Chapter 453: Battle of Piacenza (II)
In addition, Caesar also selected 300 of the most elite Gallic cavalry and hid them behind the spear formation so that they could defeat the Nyx cavalry more quickly.
The Gallic cavalry under Caesar basically came from Gallic tribes that were completely subservient to him, such as the Aedui. These tribes were later liquidated by Vercingetorix, so the cavalry hated the Gallic army led by Vercingetorix and were willing to fight to the death for this Roman commander with extremely strong leadership charisma.
Since it had been determined that the left wing was the key to the Roman army's victory, Caesar, like in the Battle of Pharsalus, brought his staff and personally sat behind the left wing.
The left wing of the Nix army was composed of the Germanic and Japodic armies, the center was composed of the First and Third Corps, the right wing was composed of the Second and Fourth Corps, and the outer side of the right wing was composed of the Cavalry Corps. The Fifth Corps, as a reserve, was located behind the connection between the center and the left wing, and was also deliberately divided into two parts.
There was a special group behind the Knicks' central army formation: there were hundreds of soldiers, hundreds of horses, and thousands of auxiliary personnel. Some of the auxiliary personnel were fully assisting the soldiers in wearing armor, while others were struggling to put cloth armor on the horses...
April is a beautiful season with bright sunshine, lush grass and singing birds, but at this moment in an area five miles east of Piacenza and south of the Po River, two armies are making final preparations before war.
One army is like a fertile land, golden and dazzling, indescribably heavy and steady; the other army is like a thriving flame, scarlet and dazzling, giving people a heart-pounding oppression.
The armies of both sides were in neat formation, the soldiers were all wearing dazzling armor, holding large shields and short swords, with firm eyes and silent words, like standing steel statues, thus forming two long iron walls. Between the iron walls was a narrow and long open area, like the gap between life and death, filled with a tense atmosphere, where the wind stopped breathing, the flying birds dared not stay, and even the insects hiding in the grass stopped chirping.
"Woo!!!...Woo!!!..." Finally, after nearly half an hour of confrontation, both sides sounded the attack horn almost at the same time, and the infantry formation began to move slowly forward.
Compared to the slow movement of the infantry, the cavalry was much faster, completing the transition from jogging to acceleration within one minute. The distance of nearly 500 meters quickly became just a short distance, and the enemy's roaring and ferocious face appeared before their eyes.
The cavalry of both sides were like two surging and roaring waves. At the moment of the crash, the sound of horses wailing, soldiers screaming, and weapons clashing suddenly burst out in the dust and fog...
When the cavalry of both sides began to clash, the infantry formation was still advancing at a steady pace, but the situation on the Nix side was a little different: there was a relatively loose formation in front of the heavy infantry formation. It was the 2,500 crossbowmen led by Dorin who were approaching the enemy at a faster speed.
Fulvius Postumus was a centurion of the 1st Battalion of the 14th Legion of Rome. He was commended by Caesar for his bravery in the Gallic War. When Caesar passed by him while scouting the enemy camp, he smiled and called out his name, which made him very excited. He secretly made up his mind: he must make new achievements in the next battle to repay Caesar's appreciation of him.
At this time, Postumus stood at the forefront of the central army formation and on the far left of his company's phalanx, holding a large shield and a dagger. He moved forward steadily while keeping a close eye on the approaching enemy in front of him.
He had never seen the weapons held by these enemies before, but the legion commanders and captains had repeatedly reminded him before the battle, so he knew very well: these were the Nyx crossbowmen who had caused great losses to the army led by Anthony. Their long-range attacks also had a certain lethality to heavy infantry.
Therefore, he was quite nervous and kept estimating the distance between him and the Nix crossbowmen in front of him. When they were about a hundred meters away, he suddenly shouted, "Soldiers, charge!"
Almost at the same time, the officers of the entire central army formation also issued the same order, so the advance speed of the first-line army formation in the middle suddenly increased. However, the soldiers' charging posture was different from before. They held the large shield in front of them and ran with the shield.
Because the Nixlu soldiers had already raised their double crossbows, pulled the triggers, and thousands of crossbow arrows flew out.
Postumus subconsciously lowered his head and retracted his right arm holding the shield, trying to hide his entire body behind the shield.
There was a sharp and crisp "ding" sound, and his right arm shook violently, slowing down his forward momentum, and then the entire shield became slightly heavier.
Postumus's face changed. He did not expect that the arrow shot by the enemy would be so powerful that it could hit the core of the shield made of fine iron and actually penetrate into it!
Immediately afterwards, he heard several screams in his ears. He didn't need to look around to know that some soldiers were injured by arrows. His heart suddenly tightened and he rushed forward even harder.
