Chapter 3 The Battle of Cannae in the Punic War
Ten seconds countdown, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...
"Damn, stop me!"
"...I don't want to enter any hell battlefield."
Just looking at Lei Zhentian's pale face, you know that he was completely scared by the harsh requirements mentioned in this text message.
But unfortunately, the countdown has entered the last three seconds, and everything seems to be too late.
At this time, what else can I say?
So when you make a decision that you think is absolutely correct, don't be complacent.
Reality usually gives you a slap in the face, teaching you how to bow your head!
Lao Lei originally planned to move the Wheel of War in front of the Upper Savage battlefield and try to do something good.
But unexpectedly, I entered the more tragic and dangerous epic battlefield. This is not an ordinary cheating!
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It seems like I have traveled through space, time, and finally through fog-
In front of us, an epic scene in the history of human war has reappeared again!
In the Battle of Canny, the battle between Carthage and Rome is in full swing.
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Under the urging of the horn on the battlefield, close to the Orpheus River, the gray waves of people on the battlefield drifted and dispersed, like waves on the beach, noisy near the intersection of metal lines, rolling up layer by layer.
Countless limbs and broken bodies, countless blood and internal organs were clearly revealed in the sing of gold and iron, and in unison shouts, and were about to accumulate into a mountain of corpses and gather into a river.
Carthage's side: the total number of people is 40,000, including 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry.
In addition to Numidia and Gaul, the 10,000 cavalry that Spain pieced together, most of the Carthaginian infantry battle formations were temporary recruits. In addition, there were a few Spanish heavy infantry, Iberian infantry, and African heavy infantry from Carthaginian African colonies.
The Roman side: the total number is close to 90,000. Rome sent 6,000 cavalry and 80,000 infantry to form 36 square formations.
The Romans still adopted the traditional third-line formation, with young spearmen at the front. After the young spearmen were adult soldiers. The last row was veterans, and these experienced veterans were elite troops that Rome had fought for many years.
At the beginning of the war, when the Roman legion was about to rush to the main position of Carthage, the stragglers of the two armies suddenly retreated from the gaps in the front line.
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When the horns of charge on both sides sounded at the same time as if there was a tacit understanding, the cavalry on both sides began to charge each other.
"The brave Spaniards and Gauls follow me, and follow me! Crush these arrogant and humble Roman pigs, let their blood flow, let the women and children in their families cry, and let the proud republic completely perish!!!"
On the left wing of the Carthaginian army, General Hasdrubal, the distant relative of the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal, led the powerful main force of the Spanish and Gaul cavalry, and soon overwhelmed the Roman cavalry rushing towards him.
Compared with the Roman cavalry that only acted as a cover on the battlefield, the Spanish and Gaul cavalry performed very bravely. In addition, the number of people was dominant, most of the Roman cavalry were soon massacred, and the remaining remnants fled along the river channel.
"The timid Roman cavalry fled. Their arrogance and arrogance have become the past from today. Cavalry, what are we waiting for!" General Hasdrubal led the main force of the cavalry to continue chasing and annihilation.
On the right wing of the Carthage front, the Numidian cavalry, who were at a disadvantage, were encouraged by the victory of the left-wing cavalry. They bravely fought against the Roman left-wing cavalry. The battle between the two sides was not even a winner, and the casualties were basically very heavy.
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The Roman legion was indeed a terrible war machine, and he watched 6,000 cavalrymen be massacred.
In the middle section of the front, the Roman infantry phalanx gathered roughly in a very short period of time. The running Roman infantry phalanx quickly advanced towards the weak Iberia and Gallic infantry combat line.
The senior leaders of the Roman side tried to save the Roman cavalry from the advantage of infantry.
When the two armies were fighting, several arrays of Roman infantry rushed towards the enemy in a hurry and neat manner.
When about 15 meters away from the enemy, the soldiers on the front line threw out all the guns they carried like a storm, and then held their shields and rushed towards the enemy who were at a loss and were hiding behind the shields to defend, with the dagger in their hands flying up and down.
The daggers used by Roman infantry, under normal circumstances, cannot pierce the armor of iron or bronze.
However, the firm and two-sided dagger has excellent cutting effect on the enemy's limbs. When close forces are connected, it can always exert terrifying power.
Therefore, compared to the corpses killed in one blow, there are the most scattered limbs and broken bodies on the battlefield.
Faced with the Roman infantry breaking through the central front, most of the Gaul recruits and Iberian infantry temporarily recruited, regardless of whether they wanted to, were already retreating.
Looking down from the sky, except for the large corpses trampled under their feet on the battlefield, their "convex"-shaped front line first returned to straightness, and then was then beaten into a "concave" shape.
As the Carthage front retreated, more and more Roman soldiers rushed into the center of the word "concave". The Gaul infantry and the Iberian infantry were cut down like a forest. Most of them died silently, gloomy, solemnly and bravely.
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Carthage commander Hannibal had already been familiar with the advantages of the Roman infantry and the tactics of the Roman three-array.
The current seemingly unoptimistic battlefield situation is exactly what Hannibal hopes to see. He specially arranged the large number of Gallic recruits and Iberian infantry on the Central Front to attract the main force of the enemy.
The most powerful African heavy infantry and Spanish mercenaries were arranged on both wings of the front line.
Hannibal's intentions were obvious, and he was ready to seal this "concave" pocket at any time.
Due to the improper command of the Roman commander and the wrong judgment of the situation on the battlefield, the Roman infantry rushed into the center of the word "concave".
As a result, the formation of the Roman infantry became more and more crowded, and as the front deepened, more and more Roman soldiers were crowded together, and even waving their weapons became difficult.
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Hannibal was slowly introducing tens of thousands of Roman troops into a huge pocket. At this time, as the central front blew the horns, the heavy African infantry and Spanish infantry on both wings of Carthage finally began to move closer to the center, and at the cost of blood and life, the pocket was slowly shrinking.
If the Romans were compared to prey contained in bags at this time, the crescent-shaped, or bow-shaped Carthage infantry front could be compared to bags.
The Spanish and Gaul cavalry who chased and annihilated the remnants of Roman cavalry can be compared to deadly sticks hitting prey.
For the Romans, even if they broke through Carthage's central front, they would not be able to change their destiny to be destroyed.
Because the Orpheus River is ahead, the Romans did not have enough strategic depth to reorganize their troops, which would be another massacre of division, encirclement and annihilation.
Just when Carthage completed its siege and the Romans were hopeless to escape and were trapped in a fight between beasts, the infantry on both sides of the battlefield were already red in their eyes and completely fell into a state of fierce fighting.
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It was at this time that there was basically no warning!
An Iberian infantry, who was in the central front, facing the Roman infantry, was constantly retreating, suddenly had a twitch and twist on his face under his helmet.
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(Newcomer and new work, please give me all the push!!!)
Chapter completed!