The Battle of Cape Stock is over. Naval battle of Cape Actium (31 BC)

Battle of Actium took place on September 2, 31 BC. In this naval battle, the naval military forces of Mark Antony and Octavian Augustus came together. Hemmed in by Octavian's naval blockade off Cape Actium in northwestern Greece, Mark Antony was forced to fight a weakened, hungry, and dispirited army.
Antony's fleet was divided into four squadrons. Ready for battle, the ships, contrary to custom, did not leave sails on the shore. The presence of sails on board was unacceptable in those days and could only mean one thing: Anthony was planning to escape from the battlefield. Cleopatra's squadron, which included transport ships with money and jewelry, was located in the rear. It is obvious that the ships Egyptian queen and did not intend to participate in this battle.
At Cape Actium, at the entrance to the Ambracian Gulf, stood the hundred thousandth army of Mark Antony; on the opposite bank of the strait there were also his troops, with whom Octavian’s army of 75 thousand people came into contact.

The fleet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra consisted, according to various sources, from 220 to 360 ships; of which 170 were large ships with three, four and five rows of oars; There were also enners and decimrems among them. They were huge powerful ships with a strong ram, a wooden armored belt to protect against ramming strikes; the height of the side in the middle of the ship reached 3 meters and increased from the bow and stern, so that it was difficult to board them. On the deck there were heavy throwing machines and towers for hanging projectiles. Ships of this design were slow and clumsy; their offensive power consisted mainly of incendiary and throwing shells. The action of the latter was directed not so much against the ships as against the crews. Anthony put 25 thousand soldiers on the ships, not counting the crews. Anthony ordered some of the ships of the Egyptian allies to be burned in order to free up the ship's crews for his floating fortresses.

The basis of Octavian's fleet (260 ships), commanded by the famous commander Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, consisted of biremes and light maneuverable ships with one (rarely two) rows of oars. This new type The Romans borrowed ships from Illyrian pirates and called them “Liburnians” - after the name of the Illyrian tribe. Liburns, as a rule, had only one row of oars, were no more than 30 m in length and about 4-5 m in width. The crew consisted of 84 oarsmen and 36 other servants. Liburns were adapted for maritime robbery, and at the same time for the actions of the maritime police, that is, for the pursuit of pirates. Compared to Antony's heavy capital ships, which had poorly trained crews, the new ships were dangerous weapons with well-trained crews. In addition, such ships were quickly built, and damaged ones could be replaced with new ones from the reserve. The boarding parties on Octavian's ships numbered 34 thousand legionnaires.

Agrippa loaded all his soldiers onto the ships and took a wait-and-see position a mile (1.6 km) from the shore, hoping that Antony's larger ships would sail into open water, where each of them could be attacked by two of his ships at once. Antony, for his part, tried to provoke a battle closer to the coast, where his fleet could not be surrounded. But the wind foreshadowed good weather. By noon, a strong southeast wind blew, which could have carried Antony's ships with sails far from Agrippa's fleet, whose sails remained on the shore. Therefore, in the afternoon, Anthony tried to go out to sea as far as possible, where he could catch the wind.

Plutarch left an excellent description battles of Actium. First, Antony's left wing moved forward, and then the fleet entered the battle. Meanwhile, Agrippa, who commanded the left wing, began to deploy a line against Antony's right flank. Antony's right wing was forced to advance north to counter this, and in the process became separated from its center. At this point, Cleopatra's squadron was able to break through the center of Octavian's line, which was obviously Antony's plan. Antony also managed to save part of his right wing. It was too difficult for his flagship to break away from the enemy, so Antony switched to another ship and escaped. It all happened in the afternoon, when the wind began to get stronger and changed direction so that Anthony’s ships were able to use their sails. Two hours later, around 1600 hours, the remnants of Antony's fleet began to surrender.

Battle of Aktsum became decisive in the confrontation between “young Caesar” and the freethinker Mark Antony. Shortly after the naval defeat of the 19 legions ground forces Antony joined Octavian's army (which was smaller in number). Mark Antony and Cleopatra fled to Alexandria, where they lived whole year waiting for the inevitable end. The era of the Roman Empire has arrived. Contemporaries soon felt the turning point that had taken place. Many cities and provinces began to keep official chronology from September 2, 31 BC. e. (the so-called Aktian era). For several centuries, the peoples of the Mediterranean had reason to consider this day one of the most important in the history of the region. In memory of the victory, Octavian established the Actium Games in Nicopolis and lasted for about three centuries.

