Phase I: Archidamian War

Archidamian War

       According to Thucydides, the [True] Peloponnesian War was unavoidable by this point. Following the tensions continued by Corinth, the Peloponnesian League marched on Attica in 431 BC. Just as they did in the First Peloponnesian War, Sparta sought a quick and decisive battle to avoid a war of attrition, but when the Spartan Army arrived in the region they discovered the rural Athenians had retreated behind the Athenian wall, taking with them their cattle and other possessions. While the Spartans set siege on Athens, inevitably this was useless as Athens continued to have food come in by way of the sea, protected by their naval assets.

       In the understanding of the Athen's ability to wage war by sea, the Peloponnesians split their armies among their land to protect coastal city-states in the event the Delian League struck back. Come Fall, the Spartan armies returned home to Sparta to prepare for the farming season to avoid economic collapse and famine in the coming year. As Sparta fell back, Pericles, the Athenian general who anticipated the coming Spartan Army wished to pursue the Spartan Army, however, was outvoted by the democratic Athenian people. Instead, the coming months in 430 BC saw the Typhoid Fever; plague behind the Athenian walls. A third of the army Athens sought to protect from conflict perished alongside Pericles without the honor of a glorious death by combat.

(Athenian Plague)

       The following year in 429 BC, Athen's strategy switched from defense to offense. After winning two naval battles against the Peloponnesians, the island of Lesbos revolted against their Athenian rulers. At the same time, Thebes unsuccessfully attacked Plataea but is followed by the Spartans who instead laid siege until the city would surrender in 428 BC. As Plataea burned to the ground, Athens responded with their army and suffered a devastating loss. It would be years to recover.

       Once more on the offensive in 425 BC, Sparta invades the colony of Corcyra. As the Athenian Navy was dispatched to stop this attack, they would be temporarily halted by a storm near Pylo in July. Having caught wind of this halt, the Spartan Army attacked the docked Athenian ships. Unlucky for the Spartans however, Athens knew of the Spartan movement on their docked ships and soon received the Athenian Fleet as reinforcements. The ensuing bloodbath saw the remaining 430 Spartans fall back behind fortifications. Facing attacks from continuous missile fire (arrows and light spears), the Spartans were being worn down and soon fell back once more to Sphacteria. Sphacteria would go down in history as the first time a Spartan Army ever surrendered as they faced continuous attacks they were helpless against.

(Battle of Sphacteria)

       Following the Battle of Sphacteria, Sparta would be forced to call a temporary truce in a bid to retrieve the captured soldiers. While the truce was accepted and Sparta was returned their warriors, Thebes attacked the island of Delian. Shortly after reorganizing their forces, Spartan marched on Amphipolis in Thrace, an Athenian colony in 422 BC. This battle saw the Athenian Army crushed and their general, Cleon, killed before their reinforcements could arrive. The next year in 421 BC, the Peloponnesian and Delian Leagues signed the Peace of Nicias. Peace would last for a few years, but Corinthian and Theban hostilities on Athens would remain persistent.