European Series - "The Hippo War", the Battle of Plataea, the Delian League

In terms of the output of the Greek peninsula, it is definitely impossible to supply the additional hundreds of thousands of Persian troops. After losing command of the sea, Xerxes' decision to make a strategic retreat was not problematic. However, after all, the Persian Army had already advanced to the Isthmus of Corinth, and it was a little unwilling to fully retreat without a decent land battle. So after much consideration, Xerxes' son-in-law, Mardonius, and a selected Persian army, were left in Greece. In the records of the Greeks, the number of the Persian army left behind in Greece is still as high as 300,000. Of course, for boasting reasons, this figure is obviously exaggerated, and combined with archaeological evidence, the number of this army should be in the early 100,000s.

In terms of numbers alone, the Persian army now has roughly the same number of troops as the Greek coalition can muster. This also means that even if it does not rely on the terrain, the Greek side has a chance to win in a head-to-head battle. Even in a protracted war, the geographical advantage is on the Greeks' side. Of course, the coach of the Persian army who stayed behind was also very clear about this situation (he was willing to stay). The reason why he dared to stay in Greece to fight alone after the army retreated was not a spur of the moment, but that he had two advantages: First, the people who were now resisting the Persian Empire were mainly Athenians and Peloponnesians. At least the Macedonian and Thessaly plates are still under the control of the Persians (especially the Macedonians, who seem to be very loyal to Persia). Relying on these two northern Greek plates, it is completely possible to form a north-south confrontation with the Attica Peninsula and the Peloponnesian Peninsula; the second is the deep-rooted contradiction between Sparta and Athens, and the pattern of city-states in Greece. The Persians left a lot of vertical and horizontal space in diplomacy. If it can be used well, the 100,000 Persian army still has an overwhelming advantage on this peninsula.

In order to leave more diplomatic space for themselves and for their own safety, after the Battle of Salamis, the Persian army who stayed behind did not continue to occupy the city of Athens, but gave up the entire area including the Boeotia area. Attica Peninsula, retreated to Thessaly Basin for winter. After this, the Athenians also returned to their city-state. Everything seems to have returned to the pattern before the Battle of Wenquan Pass.

Although the victory of the naval battle brought the Athenians back to Athens, they also knew that the Persians were not on vacation in Thessaly, and land battles were inevitable. Therefore, Athens hopes that Sparta, from the perspective of the entire Greek alliance, will defend Attica with itself. From the perspective of geographical pattern, the front line of Wenquan Pass is undoubtedly the best choice for building a defense line. With the previous lessons, the Greeks are fully able to gather more troops and materials during this period of time (both sides are spending the winter), and build a solid line of defense based on the terrain between Wenquan Pass and Anopia.

However, after the pressure of the Persian troops under the city dissipated, Sparta and his Peloponnesian allies began to have their own plans about whether to shed blood for the Athenians. After all, from a geographical perspective, they have every opportunity to hide in the Peloponnese and watch the Athenians bear the pressure for the whole of Greece ahead. Even if the Persians eventually broke through the Athenian line of defense and reoccupied the entire Attica Peninsula, relying on the line of defense built by the Isthmus of Corinth, the Peloponnesians would be able to stop the Persians from heading south. Athens is of course very dissatisfied with this small abacus of the Spartans. Since the Spartans were unwilling to help Athens on land, Athens also had no need to protect the Peloponnese on the sea. To this end, the Athenian navy also left the combined fleet, leaving Sparta and his allies to face the Persian navy alone.

At this time, the Persian navy had retreated to Ionia and was anchored on the island of Samos near Asia Minor to rest. Although the expedition suffered heavy losses, the Persian Empire had a big business after all, and the Greeks could not believe that the maritime threat had disappeared. In particular, the Persian Army is still staying in the northern part of the Greek peninsula. From a strategic point of view, the Persian Navy is sure to make a comeback. In view of this, in the spring of 479 BC, the combined Greek fleet, which lost the Athenian navy, was stationed in the geographic center of the Aegean Sea, the island of Delos. Of course, without the support of the Athenian navy, Sparta and his allies should have a hard time expecting a victory in a naval battle. The purpose of this is to leave enough warning time for yourself.

The situation of the Greeks fighting each other is exactly what the Persians want to see. Between Athens and Sparta, the Persians thought they had a better chance of persuading the Athenians. Because the current position of the Athenians is the most embarrassing, if they desperately resist Persia, it is tantamount to letting the Spartans sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight for cheap. However, this war was actually provoked by the Athenians (from a Persian perspective). It was so difficult at the beginning, and there was no surrender. Now that the situation has reversed, there is no reason to make peace. Of course, the reason why Athens is unwilling to make peace also has its own confidence. First, they didn't believe that the Spartans would really sit back and watch the Persian army and force it to their door; second, Athens still had a strong navy, and if they took ten thousand steps back, they could still move in the direction of Italy and throw the rotten beach away. to the Peloponnesians.

