Battle of Mylae

Significance

The Battle of Mylae in 260 BC was the first major naval engagement between Rome and Carthage during the First Punic War. Its outcome was consequential on two levels: it contributed directly to Roman control of Mylae and advanced Roman strategic ambitions over Sicily as a whole. The battle also marked Rome's first naval triumph, representing a fundamental shift in Rome's capacity as a military power — prior to this engagement, Rome had no established tradition of large-scale fleet warfare. Carthaginian casualties of 10,000 indicate the scale of the Roman victory. The battle is further notable as the first recorded combat deployment of the corvus, a boarding device that allowed Roman forces to leverage their infantry superiority in a maritime context, under the command of Gaius Duilius against the Carthaginian commander Hannibal Gisco.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)