I was reading the Wikipedia entry for Rome Total War II and came across this glorious little gem:
Quote:This [mixed land and sea battles] will reflect the naval strategies of the classical era, where coastal cities were conquered and destroyed in great invasions of infantry disembarking from warships.
Anyway, this led me to try and think of some incidents where a naval landing was opposed by an enemy force. The only thing that comes to mind is Caesar's landing in Britain, where he was fought on the beaches, but doubtlessly there were others. How common was it? Can anyone think of any?
1. One of the best is the unboarding of troops at the mouth of river Tomeres by Nearch, the admiral of Alexander, when he sailed back from India.
Arrian, Historia Indica, ch.5, s.9, l.3
2. A mythical example would be the unboarding of Heracles' troops in his expedition against Troy. The landing of the Greeks of Agamemnon also was disputed but I do not have the ref at hand at the moment.
Polyaenus, Strategemata, B.1, ch.3, s.3, l.1
3. Demetrius attacked Ptolemy's ships as they disembarked soldiers in Cyprus.
Polyaenus, Strategemata, B.4, ch.7, s.7, l.8
4. The Illyrians attacked Aemilius Paulus at Demale
Polybius, Historiae, B.3, ch.18, p.10, l.1
5. Leucon attacked the Heracleans
Polyaenus, Strategemata, B.6, ch.9, s.4, l.1
6. A certain landing of Diotimos
Polyaenus, Strategemata, B.5, ch.22, s.4, l.1
Macedon MODERATOR Forum rules
George C. K.
῾Ηρακλῆος γὰρ ἀνικήτου γένος ἐστέ
There were Suetonius Paulinus' "landing craft"-type boats at Mona (Anglesey) in Wales, an assault on an island from the mainland (well, actually a bigger island) in Tacitus' Annals.
I used to own a copy, although it went in a clear-out a couple of years ago and I don't think the author was actually a classical specialist, more of a modern strategic writer. I don't remember it being so expensive, though!
Leading up to the Battle of Dyrrhachium, Caesar successfully bypassed Bibulus's naval blockade in the Adriatic and landed half his troops on shore. But Bibulus destroyed Caesar's fleet, preventing them from retrieving the other half of his troops from Italy.
During Agricola's campaign in north Britain, he sent his fleet around the coast "which by its ravages at various points [caused] a vague and wide-spread alarm" (Agricola 29), which suggests naval landings. Earlier T descibes soldiers and sailors making camp together during combined coastal operations.
During the civil war of AD69, Otho sent a fleet to attack the coast of Narbonese Gaul, in support of a land invasion through Liguria. The resulting battle is described in Histories II, 12-15: marines and sailors were landed from the ships, and the ships themselves "moved close to the shore, cleared for action, facing the land" as the battle commenced. It would seem they were mainly used as artillery batteries during the fighting, although at one point the fleet managed to land another force of marines in the enemy rear. The battle eventually went to Otho - interestingly, T calls it a 'naval victory'...
RTW II is probably thinking of the famous assault on Carthagena (209 BC) where Scipio's naval and land forces attacked the city from two sides at once.
Greets!
Jasper Oorthuys
Webmaster & Editor, Ancient Warfare magazine
Quote:... Scipio's naval and land forces attacked the city from two sides at once.
But surely they were wading across a lagoon, rather than "disembarking from warships" (e.g. Appian's version).
To be honest, besides Caesar's "visit" to Britain (already noted by David), I'm struggling to think of any "great invasions of infantry disembarking from warships".
Quote: That was the daily ebb tide, for at one time of day the waves were up to one's breast; at another they were not knee high. When Scipio observed this, after ascertaining the nature of the tidal movement and that it would be low water for the rest of the day, he darted hither and thither, exclaiming: "Now, soldiers, now is our chance.
That was a smart idea on Scipio's part, but I'm surprised the lagoon was so shallow, only breast-deep at its highest. I'm not familiar with the area: were there rivers emptying into it that could have caused silting?
Quote:That was a smart idea on Scipio's part, but I'm surprised the lagoon was so shallow, only breast-deep at its highest. I'm not familiar with the area: were there rivers emptying into it that could have caused silting?
Actually, that's a conundrum that has spawned its own extensive specialist literature (based on Polybius' account). I can't remember what the most recent solution was!
An artistic impression of the Cartago Nova stronghold at the time of the roman attack by Scipio. The lagoon, now dry land, was behind the city and the main port on the foreground. What really puzzles me is the fact that in this part of the Mediterranian Sea the tides are nearly imperceptible, therefore I cannot understand how the tide could rise and lower so much then, unless at that time for some reason the variation in the sea levels was very different from today.