Land Battles
The Battle of Stratus
In the first year of the war, 100 Athenian ships under the command of three admirals appeared in the Peloponnesse and did damage to Laconia and Elis. They then headed home for supplies and to drop off some men. Voyaging back again they stormed Astacus, expelling its unlucky tyrant, and won Cephallenia Island and its four towns to Athens. Then they went home.
The next year Athens was exhausted and made no attempt to follow up their success which left themselves open to Spartan attack. Spartan admiral Cnemus took 100 ships and plundered Zacynthus and went home.
He then proposed a plan to the Spartan government. A plan that if it was a success would eliminate any Athenian city presence from the Peloponnese. It went like this: The Spartans would send as many ships as they could muster to attack and take Cephallenia, Zacynthus, Acarnania, and maybe Naupactus, if they can manage it. The Spartan officials loved the idea and prepared for the siege.
The Spartans called upon every ally for ships. Cnemus was appointed to lead the siege. He was given one thousand heavy-armed troops and was to rendezvous at the town of Leucas with some Corinthian troops. Because of all the mouths that he had to feed and because the Corinthians were late, Cnemus left before the Corinthians got there. First he plundered a small, unwalled village called Limnaea. He then crossed the northern spur of Mount Thyamus and came north on the town of Stratus. The general directed the army in three widely spread columns and made no attempt to keep in touch by means of scouts or signallers. The left and right columns were directed to encamp for it was getting late, but the centre column, being careless and confident, went full speed towards the city because they wanted sole glory of the plunder. The people of Stratus saw them coming and sent an ambuscade outside the gates of the city. The Spartans' centre column fell right into the trap and was ambushed on either side by the Stratus army. They fled in panic.
As the Spartans ran, the Stratus army followed and met Cnemus' column and stopped. They stood rooted to the spot and started slinging. In the face of their opponents, they dared not break their ranks to attack. By standing still, they suffered greatly, but the coming of night saved them. Cnemus moved his men to a river nine miles west, and the Stratus army did not pursue.
The next day, under a flag of truce, Cnemus recovered his dead and left. The Stratus people raised a trophy honouring their victory.
The Battle at Olpae
In 426 BC an Aetolian embassy went to Sparta and Corinth to get men to attack Naupactus because their garrison was depleted and there were too few men to guard the circuit of the wall. If Naupactus were taken, it would end Athenian interference. Demosthenes, an Athenian general, heard the news of the attack and asked Acarnania for men. The Acarnanians gave him one thousand men which was more than enough to guard the wall. Demosthenes knew he had to hurry for the attack would come soon.
A Spartan general named Eurylochus went took command of the men gathered from Sparta and Corinth and captured twelve Locrian tribes to get hostages that would help them fight. He realised that Naupactus was now heavily garrisoned so he ignored it. The Ambricots gave Eurylochus the idea to attack Argos so he could have easy access to Amphilochia and Acarnania. Eurylochus was very pleased with this idea and got the Ambricots to help him but they were not ready. Eurylochus quartered is army among the towns of "Old Aetolia." Summer and winter passed and the Ambricots marched with about one thousand two hundred and fifty men against Argos. They first seized Fort Olpae which was three miles from the city of Argos. Eurylochus was notified and he collected his forces to join their allies.
The Acarnanian army split in two and one half went to help defend the city and the other took position in Crenae two and a half miles Southeast of Fort Olpae. The object of this was to intercept Eurylochus and prevent the two armies from joining. They then went to beg Demosthenes to hasten from Naupactus to aid them. They prayed him urgently to come and take command.
Eurylochus went north at top speed and came to empty land because all the armies obeyed the call to Argos. Stratus was the only city garrisoned. They avoided the city by going on a road nine miles west of the city. Eurylochus had a great skill of night navigation and slipped between two Athenian towns, Crenae and Argos, which were only one mile apart. He then went and joined the Ambricots. Eurylochus had won a strategic campaign and proved that Spartans had no fear of night walking. He only needed one tactical victory to crown his strategic victory.
Demosthenes was the tactical master of the Athenian army. He brought his men to just east of Olpae and Eurylochus did the same. They camped there for six days until Eurylochus attacked. Demosthenes had just enough time to hide four hundred men for an ambush. When the battle joined, Eurylochus’ right wing drove Demosthenes’ left away and they fled to Argos. The victors stopped pursuit and turned back towards the battlefield. Eurylochus led his wing forward to overlap the enemy. Demosthenes had foreseen this action and rose up the four hundred men for the ambush. They fell on top of the enemy shouting at the backs of their foes. The surprise was complete. The Peloponnesian army was left crumpled. Panic spread along the line and the whole army ran for Fort Olpae. Many runners got trampled down by the confusion of the flight. The losing army was found cooped up in Olpae’s walls. The victorious army was found outside.
Among the dead Eurylochus lay as well as one other Spartan general. There was one more Spartan general inside. Demosthenes won a notable battle with the use of ambush for only three hundred were slain. A secret treaty was established and the Spartans were let out to bury their dead. The Spartan reputation vanished in that area.
The Battle of Delium
In 423 BC Hippocrates arrived in Delium. He spent most of three days constructing defenses around Apollos temple. Then light-armed troops, a large, unorganized, and poorly armed mob left for their homes. The heavy-armed troops, 7000 strong, halted a mile away from the temple fort just within the Attic frontier. They then piled their weapons and prepared for encamp The general was inside the fort, supervising the final touches of the defenses of the fort and arranging for the posting of its guards. At the moment the whole Boeotian army, 7000 heavy-armed troops, 10 000 light-armed troops, and 500 targeters came marching down from Tangera, where they had been collecting. The Boeotian general was Pagondas, one of two Theban magistrates of the year.
Pagondas was accompanied by other Boeotian officials of the Boeotian Confederacy the border.. These people were reluctant to attack the Athenians but the foe had crossed the border. He would not have them all leave their for their arms together in the presence of even the Athenian army. It was becoming dusk on that winters eve when Pagodas came in touch with the enemy. He stopped his men at the base of a hill which lay between them and the Athenians. Hippocrates, the Athenian general was organising his troops when the Boeotian army came over the ridge and attacked him. He then ordered his men to run up the hill and counter attack. This action was unwise because the attackers had a height advantage. The Athenian right broke and fled leaving the rest on their own. The calvary of the Boeotians pursued them. The next day a herald was sent to ask for their dead. The Boeotians said that they should evacuate the base first. The Athenians left their dead and took the fort. They were defeated.
