1-Acest articol este copiat !
2-Istoria ramane pasiunea mea nr-1.
The Last Republican War
While Octavian had 260 ships to Antony’s 140, the latter had far heavier and more powerful vessels, the standard Roman quinqueremes (five banks of oars either side) and quadriremes (“fours”), making them ideal weapons platforms. Antony’s flagship was a “ten” – there would be around 200 marines, six ballistae and a siege tower on an “eight”. Antony’s galleys would be hard to board, and their height advantage over the ships of Octavian would mean they would be free to rain missiles on their opponents. His ships also had strong hulls, rendering them impenetrable to traditional Greek ramming tactics by smaller ships. The main way to defeat such a ship would be to destroy its oars – a swift attack along the side before the oars could be retrieved would shear them off, also having the horrific effect of killing the oarsmen by crushing them against the back of their benches. Antony’s main weakness was his fleet’s cumbersome speed and lack of manoeuvrability, which was countered by Octavian’s fleet being swifter and smaller.
Octavian’s fleet comprised largely of smaller liburnians, which would aim to get in close to Antony’s ships, bombard them with ballistae stones, and then retreat. A ballista could punch through a hull from around 200 yards, and a single stone could reap a devastating toll on tightly packed marines on deck. While Octavian’s men were well rested and fed, Antony’s had suffered from a malaria outbreak while in camp, severely depleting the number of his oarsmen.
Ancient marine warfare was truly terrifying. As an oarsman, you would pull to the sound of the lute, accelerating to ramming speed if you could get side on with an enemy ship, though this speed could not be maintained for long as the sheer strain of it could burst the heart of rowers. If an enemy ship managed to scrape alongside yours before you pulled the oars in, you could be crushed against the bench as the oars were snapped off. If your ship was rammed, the first thing you may see was a bronze ram bursting through the hull and crushing the bodies of your comrades, before it slowly rowed back as you ship filled with water, prompting a panicked attempt to flee. Even if you got out, you would often be vulnerable to enemy archers and javelins from nearby ships while you were in the water.
As a marine, you were often tightly packed on the open and exposed deck of a ship. If an enemy ship came close, you would be horribly exposed to their archers and ballistae. Listening to the swoosh of arrows and twang of ballistae, you could do little but hope to avoid being hit while stones would carve a bloody swathe across the deck, killing several marines with one shot, crushing limbs and destroying heads as men were knocked down like skittles. If the ship was rammed, you may be thrown overboard from the impact. If you did end up in the sea, it would be impossible to swim in full armour, and you would sink like a stone.
Before the Battle of Actium began, one of Antony’s generals defected to Octavian, bringing with him his battle plan. Antony extended his line shortly after midday, hoping to use his largest ships to drive back Agrippa’s left wing. Aware of this strategy though, Agrippa kept his fleet in line without advancing, forcing Antony to attack. The battle raged throughout the afternoon, with the result unclear. However Cleopatra’s fleet, which was in the rear and not engaged, took the opportunity to flee the bay to the open sea. When an opportune breeze picked up, they swiftly abandoned Greece and set sail back for Egypt.
Missing the signal for their escape, Antony took the sight of the Egyptian fleet leaving as a retreat. The contagion of panic spread amongst his ships, as sails were unfurled and fighting equipment cast overboard, nobody wanting to be the last ship left at Actium to be overwhelmed by Agrippa. Antony clustered what ships he could together, with many fighting long after nightfall as he had many of his larger ships torched. Seeing the battle was lost, Antony eventually transferred to a smaller ship with his flag and fled. The Battle of Actium had seen around 2,500 of Octavian’s men killed, and around double that number of Antony’s, with the latter seeing 250 of his ships sunk of captured.
When darkness fell, Antony’s embittered and battle weary legionaries defected to Octavian. Actium did not spell defeat for Caesar’s former lieutenant, as he still had the land forces to match Octavian. However when 19 of his legions, along with 12,000 cavalry, defected to the adopted son of Caesar, he was left bereft of an army the day after seeing his fleet defeated. Antony was now a fugitive and a rebel, with no legal authority, and abandoned his position.
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