Interlude: Battle of the Lelantine Plain

Nikephoros of Epidamnos had left one thousand of his fifteen-thousand men back in Oreos to guard the Port and watch over the wounded. He then marched his remaining fourteen thousand men east toward the City of Chalkis, the largest population center on Euboea on the coast. Chalkis controlled access to the Euripos Strait, a strategic channel between Attica and Beoetia on one side and Euboea on the other. By taking Chalkis, that would allow reinforcements and supplies to be shipped directly from ports in Thessaly to the front in Attica instead of having to go the long way around through the North Aegean and the Sporades.

Stopping them from doing so were around twelve thousand Athenian and Local Euboean troops. However, the Athenians and Euboeans were largely not the best forces that Athens or the Euboeans had. Those troops had been thrown into the surprise attack on the Epirote Camp during the Battle of the Noumenia or otherwise were currently fighting in Attica Proper. A large percentage of the enemy troops were recent recruits or garrison troops, equipped largely with iron equipment, with the Athenian Troops largely being Older-style Hoplites, and drilled only sporadically. Athens tended to lavish money on its naval forces more than its army and that pattern held true for their Euboean Allies as well.

The smart move for the enemy, then, would have been to hunker down behind the walls and fortifications of Chalkis and force Nikephoros to besiege them and try to dig them out. It was a bit of a surprise, then, that as the City of Chalkis appeared on the horizon to the south while Nikephoros' army approached via the Lelantine Plain, that the scouts reported the enemy army assembling for battle a few miles or so to the east. Nikephoros was puzzled at that, but the best he could figure, the enemy was anticipating Nikephoros marching straight for Chalkis and was hoping to hit their army from the flank as it attempted to besiege the City.

"Well, if they wish for a battle, we'll give them one. Change of plans, we will smash the enemy army before turning southland for Chalkis!" Commanded Nikephoros.

The orders were relayed and the Epirote Army changed course, heading east now instead of south. As they marched further into the Lelantine Plain, they found the enemy drawn up for battle. The Enemy had their flanks anchored by the River Lelantos on one side, and a grassy hill on the other. That was smarter of them, given Nikephoros' numerical superiority. This way, it would be difficult for the Epirotes to simply extend their lines out further to envelop the Athenians and Euboeans. It looked like this was going to be a full-frontal battle, with no fancy tricks. That was fine, however. Nikephoros could deal with that.

As the Epirote Forces arrayed themselves for battle opposite the Athenians and Euboeans, Nikephoros nodded to himself, assured that this would be the decisive battle on Euboea. Once he'd won here, Chalkis would be defenseless as would Eretria. Those two were the largest enemy cities on the Island and once they surrendered, the Island of Euboea would be effectively taken. Then he turned to his aide-de-camp and ordered the advance.

The Battle of the Lelantine Plain had begun. . .

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Krateros of Methone marched forward with the rest of his unit. He'd been promoted to Lochagos thanks to his actions during the Battle of the Noumenia. He now led a unit of eighty men, a full lochos of Thorakitai, one of seven lochos in the Morae of five-hundred-sixty Thorakitai, which in turn was one of three in the Chilliarchy of one-thousand-six-hundred-eighty Thorakitai, of which there were three Chilliarchies in the Taxis of five-thousand-forty Thorakitai. Krateros knew this because as he'd been promoted out of the Sub-Lochos, he had been told to memorize it. Seven and three were apparently auspicious numbers according to the various priests and Philosophers, which their King had consulted during the creation of the Thorakitai and Thureophorai Units.

Of course, the fact that said organization also allowed Thorakitai and Thureophorai to act independently as a more flexible formation also helped immensely. For all Krateros knew, the luck of those numbers really did help. As the last of the peltast exchange died down, and a Javelin thudded into the turf of the Lelantine Plain just a few feet in front of him, Krateros revised that statement. After all, that was quite a lucky dodge. Meanwhile, the enemy had been whittled down by their own Peltasts using superior equipment. Steel-tipped javelins tended to do that, after all.

As Krateros raised his spear and shouted out to urge his men forward, he couldn't help but grin behind his helm at the poor state of the enemy. The Javelin exchange had left small gaps in the enemy formation and the rush to plug said gaps had left the enemy lines ragged. Normally, the job of Thorakitai and Thureophorai was simply to connect the blocks of Phalangites and Hypaspists together while ensuring the flanks of the Phalanx were protected. However, as the lines closed with a crash of metal, and Krateros thrust his spear through the neck of a hapless enemy, he had to wonder if perhaps they might actually win this fight for Epirus. The Enemy Phlangites were certainly doing better keeping their own phalanx at bay.

"Come on you lot! Do you want to live forever? Cover yourselves in glory so Lord Hades sends you to Elysium with the Heroes of Old!" Extolled Krateros, urging his men to push forward.

Even as he said that his spear punched through the iron scale thorax of an enemy with the Octopus Sigil of Eretria emblazoned on his thureos shield. The Euboeans, at least, seemed to pay more attention to King Pyrrhus' reforms and had tried to ape the Thorakitai and Thureophorai. It was just a shame that most of the Euboean Forces had already been killed or captured after the Battle of the Noumenia, and the difference had to be made up by hastily converted Peltast Formations and green recruits. Krateros blunted a spear strike on his shield that any veteran could have blocked easily and sunk his spear into the enemy's torso through the Gallic-style iron chain armor. His spear haft snapped in two as the body sagged, forcing Krateros to draw his Falcata.

