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The battle of Drepana.
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: In het jaar 249 v.C beleeft Drepana zijn hoogtepunt. Het
zal beroemd worden door een grote zeeslag, die voor de haven van de stad zal
worden uitgevochten. In de aanloop daarnaar gelukt het ene Hannibal om
aanzienlijke versterkingen naar Lilybaeum te brengen.
Polybius I 46: “Hierna
voer Hannibal, terwijl het nog nacht was, met zijn schepen, zonder dat zijn
vijanden het merkten, naar Drepana, naar de Carthaagse bevelhebber Adherbal.
Omdat Drepana zo’n mooie en gunstig gelegen stad is, spanden de Carthagers
zich er namelijk altijd sterk voor in deze haven in handen te houden. Drepana
ligt ongeveer 120 stadiën van Lilybaeum.”
De echte naam van Adherbal is in feite Adirbaal (machtige
Baal) en deze bevelhebber zal een cruciale rol gaan spelen in de komende
zeeslag, ondanks het feit dat hij slechts de stadscommandant was.
B.H.Warmington in zijn boek Carthage (blz 193/194) ziet
het als volgt verder gebeuren:
“.... Carthage
had prepared a considerable naval reinforcement. This was destined for
Drepana, a naval station some twenty miles north of Lilybaeum, which the
Carthaginians were now using as their main base. They prepared a fleet there,
under a general named Adherbal, but it presumably was outnumbered by the
Roman force blocking Lilybaeum. One of the consuls, P.Claudius Pulcher, the
son of Claudius, who had been consul when the war began, determined to attack
Drepana before reinforcements arrived, his plan being to sail directly into
the harbour there and destroy the Carthaginian fleet at anchor or beached.
Adherbal, however, was able to get his ships under way, and sailed out of the
harbour by the other of its two entrances. This gave him a dominating
position, as he was able to draw his fleet up facing the shore while the
Romans were putting about in a confined space.”
Adherbal, de stadscommandant van Drepana, ontwikkelt zich
tot een admiraal van formaat. Hij is vroeg die dag wakker (gemaakt) en ziet
de stipjes aan de horizon aankomen. Hij komt onmiddellijk in actie en roept
zijn mannen naar de schepen. Volgens de overlevering heeft hij nog zelfs even
tijd om een korte toespraak te houden, waarbij hij zegt, dat er een grote
kans op succes is, wanneer iedereen zijn bevelen goed opvolgt en hij leidt
zijn vloot de haven uit naar de open zee. Daarmee omsingelt hij de Romeinse
vloot, die dicht langs de kust naderbij komt.
Polybius
describes the battle as follows:
The Carthaginian ships were faster than those
of the Romans owing to their superior construction and the skill of their
rowers, and their position was favourable, as they had developed their line
in the open sea. If any found themselves hard pressed, they could use their
speed to retreat to open water and then turn on their pursuers and take them
in the rear or in the flank; in such a situation, the Roman ships had to turn
about also, and getting into difficulty because of their weight and the poor
oarsmanship of their crews, were repeatedly rammed, and many were sunk.
Again, the Carthaginian ships could easily sail to the assistance of each
other in open water astern of their own line. By contract, no Roman ship
could retire backwards, as they were too close to the land, and those who
were hard pressed either ran aground by the stern or made for the shore. To
sail through the Carthaginian line and take in the rear enemy ships already
engaged (one of the most effective manoeuvres in naval warfare) was impossible,
owing to the weight of the ships and the inexperience of the crews. They
could not give each other help from the rear, because they were so hemmed in
to the shore….
Such was the difficult position of the Romans
in the battle; some of the ships grounded in shallow water, and other ran
ashore. The consul, seeing what was happening, slipped out to the left along
the coast and escaped with about thirty ships”.
B.H.Warmington
(Carthage,p.194/5):
“……ninety-three Roman ships were captured.
