A battle of manoeuvre, line, and ramming

The Roman decision to remove sails and possibly cut loose anchors reduced weight and vulnerability in the approaching fight, accepting the difficulty of rowing into the wind. Forming a single line in heavy seas required discipline, but it gave individual galleys room to manoeuvre their rams. The Carthaginian force approached in column and struggled to deploy, leaving ships bunched where they constrained each other's principal weapon. A surviving ram from a similar period bears chips interpreted as evidence of ram-on-ram contact. The damage offers a physical trace of the close, violent manoeuvring involved. Carthage normally possessed the advantage in lighter ships and experienced sailors, but neither advantage was available in this hastily assembled relief fleet.