Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1119: First Victory

After listening to Crotocatax, Asistes fell silent for a moment. His expression softened slightly, but still uneasy, he said, "I must still report the current state of the allied forces to His Majesty. I hope he can send reinforcements as soon as possible."

...

Patroclus intended to fully prepare while gathering more information about the Gauls, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

But the situation in Etruria suddenly changed. A few days after the fall of Florentia, an area previously untouched by the war—one many believed the Gauls would never attack—suffered a surprise attack: the city of Arretium.

Arretium did not actually share a border with the Gauls; its territory lay adjacent to the Umbrians. The region had always been peaceful until the past two years, when Gallic raids began. From what they understood, northern Umbria had also suffered Gallic invasions. Some Gallic tribes slipped through the Umbrian borderlands to pillage Arretium's territory, simply because Arretium was far wealthier than the Umbrians.

Initially, the Theonian Ministry of Military had not planned to build a military camp in this region, as Gallic activity here was not particularly rampant. But Arretium was a member of the Etruscan League of Twelve Cities and the central hub of the Etruscan League's eastern region. Thanks to the active lobbying of the Arretines—who voluntarily ceded a considerable amount of land to Daionia—the Theonian Ministry of Military ultimately decided to build a camp just northwest of Arretium's territory.

Naturally, they were not persuaded by the Arretines alone. After careful deliberation, King Davos decided that using the defense against the Gauls as an opportunity to acquire land here would strengthen ties and foster friendship with the Umbrians to the east, benefiting the Kingdom of Daunia.

In fact, over the past year or so, the Daionian border troops stationed here had frequently crossed over to cooperate with the Umbrians. Together, they had repelled the raiding Gauls, winning the goodwill of the Umbrian people. But they never expected the Gauls to split off a massive army, march through the southernmost part of Umbria, and launch a surprise attack on Arretium from the rear.

Although the Daionian camp urgently dispatched messengers to warn them, the Arretines had grown complacent. Having long enjoyed the camp's protection, they had not faced a Gallic raid in over a year, and the recent Gallic attacks on the northern Etruscan city-states had failed to raise their vigilance. Thus, when faced with this unexpected Gallic ambush, the Arretines performed even worse than Florentia. The city fell rapidly, and not a single citizen managed to escape.

The citizens of the Roman Region began to panic.

Naturally, Patroclus could not sit idly by. He quickly assembled more than 50,000 soldiers from the allied forces, crossed the Roman Pile Bridge, and arrived at Veii that very night.

The very next day, a messenger from Thurii arrived in Rome. Asistes received an order personally signed by King Davos: as Regional Administrator of the Roman Region, Asistes was to quickly notify the allied city-states to dispatch their armies in accordance with their treaties. These forces were to assemble in Rome to form an allied army, with Fourteenth Legion Commander Patroclus serving as supreme commander to lead them against the Gallic invasion. While prioritizing the safety of the kingdom's territory, they were to assist the Etruscans to the best of their abilities. Because the enemy situation remained unclear, the Ministry of Military Affairs would not issue specific operational directives; Patroclus was authorized to make his own decisions based on the changing battlefield. Furthermore, the Ministry had already ordered the Twelfth Legion stationed in the Eastern Campania Region (camped at Abella) to march to Rome immediately and report to Patroclus. Asistes was also tasked with securing logistical support for the allied forces and providing the Royal Palace with constant updates on the war.

Reading the letter with mixed emotions, Asistes handed the orders back to the messenger and said in a low voice, "Please inform His Majesty that I will resolutely carry out his instructions! Legion Commander Patroclus has already led the army north. If you set out now, you should be able to catch up with him at Veii."

Taking his leave of Asistes, the messenger immediately rode north in pursuit. By the time he reached Veii, however, Patroclus had already led the army out on the march once again.

At dusk, the Daionian Northern Coalition arrived at Lovi, a small Etruscan town less than twenty li from Volsinii. The Gauls besieging Volsinii were genuinely startled by the sudden appearance of enemy reinforcements. They hastily lifted the siege and dispatched scouts to investigate. The scouts returned with the report: "The enemy reinforcements are massive in number; the tents they have pitched are countless."

This vanguard Gallic army was relatively small. Seeing the enemy's overwhelming numbers, they dared not launch a blind attack; instead, they retreated northward.

The next day, realizing that reinforcements had arrived and the threat had lifted, the citizens of Volsinii brought vast amounts of supplies to Lovi to reward the troops. They expressed their deep gratitude and invited the allied forces to camp closer to Volsinii.

After surveying the surrounding terrain, Patroclus firmly declined the offer. He ordered the army to construct their camp right there on the outskirts of Lovi.

A day later, the Gallic army reappeared in Volsinii territory. By the following day, their numbers had swelled to over 30,000, and they once again encircled the city.

