Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 948: Attack Strategy for Syracuse

Davos had no doubts about Cyprolus's capabilities, so he merely offered a brief reminder before looking forward. His tone grew heavy as he declared, "Gentlemen, before we march against the Carthaginian army, there is something important we must do with all the soldiers about to head into battle. We are going to Palagonia to pay our respects and honor all the soldiers of the Seventh Brigade of the First Legion and the Two Catana Reserve Cohorts, who tenaciously defended the city and fought bravely to the very last man!"

...

After the military council concluded, Davos kept Cyprolus and Leotychides behind to offer them his sincere gratitude. He thanked them for shouldering the heavy burden of defense on their own when Daionia's main forces could not reinforce Sicily. Not only had they successfully repelled the Carthaginian army's invasion and ensured the integrity of the Sicily Territory, but they had also inflicted significant casualties upon the Carthaginians—far exceeding Davos's expectations.

Faced with Davos's unsparing praise, Cyprolus remained modest. "That our Sicily Territory could hold out until Your Majesty arrived with the army is mostly thanks to Lord Prosous. If he hadn't decisively marched out, heavily defeated the Carthaginians at Minoa, and then captured Selinus to throw their entire western front into chaos—"

Leotychides interjected, "If it weren't for Lord Cyprolus's full support and logistical guarantees, I wouldn't have dared to rashly lead my troops out. Especially later, when the Carthaginian army invaded the Plain of Catania, it was entirely due to Lord Cyprolus's understanding and his efforts to pacify the city's populace that I was able to hold Catana until today..."

Davos smiled as he looked at them. "Everyone says Prosous is unapproachable and hard to deal with, but it seems you all cooperate perfectly!"

Cyprolus glanced at Leotychides and spoke up in his defense, "Your Majesty, people might have a misunderstanding about this. Lord Prosous dislikes socializing simply because he pours all his energy into military research."

"Of course I know that," Davos said with a smile, then steered the conversation toward the impending battle. "What are your thoughts on attacking Syracuse?"

Having spent so many years in Catana, Leotychides had naturally used his free time to ponder how to assault this close neighbor with whom Catana had had so many disputes. He had even disguised himself and traveled south several times to secretly scout Syracuse's defenses. After receiving Davos's appointment just moments ago, he had already begun formulating a preliminary attack plan in his head. Thus, he immediately replied, "Your Majesty, according to past intelligence, Syracuse can muster an army of at least twenty thousand. If they are defending the city, that number will only be higher. However, the Syracusan citizens lack sufficient military training, and they haven't experienced any major wars in over a decade. Lacking combat experience, they absolutely won't dare to march out and engage us; they will only defend the city. Even though Syracuse's walls are tall and sturdy, I am confident I can take them down—"

Shouting so suddenly in front of Davos was highly discourteous, but Davos paid it no mind. He even stopped Henipolis from rebuking the man, listening intently to the young commander who was already immersed in his thoughts.

"Since Your Majesty will lead the army west to fight the Carthaginians, the eastern front is temporarily free of their threat. Plus, since it is the agricultural off-season, we can gather more manpower from Naxos, Siculi, Catana, Leontini, Taunis, the Sicels, and even the refugees from Agrigento and Gela to participate in the nearby siege of Syracuse..."

While Leotychides was enthusiastically outlining his ideas, Tagerus returned with the wooden map. Leotychides immediately laid it on the table and pointed to it. "Please look, Your Majesty! Syracuse is a massive city with a vast urban area, and its walls stretch for quite a distance. However, more than half of them are built along the coast and through the hills. There are only two main sections truly suitable for a large army to assault. One is the eastern wall, mainly the Hexapylon Gate near Taunis and its adjacent segments, spanning over a li in length. The other is the western wall, running south from the Pusca Gate to the main port of Syracuse, stretching for more than four li...

"My proposed siege plan is... to have the main force composed of the Seventh Legion and the Eighth Legion set up camp right here—" Leotychides pointed to the flat terrain on the map between the western part of Syracuse and the Anapus River.

"The Lysimeleia Marsh is right next to that! It will be incredibly easy for the soldiers to contract diseases!" Cyprolus, who had also leaned in to look at the map, changed his expression and loudly warned him. "You must know that the Carthaginian armies previously reached the walls of Syracuse twice, and both times they suffered crushing defeats because they were tormented by plagues."

