Introduction to Roman naval battles

Maritime military superiority can be a key factor in the success of any land campaign, and the Romans knew that a powerful naval fleet could transport troops and equipment to where it was needed most in the shortest possible time. Naval ships can also provide supplies to troubled ports under enemy attack, thereby blockading ports under enemy control. A strong navy was also essential to deal with pirates, who wreaked havoc on commercial maritime traders and sometimes even blockaded ports. Naval operations have their unique dangers, however, with bad weather being the greatest threat to success, which is why naval activity is largely limited between April and November.

Ships and Weapons

Ancient naval ships were made of wood, waterproofed with pitch and paint, and propelled by sails and oars. Ships with multiple stages of rowers, such as triremes, were fast and maneuverable enough to attack enemy ships by ramming them. The largest vessels were the quinqueremes, with three rows of oars, each with two oars, two above and one below (total*** about 300). The general can also be equipped with a platform via which the navy can easily floor enemy ships - a device called Corvus (Raven). Most battleships were built for speed, were light, narrow, and had no storage space or even large numbers of troops. This logistical purpose is better served by the use of troop transports and underway supply ships.

In addition to the bronze-covered battering ram below the bow waterline, other weapons include projectile cannons, which can be mounted on the ship to attack enemy land from unexpected, poorly protected flanks or against other ships The position delivers a deadly volley. It is also possible to fire a fireball (a can of burning pitch) at an enemy ship, destroying it with fire rather than impact.

Personnel

The fleet came to be commanded by a prefect ( praefectus ) appointed by the emperor, a position that required someone with great skill and leadership to successfully mobilize a force. A sometimes cumbersome fleet. The captain held the military rank of centurion or the title of three-headed knight. The fleet was stationed in fortified harbors, such as Portus Julius in Campania, which included artificial harbors and lagoons connected by tunnels. The crews of Roman military ships could be trained in such ports, but in reality they were more often than not sailor warriors, as they were expected to serve as lightly armed ground troops if necessary. In fact, they are often called mile (soldier) documents and funerary monuments; they also received the same pay-as-you-go infantry auxiliaries and carried similar themes to Roman military law. Crews were typically recruited locally and from the poorer classes (drawn proletarii), but could also include recruits from allied nations, war prisoners, and slaves. Training is therefore a vital requirement in order to make the most efficient use of collective manpower and to maintain discipline in the heat and terror of battle.

The Roman navy swept away the Carthaginian and Cilesian pirates and completely dominated the Mediterranean.

Strategy

Roman naval tactics differed little from those employed by the early Greeks. Ships were propelled and sailed by rowers to transport troops, and in naval battles the ships used bronze-clad battering rams to become battering rams. In actual combat, sailing maneuverability was limited, so when in close contact with the enemy, oarsmen pushed the ship. The sails and rigging were stored ashore, reducing weight, increasing the ship's stability, and leaving more room for the marines. The goal is to position the gates to punch a hole in the enemy ship and then withdraw to allow water to enter the stricken ship. Alternatively, a well-aimed swipe might break off a row of an enemy's paddles, thereby crippling them. To achieve this kind of damage, the best angle to attack is from the enemy's flank or rear. So, not only maneuverability under the oars is necessary, but also speed. This is why over time, boats have more and more rowers, not along the length of the boat, which would make the boat unseaworthy, but by stacking rowers on top of each other. Thus the Greek three-level rowing boat evolved from the two-level rowing boat and eventually became the Roman five-level rowing boat.

Against Carthage

Rome used the naval vessels of the early French Republic in the 4th century BC, particularly to deal with the threat of pirates in the Tyrrhenian Sea, but it was not until In 260 BC, they built the first significant navy in just 60 days. In response to the threat from Carthage, a fleet of 100 quinqueremes and 20 triremes was assembled. In typical Roman fashion, the designers copied and improved upon a captured Carthaginian quinquereme.

The Romans also recognized that their seamanship was inferior to that of the more experienced Carthaginians. To do this, they hired Corvus. This is an 11-meter-long platform that can be lowered from the bow onto the deck of an enemy ship and secured with a giant metal spike. Roman troops (about 120 men per ship) could then board each other's ships and reduce the work of the enemy crews.

One of the first joining corvi was employed to great effect in Mylae's campaign off the northern coast of Sicily in 260 BCE. The two fleets were evenly matched, each with 130 ships, but the Carthaginians did not expect the Romans to make a fuss during the naval battle, and did not even arrange the battle line. The Ravens proved a devastatingly successful offensive weapon against the disorganized Carthage, and the outcome of the Roman victory was, though, an unexpected one. The commander and consul Caius Dullius not only had the satisfaction of seeing those on the opposite side escaping his flagship in rowboats, but also achieved a military victory. For this reason, Rome achieved its first great victory at sea.

Economes

The Battle of Economes off the southern coast of Sicily in 256 BC was one of the largest, if not the greatest, naval battles of antiquity. Showing that Mylay was no fluke. Encouraged by their first success, the Romans expanded their fleet and now had 330 quinqueremes, with a total of 140,000 men ready for battle. The Carthaginians set sail with 350 ships, and two large fleets met on the coast of Sicily. The Romans organized themselves into four squadrons arranged in a wedge. The Carthaginians attempted to lure the two Roman squadrons in front away from the two squadrons behind them and capture them in a pincer movement. (wwW.Lishixinzhi.Com) However, whether due to lack of maneuverability or correct communication of intentions, the Carthaginian fleet instead attacked the Roman transport squadrons in the rear, and the first two Roman squadrons caused serious damage in the center of Carthage . In close combat, seamanship is of little use and the corvii is everything. Once again, victory belonged to Rome. Carthage lost 100 ships, while Rome lost only 24.