Since the Athenians are still not ready to join Persia, then the Persian army stationed in Thessaly has no reason to wait any longer. In the spring of 479 BC, the Persian army followed the original route, passed through the Thermal Pass and Boeotia and approached Athens. As we have analyzed before, without the support of Sparta, the Athenians were not stupid enough to go to the Thermal Pass alone and kill the Persians. Before the arrival of the Persians, they moved the entire population to the island of Salamis, once again leaving a ghost town to the Persians.

The Athenians did this not so much to avoid disaster, but as a demonstration to the Spartans. If you are still going to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, then wait for the Persian soldiers to come under the city. When the messenger told the Spartans of Athens' plans. The Spartans also realized the truth of the dead lips. To this end, after ten days, Sparta and his Peloponnesian allies finally left the Isthmus of Corinth and headed north. Prior to this, the Spartans were also prepared with both hands. During these ten days, they did their best to perfect the Corinthian defense line. That is to say, the Peloponnesians will not stay on the Attica peninsula for one more minute if the front line is unfavorable.

The Spartans' march north was somewhat unexpected by the Persians, which made their defeating plans to fail. Now, the Persians will face an evenly matched decisive battle. Technically, there is no point in occupying Athens anymore. For the Persian army, which is known for its maneuverability (cavalry advantage), it will be more conducive to show its advantages in a decisive battle with the opponent on the open ground.

As far as terrain is concerned, there are actually many open plains in Athens and its surrounding areas that are suitable for Persian tactics. However, in view of the shadow of the battle of Marathon, the Persians, who had no certainty of victory, were not willing to fight against their opponents on the land of the Athenians (God knows what the Athenians, who are familiar with the terrain, will do). In view of this, the Persians, after setting fire to the city of Athens, began to move to the Boeotia region in the central Attica peninsula. There, even if the Thebes were not sincere allies of the Persians, they would not be demolished.

In the end, the Persians did not choose the hinterland of Thebes as the decisive battle site, but moved south to the vicinity of "Plataea" in the southwest of the Boeotia region, and built a fortress to prepare for a decisive battle with the Greek coalition. Speaking of the geographical label of Plataea, it actually appeared in the last Persian war. In the battle of Marathon, we have mentioned that, when the Athenians fought alone, a small city-state provided a thousand men to fight alongside them, and this city-state was "Platia" (after the war, out of gratitude, The Platians received Athenian citizenship). The Platians supported the Athenians because the Athenians had previously helped them defend against invasions from neighboring countries. Therefore, although geographically, they belonged to the sphere of influence of the Thebes, but the Platians did not take refuge in Persia like the Thebes did.

The reason why Plataea is willing to be tied to Athens is that they have a structural contradiction with Thebes. Because the lower Kifis River is not the only large low area in the Boeotia region. On the south side of this river, there is also a large river that crosses the Attica Peninsula from east to west and finally flows into the Gulf of Evia, the Asopos River (English name Asopos. Greek name Ασωπ??). The tragedy of the Platians is that their own little river, which flows alone into the sea, lies just south of the upper Asopus. The Asops Valley was controlled by the most powerful city-state in Boeotia, Thebes.

The geographical structure of the Attica Peninsula’s surrounding mountains and open abdomen makes it located in the central Thebes, with more lowlands for agricultural development. In addition, it is located on the north-south transportation hub of the Greek peninsula, and Thebes has become one of the top three in Greece. Platia, which is located on the edge of the Attica peninsula, cannot carry enough population and geographical location to make it a powerful country. The advantage of Plataea is that it is separated from the Attica region controlled by Athens only by a mountain (Kiseron Mountain). That is, although geographically, Plataea belongs to the Boeotia Plate. But if it doesn't want to be dominated by Thebes, it can count on Athens' help.

Now we should know why the Thebans looked upon Plataea as a thorn in their side, and the Platians pinned their hopes on Athens to help them maintain their independence (including why Athens tried to keep Plataia's independence) . In the geopolitical arena where great powers compete, city-states like Platia, although they do not have the ability to control the situation of war, often have the opportunity to win the living space between great powers because of their special geographical location. This time, the Persians set the battlefield to the place where Thebes and Plataea meet, precisely because this is where the spheres of influence of Thebes and Athens meet.

In fact, after the Spartans fell to Hot Springs Pass, Platia and another city-state that did not surrender Bos Viotia were swept away by the Persian army. However, to be on the safe side, the Persians still built their defenses on the north bank of the Asopus River. The advantage of this decisive battle is that behind them are the most loyal allies Thebes (don't worry about being copied).

