Page 115 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

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ActA
battle that followed was fierce and the enemy force was crushed after a several hours fight
in which the Greek phalanx proved its superiority. The dual victory at the river Euryme-
don was significant in the sea as well as on land. Kimon who was the son of Miltiades,
the winner of the battle of Marathon, was influenced by the lessons of the Persian wars
in developing his strategy and tactics. He persistently took over the initiative of opera-
tions, pre-empted his opponents in their bases and gained significant advantages acting
with boldness and a deliberate study of all the relevant factors. The two hundred Athenian
triremes constituted an outstanding war fighting means, especially for conducting joint
operations on land and at the sea, as they were wider than the old ones and especially de-
signed “allowing space for moving along the deck”, as Plutarch wrote. There was enough
space for at least 25 hoplites on board each one of them, allowing them to move with ease
on their decks. They were reasonably classified as warships and at the same time carriage
ships suitable for carrying out landings with ease and speed even on shores that were oc-
cupied by the enemy.
The Expedition in Egypt (459-454 BC) . In 462 BC, local rulers in Egypt asked for
6
Athens assistance to their planned revolutionary operations against the Persians. The
Greeks chased the Persians to Memphis where they initiated siege while at the same time,
they won a great victory in a naval battle as they reached simultaneously from the land
and from Nile as well, by ships. The Athenians dominated in the region ‘by battles in the
7
sea and on the land by victories and defeats’ for almost five years . The revolutionaries and
the Greeks that had remained in Egypt, found refuge to the island of Prosopitis, and stayed
there for eighteen months, as the Persian generals did not dare to land on the island. The
river was the greatest obstacle for approaching the island as the fleet was sailing around
until they ventured a great technical project, building a system of canals to redirect the
river waters and to join the island to the land, thus rendering the Athenian fleet of no use.
8
Then the land army would be free to capture the island .
Athens Naval Expeditions in Peloponnese (456 BC) : During the same period Ath-
9
ens took over in a joint action of their army and fleet, a large-scale offensive initiative
against the Lacedaimonians and their allies. The heavy casualties they had been inflicted
from their previous operations had convinced them that the most appropriate method for
conducting the war was using the fleet to carry out their offensives. That method enabled
them to reach the enemy positions they had decided to strike, by sea routes. Thus, they
retained the advantage of surprising the enemy and the flexibility to withdraw fast when
large enemy forces approached. The naval expedition was concluded with complete suc-

6 “…disembarking from the sea at the Nile, the forces occupying both the river and Memphis’ shores...”,
Thucydides, I, 111
7 Fighting on land and at sea, after defeating their enemy in both cases, they withdrew to their home land…”,
Ibid., I, 121
8 “They dug canals to divert the river that flowed past both sides of this island, thus making the island an island
no longer. The ships suddenly stranded on dry land…”, Diodorus Siculus, Historiki Bibliothiki, 11, 79, ed.
Kaktos, Athens 1998
9 “Sailing round Peloponnese, they set fire to the Lacedaimonian naval station, they conquered a city belonging
to the Corinthians and after landing they won a victory upon the Sikionians on the ground.”, Thucydides, I,
108