The 2nd Punic War

Part One

By Terry Gore

This article will be the first of several dealing with the 2nd Punic War and how it can be replicated using Ancient Warfare. The basic overview will give a brief history of the war and set the stage for the climactic end of Carthage as a major Mediterranean power. The personalities of the times are as colorful as any in history. The battles were fierce and decisive, pitting the Roman manipular system against the tactics of Hannibal Barca. The war was long, bloody and exhausting to both sides. Here is part one of the 2nd Punic War.

Events Leading Up to the Second Punic War 241-218 B.C.

After the 1st Punic War had ended in a Roman victory, both Rome and Carthage attempted to recover from the costly and brutal decades of fighting. Neither really had much of a respite. Carthage fought devastating wars against her unpaid mercenaries, called the Libyan War, and had its own problems with the northern Gallic tribes and Illyria.

When the peace of Cataulus brought and end to the 1st Punic War, the Carthaginian mercenary army in Sicily had been brought back to Africa without being paid. This being a mercenary army, the Carthaginian rulers could not exactly call upon their loyalty and allegiance to a lost cause to placate them. They wanted their money. War reparations, the costs of the final campaign as well as the expense of re-building their fleet left no funds available to pay a losing army. The troops were ushered into camp well away from Carthage before being informed they would not be paid. The most strident leaders of the mercenary army murdered those calling for restraint and led the army against Carthage.

The resultant war, called the Truceless War or the Libyan War (as Libya took the opportunity to rise up in revolt over taxes and being subject to Carthage), would be a very bloody experience for all concerned. In the first battle of the war, Hanno, the military governor of Africa and the victor in the previous Libyan-Numidian revolt, managed to actually win, but lost the campaign.

Carthage recalled Hamilcar, and with 10,000 men and 70 elephants, he defeated the rebels, but could not destroy them. Meanwhile, the Sardinians rose in revolt, killing the Carthaginians on the island. The rebels, upon hearing this distant news, became overconfident and killed their captives. Hamilcar had had enough of them and planned on ending the war once and for all.

Hanno was left in command of Carthage as rebels besieged the city while Hamilcar moved south to interdict the rebel supply bases. This drew the rebel army out to fight and 20,000 of the troops were killed, the rest reentered Carthaginian service in order to save their lives. Out of this war Carthage emerged as a powerful and unchallenged victor.

Rome and Carthage between the Wars

During the siege of Carthage, Rome actively supplied Carthage, refused to trade with the rebels and freed all former prisoners of war. Hiero of Syracuse likewise traded with Carthage, as Syracuse needed a strong Carthage to counter Roman power.

Sardinian mutineers were forced out by the native populace and had gone to Rome, pleading for help in restoring them to power. Carthage's occupying troops were dead and Rome now regarded Sardinia as an open territory. Some in the Roman senate regarded Carthage's victory over the rebels as a threat to Rome and by taking Sardinia, Rome could protect Italy from attack by Carthaginian fleets based there.

Thus Rome occupied Sardinia and Carthage threatened to take it back militarily. Rome told Carthage that any action against Sardinia would be considered an act of war. Carthage once again found itself being humiliated, giving up Sardinia because the Carthaginians were not in any way prepared to undertake another massive, expensive and destructive war at this time. The problem was that Carthage considered Sardinia the most valuable area it controlled, more so than Sicily . Losing it was viewed as a blow to national morale as well as a major financial and military loss. Hamilcar was incensed and sought to convince his colleagues that Rome would always be an enemy of Carthage. Some way had to found to redress the balance of power in the Mediterranean that slowly had been shifting in favor of Rome.

Carthage split over whether to confine further territorial and trade expansion in Africa or to continue to be a maritime power and control overseas possessions. Hamilcar considered himself undefeated by Rome and hated Rome as well as those who had failed to try to win the last war with them. His eyes, and the eyes of his supporters, turned to Spain. The valuable Spanish silver mines and the opportunity for new trade markets were of the utmost importance to the future of Carthage. Hamilcar also saw Rome casting covetous eyes toward Spain, so decided Carthage would take the initiative in establishing a new colonial base there.

Hanno considered this a very good project as well. Not only would it allow the Carthaginians to reclaim their lost wealth and prestige, it would also remove the contentious Hamilcar and the army of former rebellious Libyans and mercenaries from the African mainland.

Carthage and Spain

Hamilcar gathered together every seaworthy transport vessel he could to transfer his army from the African coast across to the Pillars of Hercules in southern Spain. In the summer of 237, he boarded his flagship and crossed to Spain with 20,000 troops, 100 elephants and his 9-year-old son, Hannibal . Eight years later, Hamilcar lost a battle at Halice, and trying to save his army, drowned.

Rome seemingly did not feel concerned about the Carthaginian presence in Spain, thinking it prudent to let Carthage fight in Spain to take over the silver trade, which would allow Carthage to more easily pay off the immense war reparations imposed on them after the last war. Rome would get the silver in any event!

Hamilcar's brother-in-law, Hasdrubal, took over the Carthaginian forces in Spain and by now had a huge army of 50,000 foot, 6,000 cavalry and 200 elephants. It took nine more years, but he finally brought Spain south of the Ebro River under Carthaginian control. The recently established city of New Carthage (present day Cartegena) became a valuable port and capital in Spain. Hasdrubal also cemented together relations with the Spanish by marrying a local princess. He soon became know as a "king".

A Short Treaty of Peace

Rome had continually fought against Corsicans and Sardinians as well as Celtic Gauls in northern Italy. The Celtic tribes had allied together and actually planned to invade Italy in 226. The Romans feared a further alliance between Carthage and these tribes, but Hasdrubal had his hands full in Spain, and could not launch an attack against Italy if he wanted to. Rome and Carthage thus signed a peace treaty, with Carthage promising not to cross the Ebro River. This suited Roman plans, as it allowed for a buffer zone between Punic controlled Spain and the Gallic possessions.

