WI/AHC/: The Corvus Isn't Invented?

How could you prevent the invention of the Roman naval boarding ramp, the corvus? Is it a simple matter of having the inventor just not think of it, or is it too obvious to be delayed for long? What would be the consequence of its non-invention? Carthaginian victory in the First Punic War?
 
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I think its way too obvious for the Romans. They need a way to turn a sea battle into a land battle and they knew this. You could delay it though I imagine.
 
So I think there are 2 things here that can help the Carthaginians in the naval war. One is to not have a Carthaginian quinequereme run aground allowing the Romans to copy its design. The greeks under Roman control will still of course be familiar in buildings those ships but they would not be able to copy the serialization that allowed Carthage to build ships more efficiently, but also their superior ship design.

The second is delaying the Corvus, which allows Carthage to maintain naval superiority for a longer period of time. This would probably mean a Carthaginian victory at Mylae, so instead of the Carthaginian fleet being destroyed, Rome's first real fleet would be destroyed in their first real naval battle. I'm not sure how this would impact Rome's psyche with regard to taking on naval engagements. What it does mean though is the cream of Carthage's oarsmen and sailors would still be around for later engagements, the lack of which after a series of defeats (Mylae, Sulci, Tyndaris, and Ecnomus) in a span of 4 years was debilitating to Carthage's ability to produce an effective navy throughout the rest of the war. Carthage will likely fare much better in later engagements when the corvus does become a factor.


The invention of the corvus isn't necessarily a guarantor of victory though as Rome's later defeat at the Aegeates Islands would attest. If on top of the initial victory Carthage could squeeze a couple of later victories in, combined with Rome's incredibly tendency to get their fleets wrecked in storms, Rome might be convinced to abandon the naval war. From there a negotiated peace could be established that effectively partitions Sicily in three between a Carthaginian enclave in the far west of the island, a Roman allied Syracuse in the southeast, and Roman territory in the northwest and center.
 
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