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The battle of Chalcis (429 BC) was the first of two Athenian naval
victories won in the same year in the Gulf of Corinth that helped demonstrate
their naval superiority in the early part of the Great
Peloponnesian
War. In 429 the Spartans decided to launch an invasion of Acarnania, the
area to the north-west of the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. The plan was for
their fleets to unite at Leucas, an island to the north-west of the gulf. Part
of the combined fleet was to come from the Peloponnese and from other areas
outside the gulf, while the rest sailed from Corinth and other areas inside the
gulf. The first part of the fleet reached Leucas without any problems, but the
forty seven ships sailing from the Corinth end of the gulf had to get past an
Athenian naval force. This small naval force, of twenty triremes under the
command of Phormio, was
based at Naupactus, an
Athenian base on the northern shore of the gulf, just to the north-east of the
narrow Strait of Rion, the western end of the gulf (the area outside the
straits is called the Gulf of Rion or Rhium). Although Phormio's twenty ships
were badly outnumbered by the forty seven Peloponnesian ships, he had three
advantages. First, his fleet was a single united force with a single commander,
while the Peloponnesian fleet was made up of several allied contingents, each
with at least one commander - the Corinthian contingent alone had three
commanders: Machaon, Isocrates and Agatharchidas. Second, the Athenian fleet
was manned by experienced sailors who had spent some time operating together in
the Gulf of Corinth, while the Peloponnesian crews were less experienced.
Finally many of the Peloponnesian ships were fitted out to transport troops and
not as warships. Phormio shadowed the Peloponnesian fleet as it sailed west
along the Gulf of Corinth. On the evening before the battle the Peloponnesians
moored at Patrae, on the northern coast of Achaea. In an attempt to slip past
the Athenians they set sail for the north coast of the gulf of Rion during the
night, but they were spotted, and the Athenians moved to intercept them. The
Peloponnesian commander's lack of faith in their fighting abilities is clearly
demonstrated in the tactics they decided to adopt. Despite outnumbering the
Athenians by more that two to one, they adopted an entirely defensive position,
forming their fleet into a circle, with the ship's bows pointing outwards and
the sterns inwards. The gap between each ship was made as wide as possible
while making sure that the Athenians couldn't sail between them. Five of the
fastest and best warships and all of the lighter ships were placed inside the
circle, to act as a mobile reserve. Phormio decided to try and take advantage
of both the local weather conditions and the superior skills of his sailors. He
knew that a strong wing normally blew early in the mornings in the Gulf of
Rion, and that this wing would probably disrupt the Peloponnesian formation. In
order to make it as difficult as possible for the Peloponnesians he ordered his
ships to sail in circles around the enemy fleet, occasionally dashing inwards
as if they were about to attack. This was something of a gamble - his hope was
that the Peloponnesians would attempt to back away from his ships in an attempt
to avoid battle and stay in formation, but if they had instead decided to
attack then his entire fleet could have been rammed amidships. Phormio's gamble
paid off. As the Athenians circled around them the Peloponnesians backed off,
reducing the size of their circle and the gaps between the ships. When the wind
began to blow their ships began to run into each other. At this point Phormio
finally ordered his ships to turn in and attack. One of the enemy admiral's
ships was sunk first, and after that the Peloponnesian formation broke up in
confusion, and each ship attempted to flee back to Patrae or to nearby Dyme.
According to Thucydides the Athenians 'destroyed every ship that they came
across'. He also states that they captured twelve ships along with most of
their crews, but this may refer to the same ships, as Phormio still only had
twenty triremes at his disposal at the battle of Naupactus, which followed soon
afterwards. In the aftermath of their victory the Athenians erected a trophy on
the headland of Rhium, and then returned to their base at Naupactus. The
surviving Peloponnesian ships sailed west to the dockyard at Cyllene, at the
north-western tip of the Peloponnese opposite Cephalonia. There they were
joined by the fleet that had taken part in the unsuccessful invasion of
Acarnania, which had ended after defeat at Stratus. By the time the
Peloponnesian fleet put back to sea it contained 77 triremes, while Phormio had
yet to be reinforced, but despite this massive numerical inferiority the
Athenians still won the next naval clash, at Naupactus.
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