Chapter 756: The Great Naval Battle of Selinus (II)
Chapter 756: The Great Naval Battle of Selinus (II)
Suddenly, the lookout leaned his whole body forward, with his right hand and foot hooked onto the mast and his left hand on his forehead as his eyes strained to look ahead. In the distance, under the dim sky, he spotted a few black dots on the sea… After a moment, the black dots doubled and then doubled again…
The lookout’s whole body trembled, making him shout immediately, “Enemy ship spotted! Theonia’s fleet is approaching!!…”
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The news about the Theonian second fleet defeating the Iberian fleet on the north coast made Seclian feel itchy. Although he had a contribution to this naval battle victory as the fleet commander of Sicily, he disdained to snatch Fulalios’ credit. Unfortunately, the Carthaginian fleet never appeared on the south coast, which made it impossible for him to engage in a decisive battle.
As the land forces prepared to attack Selinus, Seclian saw an opportunity and discussed it with Leotychides. Together, they formulated a plan to besiege Selinus to lure the Carthaginian fleet into rescuing them by sea, providing them with an opportunity for a decisive battle against the Carthaginians.
And to ensure victory in the decisive battle, Seclian transferred the Second Fleet stationed at Messina to join them, bringing the total number of ships to six hundred, including four hundred and eighty-five triremes. With such a massive fleet, Seclian was convinced that the Carthaginians could not match their strength.
Seclian also dispatched scores of scouting boats daily to the southern coast of Sicily, some even venturing as far as the western coast to assess the enemy situation.
As the Carthaginian fleet remained idle for several consecutive days, Leotychides grew increasingly restless. Despite being a feigned attack, the Theonian army suffered casualties daily. Moreover, they had to spend long hours beneath the city wall, while the nearby Iberian army, although not strong, still caused him to worry as they were not far away. Leotychides also knew that once the several Carthaginian armies attacked simultaneously, the Theonian army, which lacked a significant advantage, would be in trouble. Therefore, he realised they could not wait any longer and had to take Selinus immediately to gain a foothold for the Theonian army to attack the Carthaginian-controlled western Sicily.
However, Seclian objected, reasoning that if they could defeat the Carthaginian fleet, the Theonian navy could gain an absolute advantage at sea. And by taking control of the coast of western Sicily, the Theonian fleet could provide even greater assistance to the land forces.
So he advised Leotychides to remain patient and wait longer.
The two sides couldn’t resolve their argument until a letter from Davos and the Ministry of Military arrived.
In the letter, Davos told Leotychides to strengthen his attack on western Sicily. Meanwhile, Davos had higher demand for Seclian, hoping he could utterly defeat the Carthaginian navy, cut off the maritime connection between Carthage and Sicily, and even threaten the city of Carthage.
So Leotychides was forced to agree to continue the plan of luring the Carthaginian fleet.
Then early this morning, the Theonian scouts detected the large-scale gathering of Carthaginian warships in the waters of Lilybaeum.
Upon hearing the news, Seclian felt overjoyed and ordered all warships to assemble and prepare for battle.
But Fulalios worriedly reminded him, “Commander, the weather at sea today is terrible!”
Seclian’s daringness and courageousness didn’t decrease even after becoming middle-aged. And after waiting for so long for this opportunity, he spoke determinedly and declared that he would not let this chance pass by and said, “If the Carthaginians dare to go to sea, why not us?!”
On the third day of Davos’ departure from Thurii towards the north to Latium, Theonia’s fleet in Sicily encountered the Carthaginian navy on the sea near Selinus in the third month of the fourteenth year of Theonia (379 B.C.).
The largest naval battle in Greek history occurred amidst unusual weather conditions with no winds or waves and dense dark clouds covering the sky.
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Upon learning of the Theonian fleet’s presence, Anibal felt surprised yet relieved. After briefly contemplating, he quickly ordered, “The ships at the front will continue their current course and advance to meet the enemy. Meanwhile, the Iberian fleet in the rear will follow the frontal ships to prevent the Theonian ships from breaking through the interception and attacking the rear ships.”
Anibal’s knowledge of this sea made him choose this deployment. Despite the current calmness of the sea, the weather indicated that it would soon turn rainy and windy with a high probability of a south-westerly breeze. Thus, Anibal wanted the Carthaginian ships to have an advantageous upwind position for the later stages of the battle.
