Laforzafisicadeisoldatinonpossonoscioperi (Soldiers with poor physical strength are not allowed to charge)

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

After the emergency evacuation of Narsi and others, the soldiers of Hannibal's regiment did not dare to act rashly when they looked at the 200 black-armored pike-heavy infantry on the other side of the river. The Spartan hoplites piled their weapons aside, some combing their hair, some doing exercises, and they did not look like they were fighting. Hannibal was very surprised, and after asking those in the know, he learned that combing his hair before the war was a habit of the Spartans, which meant that he was going to fight with his life.

Hannibal waited patiently for another forty minutes, when his tired army had rested for a while; Seeing that the Spartans guarding the bridge did not show the slightest sign of surrender, he gave an order to capture these unknown Spartans alive by force. But before the Great War, Hannibal was still unwilling to give up these brave and fearless warriors; One last time he sent an emissary to tell the centurion of the Spartan hoplites that if he and his army were willing to surrender, Hannibal could make him the new king of the city-state of Syrac. You know, Syracuse is the same as Sparta; Both are the places of origin of the Spartans.

The centurion replied, "If you knew what was most precious in this life, you would not covet what others had; It is more important to me to die honorably for the House of Augustus than to be the head of my people! Annoyed and ashamed, Hannibal had an ultimatum for the Spartans to surrender immediately, to which the centurion replied contemptuously: "Want? Then get it! “

Hannibal used nearly a thousand slingers and javelinmen to attack the Spartan heavy infantry led by the centurion. However, Hannibal's slingers and javelinmen were unable to project powerful slings and javelins after a day's bloody battle; Moreover, the rest of the javelins they used were basically improvised and the stones they picked up on the ground, and their attack power and attack range were very limited, and the javelins and stones were bounced back when they hit the shields and helmets of the Spartan heavy infantry, and they could not cause great damage at all.

The warriors of the Spartan hoplites each carried a large round shield, which was ninety centimeters in diameter and weighed nine kilograms, made of round wooden blocks with a thin layer of copper on the outside. In addition to shields, the helmets and armor of Spartan hoplite soldiers also played a great role in protection. Their helmets were made of bronze and there were 4. It weighs 5 kg and can provide all-round head protection. All Spartan soldiers wore a special multi-layered armor made of flax, feathers, and bronze mixed together to form the most primitive synthetic fibers.

Stranded on the other side of the narrow stone bridge, Hannibal's legions were unable to fight quickly, and the cavalry could not be used, so they had to abandon their long-range tactics and send a light infantry camp to fight. The centurion and his warriors met the battle in a Greek spear formation, consisting of four rows of eight warriors each, standing shoulder to shoulder. Because the warriors were armed with shields and spears, this formed a huge wall of shields and cascading spears.

The spear phalanx of the Spartan hoplites was like a strong wall, defusing the attacks of Hannibal's army again and again. Having repelled several waves of attacks from the light infantry of Hannibal's corps, they began to counterattack. In the spear phalanx of the Spartan hoplites, the soldiers of the first two rows stabbed Hannibal's soldiers with sharp spears from between the upper and lower gaps in the round shield. Hannibal's warriors suffered heavy losses, as they wore almost no armor and were vulnerable to the shields in their hands.

The small shields and short spears of the Gauls and Spaniards could not match the Spartan hoplites, and groups of soldiers fell in front of the Spartan shields. Seeing this, Hannibal was so anxious that he rose from his throne three times, frowning, shaking his beard, and feeling irritable. Hannibal's first attack was completely crushed, and the Spartan hoplites lost only 2-3 Spartan warriors, but the Spartan warriors killed every Hannibal soldier who rushed up.

After the first wave of attacks was broken, Hannibal fully realized what a terrible army he was facing. It was a terrible army far superior to the elite Roman legions, and even the Roman Republic at its peak had never had such a powerful army; What makes Hannibal even more helpless is that he has an empty stomach but cannot use it in this narrow space.

Moreover, after a day of bloody fighting, Hannibal's army really did not have the energy and sufficient weapons and equipment to launch another attack; At this moment, as long as there is a fully loaded Roman legion, it can easily harvest the heads of Hannibal's legions, which are feared by the Romans. However, there was not a fully armed Roman legion ahead; It's just a hundred-man squad of less than 200 people.

In fact, Hannibal could also choose to rest for a night on the north shore before attacking the Spartan heavy infantry; Or, spare the 200-strong army. But Hannibal did not dare to do so; If the fleeing army once again occupied the undefended Lili, then the series of plans to destroy the elite Roman legions again would be in vain. This was unacceptable to Hannibal, who had disrupted his entire battle plan with a surprise attack from behind by the Wolf Legion; He has always been haunted. So, this time he would never allow such a thing to happen again.