"Of course I know the dangers of the Lysimeleia Marsh," Leotychides explained with absolute confidence. "It is almost November now. The weather is starting to turn cold, and the mosquitoes have already dwindled. Furthermore, the commoners of Syracuse have been steadily developing the marsh over the past few years, shrinking its area significantly compared to ten years ago. Not to mention, our legionaries specifically undergo camp construction training for handling such harsh terrains during their daily drills. I don't believe it will pose any problem for the army's encampment!..."

Hearing this, Davos recalled the Samnium battle reports he had received back in Rome: Alexis had led his army into the mountains and similarly camped near a marsh, yet no major issues had arisen.

Therefore, he agreed, "As long as you are fully prepared, I don't think camping there will be an issue. Please continue."

"Another army, made up of reserve soldiers from our Sicily Territory as well as allied and friendly troops, will camp near Taunis. According to the alliance treaty, the commander of such a mixed force must be a Daionian general. Yet, almost all our high-ranking generals currently have their own assignments. To ensure the eastern offensive against Syracuse proceeds smoothly, I was thinking..." Leotychides hesitated, a rare occurrence for him. "Could we let Brelius temporarily take up this post?"

When he said this, both Davos and Cyprolus were taken aback.

Davos looked at him meaningfully, thinking to himself:

Being stared at by Davos like this made Leotychides slightly uncomfortable. He brought up this suggestion partly for the needs of the upcoming battles, but more importantly, to alleviate the guilt in his heart. During this military council, he had suddenly realized something: with the massive Carthaginian army bearing down on them, anyone in Brelius's position would have faced the exact same predicament. Brelius had led the Seventh Legion as reinforcements and had simply ended up taking the fall in his place.

Davos cleared his throat. "I can understand your desire to help Brelius. However, letting him lead an army would confuse everyone, and his previous punishment would lose its meaning. Therefore, I cannot agree. The commander of the eastern army can be filled by Xanthiparis. He has led mixed armies to conquer Samnite towns in Campania several times and should have considerable experience in this regard. During the assault on Syracuse, you will temporarily fulfill the duties of Legion Commander for the Seventh Legion in his stead."

"Understood," Leotychides replied without a change in expression. He then continued, "I heard that when Your Majesty led the army to land at Catana, the ranks included an engineering corps of several hundred men, made up of engineers and highly skilled craftsmen. I hope Your Majesty will allow this team to assist us in manufacturing various siege weapons, easing the difficulty of the soldiers' assault and thereby putting even greater pressure on the Syracusans."

"That is not a problem at all," Davos nodded readily, then asked, "You are focusing your attack on these two wall sections, but I suspect you won't neglect the other walls of Syracuse?"

Leotychides thought to himself. He then immediately answered, "Aside from the coastal walls, the other sections are built on high ground, making them relatively harder to assault. However, I will still send soldiers to launch attacks to scatter the Syracusan forces and disorient them..."

On the map, the eastern and western sections of Syracuse's walls snaked northward along the edge of the Epipolae Plateau, eventually converging to form something that looked like a pointed hat. Leotychides's finger pointed exactly to where the two ends of the wall met. He said in a deep voice, "It is said that during the Athenian siege of Syracuse back then, the Syracusans realized they could never let an enemy occupy the city's commanding heights—the Epipolae Plateau. Thus, after Dionysius became tyrant, he mobilized the Syracusan populace to enclose the entire Epipolae Plateau with city walls, turning it into part of the urban area. And the highest point of this urban sector is right here—the western side of Mount Euryalus."

"Dionysius called this place the 'key' to Epipolae and the entirety of Syracuse, which is why he built a fortress here back then. However, the Epipolae region has always been sparsely populated, and this specific area is entirely uninhabited because it is five or six li away from the main urban district of Syracuse, making transportation highly inconvenient. Even though Dionysius considered its location vital, no enemy has ever attacked it over the years, and the Syracusans do not seem to pay it much attention either."

"I have carefully scouted this area several times. The walls on the western side of Mount Euryalus have been in disrepair for years. The number of sentries on the wall has never exceeded ten, and most of them just stay inside the fortress, rarely conducting regular patrols along the entire section. It seems they are very confident in the defenses there. But in reality, the slope on the western side of Mount Euryalus is no more than two hundred meters high, and it isn't difficult to climb—"