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The battle of Naupactus in 429 was a second Athenian naval victory won
in a short period around the Gulf of Corinth, but was won by a very narrow
margin and only after the narrow failure of a Peloponnesian plan to trap the
entire Athenian fleet during the
Peloponnesian War.
In 429 the Athenians had a small squadron of twenty triremes posted in the
Gulf of Corinth under the command of Phormio. He soon found
himself facing a much larger Peloponnesian fleet, sailing west along the Gulf
of Corinth to join an army that was invading Acarnania, the area to the north
west of the entrance to the gulf. Phormio intercepted this fleet just outside
the fleet, and defeated it at the battle of Chalcis, capturing (and probably
destroying) twelve of the enemy ships. The surviving Peloponnesian warships
escaped west to Cyllene, at the north-western tip of the Peloponnese, where
they were joined by the fleet that had taken part in the unsuccessful invasion
of Acarnania. There the fleet received reinforcements, as well as an advisory
commission sent out from Sparta (including the famous general Brasidas). When
the combined fleet finally put back out to sea it contained seventy seven
warships. The Athenians also sent out reinforcements, but they went via Crete,
where they were delayed for some time, so Phormio had to fight this second
battle with the same twenty ships as the first. The two fleets anchored on
opposite sides of the Gulf of Rhium, with the Athenians at Molycrian Rhium on
the northern side of the gulf and the Peloponnesians at Rhium in the
Peloponnese. For six or seven days the two fleets faced each other across less
than a mile of sea. According to Thucydides the sailors in both fleets suffered
from poor morale during this period - the Peloponnesians because of their
recent defeat and the superior seamanship of the Athenians, the Athenians
because they were outnumbered by nearly four-to-one. Thucydides uses this as an
opportunity to include speeches made by the commanders of the respective
fleets, in which he had the Spartan commanders emphasising their superior
courage, while Phormio spoke about his men's equal courage and superior skill.
He also promised not to fight in the narrow waters of the Gulf of Rhium, where
the enemy's superior numbers could be decisive. Despite this promise the
Peloponnesian strategy soon forced Phormio to sail straight into those narrow
waters
The Peloponnesian fleet put to sea and formed up into four lines, each
parallel to the coast. The twenty fastest ships were posted at the right of
these lines. The fleet then sailed east along the coast in this formation, with
the army following on shore. Phormio was immediately faced with a dilemma. If
he didn't counter the Peloponnesian move then they would be able to capture his
base at Naupactus, but if he did move then he would soon be forced into the
narrow waters. The threat to Naupactus was too serious to be ignored, and the
Athenian fleet put to sea and sailed east in single file, also with their army
following on the coast. Once both fleets were inside the Gulf of Rhium the
Peloponnesian commanders attempted to close their trap. Their entire fleet
turned north and headed straight for the Athenians, hoping to pin the entire
Athenian fleet against the northern shore of the gulf. This move was only a
partial success. Eleven of the twenty Athenian ships managed to escape from the
trap and made it into the wider waters of the Gulf of Corinth. The remaining
nine were forced onto the shore. The crews of most ships either swam ashore or
were killed in the attempt. One was captured with its entire crew, others were
captured empty and towed away, while some were rescued by the Athenian's allies
on the northern shore. While the Peloponnesians were apparently winning a major
victory in the gulf, their twenty fastest ships were engaged in a pursuit of
the remaining eleven Athenian ships. In both fleets one ship came adrift from
the others. Ten of the Athenian ships reached Naupactus, where they took up
defensive positions, with their prows pointing out towards the pursuing enemy.
The last was trailing somewhat behind. In the Peloponnesian fleet one ship,
from the island of Leucas, got ahead of the other nineteen. As these two
isolated ships approached Naupactus, the Athenian ships swung around an
anchored merchant ship and rammed the leading pursuer, sinking it. This
encouraged the other Athenian ships to rejoin the battle. The surviving
nineteen Peloponnesian ships suddenly found themselves facing eleven attacking
Athenian ships. The Peloponnesian squadron had lost any semblance of a
formation during the pursuit, and was quickly routed. The Athenians then
pursued the defeated Peloponnesians, capturing six of them, and freeing all but
one of the ships they had lost in the first stage of the battle. In the
aftermath of the battle both sides raised a trophy to claim a victory - the
Peloponnesians for the battle in the gulf and the Athenians for the
counterattack close to Naupactus. The Peloponnesians still outnumbered the
Athenians, but after two defeats their confidence was low, and fearing that
reinforcements would soon arrive they sailed east and took refuge at Corinth.
Soon after this Athenian reinforcements did arrive, in the shape of the twenty
ships that had been sent via Crete, and for the moment the Athenians controlled
the Gulf of Corinth.
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