Chapter 24 Oven Cavalry (Part 1)
Sorry, the update is a little late.
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"The bravest person is definitely the one who can clearly see the road ahead and will face it without retreating, whether facing honor or danger." - Thucydides
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In addition, for this expedition, Carapis recruited more than fifty veterans of the former Seventh Legion in Heliston and formed a separate team of 100 people as a valuable reserve force. Carapis also did his best to equip this group of new veterans, because they were not included in the organization of the Thirteenth Legion in advance, and they could only raise things by themselves. Fortunately, because he was willing to implement Malcha's plan, the governor also did it straightforwardly. Everyone had a Macedonian-style curved helmet, a Greek-style broadsword, and Ephikrate boots with leggings, and a sharp heavy spear. It was really Greek from head to toe, which was also the biggest complaint of Hebrida who went with the army.
"I'm here to kill the Greeks, not to celebrate the Saturnalia with them!"
But the strangest thing is that Malcha actually arranged a group of tax collectors wearing round hats to go out together. When they arrived at a village where the embers were still burning, the great role of the tax collectors was highlighted. They were able to dig out the last copper coin from the houses looted by the Pontic cavalry and the hands of the people and put it in the money box.
The whole village, the living people, and the bodies of their dead relatives, sat together, looking at the smoking ruins with empty eyes. This was once their home, but now there is nothing. The tax collectors also want to take away all the dogs and poultry that survived.
"Keep going forward and look for traces of the enemy cavalry." Carabis, who was wrapped in leather and quilt to keep warm, stood on the small hill at the entrance of the village and instructed the officers such as Hebrida, Hortensius and Arminius: "The sixty cavalrymen of the brigade will be divided into five groups and spread out in a semicircular fan shape. They will stay ten stadia ahead of the column as scouts and must not engage in battle with the enemy at will. Arminius, it is your turn to lead the centurions as the vanguard this time, and Hortensius's centurions will serve as the rear guard. Hebrida and the other centurions will follow me. March with baggage and tax collectors in the middle, the whole army is in column, wearing all equipment, and maintaining a fighting posture at all times. As for the Bosporus vassal army, tell their clan leaders to march on our wings and rear, so that they will not disrupt our formation when they escape. "
A messenger, holding his swinging helmet, ran up the high slope and reported, "The manure pool at the entrance of the village is full of urine from people and horses."
"There are no less than thirty Pontic cavalry attacking this village alone." Hebrida exhaled a white breath and judged.
"It fits the size of the Pontic cavalry unit." Arminius looked into the distance, "The big one is probably nearby." In advance, they received intelligence that the Taxile cavalry that rushed into the Ponticabion Peninsula would be no less than a thousand.
The sky was low and dark, the snow was slightly fluttering, and the weeds and fields were connected. The detachments of the Thirteenth Legion formed a long marching column and began to march to the next market town designated by the tax collectors under the "cover" of the Bosporus vassal army. Carabis felt that they were not out to drive out the cavalry of Taxile, but to protect the tax collectors and plunder the land before the Pontic cavalry.
But the tax collectors had an advantage, they were familiar with the terrain and cities and villages of the entire peninsula, and even knew many small roads. This was the valuable experience accumulated from long-term "Latin skinning" - they had to understand these roads and intercept them before the people fled and evaded taxes, but two legs were still no match for four legs, and the next market town had already been looted by the cavalry. After asking the survivors, Carabis learned that the Pontic cavalry had about fifty people and came from the southwest. He asked very carefully and painted on a piece of papyrus with lead ink. Two soldiers who could make maps beside him were using simple instruments to draw something on a medium-sized wooden board.
In the afternoon, when they were preparing to camp outside the market town, a team of scout cavalry came running and told the "temporary camp officer": In the northeast, a group of Pontic cavalry was galloping towards us, and then two more teams of scouts came, verifying the former's judgment.
"Prepare for battle!" Carabis waved his hand, and the flag officer beside him inserted the tenth team flag with two medal rings into the soil beside him. Each hundred-man team quickly changed from a marching column to a horizontal column for fighting, and the military flags were unfurled one by one. After the 10th Battalion made some moves, the other two battalions soon followed the two wings of the 10th Battalion's horizontal formation in a dense column. The three battalions were arranged in a flat "gate" shape - this was the formation that Carabis had discussed with the centurions in advance. As for the Bosporus vassal army, one part stayed behind to guard the baggage, and the other part ran to the second line of the Roman legion with bows and slings.
The dozens of cavalrymen who returned to the team were all loose, and together with the veteran centurions, they were placed between the front position and the rear baggage, responsible for responding to emergencies.
Amid the noise, Hebrida, who was on the left wing of the horizontal column, made a gesture to the scout on horseback who came to report, meaning to ask him the number of enemy cavalry. The scout also opened his mouth and made a few gestures in return, "The enemy cavalry marched in a column, and it is impossible to judge the actual number."
"Skirmishers, dig trenches immediately!" Carabis blew his whistle and waved his hand under the flag.
Arminius beside him shouted: "It's too late! It's the oven cavalry!"
Several flags quickly rose on the opposite hill ridge, and dust rose in the evening sky. The Pontic cavalry quickly turned over from the back of the hill. They were obviously following the scouts and caught the trace of Carabis' army. This group of cavalry raised a lot of dust, but from the front, only six or seven cavalrymen could be seen in the front column, and it was really hard to tell how many troops there were. But Carabis saw clearly that the cavalry in front was indeed what the Romans called "oven cavalry" - this group of cavalry, their whole body and horses were covered with fish scale armor made of fine steel, and under the helmet was the same steel face relief armor. They could charge into battle with their horses in the high temperature of 40 degrees in summer, which is also the origin of the nickname "oven cavalry".
Like a thunderbolt, the Pontic cavalry quickly launched a rapid charge towards the Roman army at the foot of the hill in the form of a column. Standing next to the team flag, Carabis felt the mud under his feet tremble, "Scattered soldiers, disrupt their charge!" (To be continued.)