I am the son of the traveler

Chapter 31 Expansion of the Army
Back in the city of Pella, the deployment of the military consul Cronus has also been completed. He sent 240 additional Macedonian heavy infantry and [-] seven Greek javelin soldiers at Thermopylae (this is also all the troops brought by Nikanor) Javelinmen who surrendered), and ninety Greek raiding cavalry.

Because the bronze shield spearmen are not very useful for defending the city, Kronos didn't mean to let them go to the front line - the defense of Thermopylae Pass is mainly on the city wall, and the four or five meter long Sarisa spear on the city wall There is no room to use it, and going up the city wall will only increase casualties.

After listening to Cronus' report, Antigonus frowned slightly, but he was a little worried about the defense of Thermopylae. At present, Thermopylae only has 450 Macedonian bronze spearmen, 240 Greek archers, and 87 seven Greek soldiers. The javelin soldiers and ninety Greek raiding cavalry add up to a total of [-] soldiers.

In previous years, the scale of the barbarian "Bloody Moon" attacks ranged from [-] to [-]. The Kingdom of Macedonia relied on its strong fortresses and garrisons to withstand waves of attacks, allowing the barbarian tribes in the south to Without any advantage, we can only follow our compatriots in the north to invade other civilized countries.

Perhaps seeing Antigonus's worries, Kronos thought for a while and tentatively suggested: "Your Majesty, should we expand the standing army and increase the number of troops at Thermopylae before the bloodthirsty moon comes?" defensive."

"Conscription? What kind of soldiers do you think should be conscripted?" Antigonus asked.

"The Thracian light infantry is good at using javelins and sharp long-handled counter-blade knives. They are suitable for defending the city." Kronos suggested based on his own understanding, "If you prefer heavy infantry, It is also possible to recruit heavy infantry from among our citizens and those Greeks."

Antigonus did not make a decision right away, but asked instead: "How much more troops do you think the defense force of Thermopylae Pass needs?"

"Based on past defensive battles, at least 1000 more people need to be added. Because the barbarians couldn't take much advantage in previous years' wars, their focus has basically shifted north, and the pressure we need to bear is therefore Significantly reduced.”

Hearing this, Antigonus nodded thoughtfully. If it was only a thousand more recruits, it would still be within the financial capacity of the kingdom (provided that the recruited soldiers were not heavy infantry)... No, Antigonus suddenly called He shook his head, which surprised Kronos who was beside him, but Antigonus didn't bother to pay attention to him, because he discovered something he had been ignoring all along.

He wanted to expand externally from the beginning, so the units he recruited must not be defense-focused units, such as bronze shield pikemen and heavy infantry. Both of these were defense-focused units and would naturally be rejected.After removing these two arms, Antigonus searched among the recruitable arms and found his favorite target.

Agirian axemen and Thrace lightly armed spear throwers, these two auxiliary units were favored by Antigonus.Agirian axemen were extremely active units in the army during Alexander's Eastern Expedition. They came from the Agrianes tribe among the Paeonians. They carried a large number of javelins and fought with knives and axes that could be used as climbing tools. In order to ensure that their actions will not be hindered, they rarely wear armor and use shields, which can be said to be excellent lightly armed troops.

The Thracian light-armed spear-throwing soldiers are also excellent. Like their neighbors in Geta, they use the terrifying long-handled reverse-edged knives. This kind of knives is extremely sharp, and can easily split the shields and armor of soldiers and cut them open. In order to deal with this terrible weapon, the Romans specially improved the armor and strengthened the shield, in order to pray to be able to resist the slashing of the reverse blade knife.As the pillars of the Thracian army, the spear-throwing soldiers don't wear armor, they only hold shields for protection, and those who are richer can wear pointed helmets that can accommodate the top of their heads.

Because these two arms were recruited directly from the free people who settled outside the city, the cost was not high, which made Antigonus even more satisfied, so he decided.

"Cronus, in my name, recruit five hundred warriors each from the settlements of the Paeonians and the Thracians." Antigonus said, looking at Cronus, who was suddenly I was a little confused by the order, but quickly reacted, and promised: "Obey, Your Majesty."

Looking at the back of Kronos leaving, Antigonus stroked his smooth chin, and began to think again.He still remembers the strength of the Roman Legion in the game clearly. Not only in the game, but also in history, the Roman Legion was equally powerful, allowing Rome to gradually expand from a small city-state on the Apennine Peninsula to a powerful force spanning three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe. Empire, which not only gave him an idea.

Why not follow the example of the Roman legion and form a Macedonian legion using Roman legionary tactics?

This is not impossible. Before entering the police system, he was also a senior bookworm. He can often see the protagonist who travels to another world bring the tactics of the Roman Legion and use it on his subordinates, thus having a A powerful army.Since others can do it, how can he not?
Although he has not systematically studied the relevant knowledge of the Roman Legion, he still knows a little bit.The Roman legion was very disciplined and used a phalanx in battle, but this phalanx was very different from the Greek phalanx and pike phalanx under his command. The Roman phalanx was not fixed in battle. There will be a small passage between the soldiers. The soldiers in the front row can withdraw to the rear through this passage to replenish their physical strength during the battle, so that the comrades in the back row can make up in time to complete the rotation, ensuring that the soldiers in the first row are always in the battle. Maintained a good fighting condition.

Such a flexible phalanx is really unmatched by the Greeks and Macedonians - although the latter can be said to be unbreakable from the front, its flanks and back are very weak. Once outflanked, the only result is defeat, but The Romans did not need to care about this, because they could theoretically deal with enemies from all directions, provided that their own military morale would not be shaken by being surrounded.

In addition to the flexible phalanx, the iconic Latin large shield and Spanish short sword are sharp weapons to assist the Romans gallop on the battlefield. The Latin large shield protects the soldier's body in a wide range, leaving only the head and the helmet protected by the helmet. Lower limbs, on the battlefield, it is obviously impossible for you to squat and attack the enemy's bottom lane, so the defense is very high.

The more he thought about it, the more excited Antigonus became, and he became more determined to form a Macedonian-like Roman army.

(End of this chapter)