Battle of Drepana

Part of the First Punic War

Date	249 BC
Location	Off Drepana (modern Trapani), Sicily
Result	Carthaginian victory

Belligerents

Carthage

Roman Republic

Commanders and leaders

Adherbal
Hamilcar

Publius Claudius Pulcher

Strength

About 120 ships

Casualties and losses

None

93 ships captured or sunk

The naval Battle of Drepana (or Drepanum) took place in 249 BC during the First Punic War near modern Trapani, western Sicily between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic.

The string of Roman naval victories, such as Mylae and Ecnomus, gave them the confidence to make a direct attack on the Carthaginian stronghold of Lilybaeum governed by Himilco. The city was blockaded by a fleet commanded by the year's consuls Publius Claudius Pulcher and Lucius Junius Pullus. However, despite the acquired Roman naval experience, the Carthaginians were still superior in open sea manoeuvring. A small squadron led by a commander named Hannibal, son of Hamilcar, managed to break the siege in broad daylight and deliver supplies to the garrison of Lilybaeum. In the night, Hannibal left the city carrying the useless cavalry horses and sailed to the harbour of Drepana, before the Romans knew what was happening.

The success of the enterprise was so stunning that the Carthaginians repeated it several times. For the Romans, this was more than a humiliation: it was annulling the whole effect of the siege, since the garrison was being fed and kept in contact with Carthage. Something had to be done.

Shortly after, a brave sailor, identified as Hannibal the Rhodian, openly defied the Roman fleet by sailing around the fleet in order to spy on the town and relay the news of the goings on inside of Lilybaeum to the Carthaginian Senate and the Carthaginian commander at the battle, Adherbal.

Pulcher, the senior consul, then decided to launch a surprise attack on the harbour of Drepana, where the defiant ships were garrisoned. The fleet sailed north from Lilybaeum in a moonless night. Carthaginian scouts did not spot the Roman ships but low visibility conditions compromised the battle formation. When they reached Drepana at sunrise, the fleet was scattered in a long, disorganized line with Pulcher's ship in the rear. Punic scouts saw the clumsy approach and the advantage of surprise was lost.

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