Then the Iberian fleet also found the enemy in front, prompting Adhimilk to order the fleet to prepare for battle. Adhimilk opted for a single-column formation, focusing on one-on-one collision since the Iberian fleet highly believes in itself, as each ship’s sailors are highly skilled.
In fact, the Phoenicians invented the triremes, including the naval ramming tactics. But their centuries-old seafaring tradition was both the Carthaginians’ glory and their constraints. So even though the upstart Theonian Navy defeated the mighty Syracusan Navy over a decade ago, it didn’t have much effect on the Carthaginian fleet. On the contrary, most Carthaginian admirals and sailors believed the Syracusans’ poor ship handling caused their defeat, believing they would never have made Syracuse’s stupid mistakes.
But for the Theonian Navy, their tactics continued to improve. Now, the current formation of the Third Fleet consisted of the first half of a hundred triremes with corvus, the second half of fifty traditional triremes without corvus, and fifty small and medium-sized warships, loosely arranged in a Starry Night formation filled their flanks.
The improved tactic is the continuous improvement made by Theonia’s Ministry of Military and several navarchs according to the Corvus warships’ flaws exposed during the several naval battles with Syracuse and the problems found in training.
The Navy also modified the structure of the two types of triremes. The Corvus warship, which relied mainly on its drawbridges to trap enemy ships and its infantry to win battles, had its hull lengthened and widened to allow for more space on the storage underneath so the infantry could stay inside without feeling cramped. After all, the expansion of the kingdom’s territory made it impossible for the fleet to fight the enemy as soon as the ships left port, and it would take more than a day of patrolling even to find the enemy’s trail. Therefore, the sailors and infantry on the ship should have a comfortable place to stay, which is beneficial for maintaining their strength. Finally, they added some weight to the stern of the Corvus warship to balance the front and rear of the ship once they installed the corvus, making their navigation more stable.
If the Corvus ships sacrificed speed for comfort and safety, the orthodox triremes of Theonia had to make up for the lack of speed of the Corvus. So they made the hull narrower and shorter, making it a willow leaf-like shape. They even lowered the mast and reduced the number of sailors to one hundred and fifty. The Ministry of Military even gathered many renowned Theonian shipbuilders to revise and test the new trireme and finally completed it. In the end, its maximum speed could reach fifteen knots, and it was even more flexible, which made the Theonian sailors call it a fast trireme.
Usually, they would place these fast triremes at the rear of the ship formation. Once the naval battle began, they would shuttle between the gaps in the ships to protect the Corvus ships, which were locking and boarding the enemy ships. In addition, they would ram the enemy ships that tried to get behind their flanks. And once the enemy fleet has retreated, they would use their fastest speed to pursue the enemy and expand the result.
Neither side shied away from the battle. On the contrary, the sailors were so eager to fight that they quickly adjusted their warships and arranged their formations within a five-kilometre radius of the sea, as ordered by the Navarch. When they heard the Auletes’ signal, the sailors shouted in unison as they rowed their oars vigorously, and with the increasing speed of the Auletes’ rhythm, the warships became faster and faster, riding the wind and waves so that their speed made them feel as if they were flying.
Then both sides’ leading warships were about to collide…
Adhimilk, the Admiral of the Iberian Navy who was in the stern, listened to the lookout’s cries while clenching his fist in excitement. As the first naval battle between Carthage and Theonia was about to begin, he believed that Carthage, with its long maritime history, would come out on top!
“Bang!… Bang!…” Then the corvus spun down and smashed through the enemy ship’s deck, connecting the two warships.
“Hades!!!…” The fleet’s forty Theonian infantry, who had emerged from the warship’s storage, rushed over the drawbridge excitedly and attacked the enemy. These infantries, who belonged exclusively to the fleet, were very different from the legionaries who had participated before. Not only had their number been reduced to ten, but they also wore leather helmets and armour, with a wooden shield on their left hand. In addition, their leather sandals even had crisscrossing grooves on their soles… These changes in weapons and equipment, as well as the reduction in their weight, significantly improved their flexibility in fighting on the warship since they wouldn’t easily slip on the slippery deck.
