Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1310: The Battle of Thapsacus (2)

Over half an hour later, almost all the Daionian forces had finished forming up. Their side of the battlefield quickly fell silent, while the Persian side remained a cacophony of noise.

Two days ago, after listening to Tiribazus report on the Daionian camp, Artaxerxes had brimmed with confidence about winning this battle. But now, standing high upon his chariot and surveying the enemy lines, that certainty wavered. The rapid, efficient deployment of the Daionian army stood in stark contrast to the sluggish chaos of his own forces, planting a seed of unease. Wherever he looked, a sea of unbroken black stretched before him. The oppressive weight of their absolute uniformity made his pulse race. "Tiribazus!" he shouted involuntarily. "Urge the troops to hurry! Speed up the formation!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

By the time the Daionian army finished forming up, the sun had nearly reached its zenith. The soldiers received orders from their officers down the line: "Take this time to eat and drink."

As the soldiers of the first century, second cohort of the First Legion chewed their bread rations and passed around waterskins, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Centurion, look! The Persians really do have elephants!"

Arsinis, who was standing behind the century serving the soldiers, immediately stepped to the front of the formation. He peered ahead. Over in the Persian lines, dozens of elephants—draped in thick barding, with sharp swords strapped to their tusks—were slowly lumbering to the very front under the guidance of their mahouts.

The elephants were massive, standing out starkly against the surrounding soldiers. Their appearance instantly stirred a commotion among the men of the First Legion and the adjacent units.

Arsinis took a deep breath, turned back to the murmuring soldiers, and shouted, "Legion Commander Matonis already warned us there might be war elephants in the Persian army! What are you all so surprised about?"

"We're just curious, Centurion," a soldier replied. "We didn't expect the Persians to actually bring such gentle animals onto the battlefield!"

"Don't worry, Centurion. We aren't scared of them," another soldier said, half-joking. "We just think they're too cute. It'd be a pity if they all died in this battle."

"I don't feel any pity," a different soldier chimed in. "If they die in battle, it's not our fault. Actually, how great would it be to get a taste of elephant meat after the fight?"

"Crippus, you glutton!" Arsinis laughed. "You've eaten so much good food these past few days, and you're still not satisfied? Do you think eating elephant meat will make you as strong as one?"

"Centurion, he just thinks the thing between his legs is too small and wants it to grow a bit!" another soldier joked loudly.

The men erupted into laughter.

...

Over an hour later, the Persian army finally finished arranging its lines.

In the front of the center stood a loose line of Persian archers. Behind them spread a wide row of Indian war elephants and Scythed Chariots—the elephants concentrated in the middle, flanked by the chariots. Behind these were 3,000 armored Persian cavalry. Backing the cavalry, a massive line stretched out consisting of 20,000 Greek Heavy Infantry and 10,000 Immortals. Artaxerxes commanded from the rear, surrounded by troops drafted from Mesopotamia and the tribes along the Persian Gulf.

The front of the right wing was manned by a mixed unit of archers from Armenia, Parthia, and Media. Behind them waited 100 chariots from Media and Babylon. Following the chariots were infantry from Dukya, Ameria, and Persia, supported further back by tribes from around the Caspian Sea, such as the Hyrcanians and Tapurians. At the extreme right end of this wing sat over 10,000 cavalry drawn from Ameria, Parthia, and Media.

On the left wing, the vanguard consisted of a mixed force of archers from Persia, Arabia, Bactria, and Arachosia. Behind them stood infantry from Persia and Caria, as well as Eastern Uxians and Sittacenians from east of Susa. Farther back were Far Eastern tribal troops, led by Arachosians and Bactrians. Positioned at the extreme left end was a massive force of over 10,000 cavalry from Persia, Scythia, and Bactria, spearheaded by 500 Arabian camel cavalry.

One glance at the Persian formation made their strategy clear: a deeply layered array with an overwhelmingly powerful center.

The Persians adopted this layout because they knew the Daionian army boasted numerous heavy infantry with formidable melee capabilities. Thus, they thickened their ranks to increase their staying power in close-quarters combat. Whether out of genuine safety concerns or simply to soothe Artaxerxes's lingering fears—he still carried psychological scars from a javelin wound inflicted by Cyrus the Younger—the center had to be heavily reinforced.

Larabasus had seized the opportunity to propose a tactic: amass a massive force in the center, use the war elephants and Scythed Chariots to tear through the enemy's defensive lines, and follow up with a devastating charge of armored cavalry to completely shatter the enemy heavy infantry's formation. Finally, the Greek Heavy Infantry and the Immortals would surge forward to sweep the field and secure the victory.

