Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 762: Capturing Selinus and Marching to Latium

‘Will the Carthaginians even agree after you have firmly refused their request to redeem the captured soldiers of the Carthaginian Sacred Band?!’ Muklu only thought of that and didn't speak it out.

“We still need to capture Selinus as soon as possible!” Leotychides muttered. Whether from a strategic position to attack western Sicily or to ease the transport of supplies…even from having a safer place to hold so many prisoners, the capture of Selinus is urgent.

Muklu hurriedly reminded, “Legatus, the soldiers were still exhausted after working overnight and no longer have the strength to attack the city today. Moreover, the Carthaginians transported several thousand soldiers into Selinus yesterday, strengthening their defence. And-”

“With the loss of our fleet, we can no longer blockade the port, allowing the Carthaginians to constantly reinforce them from the sea!” Leotychides continued Muklu's words, and his expression turned gloomy with the realisation that his greatest fear had come true. The Theonian army's naval advantage in Sicily had disappeared. Their land offensive's difficulty would increase as they advanced towards the west since the enemy reinforcements from the sea would become more frequent as they got closer to Carthage. Meanwhile, without their fleet, the Theonian army could not stop them. Their only hope was that after news of the fleet's destruction in Sicily reached Thurii, His Majesty would send the Third or Fourth Fleet to help them regain their naval advantage in Sicily.

Just as Leotychides pondered, a guard entered and reported, “Centurion Theokases, who had been patrolling by the sea, has asked to report an urgent matter.”

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

“You are saying there are still forty-two of our triremes in the port of Selinus?!” The usually indifferent Leotychides' expression changed when he heard the report.

“Yes, My Lord.” Theokases continued excitedly, saying, “The Second Division of the First Fleet was attacking the Carthaginian cargo fleet outside the port of Selinus when the storm came. The commander of the division, Straphacus, then hurriedly led the surrounding warships into Selinus' port and successfully landed, occupying the southwest corner. They had planned to send someone to contact us after the storm had subsided last night, but the debris caused by the storm blocked the port and made it dangerous to travel at night. So it wasn't until this morning that they ventured to open a passage from the port and send a boat to report.”

Like the ports of other Greek city-states, the one in Selinus had a breakwater and an entrance they could block with chains. In addition, they had built towers on top of the breakwater to attack enemy ships. But yesterday, the Carthaginian cargo fleet panicked and entered the port, blocking the entrance and making it impossible for the people of Selinus to close the port. In addition, the approaching storm had caused the port workers to rush home to seek shelter, leaving the port's defences lax and allowing the Theonian warships to enter and disembark easily.

Leotychides quickly calmed his fluctuating emotions as he asked, “How many of them are there now? Can they resist the enemy's attack?”

“From what the messenger said, Straphacus was confident in holding on since thirty of the forty-two warships that entered the port were corvus warships, meaning they had around one thousand two hundred fully armed marines and nearly seven thousand sailors. They had also sunk many Carthaginian transport ships and even robbed the transport ships carrying grain after landing. Furthermore, they managed to remove the armour and weapons of many drowned Carthaginian soldiers, thus obtaining over four hundred sets of heavy infantry equipment and more than thirty bows. Finally, they had some sailors sharpen one end of oars to use as spears, and their warships had taken control of the water in the port… The messenger also said that when he left the port, the Carthaginians still hadn't attacked them…”

“After several attacks on Selinus, they should have fewer than two thousand defenders left. Even with the addition of reinforcements, their numbers shouldn't exceed five thousand defenders. Therefore, if the Carthaginians attacked with full force, the navy in the port would have great trouble. However, it seems that the commander of the Carthaginian defenders lacked the courage and was worried we would take advantage of the situation to attack the city. Therefore, they didn't act immediately…” Leotychides said, after listening to Theokases' report and analysing the situation. Then he realised this was an excellent opportunity and asked Muklu with a slightly excited tone, “What time is it?”

“About eight in the morning.”

“Muklu, immediately notify the soldiers of the Eighth Legion and the reserves to take a rest. They have four hours of sleep to recover and must wake up at noon. After lunch, we will immediately start the siege!” Leotychides decisively issued the order.

“Understood. I will immediately convey it, My Lord.”

“Theokases, call in the messenger. I still need to ask for more details,” Leotychides said. Out of caution, he first had to confirm the report's authenticity personally and then wanted to understand better the situation of the enemy and their troops in the city.

