Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

More than half an hour later, almost all the Dionysian troops were in formation, and silence soon returned to this side, while the Persian side remained noisy and noisy.

Two days before, Artaxerxes had listened to Terebasus' account of the situation in the Dionysian camp, and his confidence in winning the battle had increased. The rapidity and efficiency with which the Dionysian troops were arrayed was so obvious in comparison to the chaos and dragging of their own side that he felt a little uneasy again. Speed up the lineup!"

"Yes, my lord!"

After the Dionysian troops had finished their formation, the sun was almost in the middle of the sky, and the soldiers received one order after another from their squad leaders: "Hurry up and get some food and drink."

As the soldiers of the first detachment of the Second Battalion of the First Corps chewed the bread they carried and passed water bladders to each other, someone exclaimed, "Detachment Commander, look! The Persians really do have elephants!"

Alcinis, who was standing at the rear of the detachment and serving the soldiers, immediately went to the front of the formation and looked forward, and saw dozens of elephants with side coverings, tusks and swords strapped to their tusks in the Persian army across the street, slowly moving to the front of the Persian array under the command of the elephant man.

The elephants were so large and striking compared to the armies around them that their appearance immediately caused a commotion among the soldiers of the First Legion and the surrounding legions.

Alcinis took a deep breath and turned back to the discussing soldiers and shouted, "We were already told by Captain Martonis that there might be war elephants in the Persian army, so what are you wondering!"

"Captain, we're just curious that the Persians actually sent such a docile animal into battle!" A soldier responded.

"Even the most docile animal is scary when it goes berserk, so don't take it lightly!" Alcinis reminded us, then laughed, "But the Persians don't know that we've already seen the elephant in the Tullii Zoo countless times, and think we'll be scared to use it, when we'll in turn make the Persians suffer from the misuse of the elephant!"

"Captain, don't worry, we're not afraid of elephants, we just think they're so cute, it would be a pity if they all died in this battle." Another soldier said, half jokingly, half seriously.

Another soldier immediately replied, "I don't feel pity. It's not our fault that these elephants died in the battle. On the contrary, it would be nice to be able to taste the meat of the elephants after the battle."

"Cripps, you're a foodie, and you don't feel satisfied after all the good food you're eating these days! Do you think you can eat elephant meat and become as strong as an elephant!" Alcinis laughed and scolded.

"Captain, he just thinks what's underneath him is too small and wants to get bigger." A soldier joked loudly.

The soldiers burst out laughing.

..............................................................................

More than an hour later, the Persian army was finally in formation.

In the middle of the road were the loosely formed Persian archers, followed by the Indian war elephants and sickle chariots lined up in a single file, with the war elephants in the center and the chariots on either side, and then the 3,000 Persian cavalry, followed by the 20,000 Greek heavy infantry and 10,000 immortals lined up in a single file. Artaxerxes was in the rear, and behind him were ethnic troops from Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf coast.

At the forefront of the right flank were a mixed force of Persian archers and archers from Armenia, Parthia, and Midian, followed by 100 chariots from Midian and Babylon, followed by infantry from Dukia, Armenia, and Persia, and then by a contingent of tribes from around the Caspian Sea, such as the Syracarians, the Tulpicians, and others. At the far right of the right flank were more than 10,000 cavalrymen from Armenia, Parthia, and Media.

At the top of the left was a mixed force of archers from Persia, Arabia, Bactria, and Arahosia, followed by infantry from Persia, Caria, and East of Susa consisting of the Eastern Uxians and Sitaxenes, and then the Far Eastern ethnic forces led by the Arahosians and Bactrians. On the far left flank was a force of over 10,000 cavalry led by Persians, Scythians, and Bactrians, with 500 Arab camel cavalry in the forefront.

As can be seen from the Persian formation, the Persian formation has a thick depth, with its center being the strongest.

The Persians made this arrangement because the Dionysian army was heavily infantry and capable of melee combat, so they increased the depth to enhance their ability to hold each other in close combat. Whether for security reasons or to allay the fears of Artaxerxes (who was psychologically damaged by the javelins of Cyrus the Lesser in his first battle with him), the middle must be strengthened.

