Thucydides Daily Reader

When the Acarnanians found themselves under attack by a large land army and threatened by an enemy fleet from the sea, they made no unified attempt to resist. Instead, each community stayed to defend its own territory, and they sent a request for help to Phormio. He responded that with a fleet about to sail from Corinth, he could not leave Naupactus undefended. Meanwhile, the Peloponnesian forces and their allies advanced toward Stratus in three separate divisions, planning to make camp near the city and, if negotiations failed, to assault its walls by force. Their marching order was as follows: the Chaonians and other non-Greek tribes held the center, the Leucadians and Anactorians with their followers took the right wing, and Cnemus led the Peloponnesians and Ambraciots on the left. Each division marched at such a distance from the others that they were sometimes out of sight of one another. The Greek forces advanced in good order, maintaining vigilance until they could establish a secure camp. However, the Chaonians, brimming with overconfidence and enjoying the highest reputation for bravery among the continental tribes of that region, did not wait to set up camp. Instead, they charged forward with the other non-Greek forces, believing they could capture the city by storm and claim all the glory for themselves. As they approached, the Stratians, who had become aware of the situation and realized that defeating this division would severely demoralize the Greek forces behind it, positioned ambush forces around the city. When the attackers came close, the Stratians engaged them in close combat from both the city and the hidden positions. Panic struck the Chaonians, and many were killed. When the other non-Greeks saw them retreat, they too turned and fled. Because of the distance between the divisions, neither Greek contingent knew about the battle—they assumed the advance guard was simply hurrying to set up camp. When the fleeing non-Greeks crashed into their lines, however, the Greeks opened their ranks to let them through, consolidated their forces, and held their position for the rest of the day. The Stratians did not engage them directly, since reinforcements from the rest of Acarnania had not yet arrived, but instead harassed them with sling attacks from a distance. This caused the invaders considerable distress, as they could not move without their armor. The Acarnanians appear to be particularly skilled in this type of warfare. When night fell, Cnemus hastily withdrew his army to the river Anapus, about nine miles from Stratus. The next day he recovered his dead under a truce, and after being joined by the allied Oeniadae, he retreated to their city before enemy reinforcements could arrive. From there, each contingent returned to its homeland, while the Stratians erected a trophy to commemorate their victory over the non-Greek forces.