Ambush of Lake Trasimene

The year is 217 B.C. and Hannibal has just won a decisive victory giving him supplies and new allies from the oppressed Gallic tribes.  Two new consuls are appointed to deal with Hannibal, Servilius Geminus and Caius Flaminius.  Consul Geminus had orders to protect the roads leading to Rome, and Consul Flaminius was ordered to protect the Apennine passes.  Both Consuls moved fast, but Hannibal moved faster and passed Consul Flaminius, pillaging as he went and was able to get Flaminius to give chase. Hannibal was traveling down the Malpasso road on the north side of the Lake Trasimene, he noticed that the road narrowed here and ended in a small valley.  To the right of the road was the lake and on the left a wooded slope that stretched alongside it from point of entry all the way to the small valley.  In his mind Hannibal thought this to be a perfect location for an ambush, one that would be known as the largest successful ambush in military history.  With the Romans behind a day Hannibal set to work immediately, setting camp in the small valley at the end of the road.  The strength of the Roman legion numbered at about 40,000 thousand while Hannibal’s army was in between 40 to 50,000 strong (Civilian Military Intelligence Group).  After making camp in the valley Hannibal started to line his troops along the road, placing his Spanish heavy infantry combined with Hannibal’s elite veterans to guard the camp and pin the Roman column.  Hannibal then placed his cavalry and heavy Gallic infantry further up the road hidden in the wooded slopes to stop any Roman retreat.  To finish his trap Hannibal placed the rest of his force, the light infantry, into the bushes and low brush along the flatter ground between the slopping woods and valley surrounded by hills.  This formation would entrap the traveling Roman column and push them into the lake.  As night fell Hannibal sent some skirmishers further down the valley with instructions to light camp fires.  This was a rouse to trick the Romans into thinking the Carthaginians had made camp at a greater distance than they really were.  The next morning visibility was terrible because of fog that had risen from the lake during the night.  Hannibal’s officers were told the day before to hold position and only attack when the signal was given.  As the Roman column made their way down the road, it was apparent that the expected no opposition.  The only Romans in a defensive formation was the Roman vanguard, the rest of the column was in an open format.  When the vanguard finally made contact with the veterans in camp, the whole Roman line was trapped and this is what Hannibal, He had the horns blown and the Carthaginians fell upon the unsuspecting Romans who were caught by surprise.  Even so, the defeat of the Romans took four hours and their commander Flaminius, was supporting his troops wherever they were pressed hardest until a Gallic horseman ran him through with a lance.  Losses by the Romans were high, about 15,000 soldiers were killed and it is estimated that another 10,000 were captured and sold into slavery (livius); news of this defeat terrified the citizens of Rome.  This led to the appointment of Quintus Fabius Maximus who was a veteran of 58 as dictator.  After this new victory for Hannibal, there was no army to stand against him while he continued his march south toward the heel of the Italian peninsula.

Battle of Cannae

As Hannibal continued to ravage the fields and vineyards belonging to Roman citizens, the Roman Senate was pressured to take action.  Their plan was to appoint Consuls Caius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus, Varro wanted to face Hannibal in a up front battle and Paullus was more opposed to that idea and wanted instead to pick off Hannibal's forces because of Hannibal's known tricks.  The two Consuls were given a double sized Legion and were to co-command this army.  In the year 216 B.C. they set out to face Hannibal (UNRV).  to give the Romans some over confidence Hannibal himself led a raiding mission whose soul purpose was to drive into the Roman column and then retreat in a false terror.  This plan had the effect that Hannibal wanted,making Consul a little reckless.  The Romans had in command 80,000 soldiers of both Roman citizens and allies.  Hannibal had with him a mix of 50,000 soldiers with him, and he knew all of their strengths and how to play on those strengths (Encyclopedia Britannica Online).  Hannibal was camping by the Cannae river when the Romans under the command of Consul Varro, came to battle.  Varro wanted to battle next to the river so that he could back the Carthaginians into it and prevent escape, and the flat ground that was the battle field provided Hannibal with no where to hide troops or use to his advantage.  What Hannibal did instead became a classic in western military history and gave the Romans their worst defeat in military history.  The Romans with the advantage in numbers decided to line their infantry into two bulky squares, whose job was simple, crash through the Carthaginian line and defeat the infantry.  The Roman cavalry were to hold off the Carthaginian cavalry while the infantry did their job.   Hannibal had other plans for this. Hannibal put his Iberian and Gallic infantry in the center and his African veterans on their flanks and further back to form an arrow head.  On the flanks of his infantry he placed his cavalry, Numidian light cavalry on the right and Spanish and Gallic heavy cavalry on the left, the cavalries job was the same as the Romans, hold off the opposing cavalry.  Hannibal's plan was that has the cavalry attacked each other, his infantry would slowly give way to the Roman line.  As the Romans went deeper into the Carthaginian line they would become in-cohesive, and his strong veteran flanks would close upon them while his cavalry would swing back and finish the circle (Encyclopedia Britannica Online).  The battle went perfectly for Hannibal, and he won even with the numerical disadvantage.  Rome suffered losses over 60,000 of infantry and cavalry as high as 3,000.  Hannibal on the other hand only received casualties as high as 8,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry (UNRV).  This still remains as one of Hannibal's greatest achievements.

