Media, News, Publishing

Media, News, Publishing

In this respect, the battle at Mile deserves special attention. Explanations must be sought not in the tactics of the fleet, that is, not in the formation and not in the use of combat forces, but in the method of action of one ship against another. The Athenians in their last battle also counted on a boarding battle, taking into account the method of attack learned by the Syracusans from the bow. However, they were not successful, since the Syracusans, thanks to good knowledge, learned in time about their preparations and took the necessary measures (wet skins) against the grappling hooks prepared by them. On the other hand, with Miele, the invention of the Romans was completely unexpected for the enemy, who, in his conceit, did not care at all about what the enemy was doing.

The main task of tactics - ensuring superiority in forces at a decisive point - is achieved in the tactics of fleets by the number of ships, and in the battle of ship against ship - by the action of an overwhelming mass; in this case, this action with the help of "ravens" was achieved by more skillful and more numerous legionnaires, who, moreover, acted completely unexpectedly.

The example of the Battle of Mila shows how decisive technology can be for naval combat, and how closely its progress must be monitored in all countries. In the art of war, there are no precisely defined conditions that would ensure success: at Rium, slow-moving ships with less experienced crews and with inept leaders surrounded the enemy fleet experienced in ramming and were defeated, and at Mile, under completely similar conditions, the same ships won brilliant victory.

In Rome, the significance of the victory at Mile was fully appreciated; Duilius, among other honors, was assigned a triumph, that is, a solemn entry into Rome; to perpetuate the victory, a column was erected, decorated with ship prows (columna rostrata), which, having lain for many centuries under the ruins of ancient Rome, was again brought into the light of God in 1565 and, together with the ancient inscription, is still intact. In modern times, Duilio was honored by the fact that one of the large Italian battleships was called "Duilio".

Hannibal in Carthage saved his life with cunning. "Should I attack?" - "Yes". - "According to this, the results were obtained." This question, on behalf of Hannibal, was asked by his envoy in the Carthaginian Senate, and beforehand he eloquently depicted the position of Hannibal, who found himself at the head of an old fleet that owned the sea from ancient times, in the presence of an impudent newcomer with slow, clumsy ships, albeit equipped with some unknown machines.

According to legend, the decisive battle was preceded by two preliminary skirmishes. The two consuls seem to have cast lots as to which of them should command the fleet and which should command the troops stationed in Sicily; the first went to Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio, the second to Gaius Duilius. Scipio did not want to wait until the main forces of the fleet were ready, and with 17 ships (which were not equipped with boarding bridges) set off along the Italian coast and arrived safely in Messana; the Carthaginian admiral Hannibal, who was standing with the fleet in Panormus, spread a false rumor that the inhabitants of Lipara were only waiting for the arrival of Scipio in order to take the side of Rome; this rumor lured Scipio to Lipara, where the next morning he was attacked by a superior Carthaginian squadron and captured him with the whole detachment; for this Scipio received the nickname "donkey" (asina).

After this, Hannibal, with 50 ships, as can be assumed, moved towards the main body of the Roman fleet, which was moving along the Italian coast, but he did not take any precautions; as a result of this, as well as an unfortunate accident, the Carthaginian squadron, apparently at anchor and, in any case, not ready for battle, was taken by surprise by the Roman fleet approaching in battle formation and lost several ships.

Be that as it may, the main body of the Roman fleet arrived safely at Messana. Here Gaius Duilius, having transferred command of the troops to the tribunes, took over the main command of the fleet (it is possible that until then he had never set foot on a ship in his life) and, with the firm determination characteristic of Roman military leaders, moved with 130 ships along the northern coast of the island, to the west , towards Panormus, towards his mighty naval rival. For their part, the Carthaginians were already moving towards him; the collision occurred at Cape Mile (Milazzo); the Carthaginian fleet consisted of 120-130 ships and consisted almost exclusively of penthers, and the flagship was the same heptera (septireme) that the Carthaginians captured from Pyrrhus.

The Carthaginian fleet was commanded by the same Hannibal, whose carelessness shortly before led to the loss of a significant number of ships; this lesson, however, did not make him wiser; the Carthaginians, who for centuries had almost completely dominated the sea and had not met an equal enemy for a long time, considered themselves completely safe; this led them to excessive self-confidence and to the neglect of even the simplest tactical rules: they believed that their very approach should frighten and put the enemy to flight; such neglect of the enemy is almost always punished, of which the present case is a clear example.

