Timogeras lifted a rock and ended up smashing his own feet. Retreating in the middle of a battle, even if it is only a small part of them, was still very dangerous and could lead to an overall defeat if he was not careful.
Fortunately for him, the soldiers of Taranto, who had been in a state of complete defence for some time, had not fully reacted when the enemy in front of them had disappeared. And the soldiers of Taranto, who were already tired, could not believe what they were seeing and became ecstatic as they watched the enemy collapse in front of them which then revealed a large gap.
“We repelled the enemy!!!”
“The enemy has fled! We…we have won!!!”
In the middle of the battlefield, how can the soldiers who have been shrouded in the shadow of death for more than an hour could think so much? Just like how a drowning person will desperately try to grasp tightly even if it is just a floating straw. They cheered, and joy seemed to have replaced their fatigue as they rushed out of the gap regardless of everything, which had also led the nearby soldiers to run out involuntarily.
When Archytas discovered that the situation was abnormal, the whole army was like a flood of water, and not only did the soldiers rush towards the gap, but the high morale that they had accumulated was also quickly swept away.
“Stop right there, all of you! Don’t mess up! Stay in formation and then rush out as a whole!….” Archytas tried desperately to calm down the chaotic soldiers, but it was in vain. On the contrary, the Peucetians increased their attack and forced the people of Taranto to speed up their escape.
“Strategos, it is useless. We ought to run as well!” The adjutant cautioned him hurriedly.
The demoralized soldiers were totally unable to resist the attack of the Peucetians, and the casualties began to increase. The incessant scream reached the ears of Archytas, which added to his agitation, and as he looked at the guards around him becoming all panic-stricken, he had to pull himself together and shouted, “Follow me and kill! Follow me and kill our way out!!….”
Archytas tried to command the soldiers to concentrate their strength and charge westward and to expand the gap, and even defeat the Alytians so that more people could escape from the encirclement. However, on one side the enemy was attacking victoriously, while on the other side were the soldiers that had no intention to fight, and most of them only wanted to run away while ignoring his orders.
‘The soldiers of Taranto still lack training and experience!’ He sighed deeply in his heart, while also thinking, ‘What would Davos do if he were in this situation and is leading the Theonian army?’
Just as his thoughts wandered off, the guards had flanked him and rushed out of the gap under the push of the soldiers.
“Strategos, let’s run away!” The adjutant urged him impatiently.
‘Run? Where can I run?’ What Archytas could see in the distance was a group of enemy cavalries galloping across the flat field and reaping the lives of the soldiers of Taranto who were running for their lives; while close to him were several teams of enemy cavalry that are rushing towards him and are shouting something…
“It’s a pity that I haven’t completed my research on that lifting apparatus….” Archytas sighed again. Academically, he had regrets. Politically, he always advocated that the Greek city-states of South Italia should unite to fight against foreign enemies, and it seems that Theonia would fulfil this ideal of his…
At this moment, he put all his attachment and regret behind him as he drew out his sword and took the lead and rushed towards the enemy…
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
With the setting sun falling and the tired birds returning to their nests, the dust and fog of the battlefield dispersed, and the sound of killing went away, and only leaving corpses everywhere and blood flowing.
Telemani, accompanied by Timogeras and a general of Peucetti, came to the body of Archytas.
This young military strategos, a Greek mathematical genius with high hopes from the people of Taranto, had three javelins piercing his body and collapsed among the bodies of several horses. Strangely, you could see no pain nor anger on his pale face, on the contrary, he was rather very serene…
“I thought it was a great man, but it is just a young man without even a beard!” The Peucetian general muttered disdainfully.
Telemani stares at him which made him close his mouth.
Telemani gazed at Archytas’ body for a moment and then said, “Cut off his head, and show it to the Greeks of Brindisi, and bury his body.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
It was not until late at night, when a handful of soldiers fled, with great difficulty, back to Taranto, that the people learned of the near-total loss of 6,000 soldiers, and the whole city was shrouded in great sorrow.
Compared with their defeat, the sacrifice of a large number of citizens, and the unknown whereabouts of Archytas, the council was even more shocked by the alliance of Peucetti and the Messapi, which doubled the pressure on Taranto.
The council of Taranto immediately held an emergency meeting late at night, only to find that the defeat in the battle had reduced the council’s number by nearly one-twentieth, as there was still no news regarding the six statesmen who had accompanied the army, including Archytas.