Like Postumus, the other Roman soldiers were not frightened by the long-range attacks of the Nixes crossbowmen, but roared and rushed forward. This was exactly what Caesar had been asking before the battle: to get the front-line soldiers close to the Nixes formation as quickly as possible to avoid being exposed to the long-range attacks of the Nixes crossbowmen for a long time, which would cause more casualties.
To this end, he also abandoned the traditional tactics of the Roman Legion - throwing javelins when approaching the enemy formation, and even required the soldiers on the front line not to carry javelins, so as to fight the enemy in close combat as quickly as possible.
The two Roman legions in the middle faithfully carried out the order. They ran as fast as they could, so that the Nyx crossbowmen had no time to shoot the second round after the first round, even though their teammates in the back had already pulled the strings and loaded the arrows.
Doreen decisively gave the order to retreat. After all, she had a more important task to accomplish.
We are already almost fifty meters away from the enemy! ... Postumus, who was beginning to pant, saw the Nix crossbowmen in front of him quickly turn around and retreat, trying to escape their charge at a faster speed.
The only strange thing was that while the Nix crossbowmen on the front and sides retreated directly backwards, the rows of Nix crossbowmen in the front accelerated their retreat diagonally to the rear, thus almost causing congestion with the crossbowmen on both sides.
Are these enemies frightened by us? ... Postumus exhaled contemptuously, and then he was stunned.
After the crossbowmen in the front withdrew, a gap of hundreds of meters was left. When Postumus's eyes passed through the gap, he did not see the Nix infantry formation that should have been behind him, but a row of cavalry!
The attire of these cavalrymen was something he had never seen before, even though he had been through many battles:
The helmets they wore were not only made of iron, but were almost completely enclosed, leaving only their eyes and mouths exposed, and even their necks were enclosed;
The armor they wore was also made of iron, but it not only protected the chest, back, and shoulders, but also covered the arms, thighs, and calves. The entire armor was tightly connected and protected the whole body;
The horses they rode on were unusually tall and strong, their entire bodies covered in armor, with only their four legs showing;
They also carried a three-meter-long spear on their shoulders, the sharp tip of the spear towering in the air flashing coldly in the sun...
These Nix cavalry looked like steel fortresses. Men and horses seemed to be fused together by dark armor. They exuded a ferocious and cold aura, casting a shadow of death in the hearts of the Roman soldiers facing them.
And these Knicks cavalry formed into arrays and began to charge, it was like the majestic Alps collapsing, and the whole earth was shaking.
Faced with this suffocating feeling of oppression, Postumus and other centurions shouted in trembling voices: "Stop advancing!! Defend immediately!! Defend!!!..."
The soldiers of the 14th Legion were indeed veterans of the battlefield. They had stopped advancing before their officers gave any orders, quickly moved closer together, and soon formed a dense formation.
When the Roman soldiers in the front row held their large shields upright in front of them to form a shield wall, and the soldiers in the back row used their large shields to support their backs, Postumus' tense nerves relaxed a little. Like the other soldiers, he extended his dagger through the gaps between the large shields, letting it sparkle in the sun.
But this did not seem to scare off the enemy cavalry in front of him. They were getting faster and faster, and getting closer and closer. He could even see the breath of the tall warhorse. The huge horse hooves hit the ground hard, making his heart vibrate along with it...
But even so, Postumus still did not want to believe that these Nixen cavalry dared to charge head-on into a dense Roman formation waiting in formation, because in his more than ten years of military career, he had never seen any cavalry from any force dare to do so.
The Nyx cavalryman who was charging towards Postulus was called Gennaro, a former Boii and now a first-class citizen of the Nyx Kingdom. After the Nyx conquered Boii, he joined the Nyx cavalry battalion and made great contributions in a series of battles including conquering Taurisi and defeating the Germans.
Four years ago, the Kingdom of Nix formed a heavy cavalry. The reason why he was chosen was not only because of his superb riding skills, strong body and strength, but also because he was short and light.
When Gennaro was told that "heavy cavalry sometimes needs to charge the enemy head-on, which is extremely dangerous", he still gladly accepted the news, because he could fulfill his dream of riding the majestic Boy horse, which is still rare in the country, and he could also be promoted faster (according to a new decree issued by the Ministry of War, because heavy cavalry bears the greatest risks in battle, they gain more military merits in each battle than other arms).
Of course, Gennaro was not fearless of death, but the thick armor from head to toe gave him great courage to charge the enemy.
Looking at the shield wall not far ahead, Gennaro reached out and patted the neck of the warhorse under him.