If the decisive battle is finally on the battlefield preset by the Persians, then this battle should not be called the "Battle of Platia", but should be called the "Battle of the Asops". As for why there is such a change, we will continue to analyze.

The geographical dividing line between the "Attica Region" where Athens is located and the "Boeotia" where Thebes is located is mainly composed of the "Kiselon Mountain" in the west and the "Panesa Mountain" in the middle composed. The Plataea area is backed by Mount Keiseron. In terms of the characteristics of the Greeks, they certainly knew that fighting in the open plains was not their strong point. Therefore, after crossing the Kessellon Mountains and entering the Ordinary Latia, the Greeks did not continue to move forward, but arranged arrays along the foothills. The biggest advantage of this is that the Persian cavalry corps cannot detour to the rear of the Greek coalition.

The problem is that the Persians also know that attacking the Greek coalition with "backers" will be difficult to exert their advantages, so they also hope that the other party will take the initiative to attack. As in the battle of Marathon, the two sides faced off for several days. In the end, the one who broke the silence was still the guest army who wanted to fight quickly and believed that their strength was superior. However, in the face of the Greek coalition's line of defense that stretched for several kilometers, the Persians did not attack with infantry like the Battle of Marathon. The open terrain gave the Persians the opportunity to adopt the most common tactic of nomads - "mountain and shoot". That is to say, before the cavalry rushed to the Greek army, the arrows were fired round by round.

Judging from our experience in interpreting the Han-Hungarian War, the best way to crack this "cavalry-shooting" tactic is that you have more bows and a longer range than him. In this regard, however, the Greeks are not dominant. Of course, if the Greeks have been shrinking on the mountain defense line, the actual killings of the Persians to them are also limited.

If the war continues like this, time should be on the side of the Greeks. Behind Mount Keiseron are Athens and Peloponnese. The Greek coalition with geographical advantages, people and advantages will make logistical supplies safer from a strategic or tactical point of view. However, the situation that the Persian cavalry could not be attacked for a long time allowed the Greeks to see the opportunity to win (the Persian cavalry was on the offensive, and the main general was accidentally killed). So when the Persians temporarily stopped their offensive, the Greek coalition began to abandon their mountain defenses and advance toward the Athops River.

After advancing for a few kilometers, the Greeks re-arranged their formation on the south bank of the Asopus River, relying on some low hills. Obviously, from a topographical point of view, this line of defense is definitely not as strong as their line of defense at the northern foothills of Keizeron. But the bigger worry is that the Persians can finally have the opportunity to detour behind them. However, the Persian cavalry who made a detour behind the Greek defense line through the night did not choose to cooperate with the main force and attack the Greeks from front and back, but went directly to the Keiseron Mountains and intercepted the supply line of the Greeks. Realizing their mistake, the Greeks decided to retreat back to the foothills of Kiselon to protect their supply lines.

Judging from this situation, the initial attack of the Persians was unfavorable, and it was likely to induce the Greeks to abandon the foothills defense line and advance to the plains to fight against them. It's just that if the Greeks retreat, the war is likely to enter a tug-of-war. This is the last situation the Persians want to see, because the Greek coalition, relying on its foundation, can constantly mobilize personnel and supplies from behind. At this time, the Persians had problems in supply.

If the Persians were not so eager for a decisive battle, they could completely return to Thebes, or even Thessaly, to form a strategic confrontation with those who resisted in the south. It is almost certain that the Greek coalition, which is already full of internal contradictions, will not take the initiative to attack the Persians when there is no sense of urgency to subjugate the country. In this case, the strategic initiative will go to the Persians instead, because the loose structure of the opponent will eventually allow them to find a breakthrough through diplomatic means (those who have already attached to the Greeks, such as Thebes are willing to act as such lobbyists ).

In the end, the Persians, who were eager to settle the world in the first battle, did not choose such a conservative plan, but launched a general attack on the Greek coalition. Perhaps what the Persians thought was that once the attack failed, they would retreat back to slow it down. However, the Persians overlooked one point. Their own camps are not monolithic. If they are defeated in this kind of battle, the troops of the servant countries from Asia, as well as the conquered Greek city-states, will have Might be your own gravedigger.

In fact, in the course of the battle, this risk has already appeared. When the Greeks were preparing to retreat from the south bank of the Asopus River to the Keiseron defense line, the Macedonians, who had persuaded the Greek coalition to abandon the Tenby Valley, once again quietly revealed to the Greeks that the Persian army was preparing for a decisive battle (rather than standoff) information. This also makes the Greek coalition forces make corresponding preparations and adjustments before the final decisive battle. Obviously, the strong pressure exerted by the Persians became the glue between the Greek coalition forces. Now, the Persian army had to face a Greek coalition of equal strength and willing to help each other (rather than fight separately).

About the details of the final battle, I like it