As the infantry of the Theonian fleet board their ships, Adhimilk’s excitement vanished, replaced by coldness. In the end, he could only give the order to retreat with a bitter taste in his mouth.
Thus, the first battle between Theonia and the Carthaginian navy lasted only half an hour, with Theonia’s Third Fleet capturing eighteen Carthaginian triremes and sinking four at the cost of five ships sunk and six damaged, resulting in a resounding victory.
Hasdrubal, who had just broken into the port, watched the entire naval battle from the lighthouse at Cephaloedium and witnessed the tragic defeat of the Iberian fleet by the unique tactics of the Theonian fleet, which shook him to his core and at the same time spoiled his joy at occupying Cephaloedium.
For the Cephaloedians fleeing the sea, the Theonians’ victory in the naval battle boosted their confidence in returning home.
The next day, Hasdrubal received news of the defeat of Carthage’s main force on the southern coast. Though he rejoiced, he also felt that his situation was a little dangerous since without Muntebaal threatening the Theonians from the south, the Theonians would probably turn their troops against him, a lone army penetrating deep into enemy territory. Still, it would take the Theonians some time to get from the south coast to the north.
In the afternoon, Hasdrubal made up his mind after receiving Palermo’s messenger, who had come rushing. Apparently, Theonia’s Third Fleet sailed westward early in the morning, anchored on the coast near Palermo, and attacked the Iberian army’s reserve camp as soon as thousands of infantry on the warship landed. And although the reserves’ vigilance and tenacity allowed them to withstand the enemy, the enemy still inflicted some damage on their supplies.
So Hasdrubal decided to retreat to Palermo and stay there for a while, awaiting the new decision of the Carthaginian Senate, realising the rout of the main force led by Muntebaal would probably lead to a new political storm.
On their retreat, Hasdrubal ordered the soldiers to wreck Cephaloedium so they wouldn’t have any trouble when they attacked again.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Aphrodisia was a town in the northwest corner of the Peuceti region. It is where the Homeric hero Diomedes is said to have moved to after the Trojan War and lived in seclusion, seeking a peaceful life. He had built the town and Temple of Aphrodite to appease the goddess of love’s wrath for the destruction of her beloved city of Troy. Hence the name Aphrodisia, the city of Aphrodite. It is also the cultural link between the Peuceti and the Greeks.
But this time, the town favoured by the goddess of love was once again ravaged by war, as the Samnites besieged the city while a small number of citizen soldiers held out against the enemy’s attack.
“Tell the tribal chieftains to step up their attacks so we can take this town before nightfall!” Lesguk watched the battle unfolding at the top of the city wall, giving a worried and loud order.
“Understood, Great Chieftain!” The guard left with the order.
Konteruk, the great chieftain of Caraceni, looked at him and said reassuringly, “Don’t worry too much since urging them is useless. Besides, the enemy seems unable to hold out any longer, so we can definitely take this city before nightfall.”
“I’m just…I’m just worried about the Theonians. We need to use the time to plunder more people and goods so we have more chips to threaten the Theonians with!” Lesguk explained hastily.
“There is no need to fear the Theonians!” Seeing through Lesguk’s timidity, Konteruk said aloud with disdain, “The defeats you have suffered against them in the past were due to their trickery! You should know that we have never lost a frontal battle, nor have we ever lost a battle against the Greeks in the past! You can be cautious as a great chieftain of the Hirpini, but you must not lose the courage and fierceness that a son of Savoni should have!”
As a veteran great chieftain, Konteruk, with his status as an elder and years of experience in battle, continued to advise, “Furthermore, you used a trick to mobilise the main force of Theonia to the north of Daunia with your plan, and it would take them two to three days to get here. And even if enemy reinforcements were to arrive in the next two days, they would be the hastily formed troops of the Theonians in the Peuceti and Messapi regions. Since they wouldn’t be too numerous or strong, we could just defeat them easily, boosting the courage and morale of our warriors…especially the Hirpini, Caudini and Pentri warriors!” But this old Samnite chieftain felt deeply that the warriors of the three tribes that suffered repeated defeats were not qualified Samnite warriors and that only the Caraceni warriors could qualify.
Lesguk didn’t say anything. Suddenly, a scout came in a hurry, “Chieftain, we found the Theonian reinforcements in the south!”