The only consolation for the Romans was that a fair number of men escaped
ashore and got back to (the camps near) Lilybaeum. The arrival of the
expected reinforcements under Carthalo – seventy ships – completed the
domination of Carthage
in the western Sicilian waters. A number of Roman transports were taken off
Panormus and a few warships seized or destroyed near Lilybaeum. Carthalo
sailed along the south-coast of the island, to intercept supplies that were
being sent by the Romans for the relief of their forces outside Lilybaeum.”
Op dit moment beschikte Carthago over drie kundige
admirals, die met hun eskaders prima opereerden. Hannibal had zijn
provianderingeskader behendig naar Lilybaeum en Drepana gekregen. Adherbal
wint overtuigende de zeeslag en Carthalo manoevreert zo handig aan de
zuidkust van Sicilië, dat twee transportvloten van de Romeinen met behulp van
natuur compleet verloren gaan. Carthago had nu ook de beschikking over een
paar honderd schepen in de Siciliaanse wateren. En toch op dit hoogtepunt
beslissen ze om te gaan onderhandelen met Rome om vrede te bewerkstelligen.
Met de Grieken zou dat gelukt zijn, maar Romeinen onderhandelen nooit in een
voor hen slechte positie. Dat doen ze alleen in gewonnen positie.
De Carthagers benutten hun zo gunstige situatie niet. We
horen nog wat over kaapvaart langs de Italische kusten, maar dat zet geen
zoden aan de dijk. Adherbal verdwijnt in de vergetelheid, nadat hij nog wel
een groep Romeinen had uitgeschakeld op het schiereiland Aigithallos. De
vloot wordt niet meer onderhouden. Men wacht slechts af tot de Romeinen moe
worden van deze oorlog. Deze Carthaagse resignatie mag wel de grootste
misrekening van de Carthagers in deze oorlog genoemd worden.
Het antwoord van de Romeinen op al hun tegenslagen laat
niet lang op zich wachten.
Werner Huss (Die Karthager, p.177):
“(Lucius Iunius) Pullus
(die andere Consul) suchte der Gefahr der Resignation dadurch zu begegnen,
dass er in der Karthagischen Epikrateia offensive Aktionen startete. Es
gelang ihm auch – im oktober des Jahres 249 v.C) – der Stadt Eryx zu
bemächtigen.”
Polybius (I,55):
“Toen hem (Iunius)
dan ook door een onbetekenende aanleiding in de schoot werd geworpen, wist
hij door verraad Eryx te bezetten en kreeg de macht over de tempel van
Afrodite en de stad.”
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Drepana & Eryx part 8.
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The
battle of Drepana.
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In the
year 249 BC Carthaginian Drepana comes to its climax. It will become famous
due to the big naval battle that will be fought in front of the port of the city. In the run-up one of
the Hannibals
succeeded to bring substantial reinforcements to Lilybaeum.
Polybius
I 46: "After this Hannibal, while it was still night, escaped
with his ships without his enemies noticed it, to Drepana, to the
Carthaginian commander Adherbal. Because Drepana is such a beautiful and
convenient city, hitched the Carthaginians themselves always strong to keep
this port in their possession. Drepana is about 120 furlongs from Lilybaeum. "
The real
name of Adherbal is actually Adirbaal (mighty Baal) and this commander will
play a crucial role in the coming battle, despite the fact that he was only
the city- commandander.
B.H.Warmington
in his book Carthage
(page 193/194) sees it happen like this:
“.... Carthage
had prepared a considerable naval reinforcement. This was destined for
Drepana, a naval station some twenty miles north of Lilybaeum, which the
Carthaginians were now using as their main base. They prepared a fleet there,
under a general named Adherbal, but it presumably was outnumbered by the
Roman force blocking Lilybaeum. One of the consuls, P.Claudius Pulcher, the
son of Claudius, who had been consul when the war began, determined to attack
Drepana before reinforcements arrived, his plan being to sail directly into
the harbour there and destroy the Carthaginian fleet at anchor or beached.
