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Battle of Drepana
The Battle of Drepana was Rome's only major naval defeat during the first Punic War. Rome's loss was due mainly to the poor leadership of C. Claudius Pulcher and because the Carthaginian Navy was over all a better force. Now we see the battle as a loss due to poor leadership and vision, but at the time some blamed Pulcher for not carrying out the ceremony as planned.
What became an advantage for the Romans became an advantage for the Carthaginians, because while in the harbour trying to adjust the Romans were thrown into their own confusion and the Carthaginians reformed and came to attack. The Romans were at a great disadvantage, and “In the end, the consul, who was on the left of his line, managed to escape with the nearest 30 ships, but the remaining 93 were captured” (Lazenby).
Pulcher's strategy to come victorious in the Battle of Drepana was to surprise the Carthaginian fleet in their own harbour. He chose to command this attack from the rear of the fleet so he could encourage their speed; however, this prevented him from controlling the new born Roman fleet. The Romans almost gained surprise over the Carthaginian fleet when coming into the harbor, but the Carthaginian admiral, Adherbal, saw the oncoming attack and ordered his fleet to safety and out of the harbour. Even though saved from the attack, the Carthaginians were thrown into confusion and were out of formation. This confusion could have proved beneficial to the Romans had they been able to adjust and attack, but Pulcher was not at the position to give commands to his ships. Because of this, The Romans slowly continued to sail into the harbour.
Roman Strategies and Specifics
Before Pulcher set out for Sicsily, he went to the temple of Mars so an augurie, or a ritual which animals would be used to see if the questioned action,should be performed, could take place. In this case, however, Pulcher had to set out for Siscily so that the battle he would have the element of suprise. To do this, however, Pulcher had to speed the augurie up. Instead of waiting in Rome, Pulcher took with him the animals that were to be used, chickens, and said that he would perform the augurie prior to the battle. While on his voyage to Drepana, which is modern day Trapani off the west coast of Siscily, he encountered rough seas. This would lead to manipulate the outcome of the augurie. What had to happen so that Pulcher could engage in the battle is that the chickens had to eat feed, and if they did they romans believed the gods would be in their favor. But, when Pulcher fed the chickens, they refused to eat because they were seasick. Pulcher didn't want to have to deal with his superstitious crew so he took the chickens and threw them overboard. “Let them drink, since they don't wish to eat. (Bibant, quoniam esse nolunt)(Cicero, De Natura Deorum, where it is reported in “indirect discourse.“ The Latin here reflects what Pulcher's actual words would have been)“ (Battle of Drepana). http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Battle_of_Drepana/id/1928527
The Roman army was by far one of the greatest that the ancient world had ever seen, but had become obsolete once Rome's conflict with Carthage began. In 264 B.C. To be able to fight agains Carthage, the first fleet of the Roman navy was quickly built in 260 B.C. “[They] applied themselves to building ships-100 quinquiremes and twenty triremes. . . . their shipwrights were completely inexperienced in the building of a quinquereme, since these vessels had never before been employed in Italy. . . . When they first ventured to . . . Messana, not only had they no decked ships, but no warships at all” - Polybius (Don Nardo, Words of the Ancient Romans: Primary Sources 14). The Romans had to build a better ship, and to do this they used a Carthaginian ship which had “ventured too near to the shore, ran aground, and fell into the hands of the Romans. It was this ship which they proceeded to use as a model, and they built their whole fleet according to its specifications” - Polybius (Don Nardo, Words of the Ancient Romans: Primary Sources 14). The fleet that took part in the Battle of Drepana was comprosed of roughly 120 ships under the command of C. Claudius Pulcher, the consul of Rome. The Romans had about 300 oarsmen to each ship, and this provided enough strength to get the ship to 12 mph, a speed high enough to ram the opposing ship. However, the Carthaginians were more experienced at this, and this most likely is why they had a vicotry at the Battle of Drepana. “This was, surprisingly, the only naval battle of the first Punic war won by the Carthaginians” (Lazenby).
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