(End of this chapter)
In addition, Caesar also selected 300 of the most elite Gallic cavalry and hid them behind the spear formation so that they could defeat the Nyx cavalry more quickly.
The Gallic cavalry under Caesar basically came from Gallic tribes that were completely subservient to him, such as the Aedui. These tribes were later liquidated by Vercingetorix, so the cavalry hated the Gallic army led by Vercingetorix and were willing to fight to the death for this Roman commander with extremely strong leadership charisma.
Since it had been determined that the left wing was the key to the Roman army's victory, Caesar, like in the Battle of Pharsalus, brought his staff and personally sat behind the left wing.
The left wing of the Nix army was composed of the Germanic and Japodic armies, the center was composed of the First and Third Corps, the right wing was composed of the Second and Fourth Corps, and the outer side of the right wing was composed of the Cavalry Corps. The Fifth Corps, as a reserve, was located behind the connection between the center and the left wing, and was also deliberately divided into two parts.
There was a special group behind the Knicks' central army formation: there were hundreds of soldiers, hundreds of horses, and thousands of auxiliary personnel. Some of the auxiliary personnel were fully assisting the soldiers in wearing armor, while others were struggling to put cloth armor on the horses...
April is a beautiful season with bright sunshine, lush grass and singing birds, but at this moment in an area five miles east of Piacenza and south of the Po River, two armies are making final preparations before war.
One army is like a fertile land, golden and dazzling, indescribably heavy and steady; the other army is like a thriving flame, scarlet and dazzling, giving people a heart-pounding oppression.
The armies of both sides were in neat formation, the soldiers were all wearing dazzling armor, holding large shields and short swords, with firm eyes and silent words, like standing steel statues, thus forming two long iron walls. Between the iron walls was a narrow and long open area, like the gap between life and death, filled with a tense atmosphere, where the wind stopped breathing, the flying birds dared not stay, and even the insects hiding in the grass stopped chirping.
"Woo!!!...Woo!!!..." Finally, after nearly half an hour of confrontation, both sides sounded the attack horn almost at the same time, and the infantry formation began to move slowly forward.
Compared to the slow movement of the infantry, the cavalry was much faster, completing the transition from jogging to acceleration within one minute. The distance of nearly 500 meters quickly became just a short distance, and the enemy's roaring and ferocious face appeared before their eyes.
The cavalry of both sides were like two surging and roaring waves. At the moment of the crash, the sound of horses wailing, soldiers screaming, and weapons clashing suddenly burst out in the dust and fog...
When the cavalry of both sides began to clash, the infantry formation was still advancing at a steady pace, but the situation on the Nix side was a little different: there was a relatively loose formation in front of the heavy infantry formation. It was the 2,500 crossbowmen led by Dorin who were approaching the enemy at a faster speed.
Fulvius Postumus was a centurion of the 1st Battalion of the 14th Legion of Rome. He was commended by Caesar for his bravery in the Gallic War. When Caesar passed by him while scouting the enemy camp, he smiled and called out his name, which made him very excited. He secretly made up his mind: he must make new achievements in the next battle to repay Caesar's appreciation of him.
At this time, Postumus stood at the forefront of the central army formation and on the far left of his company's phalanx, holding a large shield and a dagger. He moved forward steadily while keeping a close eye on the approaching enemy in front of him.
He had never seen the weapons held by these enemies before, but the legion commanders and captains had repeatedly reminded him before the battle, so he knew very well: these were the Nyx crossbowmen who had caused great losses to the army led by Anthony. Their long-range attacks also had a certain lethality to heavy infantry.
Therefore, he was quite nervous and kept estimating the distance between him and the Nix crossbowmen in front of him. When they were about a hundred meters away, he suddenly shouted, "Soldiers, charge!"
Almost at the same time, the officers of the entire central army formation also issued the same order, so the advance speed of the first-line army formation in the middle suddenly increased. However, the soldiers' charging posture was different from before. They held the large shield in front of them and ran with the shield.
Because the Nixlu soldiers had already raised their double crossbows, pulled the triggers, and thousands of crossbow arrows flew out.
Postumus subconsciously lowered his head and retracted his right arm holding the shield, trying to hide his entire body behind the shield.
There was a sharp and crisp "ding" sound, and his right arm shook violently, slowing down his forward momentum, and then the entire shield became slightly heavier.
Postumus's face changed. He did not expect that the arrow shot by the enemy would be so powerful that it could hit the core of the shield made of fine iron and actually penetrate into it!
Immediately afterwards, he heard several screams in his ears. He didn't need to look around to know that some soldiers were injured by arrows. His heart suddenly tightened and he rushed forward even harder.
