Batalia de la Callinicus -171-I-HR!

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The Battle of Callinicus was fought in 171 BC between the Kingdom of Macedon and the Roman Republic near a hill called Callinicus, close to the Roman camp at Tripolis Larisaia, five kilometres north of Larissa, the capital of Thessaly. It was fought during the first year of the Third Macedonian War (171-168 BC). The Macedonians were led by their king, Perseus of Macedon, while the Roman force was led by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus. The Macedonians were supported by Cotys IV, the king of the Odrysian kingdom (the largest state in Thrace) and his forces, Cretan mercenaries, and auxiliaries of mixed nationalities. The Romans had their Italian allies with them and were supported by soldiers provided by Eumenes II of Pergamon, as well as a force of Thessalian cavalry and Greek allies. The battle saw the deployment of troops with cavalry intermixed with light infantry. Although the battle was actually inconclusive because Perseus withdrew before it came to a conclusion, it was considered a Macedonian victory because the Romans suffered heavy casualties.

The battle was started by the slingers and the javelin throwers. The Thracians then launched a furious charge against the Italian cavalry, which was thrown into disorder. Perseus charged with the centre, dislodged the Greek troops and pushed them back. The Thessalian cavalry, which had been kept in reserve, formed a junction with the troops of Eumenes II at the rear, keeping their ranks unbroken and affording a safe retreat for the disorderly flight of the Italian cavalry. The enemy started slacking and the Thessalians ventured forward to protect the fugitive foot soldiers. The king's troops had become spread out in their pursuit of fugitives did not try to come close to the enemy which was advancing in compact formation. The Macedonian phalanx now advanced without having been ordered to do so by Perseus. The Roman heavy infantry came out of the camp. On seeing it advancing, Euander, the commander of the Cretans, advised Perseus that continuing the battle was an unnecessary risk. The king decided to withdraw.

The Romans lost 200 cavalry and 2,000 infantry and 600 of them were captured. The Macedonians lost 20 cavalry and 40 infantry. Although the battle was actually inconclusive because of Perseus' decision to withdraw rather than bringing it to a conclusion, it was considered a Macedonian victory because of the heavy casualties of the Romans and the light ones of the Macedonians.

Eumenes II urged the consul to move the camp of the other bank of the river to get the protection of that watercourse. The camp was moved that night. Perseus returned the next day for another battle, but when he saw that the Roman camp was safe on the other side of the river, he felt that he had been wrong not to continue the battle and to have remained inactive during the night. As a result, he had not been able to prevent the Romans crossing of the river and thus failed to wipe out the enemy. The Roman misfortune was blamed on the Aetolian contingent, which panicked, causing the flight of the whole of the Greek wing, which followed the example of the Aetolians. Five Aetolian officers who were said to have been the first to run away were sent to Rome. The Thessalians were rewarded for their bravery.

The battle did not make much of a difference to the course the first year of the war. The campaign came to a stalemate. Perseus offered peace terms, but Publius Licinius rejected the offer. The consul's focus seemed to be on harvesting the local corn to feed his troops. He moved from the north of Larissa to its south-east (to Crannon, modern Krannonas) for this purpose. Then he moved northwards, toward Macedon and harvested corn again. Perseus carried out some attacks, but these did not amount to more than skirmishes. When he lost one of these skirmishes he left northern Thessaly and returned to Macedon. As winter was approaching he sent his troops to winter camps. After Perseus left, Publius Licinius tried to take a town in the Vale of Tempe, a gorge between Thessaly and Macedon which was the passage between the two states. However, he gave up because it was well fortified. He seized a few towns in the area and returned to his camp.