Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1290: The Battle of Asia Minor (1)

Pharnabazus voiced his concerns, but most of the satraps still insisted on engaging the Greek expeditionary army in a pitched battle here. Aside from the arrogant contempt the Persian nobility held for the Greeks, there was another crucial reason: both armies were currently positioned on the southwestern edge of Mysia, not far from the coast. The massive Persian army consumed enormous amounts of food. After more than ten days of relentless pursuit, their supply lines were severely stretched, making logistics difficult. Furthermore, most of the nearby towns had already submitted to the Greek expeditionary army, whose fleet now controlled the adjacent waters. This gave the enemy a clear logistical advantage. If the standoff dragged on for another day or two, the Persian forces would be forced to retreat due to a lack of food. Not only would their previous efforts be wasted, but Persia would completely lose its prestige in the region.

Under their insistence, Pharnabazus finally cemented his resolve to fight a decisive battle against the Greek expeditionary army here.

...

Upon receiving news that the massive Persian army was marching toward their camp, Leotychides, already prepared for this, immediately dispatched messengers to notify the allied commanders. He ordered them to assemble their respective forces and prepare to march out and meet the enemy.

The two armies began to form their battle lines at a distance of about one li from each other.

The Persian Asia Minor Coalition consisted of nearly 80,000 soldiers drawn from the armies of the various western regions of Asia Minor, Greek mercenaries, reinforcements from the city-states of the Euxine Sea, and reinforcements from eastern Asia Minor. Because there were many Greek city-states in western Asia Minor and around the Euxine Sea, this Persian army differed somewhat from traditional Persian forces. Furthermore, Pharnabazus had learned from his past clashes with the Greeks. During his military mobilization, he specifically emphasized that the various regions should conscript as many infantrymen from the Greek city-states as possible. Therefore, alongside the 15,000 Greek mercenaries led by Jason, the army boasted over 6,000 capable Greek Heavy Infantry. There were also Persian cavalry from eastern Asia Minor, cavalry from Mesopotamia, and riders from other regions, bringing their total cavalry force to over 8,000. In addition, there were over 40,000 traditional Persian infantry and archers, maintaining a ratio of about one to two.

Archers and cavalry were already Persia's strengths, and their traditional weakness—the infantry—had now been reinforced. Combined with their numerical superiority, Pharnabazus had immense confidence in this battle despite holding the lower ground. As a result, he adopted a relatively balanced formation: the Greek Heavy Infantry were placed at the very front of the left, center, and right infantry formations; Jason's mercenaries were concentrated in the center; four thousand cavalry were stationed on each flank; and the archers were positioned behind the infantry lines...

Leotychides and the allied commanders were in no rush to form their ranks. They stood on high ground, observing the Persian formation for quite a while. Feeling that the enemy's deployment hadn't exceeded their expectations, they confidently began to arrange their troops according to the plan drafted the night before.

The Greek expeditionary army totaled roughly 65,000 men. This included nearly 30,000 soldiers from three Theonia Legions and the cavalry legion, about 27,000 men from Greece and the Ionian Islands, and 7,000 troops from the allied states of central Italy. Among them were over 35,000 heavy infantry, along with more than 2,000 medium infantry from the central Italian allies. They clearly held the upper hand in medium and heavy infantry. However, their cavalry—comprising Daionia's Thessalian Cavalry Legion, the Macedonian Cavalry, and riders from other Greek city-states—amounted to just over 3,000 riders, not even half the size of the Persian cavalry.

Based on the strengths, weaknesses, and numerical disparities of their unit types, the formation Leotychides deployed was as follows: the center was mainly anchored by Daionia, alongside a small number of Greek soldiers; the right wing was composed of the Greek city-states' armies; the front lines of the left wing were manned by Daionian soldiers, with troops from the central Italian allies positioned in the rear. Instead of placing the cavalry on the flanks, they were held back behind the center.

The entire Daionian Army formation was not strictly parallel to the Persian army. The right wing pushed slightly forward, while the left wing was held slightly back. It was, in fact, an oblique order. However, unlike the Theban allied formation at the Battle of Leuctra, Leotychides did not thicken his right wing. Instead, he positioned the three most formidable forces among the Greek allies—the Spartan Warriors led by Agesilaus, the Sacred Band of Thebes led by Epaminondas, and the elite Athenian heavy infantry led by Iphicrates—at the extreme right edge of the right wing. From a distance, the entire right wing of the Greek expeditionary army looked like a uniform block of Greek Heavy Infantry. Leotychides had even strictly forbidden the Spartan Warriors from wearing their signature red cloaks. The depth of the formation was completely uniform, making it impossible for the Persians to accurately deduce that the true offensive weight of the Greek expeditionary army lay on the right wing.