Like Postumus, the other Roman soldiers were not frightened by the long-range attacks of the Nixes crossbowmen, but roared and rushed forward. This was exactly what Caesar had been asking before the battle: to get the front-line soldiers close to the Nixes formation as quickly as possible to avoid being exposed to the long-range attacks of the Nixes crossbowmen for a long time, which would cause more casualties.
To this end, he also abandoned the traditional tactics of the Roman Legion - throwing javelins when approaching the enemy formation, and even required the soldiers on the front line not to carry javelins, so as to fight the enemy in close combat as quickly as possible.
The two Roman legions in the middle faithfully carried out the order. They ran as fast as they could, so that the Nyx crossbowmen had no time to shoot the second round after the first round, even though their teammates in the back had already pulled the strings and loaded the arrows.
Doreen decisively gave the order to retreat. After all, she had a more important task to accomplish.
We are already almost fifty meters away from the enemy! ... Postumus, who was beginning to pant, saw the Nix crossbowmen in front of him quickly turn around and retreat, trying to escape their charge at a faster speed.
The only strange thing was that while the Nix crossbowmen on the front and sides retreated directly backwards, the rows of Nix crossbowmen in the front accelerated their retreat diagonally to the rear, thus almost causing congestion with the crossbowmen on both sides.
Are these enemies frightened by us? ... Postumus exhaled contemptuously, and then he was stunned.
After the crossbowmen in the front withdrew, a gap of hundreds of meters was left. When Postumus's eyes passed through the gap, he did not see the Nix infantry formation that should have been behind him, but a row of cavalry!
The attire of these cavalrymen was something he had never seen before, even though he had been through many battles:
The helmets they wore were not only made of iron, but were almost completely enclosed, leaving only their eyes and mouths exposed, and even their necks were enclosed;
The armor they wore was also made of iron, but it not only protected the chest, back, and shoulders, but also covered the arms, thighs, and calves. The entire armor was tightly connected and protected the whole body;
The horses they rode on were unusually tall and strong, their entire bodies covered in armor, with only their four legs showing;
They also carried a three-meter-long spear on their shoulders, the sharp tip of the spear towering in the air flashing coldly in the sun...
These Nix cavalry looked like steel fortresses. Men and horses seemed to be fused together by dark armor. They exuded a ferocious and cold aura, casting a shadow of death in the hearts of the Roman soldiers facing them.
And these Knicks cavalry formed into arrays and began to charge, it was like the majestic Alps collapsing, and the whole earth was shaking.
Faced with this suffocating feeling of oppression, Postumus and other centurions shouted in trembling voices: "Stop advancing!! Defend immediately!! Defend!!!..."
The soldiers of the 14th Legion were indeed veterans of the battlefield. They had stopped advancing before their officers gave any orders, quickly moved closer together, and soon formed a dense formation.
When the Roman soldiers in the front row held their large shields upright in front of them to form a shield wall, and the soldiers in the back row used their large shields to support their backs, Postumus' tense nerves relaxed a little. Like the other soldiers, he extended his dagger through the gaps between the large shields, letting it sparkle in the sun.
But this did not seem to scare off the enemy cavalry in front of him. They were getting faster and faster, and getting closer and closer. He could even see the breath of the tall warhorse. The huge horse hooves hit the ground hard, making his heart vibrate along with it...
But even so, Postumus still did not want to believe that these Nixen cavalry dared to charge head-on into a dense Roman formation waiting in formation, because in his more than ten years of military career, he had never seen any cavalry from any force dare to do so.
The Nyx cavalryman who was charging towards Postulus was called Gennaro, a former Boii and now a first-class citizen of the Nyx Kingdom. After the Nyx conquered Boii, he joined the Nyx cavalry battalion and made great contributions in a series of battles including conquering Taurisi and defeating the Germans.
Four years ago, the Kingdom of Nix formed a heavy cavalry. The reason why he was chosen was not only because of his superb riding skills, strong body and strength, but also because he was short and light.
When Gennaro was told that "heavy cavalry sometimes needs to charge the enemy head-on, which is extremely dangerous", he still gladly accepted the news, because he could fulfill his dream of riding the majestic Boy horse, which is still rare in the country, and he could also be promoted faster (according to a new decree issued by the Ministry of War, because heavy cavalry bears the greatest risks in battle, they gain more military merits in each battle than other arms).
Of course, Gennaro was not fearless of death, but the thick armor from head to toe gave him great courage to charge the enemy.
Looking at the shield wall not far ahead, Gennaro reached out and patted the neck of the warhorse under him.
(End of this chapter)