September 2, 31 BC Octavian, or rather his admiral Agrippa, completely defeated the fleet of Mark Antony, effectively deciding the outcome of the civil war. During the middle battle, Cleopatra, along with 60 Egyptian ships, left the battle with a fair wind and rushed south. Anthony rushed after her on a light penther. Ancient authors attribute Cleopatra's flight to feminine timidity and deceit, and Antony's flight to a fit of insane and shameful passion. They cannot explain it any other way, since they write from the words of Octavian himself and his official historians. This explanation fits well with the caricatured images of the “Egyptian fury” and the “madman in love” created by Octavian propaganda even before the start of the war. However, this version, which has been repeated by poets and many history textbooks for many centuries, can hardly be considered acceptable. If there is nothing implausible in the flight of the frightened queen, then it is difficult to believe that an experienced general and politician left the army to catch up with his mistress who betrayed him. Modern historians offer various alternative explanations. The most plausible version seems to me to be the one first proposed in the 19th century by J. de la Gravière, according to which the escape was pre-planned by Anthony. It not only sounds more natural, but is also confirmed by an analysis of the situation before the battle and Anthony's preparations known to us. To understand the arguments in favor of this version, we need to go back a few months and analyze the position of Antony’s army on the eve of the battle.

Balance of power before the start of the war

Agrippa's actions were very risky, but surprisingly successful. In early March, when the navigation season was just beginning, and Anthony’s troops were still holed up in winter quarters, he and most of the fleet crossed the sea and, with an unexpected blow, occupied the considered impregnable port of Methona in Messenia, in the southwest of the Peloponnese. In the 15th century, the Venetians defended Methona from the Turks for 40 years. Agrippa took it in a few days. With this victory the situation immediately changed. Agrippa received an excellent base for attacks on other ports of Antony, who had to use almost his entire fleet to guard the coast. This allowed Agrippa to almost completely interrupt the supply of grain from Egypt to Greece. Anthony's army began to have food problems. Meanwhile, the tireless Agrippa captured the islands, strengthening control over sea communications.

Agrippa convinced Octavian to cross with the army to Epirus, which, in view of the proximity of a significant enemy fleet, seemed a very risky undertaking. However, Antony's naval patrols did not detect the crossing army because there were no patrols. All ships were busy guarding the coast and trying to organize grain supplies from Egypt.

Octavian landed a 75,000-strong army in the area of ​​Thorin ("The Stirrer") - just 20 miles from Actium - the main base of Octavian's army and navy. Cleopatra joked: “Let him sit on the stirrer.” But Anthony was no longer in the mood for jokes. He hurried to the army, which was now cut off from communications not only by sea, but also by land. The only source of food was the already exhausted local population. In addition, a malaria epidemic began in the army. Now time was working against Anthony. Feeling where the wind was blowing, many began to run over to Octavian’s side. Among them, for example, was the consul Domitius Ahenobarbus. Discontent grew among the client kings and their troops.

In early August, Anthony attempted to break the blockade. Agrippa successfully prevented all attempts to break through by sea. Then Antony tried a cavalry attack on Octavine's position. But it failed because... the king of Galatia used it to go over to Octavian’s side along with 2000 Galatian horsemen.

Before the battle

It was necessary to organize another breakthrough. Anthony convened a council of war. At this council, Canidius, the commander of the ground forces, made a big speech. He spoke of the plight of the navy, which had become a burden to the army; while the enemy fleet, on the contrary, is well equipped and manned, and Octavian’s sailors have extensive combat experience. But on land, Anthony has a numerical superiority (100 thousand versus 75 thousand). Canidius proposed burning the fleet, retreating into the depths of Macedonia and Thrace and fighting a decisive battle there. Cleopatra sharply objected to Canidius. She indicated that with the loss of the fleet, communication with the main supply base - Egypt - would be interrupted. Even having won a victory on land, Anthony would be unable to either cross over to Italy or retreat to Egypt. He is often accused of simply following his mistress’s lead. We will never know what would have happened if Antony had chosen the ground operation. But his chances in this case, in my opinion, were not very high. Good analysis This option is given in Chapter V of Alfred Stenzel's book "History of Wars at Sea". On the contrary, if he managed to lead the fleet out of the trap, then all worries about food would disappear for him and he would, in turn, have the opportunity to complicate the supply of the enemy. In addition, it is very likely that Anthony was not confident in the reliability of his ground army. The choice of sea battle looks, in my opinion, very rational decision.

