Augustus Road

After a burst of smoke, Lepidus watched the two chariots rush out of the valley unscathed and disappear into the vast yellow sand. He sighed: "We can't learn this kind of tactics, just like the Romans or Greeks. "We can't learn how the Scythians used bows and arrows on horseback. The only way is to completely lose this kind of skill in the world."

Soon, the news that the Ethiopians invited a strange alien army to resist hunting spread in the Kingdom of Garamantes. The reason why this kingdom can dominate southwestern Libya is because it has the production of two kinds of "gold". , one is white gold, which is natural salt well; the other is purple gold, which is amethyst. The locals used this natural resource to trade with Cyrene, Carthage and even Egypt in exchange for a lot of iron ingots and seeds. They began to live an advanced semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural life, and began to possess considerable forging skills. He smelted technology and began to use the surplus products to manufacture chariots and iron swords, and feed the professional army. He also liked to rob the money and crops of the surrounding weak forces. "It is always the cheapest and most cost-effective to rob directly."

Therefore, Lepidus coveted this place, which was also the reason why he was willing to help the Ethiopian people. Anyway, the Ethiopian people were very backward, and he still had to rely on him to operate those salt wells and mines. Compared with the treatment of the Garamantes by these cavemen, The residence and the fields are more interesting.

On the unnamed mountaintop, the dark red clouds hung very low, and the air was filled with the feeling of flowing fire. All the generals watching the battle were covered in sweat. Anthony cursed behind the bushes, took off the torturous leather armor, and only Put on a shirt and start drinking wine mixed with water.

"I've woken you up many times. Drinking wine doesn't bother you. But I actually mixed it with water. You know, this thing is more expensive than wine here." Lepidus turned around and complained. Anthony wiped his mouth and pointed disapprovingly. Pointing to the direction at the bottom of the mountain, the chief brigade led by Hebrida was forming a column, heading towards a winding and dry riverbed at the foot of the mountain.

Across the riverbed was the Garamantes' army, numbering about two to three thousand people. Except for the dozens of light tanks lined up at the rear, their equipment is no different from the barbarians in Gaul, Spain and other places. Some of them only wear Berber robes and hold up wooden spears and shields. Some of them had Corinthian-style armor, probably from the captured Kingdom of Cyrene. They were waving the daggers in their hands and provoking Hebrida loudly.

At the sound of whistles, Highbreda's thousand-man brigade quickly changed their formations, waving and commanding with various flaming flags. This greatly attracted the other party's attention, and suddenly a row of light scorpion crossbows that had been strung up in advance was carried to the front of the formation. They fired fiercely at the front line of Garamantes. Immediately, a group of people on the other side knelt down and fell with arrows on their heads. Then the wing of auxiliary cavalry bravely accompanied the forward three centuries and launched across the river bed. They attacked the enemy with the javelins in their hands. A gap was immediately opened in the Garamantes' formation, which was continuously torn apart by the fierce Romans. Because Hebrida skillfully moved the subsequent People and horses also jumped in.

"My respected chief centurion, when the enemy has many tanks, please leave half of the infantry on the river bank to be responsible for supporting and preventing the enemy's counterattack. Also, don't let the cavalry pursue too deep!" During the fight, Sabo was angry Panting, he ran to the shadow of swords and swords ahead, shouting to wake up Hebrida who had just stabbed an enemy to death and was drawing out his fighting sword.

But Hebrida sneered at the young man's suggestion. When I was fighting, you were still complimenting your mother's nipples!

As a result, when almost all the Roman army of a thousand men pressed forward, the cavalry in front was the first to be attacked by the enemy's chariots. Garamantes' chariots once again demonstrated their superb ability to make circuitous turns. Most of them were attached to the Roman cavalry. On the front view, they galloped back and forth, stirring up dust to blur the opponent's vision. Then about ten tanks formed a long column and violently penetrated between the two infantry lines in Hebrida, driving away all the light infantry there. Being loose, they had the ability to dodge the rapidly approaching chariots. Then most of the chariots on the front also turned back and launched a counterattack against the attached cavalry. Several sharp spears were mounted on them. During the charge, the gleaming spearheads shook slightly, which frightened Vibicinas's horses. The cavalry took the lead in retreating towards the riverbed position, but at this time Hebrida was in front. , Sabo was behind, but still controlled the entire battle line - they formed several hollow square formations, tenaciously resisting the squeeze of the opponent's tanks and the impact of the infantry, and threw stones and javelins at the enemy, slowly moving towards Retreat from the starting position.

But when the Vipicinas cavalry crossed their sight, two soldiers of the centurion were not determined enough and gave up their formation. They ran in disorder with the cavalry and were ambushed by about twenty warriors who had been ambushed on the back of a sand dune somewhere. Many soldiers fell headfirst into the mud on the river bed due to the rampage of the vehicles. They were killed or injured under the crushing and shooting of the Garamantes.

At the critical moment, the cavalry artillery on Wuming Mountain fired a wave of stone bullets in time, disrupting the movement of the enemy's tanks. Then Lebida issued the order to attack, and the two auxiliary brigades rushed down the hillside under the cover of bows and arrows. The people of Lamanthesi did not dare to further expand the victory. Many people followed the chariot, turned around and retreated, and left the battlefield.

This direct battle was a loss for both sides, but Hybrida's thousand-man brigade was undoubtedly a defeat. More than half of the two hundred-man brigade members died in the battle, one centurion was killed, and the other was injured. Lepidus dismissed the injured one and punished the ordinary soldiers. The reason should not be found on Hybrida, but on the fact that the centurion forgot the drill doctrine that he had repeated in his daily life when fighting in the battlefield, that is, in front of the enemy's cavalry or chariot, he should always calmly deploy his troops to fight, instead of retreating in a mess.

"Let Tus Polo take over as centurion. In military operations, it is common for positions to fluctuate." Lepidus said to Antony next to him.

"Then please tell me, what did you observe in this battle?" Antony asked after taking over the personnel orders (theoretically, these are all under the management of the military tribune).

"The enemy's chariots are no less powerful than horses. We must effectively utilize the terrain and reasonable tactics of infantry and cavalry to penetrate into the territory of the Garamanthes and defeat them." Lepidus's answer seemed to be well-thought-out, but the specific words were clichés, which made Anthony shrug his shoulders and ask if he could be more detailed and clear.

"Tell me first, if you lead the cavalry brigade and let Dusongville assist, can you advance a thousand stadia in three days?"

"The Vipicinas are excellent cavalry, but not the best. One thousand is a bit beyond their ability, but eight hundred is no problem." Anthony answered affirmatively. (To be continued...)