Battle of Van Lao

Battle of Van Lao
Part of the First Sabrian War
Symmerian and Sabrian ships clash during the battle
Date 27 May 560 Location Off the coast of Van Lao, present day Quenmin Result Sabrian Victory
Belligerents
Symmerian Empire	Sabrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Eurylokhos  † Lycaretos Tyndareus Hoàng Tiến Võ Ðắc Quang	Gnaeus Bellicus Viducia Servana Icilia Saloniana
Strength
800 - 1000 ships ~300,000 sailors and marines	300-400 ships ~150,000 sailors and marines
Casualties and losses
500-700 ships sunk ~150,000 killed	140-180 ships sunk 50,000-80,000 killed

The Battle of Van Lao was the climactic naval battle of the First Sabrian War, occurring on 27 May 560 near the coast of Van Lao in modern day Quenmin. A Sabrian fleet of 300-400 warships attacked a mobilized Symmerian fleet of between 800-1000 warships which were preparing to attack and destroy the Sabrian coastal holdings along the Siduri coastline. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Sabrians defeated the large but uncoordinated Symmerian fleet, which was composed primarily of Quenminese and Serikese ships and sailors, ending the threat of Symmerian naval power to the Sabrian Empire for some time. Despite the victory, Sabria would be forced to abandon its holdings in Quenmin in 661 following several defeats on land.

With an estimated 1,100-1,400 ships involved, Van Lao was the largest naval battle of antiquity, and likely the largest in history in terms of number of vessels. The battle reaffirmed Sabrian naval superiority over the Symmerians, although Symmeria would rebuild its fleet in time for the Second Sabrian War.

By 659 the First Sabrian War had seen a string of victories on land for the Symmerian forces under the command of Deinokrates III, however Sabrian control over the waters of the Bara Sea and its numerous coastal holdings and ports along the eastern Siduri coast allowed the Sabrians to replenish and withdraw their forces on land with ease. Attempts by the Symmerians to prevent Sabrian reinforcement by sea largely failed owing to Sabria's superior maritime tradition, an element of warfare the Symmerians had not had much exposure to since the Seyhad Wars. By 659 however the Symmerians had begun to overwhelm the last Sabrian holdouts in Quenmin, and Deinokrates recognized the need to take the fight to the sea to ensure the complete defeat of the Sabrian threat.

Shortly after the capture of Van Lao Deinokrates issued orders for his satraps in Quenmin and Serikos to begin supplying ships, sailors, troops, and lumber for the construction and mobilization of a massive fleet to be mustered on the Quenminese coast. Recognizing Symmerian naval inferiority meant that any engagement on equal numbers was bound to result in a Symmerian defeat, Deinokrates opted to construct the largest fleet ever assembled in the history of the Empire. The exact number of ships gathered is uncertain, since some vessels that were appropriated for the fleet were not true warships but transports and craft meant only for supporting roles within the fleet. Most estimates place the number of ships between 800-1000, which, assuming each was crewed to more or less their full compliment, would have worked out to nearly 300,000 sailors and marines. The vast majority of the Symmerian fleet were not Symmerians or Syarans, but Quenminese and Serikese levies conscripted for the conflict. As a result most of the ships were not Symmerian dromons but Serikese and Quenminese junks. Nevertheless a core of Symmerian ships and sailors did take part in the battle under the command of Lycaretos.

The Sabrians had learned of the gathering fleet through their spies in Quenmin and quickly recognized the threat posed by the force. Vitellia Ripana, Legate of the Empire, was reluctant to give battle given the sheer size of the Symmerian fleet, but Admiral Gnaeus Bellicus insisted on engaging the fleet while it was still mustering, correctly predicting that the Symmerians would struggle to coordinate their diverse and hastily mobilized forces. Ripana relented and Bellicus called forth every ship the Sabrians could spear, ultimately approaching somewhere between 300-400 ships in total. The majority of Sabrian ships were the classic Waterly Trireme, which could usually outrun and outmaneuver their Siduri counterparts. The Sabrians also enjoyed a significant advantage in ship-to-ship combat owing to their extensive history of marine infantry.

Bellicus and his fleet approached the Van Lao coast in the early morning, and according to Sabrian historians the morning haze rising off the water granted a significant layer of concealment. Thus, while the Symmerians noticed the the Sabrian ships shortly afterwards, they remained oblivious to the full size of the Sabrian fleet. Believing only a small detachment of Sabrian ships had arrived, seemingly by accident, Eurylokhos signaled for a squadron of Serikese and Quenminese ships to sail forth and sink or capture the Sabrians. Apparently owing to communication issues (likely exasperated by the differences in languages), the Serikese departed before the Quneminese were ready to put to sail, and the Sabrians quickly fell upon the Serikese ships, sinking most of them followed by the Quneminese ships who belatedly arrived to engage.

