Philip V begins with roughly two hundred ships against about one hundred allied vessels from Rhodes, Pergamon, Byzantium, and Cyzicus. Inexperienced handling contributes to collisions, including the disabling of the Macedonian flagship after it rams a friendly ship. Macedonia loses or has captured nearly half its force along with thousands of men. The passage makes fleet training a strategic resource: newly built hulls cannot compensate for crews that have not learned to maneuver together under battle conditions.
Chapter · 10:01-15:40
Chios and the danger of an unready fleet
Philip V's larger but inexperienced Macedonian fleet suffers catastrophic losses at Chios, showing that ship numbers cannot substitute for trained crews.