Adherbal, however, was able to get his ships under way, and sailed out of the
harbour by the other of its two entrances. This gave him a dominating
position, as he was able to draw his fleet up facing the shore while the
Romans were putting about in a confined space.”
Adherbal,
the city commandant of Drepana, is developing himself into a formidable
admiral. He woke up early that day (or was waked) and saw the dots on the
horizon arrive. He comes immediately into action and in a hurry calls his men
as fast as possible to the ships. According to tradition he even has some
time to make a short speech, in which he says that there is a high chance of
success, when everyone will follow his orders and he leads his fleet out of
the harbour to the open sea. This way he surrounds the Roman fleet, which
close to the coast is approaching.
Polybius
describes the battle as follows:
The Carthaginian ships were faster than those
of the Romans owing to their superior construction and the skill of their
rowers, and their position was favourable, as they had developed their line
in the open sea. If any found themselves hard pressed, they could use their
speed to retreat to open water and then turn on their pursuers and take them
in the rear or in the flank; in such a situation, the Roman ships had to turn
about also, and getting into difficulty because of their weight and the poor
oarsmanship of their crews, were repeatedly rammed, and many were sunk.
Again, the Carthaginian ships could easily sail to the assistance of each
other in open water astern of their own line. By contract, no Roman ship
could retire backwards, as they were too close to the land, and those who
were hard pressed either ran aground by the stern or made for the shore. To
sail through the Carthaginian line and take in the rear enemy ships already
engaged (one of the most effective manoeuvres in naval warfare) was
impossible, owing to the weight of the ships and the inexperience of the
crews. They could not give each other help from the rear, because they were
so hemmed in to the shore….
Such was the difficult position of the Romans
in the battle; some of the ships grounded in shallow water, and other ran
ashore. The consul, seeing what was happening, slipped out to the left along
the coast and escaped with about thirty ships”.
B.H.Warmington
(Carthage,p.194/5):
“……ninety-three Roman ships were captured.
The only consolation for the Romans was that a fair number of men escaped
ashore and got back to (the camps near) Lilybaeum. The arrival of the
expected reinforcements under Carthalo – seventy ships – completed the
domination of Carthage
in the western Sicilian waters. A number of Roman transports were taken off
Panormus and a few warships seized or destroyed near Lilybaeum. Carthalo (Melqarthilles)
sailed along the south-coast of the island, to intercept supplies that were
being sent by the Romans for the relief of their forces outside Lilybaeum.”
At this
time Carthage
had three skilful admirals, who operated
just fine with their squads. Hannibal
had brought his provisions squadron agile to Lilybaeum and Drepana. Adherbal,
very convincing, wins the sea-battle and Carthalo manoeuvres so convenient on
the south coast of Sicily,
that two transport fleets of the Romans, with the help of mother nature are completely
lost. Carthage
at this time had access to a few hundred ships in the Sicilian waters. And
yet, at this high point of power they decide
to negotiate with Rome
to establish peace. The Greeks would have responded, but the Romans never
negotiate in a bad position for them. They do so only when they are in a winning
position.
The
Carthaginians does not exploit their favourable situation at all. We still
hear about privateering along the Italic coasts, but that has not many
results. Adherbal disappear into oblivion after he destroys a group of Romans
on the peninsula Aigithallos. The fleet is however no longer maintained. They
just wait until the Romans are tired of this war. This Carthaginian
resignation may be called the greatest miscalculation of the Carthaginians in
this war.
The
response of the Romans on their set-backs is coming very soon.
Werner Huss (Die Karthager, p.177):
"(Lucius
Junius) Pullus (the other Consul) examined the danger of resignation to face
the fact that he launched offensive actions in the Carthaginian Epikrateia.
He succeeded - in October of the year 249 BC – to seize the city of Eryx". (translated
from german).
Polybius
(I, 55):
"When
he (Iunius) then was given by an insignificant occasion the opportunity, he
managed to occupy Eryx by treachery and took control of the Temple of Aphrodite
and the city."
The
splendid naval successes are ending in minor.
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