Ambushsedivedereattraverso, eanti-elusione, alloranonsolononpuòraggiungereloscopoprefisso, mapagheràpiùcaro (if the ambush is detected and counter-surrounded, it will not only fail to achieve the desired purpose, but will pay a more heavy price)

- Wigisius (Ancient Roman Emperor, author of [Roman Military System])

Let's go back to September 20th; Before dawn in the morning, the lights were already on in the north and south barracks of the coalition forces. Immediately after that, under the order of Scipio the Elder, the army in the barracks on the south bank began to slowly cross the river and march towards the barracks on the north bank; Hannibal watched from his camp as the coalition forces moved.

After the two armies were united, Scipio the Elder began to give orders to the generals in the general tent of the army camp on the north bank. The generals present, with the exception of Scipio the Elder and Paulus; There were also seven Roman legionaries and Greek legionnaires, as well as the famous generals of the Roman Republic, Nucias and Sevillea, who had rushed from Rome for the decisive battle, plus Oscar himself.

In terms of the lineup of generals alone, the Roman army this time has assembled the most luxurious lineup of generals in the entire Roman Republic. The captains of the seven Roman legions were the pillars of the four Roman families and the Augustan family, and were the giants of the future Roman Republic; The four generals who were commanders were the most decorated generals in the Roman Republic. At the same time, he was also the only four generals in Rome who had commanded a large army in battle!

As soon as the meeting began, Scipio the Elder went against the previous norm and issued military orders with an unquestionable and fierce attitude! All the Roman generals, including Borus, had no complaints; Regardless of the seniority and competence of Scipio the Elder, the importance of such a decisive battle does not allow anyone to question the orders of the Supreme Commander. On the battlefield, once a war begins, there must not be any general who questions the supreme commander; Otherwise, the war will only be lost.

First of all, Scipio the Elder ordered the six major legions to hand over all their 300 subordinate cavalry to the command for unified command; All 1,800 cavalry were to be divided into the left and right flanks. On the right flank was a Roman cavalry of 1,200 men, who lined up against the river. On the left flank was a Roman cavalry of about 600 raids. Of the other eight corps, the Second Corps formed the Right Wing Corps, which was commanded by Deputy Commander Paulus and the Right Wing Cavalry.

The Fourth Corps formed the Left Wing Corps, which was commanded by the commander-in-chief, Scipio the Elder, and the Left Wing Cavalry. Among the remaining six legions, the Eagle Legion, the Bull Legion, and the Horse Legion formed the Right Center Army Legion; And the army of horses sat in the center, and the army of eagles lined up on the right side to echo the army on the right flank, and the army of the center army on the right was commanded by the general Minusias.

The Boar Legion, the Wolf Legion (including the Guards Regiment), and the Greek Legion formed the Left Center Army Legion; And the Boar Legion sat in the center, and the left side of the Greek Legion was echoed by the Left Wing Army, and the Left Center Army was commanded by General Severia. However, due to the large number of Roman troops, the Roman formation would have been too long if the previous formation had been followed.

So, in order to increase the frontal combat effectiveness of the coalition forces; Scipio the Elder halved the number of frontal members of each hundred-man team, lined up in a row of five, and doubled in depth to 12 rows. In this way, the Roman formation will not be too long, but it will be doubled, hoping to strengthen the frontal breakthrough ability of the Chinese army. At this point, all the regimental arrangements have been arranged; However, Paulus gave his opinion at this moment.

According to Borus, the coalition army had only 1,800 Roman javelin cavalry, which was simply not capable of competing with the 4,000 elite cavalry of Hannibal's legion; After a little fighting, they were completely routed by Hannibal's cavalry. Therefore, it is better to gather the cavalry in one place so that you can fight for a while longer. Scipio the Elder's reply was that he had not expected the cavalry to fight for much longer; The role of the cavalry was to quickly entangle the cavalry of Hannibal's corps after they rushed up, and then the second and fourth corps quickly pounced on them to destroy the cavalry of Hannibal's corps.

Moreover, the numerical superiority of the coalition forces can ensure that after sending out two legions, the overall army is still up to more than 27,000 people in six legions; And after Hannibal sent 4,000 cavalry, the army was left with only about 11,000 troops. In this way, the coalition still had an unrivaled numerical advantage over Hannibal's legions. Scipio the Elder's explanation convinced not only Paulus, but everyone present.

After the order was given, the generals went back to their respective armies for battle; Oscar, on the other hand, was left in the military tent by Scipio the Elder. After only two people remained, Old Scipio said solemnly to Oscar: "Oscar, today's battle arrangement is not only to deal with Hannibal's army, but also to guard against the Greek army. From what I know of the Greeks, they are likely to flee in the event of a bitter battle.

