Having performed an incredible march, the Myrians managed to reach the Greek city of Trebizond, on the shores of the Black Sea. There the inhabitants asked for their help in order to prevail against their opponents. The main enemy was the Driles, another barbarian race, who lived in the area between Kerasounda and Trebizond. Against the Drilas the Greeks undertook a large-scale operation. Led by Xenophon, around 5,000 soldiers gathered and with Trebizond guides, attacked the country of the Drilas. The Driles were considered the best warriors of the region. The Greeks attacked by surprise and captured many positions and strongholds of the Drilas.
The latter then gathered in their capital, a walled comme, built on an extremely steep site, protected by a deep ravine. The evacuation of this city presented great difficulties. The men would have to cross the ravine and attack from the only accessible side against the heavily manned city wall. The Greek peltasts, being the vanguard of the main body, moved about a kilometer ahead of the hoplites. When they reached the ravine they crossed it and found themselves in front of the enemy fortifications. The peltasts were followed by a section of hoplites, so that finally around 2,000 Greek soldiers were found before the walls of the city.
The enemies, however, easily faced the Greek raid, because more of them were also fortified behind wooden walls and ditches. The 2,000 Greeks now found themselves in an extremely difficult position, threatened with complete annihilation. The enemies were pressing them and it was certain that if they tried to retreat through the impassable ravine they would suffer great destruction. Then the excluded sent a message to Xenophon asking for his help. As soon as he received the message, Xenophon immediately moved there.
When he arrived at the edge of the ravine opposite the enemy's camp, he lined up his men and with his officers reconnoitered the terrain. The question that arose was whether it would be advisable to attempt to facilitate the retreat of the hard-pressed 2,000 or to attempt a general attack on the enemy's fortified city.
Finally he decided that it was easier to take the city, than to attempt to bring back the blockaded. He correctly judged that the restoration operation would cost a lot in Greek blood. He himself crossed the ravine first, in order to form an even more complete picture of the situation, and at the same time ordered the captains to cross their men across. Once across, Xenophon reorganized the 2,000 blockaded and placing the light infantry under his direct command prepared the general assault, when his entire army would have crossed.
In a little while the Greek army was lined up opposite the enemy fortifications, within a bow's distance from them. The Greek peltasts had been ordered by Xenophon to thicken their yokes and be ready with their fingers on the loops of their spears. Also the archers had their arrows ready, placed on the strings of their bows. The Greeks lined up in a menoid formation, following the line of the walls. Immediately, as soon as the trumpet sounded, the men sang the paean, and with shouts in honor of Enyalius Ares, they rushed with faith against the enemies.
The peltasts and psilos opened the battle by attacking the enemies. Their purpose was to force the defenders of the Driles walls to take cover, so that the Greek hoplites, some of whom were equipped with lighted torches, could approach the fortifications undisturbed. In the face of the combined onslaught of the Greeks, the barbarians began to bend. A fierce wall battle was then conducted. The Drils hurled stones from the ramparts, while hundreds of javelins and arrows darkened the sky. But as soon as a certain Drilas reached out to strike a Greek, he immediately received the infallible arrows of the Cretan archers and fell dead.
Thus, with the fire support provided by the psiloi, the Greek hoplites managed to climb the enemy wall and enter the city. The first to enter were Agasias Stymphalius and Philoxenos Pallineus. Both of them put down their shields and spears and, climbing like true felines, climbed the wall. So effective was the fire support provided by the Greek squires that, although unarmed, the two men were not even harmed by the enemy. Xenophon's plan had again proved excellent. The amateur Athenian general had turned into an amazing tactician.
In the meantime the enemies had completely abandoned the line of the walls and had taken refuge in the fortified citadel, in the interior of the city. The Greek peltasts were running behind them. Xenophon had stood at the now wide open gate and prevented his men from entering, fearing the crowding in that narrow place. He had also noticed that other enemies had begun to gather in the surrounding hills and for this reason he wanted to keep reserve units by his side.
At some point, however, screams were heard from inside the city and the Greeks who had entered were now running to get out unorganized. The enemies, based on their citadel, had counterattacked the Greeks and were pushing them out of the city. Xenophon then ordered the men outside the city to enter as well. And so they all together again pursued the enemies and forced them to shut themselves up again in their citadel. Then Xenophon thought of conquering the enemy citadel as well, because otherwise the army was in danger of finding itself between two fires, the enemies enclosed in the citadel and the others who had taken positions on the surrounding hills.
However, he judged that the capture of the acropolis was impossible, with the means at their disposal and under the prevailing conditions. The position of the Greeks actually worsened as darkness fell. But Xenophon found the solution. He ordered his men to gather piles of wood at the city gate. When his men, who were inside the city, left pursued by the Drilas, the piles of wood were set on fire and thus a barrier of fire was created between the departing Greeks and the Drilas.
At the same time, some wooden houses of the city were also set on fire, so that the barbarians could get busy putting out the fire and stop bothering the Greeks. At first light the next day the Greek army withdrew unmolested, while the Driles tried in vain to bring under control the fire that finally burned their city, except for the citadel. For the retreating Greeks, however, there was always the danger of the Drilas outside the city who lingered on the wooded paths. To counter this threat as well, Xenophon set up an ambush at a point where the enemies would surely see the ambushing Greeks. Its purpose was to frighten the enemies. And he succeeded.
While the army retreated unmolested, the Driles, believing that the ambushing Greeks were the bait, which if attacked would fall into a trap, did not do the slightest thing. Only when they saw the bulk of the Greek army withdrawing did they realize their mistake and attacked the small detachment. But they only managed to slightly injure a single soldier. In this way and with Xenophon's strategy, the army left with negligible losses, all of which came from the battle around and inside the city of Drila. Thus the Driles, the most warlike nation of the region, experienced the power of the Greeks.