Chapter 3 – Siege of Karali

262BCE – Autumn – The consulship of Lvcivs Postvmivs Megellvs and Quintvs Mamilivs Vitvlvs

Father,

It is I, your son, again. I am still in service in Sardinia, as you know. However, some things have happened since I last wrote you.

We recently dispatched the army of Carthage that was on this island and whilst this puts us in control of the north, the south was still contested. The only way to secure Roman control of the entire island was to besiege and assault Karali. It is the main city of the island and in taking that we control the key point.

So Scipio Asina sent the orders out for us to do so.



The city was defended by a man named Carthalo, a man more suited to books and tax figures than warfare; however his bodyguards are tough to a man. They would rather die than run.



We deployed outside the city, us true Romans on one side and the Allies coming from another street. We marched down through the streets, the citizens baring their way. Vile propaganda and slanderous lies spread by the Carthaginians must have reached their ears.



Finally we reached the city centre. Standing there were a mere 80 men. We outnumbered them more than 10 to 1.

Yet they charged us anyway.

The hastate lead the counter charge, taking the brunt of the assault and paying dearly with blood for every one of these riders that they tore down. They were forced to withdraw from the combat because of the tremendous pressure, and then Scipio ordered us and the Triarii forward and the allies to flank (For our allies, the Lucanians and Samnites, are also armed with Spears).

We sheer amount of armour that these men carry made it almost impossible to kill the man directly, and as such we were forced to stab the horses, mainly around the eyes. Then when the man came to the ground, we would stab him with our daggers as many times as it took to take the man down.



The men fell one by one, each one extracting a heavy toll on us, until finally they were all dead. We lost about 200 men that day father, including almost a third of the Principes. I lost some friends, and saw some things I will never forget, yet this battle taught me to respect the bravery of these Carthaginians. I have nothing to praise these men for, save this.

So we took the town and sold the people into slavery. Scipio became quite rich from this and is now looking quite likely to get a triumph. I pray to Mars that I will be there to march beside him that day.

So for now we wait in the town and have started to pacify the rebellious minorities. They will learn respect, even if we have to beat it into them. We await a garrison force so that we may continue on. There are whispers that our next target will be Corsica. If so, then we still face another fight, though not as hard as what I have seen on this island. I have seen things here I will never forget.

Your son, with love as always,
Spvrivs Cordivs