Therefore, Lalabassus took the opportunity to make a suggestion: stockpile heavy troops in the middle, use war elephants and chariots to tear open the enemy's defense line, and then use armor-covered cavalry to shock the enemy's heavy infantry, and then the Greek heavy infantry and immortal army will follow the charge, completely overwhelming the enemy, thus winning the battle ......

Artaxerxes finally took his advice.

And the formations adopted by the Dionysian army were.

The middle road was spread out in a checkerboard pattern by the I Corps, IV Corps, VII Corps, XII Corps, and XV Corps, and was 10 columns thick when combined, with 5 light infantry battalions in the center behind them, the commander of the entire middle road being Martonis.

The left flank was spread out in a checkerboard pattern by the II Corps, V Corps, VIII Corps, XIV Corps, and XVI Corps, also in a combined thickness of 10 columns, with no other troops in the rear.

The extreme left flank consisted of the 1st Cavalry, 3rd Cavalry, Gallic Cavalry, and 2000 Numibian light cavalry, followed by nine light armor brigades. Further back were six light infantry brigades and 2,000 Bariariari stone-throwers.

The right flank consisted of the Third, Sixth, Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Seventeenth Corps spread out in a checkerboard formation, with a combined thickness of 10 columns and no other troops in the rear.

The right-most front of the right flank consisted of the 2nd Cavalry Corps, 4th Cavalry Corps, Iberian Cavalry Corps, and 2,000 Numibian light cavalry, with the same nine light armor brigades in the rear. To the rear were six light infantry battalions and 2,000 Bariariari stone-throwers.

King Davos's command center was located in the center rear, with the XVIIIth, XIXth, and XXIst legions on his left and right as reserves, in addition to the escort of the palace guards.

The formation of the Dionysian army shows that Dionysian troops were heavily concentrated at both ends of the flanks, apparently with the intention of first routing the Persian cavalry and then outflanking it from both flanks. The Persian cavalry was obviously stronger than the Dionysian, but Davos actually started from the strongest point of the enemy, which was a tiger in the mountain.

Although the Persian army was twice as numerous as the Dionysian army, the Persian king, Artaxerxes, was cautious and increased the depth of the array, while the Dionysian army was confident that the infantry array was only 10 columns thick, so the lengths of the two formations were almost the same, both 15 miles long.

The Persian army was complex, with different clothing, weapons, and soldiers themselves, so that even though the entire formation was mostly dense and stood on a flat battlefield, experienced Dionysian scouts could still determine the strength of the front and center of the Persian formation by careful observation.

The Dionysian army was almost all black helmets and armor, and was relatively simple, but Davos intentionally did not allow the enemy to see the array clearly, so he did not begin to arrange the rear troops until the heavy infantry and cavalry at the front of the formation were lined up and could block the enemy's view of the opposite side.

At the same time, Devers specifically ordered that no soldier in the rear of the array should raise his weapon until he had engaged the enemy!

At this moment, Felicius led his staff to draw a sketch of the distribution of troops in the front of the entire Persian formation according to the reports of the scouts.

After receiving the board from him and perusing the sketches on it, Davos was slightly surprised: "Hey, the Persians have an extra 100 chariots, which is a bit different from the number Izam told us."

"It's probably just a recent arrival," Felixus explained.

Davos thought about it and quickly made a decision: "Then let the light infantry brigade on the right wing of ...... be divided into 2,000 men first to deal with these chariots."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Felicius immediately went to convey the order.

"Sire, it's already past noon, let's have something to eat first." Hennepolis was there to remind him.

"I'm not hungry yet." Hennepolis had already asked several times, so Davos waved his hand a bit impatiently. He had been looking to his left with concern after the orderlies had departed, even though it was impossible to see the movement of troops for miles from where he was.

After a while, he suddenly realized what was happening and asked, "Have Hieronymus, Amintas, and the others eaten yet?"

Before Hieronymus could answer, the voice of Hieronymus came from behind him: "Your Majesty, we are old and do not fight in battles, so it does not matter if we eat lunch or not-"

"Yes, Your Majesty, we don't have time to eat right now, just wait for the battle to start quickly!" Amintas interjected impatiently.

"There is no need to hurry." Davos said with an air of calmness, "The more time we delay, the worse it will be for the Persians ......"

As he was speaking, Izzam rode up from the left and shouted, "Sire, I have found the position of the Ksokontian warriors in the Persian army!"