At noon, Leotychides led his army to launch a full-out attack on the city.

After making contact, the fleet remnants responded by launching an attack from the port into the city.

The Carthaginian defenders were in a difficult position, with attacks coming from two sides.

The battle lasted until the afternoon, with Milkpilles escaping through the south gate with a handful of cavalry while Selinus' defenders opened the gate and surrendered.

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

The third month in the southwestern part of Latium is the rainy season. It is the most annoying weather for the sentries at the top of the city wall, as the early morning mists and drizzles made them unable to sleep against the wall. In addition, the slightly damp and cold temperature made the sentries hungry again soon after breakfast. Unfortunately, the strict military law of the Romans prevents them from leaving their positions easily, so they are left to slowly patrol the top of the city wall in Antium, praying that time passes quickly and their comrades come to rotate soon.

“Listen, what's that sound?” A sentry suddenly asked, feeling nervous.

The other sentry immediately tried to listen carefully.

It was a faint but constant clattering sound, different from the sound of the waves on the beach.

The sentry's expression changes: ‘There’s an army outside the city, and they numbered a lot.’

‘Are they enemies?!’ The sentry looked out but couldn't see anything because of the drizzling rain outside the city.

The man in charge of Antium is Paulus Valerius Potitus. Not long ago, he was the military tribune in charge of Rome, but after Camillus became dictator, the six military tribunes in Rome had to resign. But because of Paulus' calm and collected nature, the Senate appointed him garrison commander of the newly occupied Antium, hoping that he would secure the southwestern border and coast between Rome and the Latin allies to ensure Rome's complete conquest of the Hernicans.

Upon hearing the sentry's report, he immediately dispatched a team of mounted scouts to investigate.

However, this team of mounted scouts quickly retreated in embarrassment, as they were attacked by many black armoured cavalries shortly after leaving the city, nearly destroying them all.

‘It's the Theonian!’ Paulus became nervous, ‘Are they going to attack Antium?!’

He immediately summoned the city's troops and began deploying them for defences, preparing to resist the Theonian attack.

The Roman soldiers stood atop the city wall, nervously gazing outside.

But after the fog lifted and the rain stopped with the dawn, they found no sign of the Theonian army outside the city, not even the ‘clattering’ sound they had heard earlier.

The puzzled Paulus then sent out his mounted scouts again to search for the enemy's movements.

Once again, the Theonian cavalry intercepted the mounted scouts. However, the scouts who had fled managed to bring back the report that the Theonian cavalries were moving in all directions within five hundred metres of Antium. But they remain unsuccessful despite their attempts to break through the interception and investigate the Theonian army's movements.

Paulus felt confused and nervous, but he didn’t dare to send the troops out of the city until he could understand the movement of the Theonian army. After all, the Roman army was still in the east attacking the Hernicans, leaving Latium empty. And his task was to defend Antium and block the enemy's attack to the south with the defenders of Velitrae and Satricum.

While Paulus held his ground, the garrison of Satricum, to the north, faced the same situation and reacted similarly. The Roman Senate, in order to safeguard Rome's territories and their Latin allies, sent cautious and prudent generals to the two newly occupied towns. As a result, they are hesitant to send their troops to launch a probing attack, which might have allowed them to detect the Theonian army's movements.

In fact, nearly twenty thousand men from Theonia's First and Third Legion, the First and a part of the Second Cavalry Legion, had lined up into eight columns, with the cavalry legion guarding the flanks of the marching column and no supply unit following them. They had set out from the camp at Setia in the early morning and marched northwards, reaching the border between Latium and Volsci by late morning.

Amintas then ordered the two cavalry legions to block the area near the gates of Antium and Satricum, robbing and killing the mounted scouts to ensure that his main force could quickly and secretly pass through the centre of Antium and Satricum and then continue towards the northwest.

Ardea, just north of Antium, is an ancient Latin city-state and one of the few coastal city-states in Latium. It had close links with Rome, and it was the place where Camillus lived in seclusion after being dissatisfied with the Roman Senate's verdict against him twenty years ago. And it was with the support of the citizens of Ardea that Camillus was able to raise the banner of resistance when the Celts captured Rome and plundered Latium over a decade ago, eventually restoring Rome to its former glory and forging a stronger alliance between Rome and Ardea.