Chapter 219: Rome’s Counterattack 2
< 219. Rome’s Counterattack 2 >
When Marcus landed in Athens with his entire army, Rome was in a state of unprecedented anxiety.
No matter how far away it happened in Greece, it was shocking that an army of 200,000 had been annihilated.
It was especially shocking that Greece, which had a great influence on Rome’s culture, had fallen into the hands of the barbarians.
It was incomparable to when they lost Gaul.
Naturally, public opinion was furious with Sextus, the commander of the defeat.
Some even shouted that he was a traitor who tarnished the name of his great father and ruined Rome.
The atmosphere of the Senate was not much different.
The aristocratic senators would have normally harshly criticized and demanded responsibility from the populist party, but this time they did not even do that.
They just wrapped their heads in disbelief at this unbelievable defeat and kept silent.
Piso and Cicero, who had long held seats in the Senate, had no memory of ever seeing the Senate hall so silent.
“···So, are you all just going to keep silent like this? We need to come up with a plan.”
When Cato opened his mouth as if squeezing it out, a sigh of many senators filled the room.
The populist senators were still unable to say anything as they looked around, and Bibulus, a fellow aristocrat, answered with a frown.
“Do you have a clever idea? Caesar has moved his army to defend Dalmatia, so we can only hope that he will hold them off.”
Another senator asked with a worried face.
“Can he hold them off? The situation is very different from when he recovered the Rhine.”
“···It’s annoying, but we have to trust Caesar’s ability. If he breaks through that too··· then we’ll have to settle it diplomatically or flee to a place where those cavalrymen can’t easily come.”
“Heh··· how did this happen.”
Settling it diplomatically was practically equivalent to saying that they would sign a surrender agreement.
The fact that there was no senator who got angry or opposed this humiliating remark showed how serious the situation was.
“If only Sextus had been a little more careful.”
“He could have won if he just held on, why did he have to go out and fight?”
Even the same populist senators criticized Sextus’s rashness and raised their voices.
Of course, they also knew why Sextus responded to the enemy’s provocation and turned around.
He was the only one of the triumvirate who did not achieve any notable achievements in this war, so he must have been impatient.
Not to mention that locking the door and defending it was tantamount to abandoning other cities that were not protected by walls.
It was not easy for young Patronus to ignore the anger of his clients.
Ultimately, even if he held on, he would eventually push back the enemy with Caesar and Marcus’s main force, so he couldn’t monopolize the credit either.
It was plausible that he went out and fought reluctantly.
But that didn’t justify the disaster that almost wiped out 200,000 men.
Rome’s way was not to harshly blame for defeat, but this was too much.
In fact, people related to Sextus were likely to be unable to set foot in Rome’s politics in the future.
Anyway, Gnaeus was exiled and Sextus died, so there was no one to actually suffer damage, but it was clear that there was an indelible stain on the reputation of the Pompey family.
Anyway, both the populist and aristocratic parties racked their brains to overcome this situation, but no clever way came up.
The conclusion drawn was that Greece must be regained at all costs.
And they had to appease the citizens and allies who were anxious.
Fortunately, just in time, a letter from Marcus arrived at the Senate.
It did not contain the details of the operation, but it was a kind of declaration of war that he would use the fleet handed over by Sextus to reclaim Greece.
He didn’t say anything grandiose like trust me or I will definitely win.
This rather gave more confidence.
The reason why they didn’t despair even though Sextus’s legion was annihilated was because they had another real legion they believed in.
Cicero and Cato went back on stage and raised their voices to calm down Rome in turmoil.
“Although we suffered a painful defeat and handed over Greece to the barbarians, there is nothing to worry about! Remember the war our ancestors fought against Hannibal.
Even though we suffered humiliating defeats several times, we were Rome who won in the end! Rome has always had great heroes who risked their lives to protect Rome no matter how dangerous the situation was.
Scipio Africanus who made Hannibal kneel did so, and Marius who repelled the invasion of Germania did so.
And it’s no different now. Caesar, who drove out the Huns in Gaul, will guard Dalmatia, and Marcus, the hero of the East, has moved to reclaim Greece. Don’t worry! The great heroes of Rome and our proud citizens will unite and overcome this crisis!”
Cicero’s fiery speech spread throughout Rome through the mouths of the citizens.
People regained hope when they heard that Marcus had moved with Caesar.
Some were worried that if Marcus also failed, Rome would have no more strength left, but most people trusted Marcus.