Preparing for battle

Due to desertion and malaria, Anthony experienced a great shortage of sailors. Especially the rowers. He could barely man a little more than half of his ships. He ordered the rest to be burned. According to Alfred Stenzel, this decision should be considered a mistake, since his own soldiers could only understand this as an admission that he himself no longer hoped for victory and preferred to burn the ships that he could not use in battle, so as not to give them to the enemy. It would have been better to give the ships to Octavian, but to maintain the morale of the army before the battle.

In those days, warships usually went into battle leaving their sails on the shore. The battle was still fought with oars, and heavy sails only reduced the maneuverability of the ships. However, Anthony ordered the sails to be loaded, explaining this by the need to pursue the defeated enemy after the battle. Not a plausible explanation!

In my opinion, the decision to burn some of the ships and take the sails on board clearly indicates that from the very beginning Anthony was striving not for victory, but for a breakthrough.

Battle

The state of the sources makes it difficult to restore the true picture of the Battle of Actium, and it is therefore not surprising that in special studies even the nature of the battle is defined differently. The following picture, developed by I. Kromayer, seems to me the most plausible:

The battle was planned by Anthony in the form of a breakthrough of his fleet with legionnaires boarded on ships (20 thousand legionnaires and 2 thousand archers were taken on board). Octavian's fleet was much larger than Antony's and consisted of much smaller but more mobile ships. Agrippa planned to attack the enemy by surrounding his large ships with a group of his small ones (tactics " wolf pack"). Therefore, Antony gave the order for the ships to remain in close formation, without leaving the Ambracian Gulf, and to adhere to strictly defensive tactics. However, the enemy did not attack, the wait became aimless, and the left wing of Antony's fleet moved forward. The right flank of Octavian's battle line pulled back , in order to lure the enemy out of the narrow throat of the bay and gain the opportunity to use their numerical superiority, and in the operational space came into combat contact with the Antonians. In close combat, all the advantages were on the side of Octavian's experienced sailors, who had lighter and more maneuverable ships. When Agrippa began to surround enemy ships, the Antonian admiral Poplicola, undertaking a counter-maneuver, stretched his battle formation until a gap formed in it. L. Arruntius, commander of the left wing of Octavian's fleet, immediately took advantage of this to attack. The position of the Antonians became critical. It was at this moment that Antony decided to save what what else was possible. He gave a prearranged signal, which Cleopatra followed first. Her squadron, consisting of fast, but not very combat-ready ships, on which there were almost no legionnaires, but the entire treasury of Anthony was placed in advance, was in reserve. She managed to slip through a gap in the battle formations of the combatants. Few were able to follow her example - most of Antony's ships that were drawn into the battle (including the flagship) died or were captured.

Sources
Plutarch

On the border of Greece and Epirus

Battle of Cape Actium(lat. Actiaca Pugna; September 2, 31 BC) - the last great naval battle of antiquity between the fleets of Ancient Rome on final stage period of civil wars.

General situation

A decisive naval battle near Cape Actium (northwestern Greece) between the fleets of Mark Antony and Octavian Augustus ended the period of civil wars in Rome. Octavian's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and Antony's ally was the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Ancient accounts of this battle are probably not entirely objective: most claim that at the climax of the battle, Cleopatra fled with her fleet to Egypt, and Antony followed her. However, the main goal that Antony set for himself when entering the battle could have been to break the blockade, but the idea was implemented extremely unsuccessfully: a smaller part of the fleet broke through, and the main part of the fleet and Antony’s ground army, being blocked, surrendered and went over to Octavian’s side. Octavian won a decisive victory, achieved unconditional power over the Roman state and eventually became the first Roman emperor since 27 BC. e. under the name Augusta.

Of the ancient historians whose works have survived to this day, the battle of Actium was most fully described by Plutarch and Dio Cassius. Both used memoirs of participants and contemporaries of events that have not reached us. Important information about this battle is also contained in the odes of Horace and the Roman History of Velleius Paterculus.

The battle was decided further development Roman state for the next centuries. Anthony brought to Rome the Hellenistic idea of ​​a hero-king, a living deity on earth, a new Alexander the Great. Octavian’s idea was a kind of “republican monarchy”, which, based on eternal Roman values, masked the sole power of the “first citizen” with a “reborn republic”. Octavian’s winning idea was called “principate” by historians.

