Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

266 A SORTIE.loss of one hundred and seventy of tlie enemy killed (Neoptolemusamong- them), and sixteen ofAlexander's men killedand three hundred wounded. The excessive number ofwounds was the result of the surprise, and ofnight the men could not so well protectmissiles with their shields and the mantelets.the fact that atthemselves from theShortly after, an attack was brought about by two of theMacedonian phalangites who, as a matter of braggadocio andrivalry incourage, armed themselves, and went forward, single-handed,to assault the wall at the point nearest the citadel.A few of the defenders, half in sport, made a sortie upon thereckless couple, who, however, killed and wounded a numberof their assailants. This led to others joining the fray fromboth sides and to a pretty general fight and sortie in force ofthe garrison. A somewhat similar case occurred in the GallicWar in the land of the Nervii, and is mentioned by Caesar.The sortie was repulsed, and had the assault been regularlyplanned and followed up, it might have been successful ;the walls were not well guarded, and two towers on thisforside(towards Mylasa), with all the wall between them, had fallen.A third tower had also been undermined, and was ready tofall, but the garrison sustained it by an interior wall or demilune.Next day Alexander brought up his engines againstthis new wall, and the garrison made another sortie in anattempt to destroy them.In this they were partially successful,for they managed to set fire to some wicker-work shedscovering the engines and to part of one tower ; but Philotaspreserved the rest from injury, and Alexander, leading up hisMacedonians in person, drove the enemy back with loss.Alexander had to ask a truce to recover his dead, — theStillonlytime he ever made this confession of defeat ; for this newdefense was difficidt to approach, inasmuch as from the oldwall the garrison could throw their darts ujjon the rear andflank of any party assaulting the demi-lune.