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A Naval History of the Peloponnesian War: Ships, Men and Money in the War at Sea, 431-404 BC
Contributor(s): de Santis, Marc G. (Author)
ISBN: 1473861586     ISBN-13: 9781473861589
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
OUR PRICE:   $31.46  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: January 2018
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Military - Ancient
- History | Military - Naval
- History | Ancient - Greece
Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6" W x 9.1" (1.10 lbs) 280 pages
Themes:
- Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.)
- Cultural Region - Greece
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Naval power played a vital role in the Peloponnesian War. The conflict pitted Athens against a powerful coalition including the preeminent land power of the day, Sparta. Only Athens' superior fleet, her 'wooden walls', by protecting her vital supply routes allowed her to survive. It also allowed the strategic freedom of movement to strike back where she chose, most famously at Sphacteria, where a Spartan force was cut off and forced to surrender.

Athens' initial tactical superiority was demonstrated at the Battle of Chalcis, where her ships literally ran rings round the opposition but this gap closed as her enemies adapted. The great amphibious expedition to Sicily was a watershed, a strategic blunder compounded by tactical errors which brought defeat and irreplaceable losses. Although Athens continued to win victories at sea, at Arginusae for example, her naval strength had been severely weakened while the Spartans built up their fleets with Persian subsidies. It was another naval defeat, at Aegispotomi (405 BC) that finally sealed Athens' fate. Marc De Santis narrates these stirring events while analyzing the technical, tactical and strategic aspects of the war at sea.

Contributor Bio(s): de Santis, Marc G.: - Marc De Santis is an associate editor with Military History Quarterly, a prominent US military history magazine. He is the author of a number of articles on aspects of military history for specialist military magazines, including Military Heritage and Ancient Warfare Online. He has also written a fantasy novel.