Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece
chapter-902

But Mithridates also knew it wasn't easy to attack Aleria. From the intelligence report, Aleria had over three thousand soldiers and a high city wall. In the event of a battle, it would be costly for the Third Fleet, which had only six thousand marines, to attack such a defended city.

Moreover, Mithridates is skilled in naval warfare but not land warfare, as he had no experience.

Aware of his ability, Mithridates didn't act blindly. Instead, he gathered his subordinates to discuss a plan.

The marine's commanding officer, Mneantiades, suggested to lure the soldiers of Aleria out of the city and wipe them out, thus weakening their defences and making it easy for them to attack the city. (The marines have four commanding officers, each belonging to the four major fleets and are the second person in the fleet. Despite needing to obey the command of the navarch, they have the authority to manage and train all marines during peacetime. They also have the power to command the troops to land on the coast and carry out surprise operations and invasions on enemy territory during the war. The number of marines in each fleet isn't fixed as it depends on the number of corvus warships in the fleet.) And the one responsible for luring them was to dress up as Etruscan pirates and raid the silver mines of Aleria.

For over a hundred years, the two most famous pirates on the Italian Peninsula have been the Illyrians on the Adriatic Sea on the east coast and the Etruscans on the west coast. While the Illyrian pirates mainly did it for survival, the Etruscan city-states privately formed the Etruscan pirates to combat the Greeks who were constantly colonising the Italian peninsula and threatened the Etruscan hegemony in central and northern Italia. Then, with the weakening of the Greek colonisation towards the western Mediterranean and the spheres of influence of both sides established, the number of Etruscan pirates significantly reduced.

But thirty years ago, Etruscan pirates began to increase once again. This resurgence wasn't due to their city-states' order but rather because of the Celts' southward invasion from northern Italia, which resulted in them taking over Etruscan lands. Particularly over a decade ago, when the Celtic army swept through the entire Etruscan territory, even capturing Rome, many Etruscans fled to the sea and turned to piracy. Despite the Gauls’ eventual defeat, some Etruscans, having tasted the benefits of plundering, sought to continue raiding the western coast of Italia.

However, due to the establishment of the Third Fleet of Theonia during this period, the kingdom of Theonia and its allies strengthened the patrols on the coast, which significantly decreased the frequent attacks of the Etruscan pirates again. The Etruscan pirates could only retreat to the north of the west coast of Italia and dared not go south. Although the Carthaginians were once allied with Etruria in the past and still maintained a non-aggression pact as they were neighbours, the pirates still raided Aleria.

After adopting Mneantiades' suggestion, Mithridates began the preparation carefully. He even went to the newly occupied Etruscan city to gain a detailed understanding of the situation of the Etruscan pirates, and he even borrowed several Etruscan ships, armour, and weapons for his men.

Two days later, the dozens of warships of the Third Fleet, laden with marines, covertly docked on the beach between Aleria and the northern Etruscan town of Mariana at nightfall. Then, the four thousand marines landed ashore and dived into the mountains.

On the second day, several Etruscan ships suddenly broke into the coastal waters of Aleria and docked on the northern beach. Afterwards, more than two hundred Etruscan pirates landed and rushed towards a well-known silver mine in the northwest mountainous area of Aleria.

The people of Aleria had been anxious ever since the Theonian army landed in the Latium region. However, after more than a month passed without the Theonian army landing on Corsican soil or even the sight of Theonian warships at sea, the people of Aleria temporarily set aside their worries, assuming that the Theonians were still preoccupied with the war against Rome and unable to depart. Unexpectedly, those detested Etruscan pirates appeared again, and they were going to plunder their large silver mine, a crucial source of revenue for Aleria's treasury.

After a detailed investigation by a scouting ship, they found no abnormalities near the sea. Considering the difficulty of dealing with the Etruscan pirates and for safety reasons, the Carthaginian official in Aleria decided to deal with them as soon as possible to avoid further complications. Therefore, he urged the city hall to quickly gather eight hundred Alerian soldiers as he led them out of the city and promptly rushed to the location of the silver mine.

Once they began to attack the Etruscan pirates looting the silver mines, around four thousand marines suddenly appeared in their rear and surrounded them.

They quickly defeated the Alerian army, with the Carthaginian official dying in battle while the soldiers were either killed or captured.

The Marines first separated them into groups for interrogation and then gathered them together to escort them towards the beach. On the way, the Alerian prisoners at the forefront suddenly caused a commotion and knocked down the soldiers escorting them. Then, these blood and dirt-covered prisoners turned around to save their other companions.