The Daunian Allied Forces stationed to their south made no move. Instead, the Gallic army took the initiative, marching up to the Daunian allied camp to launch an assault.

Although the camp was not yet fully built, Patroclus commanded with calm certainty. The allied soldiers held the defensive advantage, and their numbers exceeded the enemy's. Despite the ferocious bravery of the Gallic warriors, they were repelled after a bitter struggle that lasted until dusk. This instilled a newfound confidence in the Daunian Allied Forces, particularly the troops from the allied city-states.

Despite claiming this minor victory, the Daunian Allied Forces quietly retreated early the next morning, leaving behind only the empty camp they had painstakingly managed to partially construct.

Once the Gauls confirmed the enemy had retreated, they concluded that their foes had only won by a stroke of luck the day prior and had actually been terrified by the assault. Driven by fear, they had seemingly abandoned their efforts to reinforce Volsinii.

Over the following days, the Gauls postured for an all-out siege on Volsinii. The scouts they cast out found no trace of the Daionian reinforcements anywhere in the vicinity.

Gradually, the Gauls grew even more certain of their assumption: the Daionian Army might look imposing in numbers, but they were timid and cowardly. They had likely already scurried back to the City of Rome.

Casting aside their caution, they boldly threw everything they had into attacking Volsinii.

Consecutive days of relentless assaults left Volsinii teetering on the edge of collapse. Seeing their city on the verge of falling, the citizens of Volsinii cursed the untrustworthy Theonians while desperately praying for the gods' protection.

Perhaps those prayers worked. At dawn on the fifth day, the vanished Daunian Allied Forces suddenly reappeared, rapidly closing in on the Gallic camp.

Exhausted from consecutive days of sieging, the majority of the Gallic warriors were sound asleep in their tents. When word broke that the Daunian Allied Forces were attacking, the camp plunged into sheer chaos.

Patroclus used twenty ballistas to blast open the wooden palisades the Gauls had erected around their crude camp. With the heavy infantry of the Fourteenth Legion and the newly arrived Twelfth Legion from Campania serving as the main assault force, the Daunian Allied Forces quickly crossed the relatively narrow trench and engaged the Gauls inside.

Although the Gauls fought fiercely and swung their greatswords with menacing force, their formations were shattered and their organization chaotic. They posed little threat to the heavily armored Daionian military formations, who covered one another and coordinated with seamless precision.

Conversely, the main force of the Daunian Allied Forces pushed forward slowly like a wall of iron. While continuously cutting down the Gauls, they also inflicted immense psychological pressure upon them.

Furthermore, the Daunian Allied Forces now boasted nearly double the troops of the Gauls. Patroclus did not, however, throw the allied city-state forces into the fray from the start. He waited until the two legions and the reserve soldiers had fully drawn the Gauls' attention at the front before ordering the allied troops to charge in from both sides of the camp, trapping the Gauls in a pincer attack.

After more than an hour of intense combat, the Daunian Allied Forces had nearly completed their encirclement. The Gauls were forced to turn and flee, fighting desperately to carve out a bloody path of escape.

Patroclus immediately issued a command: the allied cavalry, light infantry, and light-armored troops—who had been resting and preserving their strength—were to pursue them with everything they had.

The allied forces hunted them relentlessly, striking hard and chasing them until nightfall before finally calling off the pursuit. They killed, wounded, and captured countless Gauls.

The next day, upon learning the Gauls had been defeated, the citizens of Volsinii were ecstatic. Tossing their previous resentment toward the Theonians to the back of their minds, they once again brought vast amounts of supplies to the allied camp. To their surprise, Patroclus had already led the army away.

The routed Gauls had split into two groups: one fled northeast toward Arretium, while the other fled northwest.

Patroclus dispatched 10,000 reserve soldiers to pursue the Gauls fleeing toward Arretium, while he personally led nearly 50,000 allied soldiers as they pivoted to march northwest.

During the time they were stationed at the Lovi camp, aside from fortifying their defenses, Patroclus had also dispatched the Mountain Scout Squad and cavalry recon units to thoroughly investigate the Gauls' movements across the entire Etruria region.

Therefore, after routing the Gallic army at Volsinii, Patroclus immediately led his main force straight for the territory of Fufluna, as this was where the main Gallic forces were entrenched.

Fufluna was the wealthiest city-state in northwestern Etruria, making it a primary target for the invading Gauls. However, because the people of Fufluna had long since learned of the tragic fate of Florentia from refugees, they had absorbed the lesson. They locked their city gates early on and heavily reinforced their defenses. Furthermore, the city of Fufluna occupied a unique geographic position: it was built on a promontory, connected to the mainland only by a narrow isthmus.