All the citizens of Rome, the allied nations, and the senators of the Senate wished with one heart that he would overcome this crisis.
If Marcus successfully reclaims Greece, who would dare to object to him taking Sextus’s inheritance?
According to Sextus’s will, Greece and North Africa, as well as Axum and Kush, would all fall under Marcus’s influence.
The balance of power that had been maintained until now would tilt to one side in an instant.
But even the senators did not worry about the future for now.
Anything would be better than losing the war against the Huns and surrendering in humiliation.
‘Just please win, whatever it takes.’
This was the common thought of everyone in Rome at the moment.
※※※
Marcus, who landed in Athens, knew well that the desperate wishes of the Roman citizens were focused on him.
He had set out bravely, but he was not without tension.
He had fought many wars before, but never with such pressure.
Strictly speaking, the wars he had fought until now always had a way out.
The Parthian War and the Arabian Expedition were wars that could be retreated from as long as he did not suffer a terrible defeat.
‘But not this time. If I retreat from here, everything I’ve built up so far could go up in smoke.’
Of course, on the other hand, if he wins, he will rise to the top and get everything in one breath.
As he thought that far, Marcus bit his lips hard and composed himself.
‘Let’s not rush. There’s nothing to change by being impatient now.’
His arrival revived Athens, which had been in a gloomy mood.
The army of Bayatur, which had been besieging the city, also retreated and kept a distance from the city.
At the same time, scouts were spotted trying to keep track of the city’s movements.
Marcus could easily read Bayatur’s intentions.
Half of the Hunnic forces were heading west from Epirus to break through the route to Dalmatia.
And Altan, who had occupied Thrace with 30,000 troops, had stationed troops in three major cities and was focusing on stabilizing the local situation.
From these movements alone, he could guess what Bayatur was plotting.
Most of the major cities in Thrace were ports connected to the Black Sea.
If the Huns, who had control of Bosporus, stabilized these cities as well, the Black Sea would become their front yard.
This was something that Marcus had to stop at all costs.
But if he tried to launch a landing operation with his ships openly, he would obviously be hindered by Bayatur’s main force.
The ships of this era were not very fast, so it was practically impossible to shake off the Hunnic cavalry.
And a commander like Bayatur would not be unaware of the fact that Marcus would try to reclaim the ports.
If he used a careless strategy, he would immediately be counterattacked.
‘After all, I have to clash with him first. If I can’t even balance out the minimum strength, I can’t use any strategy.’
Judging by Bayatur’s movements, he was ready to engage with Marcus’s troops at any moment.
He had already annihilated Sextus’s legion, so it was natural that he had such confidence.
And Marcus also had no intention of avoiding a fight that came his way.
Fighting 200,000 Hunnic cavalry on a plain would be crazy, but Bayatur’s army was still maintaining 70,000 troops.
He must have suffered some damage from the battle with Sextus, but it seemed that he had filled in the gap with additional personnel from Altan’s force.
He probably thought that 70,000 was the optimal size for him to command alone.
And since Bayatur wanted a battle as well, Marcus also secretly saw this as an opportunity.
The legion led by Marcus consisted of 100,000 infantry and 50,000 cavalry excluding Antony’s force that came first. Compared to other Roman armies, it had an overwhelmingly high proportion of cavalry.
Many of them were elites trained by Marcus himself and armed with much better equipment than other Roman troops.
The enemy troops were also elite among the Hunnic warriors, but still it was worth a try.
Ironically enough, both commanders thought that this was a favorable opportunity for them.
And this confidence was reflected in their movements.
Bayatur withdrew his troops from Athens and retreated to a plain near Thessalonica.
And he ordered Altan, who was in Thrace, to bring 12,000 troops to Thessalonica.
He made it clear that he would fight Rome here.
Marcus also responded by leading 150,000 troops northward.
He left Antony’s 50,000 troops behind in Athens under the pretext of defending the city.
When all the preparations were done, Marcus slowly led his legion out of Athens and headed north.
His marching speed was not fast.
He deliberately moved slowly to show the Hunnic scouts.
Of course, he did not neglect scouting in case Bayatur would call for reinforcements and launch a surprise attack.
Bayatur also did not move rashly, thinking that Marcus might be trying to lure him out.
Thus, the two armies slowly faced each other on the plain near Thessalonica, where the battle would take place.
This time, Bayatur did not charge right away like he did at the Larissa battle.