With grief, the people discussed how to deal with the difficult situation. At the end of the battle, Brindisi will be besieged by the combined forces of Messapi and Peucetti, and the main force of Messapi are still surrounding Manduria. With nearly 6,000 young and able-bodied citizens killed and wounded, and with the loss of up to 10,000 Taranto soldiers from the successive battles in the past few months, not to mention that nearly 6,000 soldiers trapped in the two cities, and what remained of Taranto was more than enough to defend, but less than enough to attack.
However, not only the statesmen of the council could not accept it, but also the people would never agree to it. So the only way was to ask for reinforcements.
But who to ask for help became their point of debate. Heraclea and Metapontum, as affiliated allies, were already at their limit with 3,000 men, and that Taranto would be facing an attack of perhaps 20,000~30,000 men from the Messapi-Peuceti alliance, which was far from enough. Therefore, the only option for Taranto was to ask for help from a city-state with a strong army, and Taranto had only a few choices.
Sparta in the east, as the mother-state of Taranto, had a good relationship with each other. During the Peloponnesian War, Taranto had stood on the side of Sparta, which added weight to the friendship between the two city-states, which was the choice of some conservative statesmen headed by Diaomilas; In the west, Theonia, as an ally of Taranto, had quickly become a union with six cities and two subordinate city-states within two years, and they had almost not been defeat in the battles that they have participated in. In one of the battles, they have even managed to send out 20,000 troops, and their strength was evident in their ability to deal even if they were vastly outnumbered. This was the choice of another archon, Umakas, and some of the statesmen; While some statesmen had also mentioned Syracuse in the south due to their relationship with Sparta, so Taranto and Syracuse still had some contacts. However, as a city-state of Magna Graecia, Taranto was also wary of Syracuse’s involvement in the affairs of South Italia. Besides, at this time, Syracuse was still fighting against Carthage, so how could they have spare strength to help Taranto? Therefore, they weren’t considered.
At the end of the discussion, most people tended to turn to Theonia for help. As Umakas said, “We, people of Taranto, had helped them selflessly when Davos was still just a leader of a mercenary: Archytas has led our soldiers to help them defeat the Luanians; When they covertly occupied Amendolara, we risked to offend the other city-states in Magna Graecia, even to selflessly helping them by acknowledging the legitimacy of their occupation of Amendolara, and we have also provided them with food and protected them from the attack of Thurii. When Thurii was burned and when Theonia was attacked by Crotone, it was we who extended our hand of friendship to them…it is precisely because of Taranto’s selfless help time and time again that the Theonia City-State Union is what it is today(of course, Umakas simply ignores the fact that Taranto had not sent any reinforcements during the battle with Crotone, as per as their agreement)! We, the people of Taranto, did not ask for rewards just because we have given favours to others. But we should also give the Theonians, who had enjoyed our help and have been restless in their hearts, a chance to repay us!….”
“Archon, you are right! We should generously give Theonia a chance to repay us!….” In fact, Theonia was the best choice to ask for help, both in terms of distance between the city-states and their current state of strength, not to mention that the two city-states are already in an alliance, while Sparta is currently involved in a war against Persia. It was just Taranto being ashamed for not sending troops to help Theonia in the past, and the reserve of being a powerful city-state in Magna Graecia with a long history that made them hesitant. With the tactful words of Umakas, it had managed to satisfy the vanity of the statesmen, which finally led them to an agreement.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Archytas is dead?!!” Davos looked in disbelief.
“Yes, archon, This morning, several soldiers who had fled back to Taranto had said that they saw the Messapians carrying the body of strategos Archytas on the battlefield….” Said Polidorus, the envoy of Taranto, in a sombre tone.
“How can a group of soldiers who are busy running for their lives see it clearly?!” Davos still didn’t want to believe this fact, “Maybe he was hurt and was captured?”
“We also hoped that strategos Archytas is still alive, but even if he is still alive and falls into the hands of the Messapians, he will also….” Said Polidorus, unable to continue.
Davos understood what he meant: As the main leader of Taranto’s army, the Messapians had seldom won against Archytas, especially this attack on Manduria and Brindisi which had dealt such a huge blow to the Messapians that they could not wait to drink his blood and eat his flesh! If he does fall into their hands this time, the fate of Archytas can be imagined!