In truth, Leotychides's meticulous arrangement worked exactly as intended. Both massive armies took over an hour to set up their formations, yet neither launched an immediate attack. During this standoff, the Persian military commander, Pharnabazus, gained a general understanding of the Greek expeditionary army's deployment. However, he made no adjustments to his own lines, clearly believing that the enemy's formation was nothing out of the ordinary and that the Persian army could easily handle it.

The real reason he delayed the order to attack, however, was his consideration of the terrain. The Greek expeditionary army held the high ground, leaving the Persian army at a disadvantage if they attacked uphill. Thus, he held off on ordering a general advance, waiting to see if the enemy would strike first. If they did, the Greek expeditionary army would have to march down the gentle slope and engage them on flat ground. But the allied commander was evidently very cautious and maintained firm control over his entire force.

From a distance, the soldiers of the Greek expeditionary army looked like small, immovable trees planted neatly along the hillside... This sight only deepened Pharnabazus's wariness.

But after a half-hour standoff, it was the Persian commanders who lost their patience. They hurried over to question Pharnabazus one after another. It was already noon, and the weather was growing quite hot. Standing in formation for so long took a heavy toll on the soldiers' stamina. If this continued, they feared the men would be too exhausted to fight and would be forced to retreat.

Theopompus, the satrap of Mysia, even issued a threat: if Pharnabazus did not give the order to attack, he would personally lead the army of Mysia and launch an attack against the Greeks on his own.

Unable to resist their unified pressure, Pharnabazus yielded. However, he didn't issue an immediate order for a full-scale assault. Instead, he first instructed all the archers to move to the front of the formation.

Once this shift was complete, he issued his next command: the main force was to hold their ground, while the archers advanced to launch a ranged attack against the Greek expeditionary army.

Over 20,000 Persian archers approached the Greek expeditionary army in a loose formation stretching six or seven li...

Upon learning of this, Leotychides immediately gave the order: all allied light infantry were to move to the front of the formation and prepare to fire.

The two armies were only about 500 meters apart. The Persian archers marched swiftly, closing to within a hundred meters in moments. While the enemy was still outside their own firing range, they had just entered the effective range of the archers among the Greek expeditionary army's light infantry, who held the high ground.

The officers of the Daonian Light Infantry Battalions shouted one after another, "Archers, prepare!"

The archers nocked their arrows and drew their bows. Thousands of shafts were launched high into the air before raining down on the Persian archers' ranks. Screams of agony soon echoed across the field.

Following the lead of the Daionian light infantry, the other allied archers also began to fire in succession.

Although Persian soldiers were constantly falling, given their massive numbers, this was nothing more than small ripples in a vast lake. Furthermore, to counter the Persian archers, the Greek expeditionary army's light infantry had also stretched their lines across several kilometers. However, their total numbers were much smaller, and the proportion of archers among them was even less. This naturally diluted their ranged firepower across each sector, making it insufficient to deal a devastating blow to the Persian archers in any specific area. As a result, the Persian archers gritted their teeth, braved the rain of arrows, and pushed forward even faster.

When the distance shrank to sixty or seventy meters, roars erupted from the javelin throwers within the Daonian Light Infantry Battalions. Heavy javelins were hurled at the Persians like lightning. At the same time, the archers shifted from arcing volleys to direct shots. More Persian archers fell, but simultaneously, their counterattack began.

Arrows and javelins flew back and forth within a distance of just a few dozen meters. Since neither side wore much armor, the sky-blotting hail of projectiles caused casualties to skyrocket for both armies.

The Persian archers shifted from hasty, initial shots to a steadily sustained output, gradually pulling the situation back in their favor until they slowly began to gain the upper hand. They truly lived up to their reputation as one of the most powerful weapons Persia used to dominate the Middle East and Asia Minor. Aside from the highly trained Daionian light infantry, who could stand toe-to-toe with them, the allied light infantry began to buckle under the pressure. The Epirote Peltasts even raised their hide shields over their heads and charged forward, seeking to engage the Persian archers in close-quarters combat.

The Persian archers showed no fear. They drew their issued short blades to meet the charge. Although the peltasts had better equipment, the Persian archers vastly outnumbered them, surprisingly managing to secure a slight advantage.

The overall flow of the battle began to turn slightly against the Greek expeditionary army. Yet, Leotychides, who had been watching the fighting from the high ground all along, did not appear anxious. He simply gave an order: move the entire cavalry force forward to the far right flank of the army's formation.

He calmly ignored the allied light infantry's bitter struggle and took no further action. In his view, although the allied light infantry were at a disadvantage, they were utilizing the high ground to prolong the skirmish against the far more numerous Persian archers. Even if they were completely wiped out, the Persian archers would have exhausted most of their arrows by then, leaving them with little threat against the allied infantry. Therefore, he preferred to let the standoff continue rather than surrender their hard-won terrain advantage by ordering a general offensive. Moreover, he firmly believed that the Persians' patience would wear out long before his own.