Digital Battle of Cannae

Hannibal's Troops

Some of the different Troops and what the would have looked like in the time of the second punic war

The Campaign of Spain

When Hannibal traveled to Italy and began his Campaign against Rome, the Romans started their own campaign in Spain.  First they sent the Scipio Brothers, not to be confused with Consul Scipio. Consul Claudius Nero also went with them, each commanding a legion of 4,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry.  This campaign was not very successful, the Consuls won about five small skirmishes, but these are not very notable.  What is notable though is their defeat.  The Carthaginians had three commanders and three separate armies in Spain, but when the Romans attacked all three were together, the Romans were hoping for a swift victory but only received defeat.  When the Roman Senate heard of this they sent Consul Publius Cornelius Scipio who had been in to conflict against Hannibal in Italy.  Scipio was unsure of going to Spain because it was unfamiliar and a hostile territory.  There was one reason for going though and that was because the Scipio Brother were related to him, one was his father and the other his uncle.  Scipio left with 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, he was to expect no reinforcements.  When he landed in Spain Scipio rallied what was left of the defeated Roman force, boosting his forces to 28,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry.  The Carthaginian forces had separated, giving Scipio a choice of what to do, he could either attack a Carthaginian force or besiege a town.  He chose to besiege the town of Carthago Nuva, translated into New Carthage, which had control of surrounding lands of rich resources and was the capital of the Spanish controlled lands by Carthage.  he was able to take it in two weeks by over running the defenses with numbers.  This was a major win for Scipio and won him some allies with some of the Spanish tribes, who looked for victories in choosing their allies.  Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal, marched to where Scipio was.  Hasdrubal had in command 40,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry, but was unable to defeat the Romans and so called for a retreat, loosing 15,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry which was supposed to reinforce Hannibal in Italy.  Hasdrubal made his way to the northern passes of Italy.  Scipio had received his second win, and thus more allies from the Spanish.  Scipio continued his plan of defeating the Carthaginian forces one at a time, next going to a Carthaginian training camp. Scipio's attack was a surprise and even though he was outnumbered was able to devastate the forces within the training camp.  When he turned to the third General, the Carthaginian turned tail for northern Spain, leaving Scipio to his own devices in Southern Spain.  After taking Spain from Carthage Scipio was ready to attack Carthage head on, leaving to Africa to do so.

The Loss of Zama

After conquering Spain from Carthaginian rule, Consul Publius Cornelius Scipio is ready to finish the Second Punic War.  Hannibal has spent 16 years devastating Italy and the Roman armies, this has left the Roman Senate desperate.  Scipio proposes a plan that would have been denied ten years ago but now seems the only path to take.  Scipio proposed to take his army from Spain and make his way through Africa and attack Carthage, the enemies heart.  The plan was passed and Scipio set to work collecting his army and traveled to southern Spain where it would be fastest to cross the Strait of Gibraltar.  Scipio was able to collect a little over 30,000 infantry and over 6,000 cavalry to go on this campaign, the crossing went smoothly and Scipio captured a land base in Morocco (Ascanio Tedeschi).  Hannibal was still in southern Italy at the time of Scipio's launch from Spain, so when he learned of the trouble Carthage was in, Hannibal left Italy immediately making it back to Africa in the year 202 B.C.  During the time at sea Scipio had been productive, defeating a Carthaginian army sent to stop him and also "liberating" some of the Carthage controlled lands.  As Carthage lost control other powers in Africa started to cause problems, Massinissa from the Numidians took a core of Numidian Cavalry and started to raid Carthage valleys and lands.  Scipio couldn't finish the job he was sent to do because he wasn't willing to siege Carthage while Hannibal was there.  Hannibal had made it to Carthage in time but at the loss of leaving some of his army behind, this forced him to rally the troops previously defeated and to recruit from the civilian population.  Despite this, Scipio still knew that he couldn't defeat Hannibal in the city, but if he could lure him out he might have a chance.   Scipio did this by attacking several valleys a little away from Carthage, these provided food to Carthage, thus pulling Hannibal out to defend them.  Hannibal's army outnumbered the Romans with 40,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry and even 80 War Elephants, compared to Scipio's 30,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry(roman-empire).  To add to the situation, both generals new about the Numidians in the area, and that if they could get them to join their cause that army would be almost guaranteed victory.  It now became a race to get to the area of Zama, where the Numidians were known to be.  As both Armies closed in, the Romans were able to make contact first and win support, unknown to Hannibal.  Hannibal finally came within three miles of the Roman camp, showing that he wanted battle, and the Romans agreed.  Hannibal sorted his troops one morning and headed out, when he got there he started to line up his soldiers for battle, just as the Romans were dong too.  Hannibal lined his mercenaries and civilian soldiers in the front into to lines, while his veterans where stationed further back to prevent a rear attack. Then he placed his cavalry on either flank of his first line with his War Elephants in small blocks in front of his first line.  Scipio had been studying Hannibal's tactics and had a plan to defeat him.  He lined his infantry in small blocks formed into lines three deep, allowing lanes to be present in his formation(roman-empire).  Then he placed his cavalry on either side, and just as the Numidians were showing up.  Both sides were ready for battle, and both sides sent out skirmishers to test for weaknesses in the opposing lines.  Hannibal then sent his elephants to break the Roman lines, but when they got there they went through the lanes causing minimal damage, and when they got to the back they were dealt with in ease.  After that small victory the Romans sent their cavalry to scare away the opposing cavalry, and it works, the Romans drive the Carthaginian cavalry off the field.  That's when Scipio sends his infantry into battle, and with a lot of success, the Romans make the civilian and mercenary lines collapse on each other forcing Hannibal to send his veterans in to support his infantry.  As the Romans push the Hannibal back, the Roman cavalry rejoins the battle, surrounding Hannibal and his forces and destroying them.  Hannibal is barely able to escape and make it back to Carthage(Ascanio Tedeschi).  With the end of the war, Hannibal starts to rebuild the economy of Carthage until Rome comes looking for his head.  That is when he travels to Greece to become a war adviser to a Macedonian king in the Third Punic War.