Battle of Salinae
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| Battle of Salinae | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of War of Arcskyian Liberation | |||||||
 Slavic Troops on the March to Salinae | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Great Slavic Empire |
 Roman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 General Valentin Dubovic |
Marcus Commidus | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
54th Rifle Division |
Legio XVII Corpus Limetanei XXVI | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
54th Rifle Division 12,400 men 150 guns |
Legio XVII 24,500 men 120 guns Corpus Limetanei XXVI 2,400 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
3,400 1,250 dead |
14,450 9,560 dead | ||||||
Background
By late August of 1856, Slavic forces had finally broken the Siege of Lindum Colonia and had well and truly entered Roman territory. However, the troops were very stretched out following the rapid advance of the Central Army. One of the furthest forward deployed units was the 54th Rifle Division, which was screening the core of the army. Despite repeated requests to stop and regroup sent by the Divsion's commander, General of the Infantry Valentin Dubovic, the High Command ordered the division to push forward and threaten the vital economic areas of the empire.
During the siege of Lindium Colonia, Flavius Stilcho, managed to raise several legions from the Roman heartland itself. By the time the Slavic forces finally advanced into the Roman core territories, Legio XVII, XVIII and XIX were ready and deployed. The commander of Legio XVII got word of the precarious position of the 54th Division, and decided to set up an ambush near the town of Salinae. However, as the Roman Legion was preparing its position, it was spotted by the reconnaissance Cossack patrol, who after a brief skirmish, managed to outrun the slower Roman cavalry and inform the Commander of the division. Upon these news, General Dubovic immediately ordered his division to dig in, and dispatched couriers asking for assistance. General Marcus upon being informed of this, ordered his army to make camp, and began preparations to attack at dawn.