"Push damn you!" Roared Krateros.

His men did so, and the battle ground on. . .

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Meanwhile, on the right, near the River Lelantos, a very different sort of battle was unfolding. Two Phalanges were grinding against each other in an attritional battle, each trying to break the other formation open to allow a flanking attack. A similar battle was happening on the left, on the slopes of the grassy hill for similar reasons. Meanwhile, the center on both sides held admirable as phalanges ground against each other. The longer reach of the Epirote Sarissa helped, as did the steel equipment, but the enemy had reinforced their phalanges and the terrain did the attackers no favors.

Unfortunately, with the flanks anchored in such a way, the Cataphractoi that would normally be used for flanking attacks would be reduced in effectiveness on the left and simply unable to assault on the right. It was galling, but Nikephoros had been forced to order his cavalry to ride around the entire battlefield, effectively sending them away to loop back around at a later time and attempt to hit the enemy rear. That was a time-consuming and ponderous strategy, but it was better than having the cavalry sit out the fighting entirely. What this meant, however, was a massive slow as both sides ground against the other.

Ironically, it was the Thorakitai and Thureophorai that would wind up breaking through the enemy. Several of their formations managed over the course of an hour and a half, to break the enemy's less-capable attempt to ape their formations. In two places, the Green Enemy Thorakitai and Thureophorai broke, running after a grinding battle they were not adequately trained for. This allowed attacks on the enemy Phalanges on the extreme right and left flanks to proceed from two sides. The more nimble Thorakitai and Thureophorai charged into the inside flanks to fill the gaps left by their fleeing opposite numbers.

With the attacks redoubled, the enemy flanks began to waver. A half an hour later, those flank Phalanges looked like they were about ready to break and run when the Cataphractoi returned, thundering into the rear of the still-fighting enemy. The enemy flanks crumbled, surrendering after fifteen minutes of being attacked from behind, to the side, and to the front. The enemy center, however, held firm. These were Athenians, the best troops Athens had on the field, a mix of Phalangites and Hypaspists equipped in the modern style. They were backed by the best of the Euboean Thorakitai and Thureophorai. A mass of good troops some three thousand strong.

Even surrounded, these enemy forces would not break. Another forty-five minutes saw them stubbornly cling to their position, forcing Nikephoros to offer more generous terms of surrender. They would be allowed parole, and keep their arms and standards, but be pledged by sacred oath not to return to the fighting for the duration of the war. The Commanders of the remaining enemy forces took the Oath and agreed to surrender. The three of them were Hector the Scarred of Chalkis, Doryssos the Younger of Eretria, and Neoptolemos of Besa, Athenian Prytanis, or Assemblyman for the Deme of Besa on the Athenian Boule, or Assembly.

That last one was key, as he was effectively the highest-ranking Athenian on the Island of Euboea. Neoptolemos' surrender effectively signaled the surrender of the Island of Euboea. Chalkis and Eretria, on hearing the news two days later, gave their Submission to Nikephoros. By the twenty-first of October, two-seventy-nine, three days after the Battle of the Lelantine Plains, all of Euboea was in Epirote hands. This included the broken Thorakitai and Thureophorai that had run from the battle as the Epirote Thorakitai and Thureophorai had broken through their lines. Some four-thousand half-trained Euboeans and Athenians would gladly allow themselves to be captured. After all, it was hardly their fault they broke, lacking in proper training as they were.

All told, the battle itself had cost Epirus another two thousand dead and wounded for the death, wounding, or capture of twelve thousand enemy troops along with the Island. The vast majority of those Epirote casualties had occurred during the first hour and a half of grinding, attritional, battle. Primarily from the Phalangites and Hypaspits that had been fighting in the disadvantageous terrain on the left and right flanks. There were also a few, though still statistically significant, number of killed and wounded from the fight against the stubborn enemy Center. It was still a heroic victory, though.

With the Victory also came the settling of one of the main fronts of the war. Now, only Attica, Corinth, and Crete remained, and Corinth would surrender to Sparta shortly afterward, just a few days after Euboea, once they heard the news. News from Crete about a decisive battle near Heraklion would filter in next, along with a Treaty negotiated by Areus, Argid King of Sparta with the League of Polyrhennia, along with Pyrrhus' march to, and siege of, Athens proper.

This war was in its closing stages and none could doubt it would end in an Epirote-Spartan-Aitolean League Victory. Not any longer. They had won too many battles and closed too many fronts for the war to be anything but a Victory. The only question was if Athens would surrender and negotiate terms or if they would force Pyrrhus to assault their City. As a corollary to that question was another question.

That corollary was a question of just how many casualties would occur in the process. . .

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AN: All right, here's the next chapter. Euboea has effectively been taken, and with Corinth surrendering to Archdamus IV of Sparta and Areus settling things on Crete, that's pretty much a wrap on Athens and their renewed dreams of Empire. As the chapter said, the only remaining question is just how bloody the Athenian Boule decides to make the final victory for Pyrrhus and company.

Before we get to the siege of Athens, though, we'll have an interlude looking at the events on Crete coming up in the next chapter. Then we'll be back with Pyrrhus for the Endgame of the Athenian War.

Stay tuned. . .