Randolph (CVA 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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.nu,, ,.., PAG E mvnns us Qnsv. 1-40 DECK LOG-ADDITIONAL REMARKS SHEET uurrso s1'ATEs sl-up 2 S fDayJ fDaleJ 1Mo-MM ADDITIONAL REMARKS i 0930 Underway from Pier 12, Norfolk Naval Base, Norfolk, Virginia. in accordance with COMCRULANT OPORDER lp-58 enroute GIBRALTAR, B.B.C. Captain and Navigator on the bridge. Pilot CAPT. E.C. ASEXTON has the conn. Maneuvering on various courses while standing out of Hampton Roads Channel. llA8 Entered International Waters. LT USN i

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ing exery Roman .unix with the tentetitx to oppose thetn. although other fIatth.tgini.tn .ntnies were badly defeated elsewhere. l'he Roinans were unable to rt-- tnoxe this incredible thorn in their side until Stipio .Mricatuts again inyaded Xlrita. forcing the friglttenetl Cartliaginimts to recall their brilliant general to the defense of the titx. l'he .unix withdrew frotn Italy by sea in good order. but at last in 202 PLC. Hannibal was defeated in his own country. and Carthage was forced to sue for peace. . l here were no great nayal battles in the Second Punic Nyar because is e ts. Routes control of the sea was too powerful for Carthage to contest. Hannibafs campaign of fourteen years is one of the most brilliant in military history, but he was never able to muster strength enough to assault the city of Rome, because his supply litres were too tenuous. Only one attempt was made to re- inforce Hannibal in strength when in 207 B.C. his brother I-Iasdrubal brought an army of 30,000 men across the Alps, the seas being closed to Carthaginian ships. Be- cause the Romans were between the two armies they were able to destroy Hasdrubal's army before a junc- tion could be effected. Prior to this Hannibal had concluded an alliance with the King of Macedon, but the Roman navy prevented him from sending troops into Italy. Thus Rome's control of the sea denied Hannibal what chance he had for victory, and in the end defeated him by launching an overseas attack on Carthage. The peace terms imposed by Rome make clear the importance she attributed to sea powerg except for a very mild payment of reparation, the only stipulation was that Carthage was never again to maintain more than ten hghting ships. Thereafter, Rome was the undisputed master of the western world, and until her fall the only wars which were fought were between Roman political parties, but these were wars on the largest scale. The hrst of them was waged between -lulius Caesar and Pompey, which resulted in Caesar's being crowned the hrst Emperor of Rome. After his assassination the Empire was thrown into great confusion, until the contestants for power were reduced to two, Nfark Antony with his charming ally, Cleopatra, and Ortavian, afterwards Augustus Caesar. This war was finally decided at the naval battle of Actium in 31 ll.C., and Augustus was at last able to put the Roman Empire on a secure and peareful footing. One of history's most dramatic events occurred at the Battle of Arttium, through the romantic tircum- stance that the two principal commanders of the l5 lzastern fleet were lovers. They had been blockaded in the Cuff of Anrbracia on the western coast of Greece, and it becatne necessary to break the blockade and either defeat Octavian or retreat to Egypt. Xvhen .Xntony's fleet sortietl from the bay, Cleopatra com- ntandetl the reserve stptatlron in the rear. At the critical point in the battle, when the fleets were heavily Italian Light Cruiser engaged, she made sail, an almost unprecedented occurrence in ancient battles, and broke through the center of the line to the open sea. Antony's fleet con- tinued the battle, but without their commander, for Antony had transferred in a boat to Cleopatra's Hag- ship, and fled with her to Egypt, leaving his fleet to its destruction. It is possible to consider Cleopatra's action a sound military gambleg the object of the battle was to break the blockade, which Cleopatra accomplished, at least in part. The Eastern ships were much heavier and slower than Octavian's, but making sail allowed Cleo- patra to obtain speed and maneuverability to strike a blow at the center of the line. If the rest of the fleet had been able to disengage and follow her it might have turned out to be a stroke of tactical genius. How- ever, the attempt failed, and Mark Antony has been remembered as a great soldier who was put to shame by his love for a fascinating woman. After the Battle of Actium the stabilization of the Roman Empire brought the Pax Romana to the troubled waters of the Mediterranean. It was to be many hundreds of years before there would again be a great fleet action. The decay of the Roman Empire was prolonged and gradual under constant pressure from the barbarians of the North. In 330 AD. limperor Constantine shifted his capital to Byvantium. thereafter called Constantinople, and nowadays lstan- bul. This marked the formal end of the Roman Em- Cmtlimterl on Page 114

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