Suddenly, the entire escort fell into chaos, and many Alerians seized the opportunity to escape. By the time the marines quelled the riot, more than two hundred prisoners had already fled to Aleria.

Thus, the marines began to chase them.

Disregarding their fatigue, the prisoners fled with all their might to the outskirts of the city while shouting hysterically, “Open the gate!! The Theonians are coming!! Open the gate!!...”

For hundreds of years, the Alerians had lived in peace and tranquillity under the protection of Carthage, except for occasional battles against pirates. Hence, the sudden news of the Theonian attack overwhelmed the city defenders. But after they looked down from the city walls and saw their dishevelled compatriots in a sorry state shouting to those they knew and, after seeing the rising dust and dirt in the far distance, they realised that the enemy was rapidly approaching.

Thus, without hesitation, they opened the city gate and urged the deserters to enter quickly.

But as soon as the prisoners ran into the city, dozens of the marines hidden among them pulled out the short swords tied to their backs and concealed by loose linings and stabbed the prisoners beside them.

The city gate suddenly fell into chaos, causing a blockage that stopped them from immediately closing the gate.

Then, a large number of marines arrived and took advantage of the situation to rush into the city...

After a while of fighting in the city, Aleria fell.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

At dusk, the heavy and low military horn echoed outside Satricum, and the attacking Theonian soldiers retreated like a tide.

In the command tent, Tolmides reported to Davos, “Your Majesty, despite our successive attacks on Satricum in the past few days, the Romans have tenaciously defended, making it impossible for us to make any progress. We have suffered close to three thousand casualties, and the bitter battles over the days have left the soldiers exhausted and their morale low.”

“Tolmides, you are mistaken. The morale of our brothers is still high, and they are eager to storm the city and avenge our fallen comrades! Although we have casualties, the Romans' casualties weren't small either. Since they are much fewer than us, they won't be able to hold out any longer after a few more days of attack!” Amintas retorted loudly.

Tolmides didn't argue with him and just looked at Davos.

Davos' expression darkened as he lightly tapped the table with his fingers.

After a moment, he said, “The Romans aren't like our other enemies; they have strict discipline and tenacity that aren't less than our soldiers, with Camillus being a capable commander. Furthermore, their several sudden outbursts in defence in the past few days have created a lot of trouble for us.

For an army with such tenacity, the fiercer we attack, the harder the resistance we will face. Tolmides is right. How many big battles, sieges, raids, and pursuits have our soldiers fought since they landed in Latium?... We have already conquered such a large territory in just a few months, so it's time to slow down! Don’t forget that our soldiers are made of flesh, not iron. Even if they are made of iron, they will bend after constant impact...so I have decided to stop the siege of the city from tomorrow and instead just continue surrounding Satricum.

I believe...the last rugby competition we held in Rome was very popular among the soldiers. We could continue playing rugby and football competitions in the camp and expand the game's scope by first having the brigades of each legion fight each other. Then, the winning team in each legion will compete with each other. Whether it is the team that wins the final victory within the legion or the team that wins the championships between the legions, they will receive generous rewards. Moreover, holding competitions would let the soldiers relax and make them happy. ”

When talking about the favourite sports of the legionaries, the several legates smiled and nodded.

According to the military concept of the Romans, war was the most important event that concerned the survival of a city-state, so the citizens that assembled to go out for the campaign and return from killing the enemy would always give their all. They had never had a competition or entertainment in the camp before, but since the last time they participated in the competition, Sextus had become fascinated by this new game. He was so joyful that he even asked explicitly, “Your Majesty, are you still going to lead us to the tournament this time?!” (According to Sextus' military position, he shouldn't be here at Davos' war council. However, because the Roman Reserves had become a force that couldn't be ignored in the Theonian army, whether for military or political considerations, Davos made it mandatory for Tolmides to notify Sextus to come to every war council he held.)

“That is absolutely not possible!” Matonis loudly voiced his opposition with a highly resolute attitude, “Yoru Majesty, you must not compete. Otherwise, the other legions will not be able to compete seriously!”

“I'll only be acting as a spectator this time,” Davos laughed at the anxious Matonis. He then looked at the somewhat disappointed Sextus, “However, it is indeed true that the reserve soldiers are still not skilled at playing rugby, and even less so at football, so it is not fair for your legion to play against them...”