So, I put the Greek legion between you and me; Their left flank is the 4th Legion and the left flank cavalry under my personal command, and the right flank is your Legion of Wolves. If they do choose to flee, you will give up the frontal fight and destroy the Greek legions with all your might! The cowardice of the Greeks must not be allowed to disturb all our arrangements; In the great war, the army must not be disturbed, and it is necessary to strangle in the cradle the possible harm that the Greeks may bring. “

Oscar himself was not interested in the Greek legions, and he naturally would not object to Scipio the Elder's words; It's just that you can't do whatever you want on the battlefield. So, Oscar had no choice but to reply: "Your Excellency, Commander, once the decisive battle begins, the Wolf Legion is caught in a battle with Hannibal's Legion; If we were to move away from the frontal battlefield and turn to the Greek legions, wouldn't it lead to a rout on the frontal battlefield? You know, Hannibal won't let go of such a good opportunity to deal with us; He will definitely take the opportunity to tear our battle line apart. “

Old Scipio not only did not feel worried, but said confidently: "Naturally, I have taken this into account; So, your right flank is the most elite boar legion of my Scipio family. My second son, Quintus, is the commander of the Boar Legion, and I have already commanded him; Once the Wolf Legion turns against the Greek Legion, he will defend the frontal line with the Boar Legion at all costs, and you can simply destroy the Greek Legion. “

Old Scipio's words made Oscar respect him, and it was not an understatement to resist; It is quite possible that the entire boar army will be lost in the ferocious offensive of Hannibal's army. No wonder he wanted to keep his family's most elite boar legion by his side, no other legion could do such a way to block the attack for the wolf legion regardless of losses!

After a private conversation with Scipio the Elder, Oscar returned to the Legion of the Wolves in the Captain's tent; Looking at the eager generals in the tent, Oscar began to give his own orders: Narsi and the mortally wounded Thales were to lead the Samonai army and 200 wounded Spartan heavy infantry to stay in the barracks, which was the order of Scipio the Elder; Although Nalsi was a little reluctant, he could only accept it. Belis led Etis and Agrippa into battle with the Wolf Legion, and Licinius led the Guards to fight with Oscar.

There was nothing resentful about such an arrangement, except for a little resentment at Narsi; Even when Oscar went to the battlefield in person, the generals did not object. There are two main reasons for this: first, it is not surprising that the leaders of the House of Augustus had a tradition of personally leading legions into battle; Second, all the generals felt that this decisive battle was timely, and the strong advantage of the coalition army would definitely defeat Hannibal's legions!

Soon, the sound of the high military horn sounded neatly in the barracks; All the legions began to walk out of the barracks in hundred-man units and went to the positions to line up. Oscar, along with Licinius, led the soldiers of the Guards Regiment out of the barracks next to the Wolf Legion and headed for the decisive battle. Standing in the midst of a huge army of nearly 40,000 troops, Oscar couldn't help but fantasize about when the Augustus family could have such a huge army!

After arranging the army, Oscar stood with Licinius on the side of the Guards, waiting for the arrival of Hannibal's legions; The overwhelming Roman army spread all over the north shore, so that everyone in it can't help but be proud and proud of the strength of Rome! Suddenly, the earth began to shake; Hannibal's regiment began to sortie!

Although the absolute number of Hannibal's army is only less than half of the coalition army, from Oscar's point of view, he still sees an endless huge army formation coming towards him. Moreover, the situation of 24 huge war elephants in the opposing army's formation marching in unison is really frightening; Even the earth began to tremble under the power of the 24 war elephants. Naturally, the huge Roman army was also affected, and some soldiers standing on the front line even sat on the ground in fear.

The only good thing is that the riots that broke out among the Greek legions not far from Oscar were soon restored to calm by Dionicios' reprimand. After both armies had lined up in battle, Scipio the Elder rode to the front of the army and began to boost morale; In fact, Oscar didn't need to listen to what old Scipio was saying, his whole attention was on Hannibal, who was also encouraging soldiers on the Prancing Horse!

The general who rode a tall horse, wore a typical half-length armor, and held a short sword, and galloped majestically in front of the army was Hannibal! may belong to the original Oscar's emotions, at this moment Oscar looked at Hannibal's figure and his eyes were red; This is the revenge of killing the father in the blood! As if sensing something, Hannibal suddenly looked back at Oscar; A familiar armor of the leader of the Augustan family made Hannibal see the identity of the other party, and it should be the successor of the leader of the Augustan family in Rome who died in his hands a few months ago.

Hannibal, however, doesn't take such a small role seriously; His father was a good general who was barely a famous general. As for him, it's just a hairy boy who hasn't dried up! At this moment, Hannibal forgot a fact; He himself began his struggle at the age of 9, became the supreme commander of the Spanish army in Carthage at the age of 25, and now at the age of 32 he has become a young man synonymous with the god of war!