Chapter 16 Hill (Part 1)

"What does it mean that Jupiter, who is feared by everyone, holds justice and law in his hands? That is, anything a strong man does is both legitimate and legal. Don't you even understand this?" Ancient Greek philosopher defended Alexander's conquest

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But when the Roman infantry brigade arrived at the Parisus River, they found that the Parthian cavalry had scattered again and disappeared in the sand dunes. So, Octavius, who was leading the team in front, saw that the sun was setting and there was a small river here for drinking and washing horses, so he and other lieutenants decided unanimously that the whole army would camp by the river and prepare to go to Carrhae or fight Surena the next day.

As a result, that night, there was another fierce dispute in Crassus's camp about how to fight Surena. First, it is believed that Surena's main force is in the mountains and deserts on the other side of the Barisus River. No one will question this statement because he was originally besieging Carrhae. Since Crassus has reached the river in the south of the city of Carrhae, Surena will not retreat in vain and will inevitably face a battle.

Cassius proposed that the infantry battalion should be extended to the front line as much as possible, preferably with four legions, and then the fifth legion with the worst combat effectiveness should be listed at the back as a reserve. "Why are the reserve forces so small?" Crassus immediately asked.

"Because when dealing with enemies like the Parthians, I have learned from previous veterans that they will not fight against you in dense phalanxes like the armies of civilized countries. Only in this way can the reserve be effective. But this group of cavalry will not fight in such a traditional way. As long as we increase the depth and width of the first line, we can form an iron wall along the Parisus River until the area near the city of Carrhae, and then place a small number of elite cavalry on both wings to make their cavalry archery and detours ineffective. Then, as long as the tribunes and centurions take the initiative, seize the weak points of their formation, break through and expel them, we can drive away Surena. Once we enter the city of Carrhae, this will be our home ground." This is Cassius's plan, in short, the "wall-pushing tactics".

But Crassus suddenly asked his son, saying that when you followed Caesar to fight in Gaul, the various barbarians there were also good at using cavalry to fight. How did you crack it? At this time, Crassus was suddenly reminded of the tactical special 12th Legion of Lepidus, which had successfully used the infantry battle line to break the German cavalry's charge from a high position. It used a four-line rectangular hollow square formation, and cooperated with bows and arrows and stick throwers. It can effectively thwart the cavalry's charge and penetration. When he said this tactic, Crassus' eyes lit up, and he began to question Cassius's plan:

After all the troops are lined up in a line, what if the Parthians concentrate at a certain point and use heavy cavalry to charge and break through?

Cassius replied that half of the reserve Fifth Legion would be drawn out to fill it up. This would save trouble and give full play to the absolute advantage of the Romans in close combat. Don't be scared by those monsters in armor. As long as you can withstand their first wave of charge, then when the weapons are exchanged, this group of people will only be dragged down by the heavy armor, and they are no match for the flexible Roman soldiers holding swords and shields. This experience has been proven as early as the ancient Persian Dynasty.

But Crassus continued to raise a question. We have so many baggage and soldiers' luggage, all densely packed at the rear of the formation. Once a certain section is breached, the enemy's light cavalry can easily raid the camp to plunder, and then more soldiers will worry about their own property, and even cause the collapse of the entire front.

It would be better if he didn't say this. Once he said this, Cassius got angry. I have long suggested that you should try not to carry coins and property with you. In that case, the soldiers will be cautious on the battlefield. Such a situation is best left in the city of Sinaca, but who privately carries enough money to buy a kingdom! It's you, the governor. Rather than worrying about the soldiers' little money, it's better to say that you are afraid that your wealth will be plundered by the Parthians?

But at this time, Cassius didn't say much. Since he had come to this hell, Crassus would let him do whatever he wanted.

Finally, what Crassus drafted was not Lepidus's hollow square formation of a hundred men, but a mechanical "large hollow square formation". There were twelve battalions on each side of the square, and the middle was full of lightly armed projectile infantry, guarding the tents and luggage, which was also the location of Crassus's command post. As for Crassus the Younger's 4,000 cavalry, they were all placed in the vanguard position, ready to drive away the heavy cavalry of Parthia.

In this way, it can prevent the enemy from making a detour and protect the baggage, killing two birds with one stone.

"Alas, if you want to prevent the Parthian cavalry from making a detour, the best way is to not let them make a detour at all, alas..." But this sentence was still buried in Cassius's stomach.

After a long night, the sun rose from the sand dunes that connected the sky and the earth, like a huge winding golden venomous snake. Forty thousand Romans began to form a huge hollow square according to the governor's arrangement. Facing the hazy morning light, they each held their weapons and shields tightly, ready to fight the enemy. Crassus was in command, Cassius was in charge of the twelve battalions and the cavalry wing on the left, Crassus the Younger was in charge of the infantry and cavalry on the right, Megabe's cavalry served as the vanguard, and behind them were the twelve battalions of Sensorinus in the front. Octavius ​​led the weakest Fifth Legion to form the rear of the large square.

Then, Megabe's cavalry saw the Parthian army slowly approaching from the sand dunes. They were all 20 to 30 furlongs away. Megabe and his cavalry laughed contemptuously, because they saw that the enemies were only wearing animal skins or Celtic-style cloaks, and their horses were also covered with dirty leather. And judging from the number of people, there were only about 3,000 to 5,000 people. Megabe looked at his cavalry very comfortably - they all wore Athenian cavalry helmets with round armor plates, tight chainmail curtains, sharp spears, and Kettle elliptical cavalry shields, which could effectively deflect the damage of bows and arrows to the legs of the cavalry.

On both sides of the cavalry vanguard, there were sixteen light scorpion crossbows on each side, loading ammunition. According to Megabe's estimation, only one wave of heavy javelin shooting, plus a counterattack by his cavalry, would knock these thousands of Parthians off their feet!

At this time, in the rear of the Parthian camp, there was a circular camp made up of a hundred carriages inlaid with gems and gold. On the small stage in the middle, several actors wearing masks and high heels were reciting ancient tragedies with crazy shaking. Amid the music, Surena sat among dozens of beautiful concubines, who were drawing eyebrows, lip lines and blush for the handsome general. (To be continued...)