Unable to think of a better way, Hannibal decided to prepare with both hands, and immediately sent all his cavalry to find the nearest bridge or place where the river could be crossed; And sent an elite 1000 Iberian infantry to start attacking the opponent. In order to reduce the casualties of the Iberian infantry, Hannibal ordered them to scavenge the battlefield at will for weapons and equipment left behind by the enemy; Everyone must be armed to the teeth and protect their lives.

A thousand people of the Iberian infantry unit, forming a matrix, launched an attack on the opposite side of the stone bridge. However, the Iberian infantry's spears and swords and picked up Roman weapons could not penetrate the shields of the Spartan hoplites, but the spears of the Spartan warriors could accurately pierce their armor and shields. The shields used by the Iberian infantry were made of wicker, and the overlapping metal armor under their tunics was not as thick as playing cards; There was nothing to hide under the sharp spears of the Spartan warriors.

Even the high-quality shields and thick metal armor of the elite Roman legions used were of little use; The secret legions of the House of Augustus all use special equipment that is more than one grade better than ordinary Roman equipment. This is due to the fact that the Augustus family had a very small number of private troops, and they could only increase their strength by increasing the combat effectiveness of their soldiers and using special equipment. As a result, the weapons and equipment used by the Spartan heavy infantry from the Cretan Legion were specially made and excellent, which was beyond the reach of Hannibal's legion.

No sooner had the second attack been thwarted than Hannibal ordered his Iberian infantry to retreat; He was reluctant to die with his elite Iberian infantry. By this time, night had already begun to fall; Hannibal's regiment also lit torches, and it had been a full two hours since Narsi had evacuated.

Just when Hannibal was running out of options, a local farmer named Epiatis came to report that there was a place in the Galdus that was so shallow that it could be easily waded across the river. When Hannibal heard this, he was overjoyed, and immediately ordered the Carthaginian peasant to lead the Hush Duba and his 2,000 cavalry across the river from this shallow stream; He also ordered the Huskid to launch a cavalry assault on the Spartan heavy infantry from the rear as soon as he crossed the river.

Soon, the centurion of the Spartan heavy infantry heard the galloping of cavalry in the distance; He understood that the cavalry of Hannibal's regiment had already made a detour to the back. Knowing that the tide was turning, he still led the Spartan hoplites to prepare for battle. Because according to Spartan tradition, soldiers could never abandon their positions. Thus, the remaining half of the Spartan heavy infantry continued to be vigilant against the other half of the stone bridge; The other half turned and lined up behind them. In the darkness of the night, they could only wait for the enemy's attack by feeling.

Hannibal's army, which was flanked in front and rear, rushed to the mouth of the stone bridge, and the Spartan heavy infantry on the back of the enemy bravely met it. They stabbed with their spears, and when they broke, they drew their swords and slashed, and when they broke, Hannibal's legions swarmed them. The Spartan hoplites repelled the enemy's third attack, but the centurion was also killed, and the Spartan warriors fought desperately to protect the corpse of their commander. Their numbers are getting smaller and smaller, and they are gradually compressed into a small piece.

Eventually, Hannibal's army surrounded the remnants of the Spartan hoplites, raining javelins and slings at them at the sound of the command, until the last Spartan hoplite fell. At this point, after five hours of Narsi's evacuation, the stone bridge was finally captured by Hannibal's army.

The bloody battle of Stone Bridge, which cost the lives of some 800 legionnaires, was a nightmare for Hannibal. Even the extermination of 2000 elite Roman soldiers could not have cost Hannibal's legion 800 men, and this was done with only 200 men; Their combat effectiveness is nothing short of terrifying! As soon as he thought of the Spartan soldiers who would rather die than give in to the bloody battle, he couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Are all Spartans like this?" ”

The insider immediately replied: "Actually, not every Spartan is so brave and fearless; Even in the Spartan city-states, only the Spartan Royal Guard could reach this level of elite, and the other Spartan hoplites would not be stronger than your legions. Moreover, the weapons and equipment of the Spartan royal guard were far inferior to those of the 200 Spartan heavy infantry; Their weaponry was even far superior to that of the Romans, and it must have been specially crafted. “

Hannibal nodded thoughtfully, and then continued to ask, "How many Spartan royal guards did the Spartan city-states have, and how many ordinary Spartan hoplites did they have?" The insider thought for a moment and replied: "The total number of Spartan royal guards is generally 600, and the average Spartan heavy infantry is estimated to be 3,000. “

Hannibal didn't say anything more this time, looking at the 200 Spartan hoplites who died extremely miserably; He had the idea of recruiting some Spartan heavy infantry to supplement his legion. Immediately, Hannibal ordered a large army of 5,000 men to march towards Lilibal; Leaving more than 1,000 light infantry to clean up the battlefield and bury the remains of the 200 Spartan heavy infantry.