And this time Hannibal did not send forward scouts; his fleet was in disorder; when the Romans appeared, he, with about 30 ships, was far ahead of the main forces, and instead of letting the latter approach or at least line up the ships that were with him, he rushed at the enemy with reckless courage.

https://vk.com/wall-159308223_3758

We have repeatedly expressed the opinion that courage is the most important condition in war, especially in naval warfare; courage is a necessary element of the offensive and of every great success; where there is no such courage, one must be able to arouse it. With soldiers and junior officers, courage can never be excessive, since it is directed and kept within certain limits by senior commanders; even reckless daring, that is, that which acts without proper deliberation, deserves indulgence. But with regard to an independent military commander, the situation is completely different: the higher he is placed and the larger the forces entrusted to him, the less he has the right to neglect the careful weighing of all the circumstances at hand.

Duilius walked towards Hannibal with a calm resolution, the result of his courage; and, indeed, it was impossible not to recognize the great courage of Duilius, who, with the newly created fleet, went into battle with the enemy, for whom the sea was his native, unquestioned element. However, Duilius did so in a sense of his strength, counting on the composure and strict discipline of his commanders and on the skill of his warriors, who, thanks to new boarding bridges, could fight as they used to do on land. He carefully weighed his chances beforehand against an enemy skilled in seamanship, but presumptuous and having bad commanders. The Carthaginians noticed clumsy "ravens" on the Roman ships approaching them in close formation (in which one is unknown). They, although they were surprised, did not take any measures against them, but limited themselves to ridicule. However, when the ships collided nose to nose, the Romans immediately put them into motion. From whatever side the Carthaginians attacked - stem against stem or passing close along the side of the enemy in order to break his oars - heavy boarding bridges fell onto their deck and pierced it with a sharp hook; along these bridges, numerous legionnaires immediately rushed to their ships, held by the "raven", protected from projectiles by walls, shields and helmets.

The Carthaginians were completely amazed by this unexpected method of attack; in hand-to-hand combat, their soldiers were far inferior to the Romans, who, moreover, greatly outnumbered them; they were unable to resist for a long time, and soon all 30 ships with which Hannibal made the first attack were captured, including the flagship. The admiral barely managed to escape on a boat to his main forces.

However, he still did not want to admit the battle was lost. Since the attack from the bow was unsuccessful, he ordered his ships, which surpassed the enemy in speed and agility, to surround the Romans in order to attack them from the sides or from the stern; the Romans, however, were so skillful that they managed to parry this technique, and the attacker everywhere met the menacing "crow", which could turn in both directions by about 300 degrees. Having suffered significant losses, Hannibal, no longer having any hope of success, stopped the battle and began to retreat, which Duilius with his slow ships could not prevent.

The Carthaginians lost at least 50 ships, 3,000 killed and 7,000 captured; Roman losses were negligible. Thus, in the very first battle, Duilius won a complete brilliant victory, and one should not lose sight of the fact that chance also favored him (not counting the fact that Hannibal himself helped him, who, having fast ships, did not evade battle with unfavorable for him conditions), since the weather was good and the sea was calm.

As a result of the victory at Mila, Duilius was able to strengthen his army with crews from ships, free Aegesta from the siege, which was in serious danger, and again push the Carthaginians back to their fortified harbors; however, much more important than these practical results was the moral effect of his victory. The world's first maritime power, a seafaring people, who in those days occupied approximately the same place as in the 19th century. England, the fleet that reigned on all the seas and far surpassed all other fleets, possessed fortified harbors at all significant points, colonies scattered throughout the then known world, supported the most extensive maritime trade and therefore possessed enormous wealth, secured from attack from land - with In the first clash, he was defeated in his own element by an enemy who until then had been completely unknown at sea and who had a much weaker fleet. Just as the prestige of the Athenian fleet was undermined by four successive battles in the bay of Syracuse, so the naval power of Carthage was overturned by one blow.

Media, News, Publishing

понедельник, 23 декабря 2019 г.

VK News 23.12.2019 (20:37)

Комментариев нет:

Отправить комментарий

понедельник, 23 декабря 2019 г.

VK News 23.12.2019 (20:37)

Комментариев нет:

Отправить комментарий

понедельник, 23 декабря 2019 г.