Like history Like Greece People who like ancient wars have probably seen the epic blockbuster "Spartan 300 Warriors", and today I will talk about this dusty history. In the movie, Huang @ violent @ very much, here is omitted Ha... The real bloody battle of the rumors, a war about the fate of the Greek city-states.
Spartan warriors
Bloodstained Hot Springs
The defeat at the Battle of Marathon made the Persian king's morale soar, and at the same time made him soberly aware that the strength of Greece could not be taken lightly. But Darius wanted to possess this fruit, which was less attainable, and his powerful ambitions made his desire for Greece irrepressible. He frantically made all the necessary preparations for the conquest of Greece. Four years later, just when the food, grass, and troops were sufficient, Darius could not afford to fall ill, and on his deathbed he handed over his lifelong wish to his successor Xerxes. His head tilted in the direction of Greece, his eyes wide open, and he gasped helplessly. Xerxes inherited all the greed and cruelty of Darius, and his ambitions for Greece were even stronger than those of the previous kings, and he was eager to send an army to pacify Greece at once, but the timing was not right, and the Egyptian uprising forced him to withdraw to suppress it. It took two years, 484 B.C., for the Egyptian revolt to be completely suppressed, and Persia was already devastated. After 4 years of re-preparation, Xerxes' plan to invade Greece was finally put into action. Xerxes devoted the greatest effort to this expedition (legend has it that his army reached 5 million people, but according to modern scholars, the actual strength of this army was about 50,000 people). Each vassal territory sent troops to form a large and veritable miscellaneous army.
Persian undead army
In the spring of 480 BC, Xerxes personally led this expeditionary army to greece in the west. Greece's ambitions for Persia were well known and were always prepared to guard against Persia.
In 481 BC, the various greek city-states formed a broad alliance and concluded a covenant to form a "Greek alliance", which unified the spearhead to the outside world and formed a strong whole. The armies of all countries were assembled to form a combined army of 4,000 heavy infantry, 7,000 light infantry and 400 warships. This is of course a far cry from the Persians' claimed 5 million miscellaneous armies, but the determination and confidence of the generals to defend Greek freedom and independence soared into the sky, but the Persians were beyond the reach of the Persians. As the president of the army and sea, Sparta shouldered the heavy responsibility of defending Greece to the death. King Leonidas of Sparta served as commander of the army and was personally responsible for the interception and operation of the land war. After overall planning and careful planning, Leonidas decided to set up the Thermal Pass Defense Line on land and the Artemision Line on the sea, and the two lines of defense echoed each other and advanced and retreated together. To the west of onsen pass is a steep, roadless mountain, and to the east is a swamp that leads directly to the sea that is uninhabited and insurmountable, with only a trail in the middle that allows only one chariot to pass. This was the only way for persia to attack Greece.
Leonidas
After Leoni reached the Da Hot Spring Pass, he immediately ordered the construction of the barrier and the reinforcement and reconstruction of all the defense bodies that had been damaged in many places. He deployed more than 7,000 of his men in all treacherous locations, while lining up his own Spartan soldiers in the most dangerous positions, closest to the front. Only to see the dust flying in the distance, the clouds obscuring the sun, the noise of the wheeled warhorses rolling in like the muffled thunder of the mountains, and the black pressure, the mountains are everywhere, and the endless Persian army comes into view. Seeing this huge position, the Combined Forces of Greece could not help but be a little frightened, the timid soldiers talked about it, the voices of the demand for withdrawal were incessant, and the generals of various countries could not help but retreat. Leonik was furious and shouted, "For the sake of Greek freedom, are you afraid of these rabble-rousers?" Hold your position and do not allow any further objections, otherwise you will be dealt with by military law! ”
When the generals saw that the commander was so calm and severe, they did not feel that the morale of the army was greatly encouraged, and they all vowed to die and never retreat. The Persian army was exhausted after a long journey. Xerxes ordered the whole army to stop and repair, and sent a small number of people to sneak into the hot spring pass to investigate the military situation. After Hosoku entered the hot spring pass, he saw that the Greek soldiers were full of energy and calm, and it seemed that there would be a big war imminent, and even many soldiers were still carefully grooming their hair. Hosoku returned to the camp to report the news to Xerxes. The king couldn't help but feel very strange, and a little amused: "These guys who don't know whether they are dead or alive are still combing their hair at this time, don't they know that their time of death has arrived?" A general next to him interjected worriedly: "Great King, I have heard that the Spartans had to brush their hair before the decisive battle to show their will to die, and it seems that they have decided to defend this pass with death." ”
Sparta and Persia in battle
After Xerxes listened, he realized that the situation was not as he expected, and the Greek spirit of swearing to die could not help but make him feel that the prospects were not good, so he ordered the whole army to rest and wait for 5 days before attacking the key. On the morning of the 6th day, Xerxes ordered that the whole party should be eaten. After 5 days of rest, the Persian soldiers recovered their mental and physical strength to a very good state, facing the Greek defenders, one by one, they were eager to try, as if the Greek wealth was in front of them, waiting for them to develop and excavate. The attack began, and the Persian soldiers roared and charged towards the pass, the narrow pass made the Persian superiority of troops unfulfilled, while the defenders of the pass made full use of the geographical advantage, and the bows and spears rained down on the Persian soldiers clustered at the pass, and the Persians suffered heavy casualties. The corpses were strewn and piled up. Seeing this scene, Xerxes knew that he could not gain power with a strong attack, so he urgently ordered the troops to be collected and looked for another good strategy.