The morning haze began to lift and the Symmerians realized they were facing a massive fleet, larger than any Sabrian force they had faced before. Eurylokhos immediately ordered every ship to raise anchor and attack, ignoring warnings from Admirals Tyndareus (commanding more than 150 Serikese Junks) and Hoàng Tiến (commanding half the Quenminese fleet) that their fleet was in desperate need of organization. Bellicus split his fleet into thirds, himself taking command of the center while Viducia Servana took 100 ships to the north while Icilia Saloniana hugged the coast with another 100 vessels. The Symmerians responded in kind, but it quickly became apparent the Symmerian plan was illsuited to countering the Sabrian force.

The principle issue was one of tactics. The Sabrian fleet thrived on engaging with their rapid moving ships performing sustained missile fire before closing in for quick strikes and rams, intended to break up oars and reduce the enemy's maneuverability. Both Quenminese and Serikese fleets were typically built around "tower ships", junks with constructed fortifications where the crew could fire arrows (and in the Serikese case, rockets) against enemy ships in draw out ranged engagements. The Symmerians on the other hand saw the ranged engagement as only a prelude to the decisive action, the ramming and boarding, which was the primary goal of Symmerian ship-to-ship tactics. By the 7th Century this tactic was outdated; better ship designs had significantly reduced the effectiveness of rams, while the more maneuverable Sabrian ships were more easily able to avoid Symmerian attempts at ramming.

When Eurylokhos ordered his ships to engage he conducted them with traditional Symmerian tactics in mind, and this plan quickly fell apart. Eurylokhos himself gathered the majority of the Symmerians squadrons and rushed to reach Bellicus in the center, but his tangled force of Symmerians, Serikese, and Quenminese ships quickly became dis-coordinated as individual squadrons attempted to fight in the matter they were most familiar with. The Symmeriams themselves rushed forward to attempt to ram and were rapidly overtaken by the Sabrians, who quickly annihilated the Symmerian center. By most accounts, Eurylokhos was killed very early on in the engagement. His death left the Quenminese and Serikese levies under his command leaderless, and so despite their better suited nature towards combating the Sabrians they two were quickly put to flight.

Tyndareus and his Serikese ships (with Quenminese detachments under Võ Ðắc Quang) met Saloniana along the coast and attempted an encirclement, pinning the Sabrians against the shore where they would make for easy targets for his ships ranged fire. Saloniana realized this effort and responded by cutting across the bow of the Symmerian fleet, decimating Tyndareus' vanguard in the process. Võ Ðắc Quang's ships proved more of challenge as they maneuvered to block the Sabrian effort, but were unable to stop the Sabrians from slipping behind the Symmerian fleet. Tyndareus attempted to re-orient his fleet, but again communication issues meant this order was not followed consistently. Quang's own ship did not see the signal and instead tried to pursue the Sabrians directly, resulting in his ships becoming separated from the rest of the fleet. The Sabrians quickly seized upon this and decimated Quang's now outnumbered force, and was saved from outright destruction only by the clumsy crashing of Tyndareus' main body into the battle.

In the north, Hoàng Tiến successfully checked Servana's attempt to outflank the Quneminese fleet, although he was unable to prevent the loss of two squadrons of Symmerian and Serikese ships as miscommunication once again crippled the large scale fleet maneuvers the Symmerians desperately needed. Tiến responded by splitting up his fleet and trying to pincer Servana, recognizing that a pursuit would not end well given the agility of the Sabrian ships. Both sides engaged in a length running battle as Servana's ships attempted to avoid being pinched together. Serikese fire lances, Quenminese arrow fire, and the occasional ballista caused heavy losses in Servana's fleet, the worst fighting the Sabrians would encounter on the day. After several hours of engagement nearly half of Servana's fleet was gone, but Tiến's success was cut short by the realization that the entire Symmerian center had basically collapsed. Servana managed to break off and escape Tiến, who pulled back to the coast for fear of being encircled by the now unchecked Sabrian center. Bellicus opted to withdraw rather than continue the fight, wary of engaging the Symmerian remnants as they coalesced together where their combined firepower would prove more concentrated, and the Sabrians withdrew in the afternoon.

No exact estimates of losses exist, but accounts near unanimous in stating the majority of the Symmerian fleet was destroyed. Anywhere between 500 to 700 ships were sunk, with the loss of some 150,000 sailors and crew. These losses were massive and near instantly destroyed any Symmerian hope of challenging the Sabrians for control of the sea in the near future. Sabrian losses were lower but still heavy; most estimates place the number of ships lost at between 150-200, largely due to the action of the Quenminese admirals. Despite the crushing victory, the Sabrians would ultimately be defeated on land and by the following year were forced to cede all claims to Quenmin. Continued tensions would eventually boil over into the Second Sabrian War not long after, but no naval engagement of that conflict would come close to matching the scale of Van Lao.