Enemy forces

Antique warships

It was at this moment that something no one expected happened. Cleopatra, instead of bringing her 60 light ships into battle, turned south and left the battle with a fair wind. Mark Antony, having learned about this, switched from the flagship to a high-speed penther and caught up with the queen. After the commanders-in-chief fled, the battle continued for several more hours. Some ships threw heavy missile engines overboard in an attempt to escape, but the main forces held out until the end. Agrippa used massive amounts of incendiary shells and only a few of Antony’s ships managed to escape back into the bay, only to then surrender to the victorious Octavian. Octavian himself spent the sea battle in his cabin, suffering from seasickness.

According to legend, Mark Antony sat in prostration for four days on the bow of the ship. Only in the Peloponnese did he share a bed with Cleopatra. On the shore, Anthony began to send orders to the troops, but it was too late.

The ground army held out for another seven days. Despite the already obvious fact of escape, the soldiers continued to believe that Mark Antony would return and lead them into battle. It all ended only after its commander, Publius Canidius Crassus, left the army. Then 19 of Antony's legions joined Octavian's army.

Modern researchers are trying to rationally explain the behavior of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in this battle, since it is clear that most of the information about the battle belongs to the supporters of the victorious Octavian Augustus, and it was they who formed such an unattractive image of a traitor who abandoned his loyal army for his mistress. A version was put forward that Mark Antony and Cleopatra from the very beginning planned to withdraw only part of the fleet, since

Battle of Cape Actium

31 BC e.

In March 44 BC. e. The “eternal” dictator of Rome, the man who laid the foundations of the empire, Gaius Julius Caesar, dies under the daggers of assassins. His killers sought to revive the Republic, but the era had already changed and their plans were not destined to come true. Caesar's closest ally, Mark Antony, takes over the reins of power. It seemed that the transfer of power would take place without a hitch, but then an eighteen-year-old young man, Gaius Octavius, appears in Rome and claims that he was adopted by Caesar, and it is to him that the great man’s inheritance belongs. At first, Mark Antony, feeling the power of Caesar’s legions behind him, laughed at the young man’s ridiculous requests. But it soon became clear that Octavius ​​was telling the truth, that his new name was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian, and that the numerous legions of the nascent empire were still the legions of Caesar, and not the legions of Mark Antony. The result was a division of power, first formalized as a triumvirate, and after being removed from power in 36 BC. e. another of Caesar's comrades, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, who became a duumvirate. According to the agreement of the duumvirs, Octavian received the west of the empire, and Antony received the east. But everyone in Rome understood that such a situation could not last long, and the decisive clash for sole power over Rome was just around the corner. The hour struck in 31 BC. e.

Battle of Cape Actium. Lorenzo A. Castro. 1672

The decisive battle between the army and navy of Anthony and Octavian took place in 31 BC. e. at Cape Aktium (Aktium is a cape and city of the same name in North-Western Greece on the shores of the Ambracian Gulf). The circumstances that led to this battle were as follows. Anthony, under the influence of the Queen of Egypt Cleopatra, decided to land in Italy, where he had many followers. Success depended on quick and decisive action, but Anthony was in no hurry to implement his plan. He moved to Greece and slowly began to gather his numerous legions there. Only in the late autumn of 32 BC. e. he went to the island of Corfu as an intermediate base for transferring the army to Italy and settled in Western Greece for winter quarters. Thus, the landing was postponed until next year, which, of course, was not in the best possible way affected Antony's soldiers, who found themselves in poorly prepared camps. Moreover, this inexplicable delay gave Octavian the opportunity to prepare well for war.

The success of the enterprise for Antony became increasingly doubtful, and some allies began to fall away from him. In his army, hardships, illnesses, and desertion began. By the spring of 31 BC. e. About a third of the personnel deserted from Antony's ships. At the same time, during the winter Octavian assembled an army of eighty thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry. His general Agrippa equipped a fleet of two hundred and sixty liburnae, equipping the ships with various new devices for throwing incendiary compositions. He began to capture enemy transports that were delivering food and ammunition. During these raids, Agrippa received accurate information about the condition and disposition of Antony's army. In total, Anthony had one hundred thousand infantry, twelve thousand cavalry and about three hundred and seventy ships in Greece.