He already knew that his opponent was not someone he could win with the same tactic he had used before.
His sharp eyes looked at the Roman army across the plain.
The army, wearing shiny equipment under the blazing sun, stood firmly in a long line.
He did not make the mistake of dividing his already scarce cavalry force in half like Sextus did.
Marcus gathered 50,000 cavalry in one place and placed heavily armed cavalry, his trump card, in the front line.
There were also slingers who could gain a clear advantage in range even though they were few and hard to fire.
As the moment of battle approached, the eyes of the Roman legion looking at the enemy became more intense.
Even the horses seemed to sense the imminent bloodshed, stomping their feet and neighing loudly.
The hearts of 220,000 people on the plain beat faster and their breathing became rougher.
Publius and Surenas also swallowed their saliva nervously.
Spartacus seemed to be the only one who kept his composure.
He calmly touched his spear and sword.
His attitude was calm, but his eyes were burning with an indomitable fighting spirit that could not be hidden.
Marcus, who judged that everything was ready, drew his weapon and raised his voice.
“Let’s go! Today we will punish those barbarians and reclaim our pride and land!”
At the same time, Bayatur also ran out towards the Roman army, aiming his scimitar at them.
“Let’s send all those Roman bastards to their ancestors who we killed before. Follow me!”
The rough shouts and hoofbeats shook the plain.
The Hunnic cavalry’s maneuver was completely different from the Larissa battle.
Bayatur knew a lot about Marcus’s legion because he had participated in the Parthian War as a mercenary and saw and heard many things there.
The arrows with an unknown origin that boasted a much longer range than Parthia’s composite bows.
And heavily armed cavalry who could not be pierced by spears or arrows no matter how hard they tried.
Bayatur had already made sure that his subordinates knew about those weapons that they had never encountered before.
That’s why the Hunnic cavalry scattered widely as if they had agreed beforehand.
Some of them fell off their horses, spitting blood from being hit by slingshots, but there were no warriors who panicked.
Bayatur had already warned them beforehand, and besides, there were only about a thousand slingers. They alone could not inflict much damage on the Hunnic army.
As soon as the vanguard of the front line fell off their horses from being hit by slingshots, the Hunnic army made a large flanking maneuver to target the rear flank of the Roman army.
Then Marcus responded by deploying all 50,000 archers of the Roman army except for the heavy cavalry. The Huns had no choice but to give up on breaking through the side.
Instead, they tried to lure out the Roman cavalry by deliberately retreating backwards. But this time too, the Roman cavalry responded by maintaining their formation without straying too far from the infantry line.
In the end, the Hunnic army failed to inflict any significant damage on the Roman army with 70,000 archers.
The Roman army also could not inflict any damage on them because they did not narrow down the distance with their superior mobility.
The decisive weapon that would end this stalemate was ultimately heavy cavalry. This time Spartacus himself led them on horseback and faced off against the Hunnic army.
But of course, the Huns did not fight head-on with Rome’s heavy cavalry.
Bayatur had set up a separate detachment to deal exclusively with them and kept them at bay.
They avoided close combat and constantly harassed them with bows while taking advantage of their superior mobility. It was a feat that only those with exceptional riding skills among the Huns could show.
They even prepared spare horses to switch at any time so that their horses would not get tired.
The heavy cavalry who wore full plate armor on their horses as well were relatively slow and could not roam freely on the battlefield.
No matter how good their defense was, they could not ignore their enemies completely and expose their backs. That was too risky.
Of course, there were exceptions among them.
Spartacus threw his javelin accurately at the heart of an enemy who was shooting arrows while keeping his distance.
He was not the only one who showed amazing skills.
Bayatur also easily knocked down a Roman cavalryman in plate armor.
He could not kill the enemy with his weapon, but the impact of falling from a running horse was transmitted to him.
The two of them, who were sweeping the battlefield as if to show off their power, finally met face to face.
The strong recognize the strong.
The bodies of the two men stopped abruptly as they exchanged glances.
There was no need for words or gestures between them.
Just by exchanging their eyes, their wills were conveyed to each other.
Bayatur’s mouth curled up in a smile.
Spartacus also felt his chest pounding with excitement for the first time since he met Crixus, a formidable opponent.
“Bayatur.”
“Spartacus.”
They knew that the words that came out of their mouths meant their names, even though their languages and customs were different.
East and West.
They threw themselves into a fight for the single peak, representing their regions with their strength.
< 219. Rome’s Counterattack 2 > End
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