Battle of Naupactus - Battle

Battle

With the fleets at anchor across the strait from each other, it fell to the Peloponnesians to initiate a battle, as they wished to force an action before the Athenian reinforcements arrived. After six or seven days at Rhium, therefore, the Spartan commanders led their fleet eastward into the Corinthian Gulf. The Athenians, who in the previous battle had been able to take advantage of their superior maneuverability in the open sea, were reluctant to enter the constricted waters of the Gulf, but were forced to follow the Peloponnesians in order to protect Naupactus, which had been left ungarrisoned.

The twenty Athenian ships entered the gulf sailing in single file along the northern shore; the Messenian hoplites from Naupactus marched along the shore beside them. On the southern shore, the Peloponnesian fleet was sailing in four lines, parallel to the shore. On the right of these lines, leading the advance into the gulf, were the twenty best and fastest ships in the fleet, which had been assigned the job of preventing the Athenians from escaping when the Peloponnesians attacked.

Seeing the Athenians in the gulf and sailing in single file, Cnemus gave the signal for his ships to attack. The Peloponnesian fleet turned at once and raced across the gulf at the Athenians. The Athenians attempted to flee, but only the eleven leading ships were able to slip around the Peloponnesian right wing and flee towards Naupactus; the remaining nine were cornered, driven ashore, and captured, while the twenty elite Peloponnesian ships from the right wing set out after the fleeing Athenian eleven.

Ten Athenian ships reached Naupactus safely and took up positions at the mouth of the harbor, prows facing outwards, ready to defend against any attempt to enter the harbor. The last Athenian ship was fleeing towards the harbor, with the Peloponnesians (who were already chanting the victory paean) pursuing it closely, when it came alongside a merchant ship anchored outside the harbor. Using the merchant ship to protect its flanks while he turned, the Athenian captain spun his ship 270 degrees and rammed his leading pursuer in the side, sinking it. Although the Peloponnesians still held a great numerical advantage, the shock of this single action, which disheartened the Peloponnesian crews and reenvigorated the Athenians, proved sufficient to turn the tide of the battle. Confusion set in among the Peloponnesians; some rowers in leading ships dropped their oars to allow the main body to catch up with them—thus leaving themselves immobile and vulnerable in the face of an enemy force; other ships ran aground as a result of their captains' ignorance of the coastline. The ten Athenian ships in the harbor rushed out and joined the attack, and the Peloponnesians were instantly routed. The Athenians captured six ships in the pursuit, and recovered all but one of their own ships which had been taken earlier. Although both sides claimed victory and set up trophies, it was clear who had won the battle; the Peloponnesians, fearing the arrival of the Athenian reinforcements, retreated to Corinth under cover of darkness several days after the battle, and the Athenians continued to hold Naupactus and dominate the gulf.