The fleet of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, at first glance, was significantly superior in combat power to the fleet of Octavian. For the most part, these were huge, powerful ships with a strong ram and a wooden armored belt, often sheathed in copper to protect against ramming attacks. The height of the side in the middle of the ship reached three meters and increased from the bow and stern so that it was difficult to board them. On the deck there were heavy throwing machines and towers for hanging projectiles. However, ships of this design were slow and clumsy; their offensive power consisted mainly of incendiary and throwing shells. The action of the latter was directed not so much against the ships as against the crews. Antony placed twenty-five thousand soldiers on the ships, not counting the crews. Anthony ordered some of the ships of the Egyptian allies to be burned in order to free up ship crews for his floating fortresses, since desertion and disease were curtailed personnel With almost half of his fleet, Agrippa persuaded Octavian, despite the smaller number of army and navy, to go on the offensive. The sudden appearance of Octavian's military forces made a strong impression on the enemy. Antony transported his army to Cape Actium, but did not dare to attack. Octavian also did not move, hoping for further disintegration of Antony's army. In addition, every day the favorable time for a major landing operation in Italy was passing away. In addition, Agrippa, without wasting any time, captured the island of Leucadia and the cities of Patras and Corinth, while defeating the Corinthian fleet and depriving Anthony of food supplies. The position of Anthony's army was becoming critical.

September 2, 31 BC e. Antony led the fleet out of the gulf and lined it up in such a way that its flanks were almost adjacent to the shores, and behind it was the entrance to the Ambracian Gulf, along the shores of which his land army stood. Antony's plan, according to historians, was to abandon maneuvers, keep his ships in close formation and wait for an attack from the enemy, who, according to his assumption, could do nothing against the heavy ships. Cleopatra stood ready in the center with her ships. Agrippa moved towards Antony's battle line in an arched formation, trying to cover the enemy's flanks.

Antony's ships were out of reach of the Liburns, and the Liburns easily avoided the clumsy monsters. Taking advantage of Antony's passivity, Agrippa, with the help of coordinated maneuvers of his fleet, managed to lure Antony's left and right flanks forward, as a result of which the latter's formation was broken. Then Agrippa suddenly attacked the enemy fleet - his fast liburines engulfed Antony's floating fortresses from all sides. Antony's ships, protected by an armor belt, were not afraid of ramming attacks, and their high sides and soldiers on board saved them from boarding. Like the battles of modern times, at the first stage the battle was reduced to a skirmish. Such a struggle, according to Plutarch, was more reminiscent of a battle at the fortress walls than a naval battle. The fast-moving Liburnians attacked Antony's large ships in threes or fours, but for a long time the outcome of the battle was completely unclear.

But it was at that moment that something no one expected happened. Cleopatra, instead of bringing sixty of her light, fast ships into battle, capable of successfully fighting similar ships of Agrippa, turned south and left the battle with a fair wind. Mark Antony, having learned about this, moved from the flagship to the fastest ship and caught up with the queen. But even after the commanders-in-chief fled, the battle continued for several more hours. Anthony's fleet, even having lost a single command, continued desperate resistance. Some ships threw heavy missiles overboard in an attempt to escape, but the main forces held out until the end. Agrippa used massive amounts of incendiary shells, and only a few of Antony's ships managed to get back into the bay - but only to then surrender to the victorious Octavian.

The ground army held out for another seven days. Despite the already obvious fact of the commander’s escape, the soldiers continued to believe that Mark Antony would return and lead them into battle. It all ended only after its commander, Canidius Crassus, left the army. Then nineteen of Antony's legions joined Octavian's army.

Modern researchers are trying to rationally explain the behavior of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in this battle, since it is clear that most of the information about the battle belongs to the supporters of the victorious Octavian Augustus, and it was they who formed such an unattractive image of a traitor who abandoned his loyal army because of his mistress. A version was put forward that Mark Antony and Cleopatra from the very beginning planned to withdraw only part of the fleet, since fresh legions were waiting for them in Egypt. Another version is that after the formation was broken, the ships of the left flank returned to the bay, but the ships of the right flank were unable to do this because of Cleopatra’s ships and surrendered. Realizing that the battle was lost, Cleopatra broke out of the encirclement with her ships, and Mark Antony went after her.

Be that as it may, the Battle of Cape Actium ended in a crushing defeat for Antony. Having lost the entire fleet and most of the army, Anthony in Egypt for another year in complete prostration awaited the inevitable end, which was not slow in coming on August 1 of the following year. Now there was only one leader in Rome. The time of the Empire has begun.

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