On the second day, carefully selected death squads rushed up to the hot spring pass. Each soldier held a shield above his head, protecting his body from arrow wounds, and formed a phalanx of unity to rush towards the pass, like a huge turtle cover. The defenders of the city saw that the bows and arrows had lost their effect, and threw down the boulders that had been stored long ago, and the boulders roared from the pass with the sound of the wind and smashed down the pass, falling on the turtle cover like the god of death, and the Persians could not resist and collapsed. Xerxes was so angry that he sent the second and third death squads, one by one, all of which were nothing more than stone burials. Xerxes sat in the tent, frowning, unable to do anything. On this day, a general walked into the account with a smile and said, "Good news, Great King! Xerxes couldn't help but ask strangely, "What's the good news about the war situation being so unfavorable?" The general said, "Isn't it good news that the villain captured a Greek today, and he said that there is a small road nearby that leads directly to the hot spring pass?" Xerxes was ecstatic, and busied himself with recruiting the Greek into the account, inquiring carefully, and after determining that there was a secret path that no one knew, he couldn't help but laugh: "God help me!" When it gets dark, you will be the guide, and when our army is victorious, there will be a heavy reward. "After dark, a Persian army set out in secret, and the path was very difficult to navigate, full of thorns and weeds, and if it was not guided, it would be impossible to find. After a hard night of marching, the next day at dawn, the army reached the back of the hot spring pass and launched a fierce attack on the more than 1,000 Fokis people stationed here.
This Forkis soldier belonged to the weakest branch of the Greek army, so it was arranged to be stationed behind the pass that was considered the safest and most secure, and at this time, facing the sudden Arrival of the Persian army, the soul was frightened and fled to the top of the mountain. In this way, the Persians effortlessly occupied the main road behind the pass and surrounded the Greek army in the pass. Leonidas was furious at the sight of Fokis's defeated soldiers, but for the sake of the overall situation, he had to endure for a while. Under this heavy siege, he knew that this was the pass
Unable to hold, but if the troops were withdrawn at this time, then the generals in the rear would be in great danger, leonidas decisively ordered the withdrawal of most of the non-commissioned officers and all the residents, and he personally commanded 300 Spartan soldiers and more than 1,000 other city-state soldiers to hold their positions, in order to hold the enemy back and buy time for the retreat of other regions and the entire navy. The general offensive of the Persian army began, and the fierce offensive kept pouring out its might at the pass like a huge wave. Leonidas fought alongside his men, defending every inch of the pass with blood.
Bloody Hot Springs
Xerxes gritted his teeth at the tenacious defenders at the pass, and was deeply suspicious of the hot spring pass standing in front of him. When the spears of the Greek generals broke, they used their short swords to kill the enemy, and the short swords rolled the blades, and they used their fists and teeth to fight the enemy to the end. Leonida was badly wounded and stubbornly fought to kill his enemies until his last breath. When the generals saw that the lord was killed, they were even more distraught and angry, and in order to retrieve Leonidas's body, they fought off the enemy attack everywhere, and finally recaptured the body of the commander. Under the strong attack of the Persian army, all the soldiers died heroically.
The hot spring pass was finally lost. The Persian side also paid a great price, and even two of Xerxes' brothers were killed. The battle to defend the hot springs greatly boosted the morale of the Greeks and the determination to defend Greece, and bought time for the retreat of the navy and the adjustment of the army in the rear, laying the foundation for the final victory of Greece in the future. Its exploits will always be remembered by the Greeks, and the vigorous deeds of Leonidas and all the soldiers have been widely circulated and praised by the world. Their spirit of not being afraid in the face of danger, taking into account the overall situation, and being loyal to their duties will always be praised and praised by the world.
Modern research has concluded that there were more than 300 warriors in Sparta at that time, and the total number should be among a thousand, and there could not be 5 million in Persia, about 50,000 or so. (The number is excerpted from the French Ancient Civilization Journal, the First German Archaeological Monthly, etc.) Interested friends can take a look.