Seclian, on the other hand, didn’t consider that far ahead. So he just placed the First Fleet on the side near the coast while deploying the Third Fleet led by Fulalios to confront the constantly expanding flank of the Carthaginians.
Seclian planned to use all his strength to break through the enemy in front while feigning an attack on the cargo fleet that came to reinforce Selinus. His goal was to force Carthage to retract their formation to rescue the cargo fleet, thus consuming their energy and creating chaos within Carthage’s fleet.
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As the sailors rowed faster and faster to the sound of the auletes’ pipe, the corvus warship at the forefront of the Theonian formation surged forward with great speed. The ship’s bow sliced through the water, causing the water to repeatedly splash the drawbridge erected in front of the main mast, turning the twelve-meter-long wooden drawbridge into a breakwater for the warships.
Straphacus was a Theonian navy sailor who had the proud experience of participating in the battle where the new Theonian fleet defeated the mighty Syracusan navy during the South Italian War. Currently, he was in command of the second division of Theonia’s First Fleet, leading his flagship to charge towards the fleet of the most powerful naval power in the western Mediterranean – Carthage.
However, Straphacus was far less excited than the sailors as he calmly focused on the oncoming Carthaginian warship. Sensing that his opponent was not approaching at full speed, the experienced officer immediately realised they were not preparing to engage in a head-on collision. Rather, they controlled their ships to manoeuvre around the front and avoid getting hooked by the drawbridge. The Theonian navy’s unique tactic was no longer a secret, especially after the Carthaginians had just suffered a naval defeat and were likely already on their guard.
“Prepare to intercept!” Straphacus ordered decisively.
The drawbridge operator at the bow, the boatswain in the cabin, and the helmsman at the stern immediately repeated his command while the rest of the crew maintained their high level of tension and focus.
As the two warships rapidly approached each other, Straphacus looked forward as he judged the best time to take action. Then he suddenly shouted, “Intercept to the left!”
The helmsman swung the rudder, and the rowers on the left side slowed down while the rowers on the right side rowed faster, causing the warship to tilt to the left quickly.
This was a dangerous tactical manoeuvre as it actively exposed the side of the ship to the enemy’s ram, which is undoubtedly forbidden in today’s naval warfare, especially for Theonian warships with drawbridges on their decks. Since the enemy ship was advancing at high speed and the distance was too close, the crew needed to maintain focus and cooperation to avoid a collision before dropping the drawbridge.
However, Straphacus had complete confidence in the skill and cooperation of his crew, which was the result of their rigorous training day after day, year after year.
But despite Straphacus’ confidence in his crew, the drawbridge operators still needed to maintain a high focus as they had to turn the drawbridge quickly in response to the oncoming ships. The other crew members had to hastily loosen the rope tying the drawbridge to the mast, pulling on it while watching the approaching enemy ship. Everyone was panting heavily, sweat covering their faces, and the muscles in their arms bulging with tension.
The prepared captain of the Carthaginian ships tried to evade the drawbridge, but the corvus warship ahead suddenly turned sideways, surprising him.
At this moment, the warship had already closed in a few metres.
So he immediately issued an order to turn the warship to the right. And the Carthaginian sailor quickly responded, causing their ship to turn to the right.
However, they were still too late as the Theonian warship rushed in the same direction as theirs, with their speed increasing instead of decreasing.
Then the drawbridge immediately fell, and the forty fleet infantry on board immediately rushed out of the deck, crossed the drawbridge and boarded the enemy ship.
Anibal wasn’t caught unprepared, as he had studied the combat characteristics of the Theonian fleet. During this period, he had Carthage and their allies produce many short swords for the sailors since only this lightweight and compact weapon would not affect their rowing speed. It would also give them the ability to defend themselves and counterattack.
However, they couldn’t utilise their large number of sailors effectively on the narrow ships. What’s worse, most Carthaginian sailors lacked formal infantry training, making them unable to compete with the fierce infantry of the Theonian fleet.
On the other hand, apart from not wearing the standard equipment of the Theonian legion heavy infantry, the Theonian fleet infantry typically trains with no less intensity than them. Their training requires proficiency in thrusting short swords, shield and sword combinations, checkerboard formations, javelin and charge, and platoon group. There were also two additional training exercises: fast landing operations and long-distance swimming.
As a result, the swift attack of the well-trained Theonian fleet infantries allowed them to quickly defeat the Carthaginian sailors even though they were equipped with short swords and caused them some trouble.