Artaxerxes had ultimately adopted this suggestion.

In contrast, the Daionian army deployed as follows:

The center consisted of the First Legion, Fourth Legion, Seventh Legion, Twelfth Legion, and Fifteenth Legion, spread out in a checkerboard formation. When compressed, their line reached a depth of ten ranks. Behind them in the very center waited five cohorts of light infantry. Matonis served as the overall commander for the center.

The left wing comprised the Second Legion, Fifth Legion, Eighth Legion, Fourteenth Legion, and Sixteenth Legion, also arrayed in a checkerboard formation with a compressed depth of ten ranks. There were no reserves directly behind them.

Positioned at the extreme left were the First Cavalry Legion, Third Cavalry Legion, Gallic Cavalry Legion, and 2,000 Numidian Light Cavalry. Behind them stood nine cohorts of light-armored troops, followed further back by six cohorts of light infantry and 2,000 Balearic Slingers.

The right wing was formed by the Third Legion, Sixth Legion, Eleventh Legion, Thirteenth Legion, and Seventeenth Legion in a checkerboard formation ten ranks deep. Like the left, they had no direct rear support.

The extreme right featured the Second Cavalry Legion, Fourth Cavalry Legion, Iberian Cavalry Legion, and another 2,000 Numidian Light Cavalry. Behind them were another nine cohorts of light-armored troops, backed by six cohorts of light infantry and 2,000 Balearic Slingers.

The command center, where King Davos was stationed, sat behind the center lines. Aside from the protection of the Palace Guard, he was flanked by the Eighteenth Legion, Nineteenth Legion, and Twenty-First Legion acting as the central reserve.

It was evident from the Daionian deployment that Davos had concentrated his heavy assets on the extreme ends of both wings. His plan was clear: shatter the Persian cavalry first, then launch a sweeping pincer attack from the flanks. Even though the Persian cavalry was visibly superior in numbers and strength to Daionia's, Davos chose to strike squarely at their strongest point—knowingly walking into danger.

Although the Persian army outnumbered Daionia two to one, King Artaxerxes's caution had drastically deepened their formation. Meanwhile, King Davos's supreme confidence kept his infantry arrayed at a lean depth of just ten ranks. As a result, both armies stretched to roughly equal lengths across the battlefield, spanning a massive fifteen li.

The Persian forces hailed from diverse backgrounds, wearing vastly different garbs and wielding varied weapons; even the soldiers themselves varied wildly in appearance. Thus, despite the majority standing in dense formations upon the flat plain, seasoned Daionian scouts only needed a careful look to roughly estimate the troop deployments at the front of the Persian array.

In stark contrast, almost the entirety of the Daionian army wore standard Black Helmets and Black Armor, with a much simpler division of troop types. Moreover, Davos intentionally obscured his true strength. Only after the heavy infantry and cavalry in the vanguard had finished forming up—effectively acting as a wall to block the enemy's line of sight—did he begin positioning his rear troops.

Furthermore, Davos had issued a strict order: soldiers positioned in the rear were forbidden from raising their weapons until the engagement began.

At the command center, Philesius and his staff officers had already sketched a rough map of the Persian vanguard's deployment based on the scouts' reports.

Davos took the wooden board offered to him. After carefully studying the sketched layout, a hint of surprise crossed his face. "Huh. The Persians have a hundred more chariots than before. This doesn't match the numbers Izam gave us."

"They might have arrived recently," Philesius suggested.

Davos pondered for a moment before making a swift decision. "In that case... pull two thousand men from the right wing's light infantry cohorts and have them deal with these chariots."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Philesius replied, immediately turning to dispatch the orders.

"Your Majesty, it's already past noon. You should eat something," Henipolis reminded him from the side.

"I'm not hungry yet," Davos said, waving him off somewhat impatiently, as Henipolis had already asked several times. Ever since the messenger departed, Davos had kept an anxious gaze locked toward the left flank, even though it was impossible to see troop movements several li away from his current position.

A moment later, realizing something, he asked, "Have Hieronymus and Amyntas eaten?"

Before Henipolis could answer, Hieronymus's voice drifted over from behind. "Your Majesty, we are old men, and we aren't joining the fray. It matters little whether we eat lunch or not—"

"That's right, Your Majesty! Who has the leisure to eat right now?" Amyntas interrupted impatiently. "We're just waiting for the battle to hurry up and start!"

"There's no need to rush," Davos said, his calm restored. "The longer this drags on, the worse it gets for the Persians..."

Just as he spoke, Izam came galloping in from the left flank, shouting at the top of his lungs. "Your Majesty! I've located the Ksocont Tribe warriors in the Persian formation!"