.

It is no wonder that such a well-disciplined and imposing army could rise so quickly in the western Mediterranean, and take the Balearic Islands and the province of Betica with great speed; At this time, Hannibal realized that his two younger brothers did not complain about the loss.

However, those who lose do not complain, those who lose do not complain, and the thought of the death of his two younger brothers, Hannibal's heart is still full of anger; Hannibal told himself that he had to avenge his two brothers with the blood of the 40,000 army of the House of Augustus!

Hannibal never felt that it was a big deal to lose the Balearic Islands and the province of Betika, the territory was originally fought over by everyone; The Balearic Islands and the province of Betica, which Hannibal had also taken from other forces, had lost it and would have to regain it in the future, and it was not worth making Hannibal angry at all.

However, Hannibal could not bear the death of his two younger brothers; Especially Margo, who is the younger brother who grew up with Hannibal since childhood, and is also a general who accompanied Hannibal in bloody battles on the battlefield, Hannibal must avenge him!

If Marco and Siodicis had not died in the war with the House of Augustus this time, Hannibal would not have given up the good situation in North Africa and led his army to Sicily to fight the House of Augustus.

Hannibal wasn't a good leader, but that doesn't mean he really didn't understand the big picture; How can a person who does not have a sense of the overall situation have a strategic view, and how can he achieve the name of the god of war?

Win one or two battles, probably because of luck; But every battle must be won, and it is not just a matter of luck, it is the real strength. Needless to say, Hannibal was such a man of great strength; How could he lack the most basic vision of the big picture?

Hannibal, of course, understood that as long as he put aside his personal enmity with the House of Augustus for the time being, he would remain in North Africa; Then, he can truly become the one who controls the Kingdom of Carthage, and he will have enough time to bring the whole of North Africa under the rule of the Kingdom of Carthage!

However, Hannibal is Hannibal after all; He loved his country and his people, as well as his family and robes. Therefore, Hannibal resolutely chose to temporarily let go of everything in North Africa, and he wanted to lead the army to take revenge, to avenge his brother and robe!

Perhaps, such a decision is simply unforgivable for a leader; But for the soldiers under Hannibal's command, such Hannibal is the real flesh and blood Hannibal who is worthy of their allegiance! (To be continued.) )