However, the war dragged on, as Rome's immediate invasion of North Africa proved to be a costly failure. A famous expedition led by Gnaeus Servilius Rufus in 217 BC cleared Italian waters of Carthaginian raiders. The Romans eventually defeated the Carthaginian fleet, but mainly because they were able to fight in a true war of attrition. Replace lost ships and personnel faster. Victories at Drepna in 249 BC were mixed with defeats and disasters, such as the loss of 280 ships and 100,000 men in a storm off the coast of Camarina, southeastern Sicily, but in the end , Rome prevailed. The war cost Rome 1,600 ships, but the prize was worth it: domination of the Mediterranean. This sea control became useful in Rome's wars with Alexander's successor kingdom in the Macedonian Wars. For example, between 198 and 195 BC, Rome launched several successful naval raids against Macedonia's ally, the Spartan tyrant Philip V of Nabis.

Pompey and the Pirates

With the decline of Rhodes, which had regulated the Mediterranean and Black Seas for centuries to protect its lucrative trade routes, piracy Became common in the 1st century BC. More than 1,000 pirate ships, often organized along military lines with fleets and admirals, were now the scourge of maritime trade.

They also grew in confidence, acquired a triumvirate of battleships, and even attacked Italy itself, raiding Ostia and disrupting vital food supplies. In 67 B.C., Rome once again assembled a fleet, and Pompey the Great was tasked with ridding the seas of the pirate vermin within three years.

With 500 ships, 120,000 soldiers, and 5,000 cavalry, Pompey divided his forces into 13 sectors and personally led a squadron, clearing first Sicily, then North Africa, and Sardinia and Spain. Finally, he sailed to Cilicia in Asia Minor, where the pirates had their base, and where they were deliberately allowed to gather Pompey for the final showdown. With raids by land, sea and air, and a victory at the Battle of Corasisium, Pompey negotiated the surrender of the pirates and offered the sweetener of free land to those who surrendered peacefully. The last threat to Rome's complete control of the Mediterranean disappeared.

Eventually, the only threat to Rome was Rome itself, so civil war engulfed Italy.

Civil War

Now the only threat to Rome was Rome itself, so Civil War ravaged Italy. Caesar emerged victorious, and Pompey's remnants of the fleet became the backbone of the Roman navy, serving well in the expedition to Britain - a larger second expedition in 54 BC involving a fleet of 800 ships composed fleet. Following Caesar's assassination, the fleet came under the control of Sextus Pompey Magnus, ironically Pompey's son. By 38 BC, Caesar's successor Octavian had to muster another fleet to deal with the threat from Sextus. Commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, 370 ships were sent to attack Sicily and the fleet of Sextus. Once again, a lack of trained seamen forced commanders to innovate, and Agrippa sought brute force in maneuverability and used catapult-propelled grappling hooks on his ships. The device allowed the vessel to be winched into close quarters to facilitate boarding of the Marines. This weapon proved devastatingly effective at the 600-ship Battle of Naulochos (again in Sicily) in 36 BC, where Sextus was defeated.

Actium

One of the most important naval battles in history took place near Actium on the west coast of Greece in 31 BC. Octavian was still fighting for control of the Roman Empire and now faced Mark Antony and his ally Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. Both sides assembled a fleet and prepared to attack each other. Mark Antony led a fleet of 500 warships and 300 merchant ships against Octavian's force of similar size, although Antony had larger and less maneuverable Hellenistic ships. Still in command, Agrippa launched an attack early in the sailing season, catching Antony off guard. The northern outposts of Antony's army were targeted, and this move caused a diversion while Octavian landed his army. At any rate, Antony refused to be pulled from his fortified port in the Gulf of Ambrisia. Blockade was Agrippa's only option. Perhaps Antony was passing the time while waiting for his legions to assemble from across Greece. However, Octavian did not engage in a land battle, instead digging his fleet behind a defensive mole 8 kilometers to the north. With disease ravaging his troops and his supply lines increasingly threatened by Agrippa, Antony had no choice but to attempt a breakout on 2 September. The defectors offered Octavian his plans and the help of several generals to switch sides,

Agrippa's strategy was to station himself at sea and lure Antony away from the coast. However, this would expose Antony to the greater maneuverability of Agrippa's ships, so he attempted to hug the coast and avoid being surrounded. When the wind picked up around noon, Antony saw an opportunity to escape, as his fleet was sailing while Agrippa's fleet had furled its sails ashore, a standard practice in ancient naval warfare. The two fleets met and engaged, and in the confusion Cleopatra's squadron of 60 ships fled the battle. Antony quickly followed; he abandoned his flagship for another ship and followed his lover, allowing his fleet to be routed by the combined forces of Agrippa and Octavian. Soon after, Antony's army, now leaderless, negotiated a peace and surrendered to Octavian. The victor's propaganda predictably drew accusations of Cleopatra and Antony's cowardice over defeat, but the fact that Antony engaged Agrippa during the voyage suggests that he intended to fly rather than fight from the start.

Rome stood alone

After the victory at Actium, the new emperor Octavian (now calling himself Augustus) built two fleets of 50 ships - The Ravennatic fleet at Ravenna and the Misenatem fleet at Misenum (near Naples) operated until the 4th century AD. Later there were also fleets stationed at Alexandria, Antioch, Rhodes Island, Sicily, Libya, Pontus and Britain, with one branch operating on the Rhine and two on the Danube. These fleets allowed Rome to respond quickly to any military needs throughout the empire and to supply armies in various campaigns. But in fact, the Roman fleet had no real naval competition. As it turned out, Rome was only involved in one larger naval battle in the following centuries - between Emperor Constantine and his rival Licinius in 324 AD - so at least In the ancient Mediterranean, after Actium, large-scale naval battles ended.