Battle of Lilybaeum

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Battle of 218 BC
Part of the Second Punic War
Date Spring, 218 BC Location Near Lilybaeum, Sicily Result Roman victory
Combatants
Carthage	Roman Republic
Commanders
Unknown	Amellius, Praetor of Sicily
Strength
35 Quinqueremes	20 Quinqueremes and Triremes
Casualties
7 ships captured	Unknown

Second Punic War

Saguntum – Lilybaeum – Ticinus – Trebia – Cissa – Lake Trasimene – Ebro River – Ager Falernus – Geronium – Cannae – 1st Nola – Dertosa – 2nd Nola – Cornus – 3rd Nola – Beneventum – 1st Tarentum – 1st Capua – Silarus – 1st Herdonia – Syracuse – Upper Baetis – 2nd Capua – 2nd Herdonia – Cartagena – Numistro – Asculum – Tarentum – Baecula – Grumentum – Metaurus – Ilipa – Crotona – Bagbrades – Cirta – Po Valley – Great Plains – Zama

Punic Wars
First – Mercenary – Second – Third

The battle of Lilybaeum was the first naval clash between the navies of Carthage and Rome in the Second Punic War. The Carthaginians had sent 35 Quinqueremes to raid Sicily, starting with Lilybaeum. The Romans, warned by Hiero of Syracuse of the coming raid, had time to intercept the Carthaginian contingent with a fleet made of 20 Quinqueremes and capture Carthaginian ships.

Contents 1 Strategic Situation 2 Prelude 3 The Battle 4 Aftermath

[edit] Strategic Situation

The Roman Senate had declared war on Carthage after Hannibal Barca had attacked, besieged and finally taken the city of Saguntum in Spain. Rome had declared Saguntum an ally but had done nothing to help the city during the eight month long siege. In 218 BC, The Roman Senate had decreed that the Consul Publius Cornelius Scipio was to sail to Spain with 60 Quinqueremes and a consular army of four legions. Another Consular army, under Tiberius Sempronius Longus, was preparing to sail to Africa with 170 quinqueremes. A small fleet was guarding Sicily under the praetor, Amellius.

Hannibal was preparing to march into Italy, having stationed 26,000 troops in Spain and 20,000 in Africa. The Spanish contingent of the Carthaginian fleet was inactive, but Carthage launched its home fleet against Italy in a series of raids.

[edit] Prelude

The Carthaginian navy struck the first blow of the when a fleet of 20 ships raided the Lipari Islands. Another group of eight ships attacked the Vulcan islands, but were blown off-course in a storm towards the Straits of Messina. The Syracusan navy managed to capture three of the ships. Learning from their crews that a Carthaginian fleet was to attack Lilybaeum, Hiero sent a warning to the Roman praetor Amellius.

[edit] The Battle

The Carthaginian fleet was hampered by bad weather and had to wait before approaching Lilybaeum. Although the Romans only had 20 ships present at Lilybaeum, the praetor, after receiving the warning from Hiero of Syaracuse, provisioned them for a long sail and put in a proper contingent of Roman legionaries on board each ship before the Carthaginian fleet appeared.

The Carthaginians had broken their journey at the Agragades Islands, and when they sailed for Lilybaeum, timing their approach to coincide with the dawn on a moonlit night, the Roman lookouts spotted them well before they reached the harbour. As the Romans sallied forth, the Carthaginians lowered their sails for battle. The Carthaginians outnumbered the Romans, but their ships were undermanned and the Romans held the advantage in the number of soldiers carried aboard their ships. The Romans tried to close with the Carthaginians and grapple their ships, while the Carthaginians tried to ram the Romans ships. In the melee, the Romans managed to board and capture seven Carthaginian ships and 1,700 prisoners. The remaining Carthaginian ships managed to retreat. The Roman losses are unknown.

[edit] Aftermath

The Romans had managed to thwart the attempt by the Carthaginians to establish a base on Sicily. The Carthaginian navy avoided combat with the Roman navy for the greater part of the war. The policy of confronting the Romans at sea was adopted after 210 BC, by which time the Carthaginians had lost the chance to augment their efforts on Sardinia and Sicily by naval means.