Rome would be ensured of plenty of potential obstacles to Carthaginian aggression in this theater of operations. The treaty also worked for Carthaginian interests. It meant that Rome would not be interfering in Spain. Leaving Spain to Carthage proved a costly mistake. Constant warfare eventually caught up with Hasdrubal. In 221, a Gallic assassin managed to murder him.

Hannibal suddenly and unexpectedly found himself in command of the Carthaginian forces in Spain. He wasted little time in consolidating his power. The popular assembly in Carthage approved of his command and the opposition to a son of the strong-willed Hamilcar Barca was a far from popular figure amongst the governing oligarchy, there was little they could do but go along with the will of the people. Hannibal dealt swiftly and brutally with the rebellious Celtic tribes and they were soon defeated and swearing allegiance to Carthage.

The Beginning of the 2nd Punic War

Rome had plenty of enemies. By 219, the Gauls had been defeated in detail, but the Illyrians under Demetrius were up in arms, expecting Macedonian help. They were disappointed and soon after, Demetrius found himself fleeing Illyria with the Romans chasing him. As the situation settled in Italy, vague rumors of trouble began arriving from Roman spies in Spain.

Twenty-six year-old Hannibal Barca had sworn an oath as a child to fight against Rome. Resemblance to his father appeared striking to those who knew both. The Spanish immediately accepted his rule. Hannibal was the epitome of the classical warrior-king. At his best when at war, Hannibal looked toward Rome as challenge waiting to be acted upon. Envisioning himself as a new Alexander the Great, he would take on the greatest power in the known world and conquer it.

Upon coming to power, Hannibal defeated the remaining uncowed Iberians, until only the city of Seguntum remained unconquered south of the Ebro River. Seguntum had asked for a nd received offers of protection from Rome. Rome felt that an ally was needed to weaken Carthage's hold over Spain and that Carthage could not dictate who Rome could or could not ally with, after Rome had won the war, not Carthage!

Seguntum asked Rome to arbitrate a treaty of peace between Carthage and itself. Hannibla immediately recognized this as Roman complicity. In 219, a Roman delegation to New Carthage warned Carthage not to attack Seguntum. Hannibal refused and laid siege to the city, figuring that Rome had its hands full with Demetrius and the Illyrians. They would not be able to respond quickly.

Surprisingly, Seguntum withstood the siege for eight months, refusing offers to surrender, until finally the Carthaginians assaulted it and captured the city. Some of the wealth of the city as well as the populace was sent to Carthage to be sold as slaves, while the rest Hannibal allocated to his loyal fighters and to himself.

The Treaty of Cataulus, which ended the 1st Punic War had been broken by Hannibal. Rome demanded that Carthage give him up or at the least, decry his actions and remove him from command or face certain war. Carthage rejected the demand.

In March of 218, Rome elected new consuls. Since Carthage had defied Roman warnings, and Hannibal could be expected to push his conquests beyond the treaty lines established at the Ebro River, Rome had little choice but to go to war…an honorable war in retaliation for an unprovoked attack upon a Roman client. The Roman senate did not fear the Carthaginian army and when Carthage was beaten, Rome would walk in and take over Spain…and the silver mines.

The war proved popular in Carthage as well. Honor could be restored and military victory could bring untold riches. Carthage appeared to be stronger and wealthier than in the first war. Though Rome held the balance of power at sea, Spain could easily be reinforced. Besides, Hiero of Syracuse was getting old and a Syracusan insurrection could allow for Carthaginian interests to be rekindled in Sicily.

Hannibal refused to consider a simple, defensive war. He wanted to take the war to Rome itself and destroy the hated enemy once and for all. Figuring that once Rome had been militarily defeated, the Italian allies would rise up in revolt. His prognosis was based upon his own experiences and that of Carthage. The situation on the Italian peninsula would not be the same as in northern Africa, however.

Plans for the War

Hannibal came up with a strategic plan that took into account the Roman propensity to attack him in both Spain and in Africa. His brother Hasdrubal would stay south of the Ebro River with an army large enough to deal with the Gauls and Spanish. He would also actively recruit more troops to fight against the Romans.

Hannibal would cross the Ebro, defeat any tribes opposing him up to the Pyrenees and then wait to destroy the expected Roman response with his 80,000 men and elephants. Once defeated, the Romans would be demoralized when the Carthaginian army crossed into northern Italy, attracting the Gallic tribes to fight alongside of them. Rome would be unable to use any armies outside of Italy, being forced to concentrate on the invaders. This would allow Hasdrubal to bring a second army into Italy to finally defeat the hated Romans.

Spanish troops were duly sent to fight in Africa, thus freeing up numbers of Libyans (and also removing the rebellious elements from their own homelands) to fight against Rome. These troops, as well as Balaerics, Ligurians and Numidians were assigned to Hasdrubal to train along with elephants and a fleet of forty ships. Hasdrubal's army of 15,000 would have to be enough to hold Spain.

In June of 218, Hannibal crossed the Ebro once again. Rome countered by sending Scipio with an army of 22,000 foot, 2,200 cavalry and sixty ships to intercept him. The Roman senate also allocated an army to attack Africa. The war had truly begun.

Hannibal Invades Italy: 218-217 B.C.

The Carthaginian leadership wasted little time in preparing to avenge itself on Rome. Hannibal traveled to Gades where he prayed and made vows to destroy the power of Rome. In May, once word came from Carthage that Rome had repudiated the treaty of peace, Hannibal prepared for war. He gathered an immense army of 60,000 foot, 12,000 cavalry and forty elepahnts as well as two chroniclers to record his progress.

The army crossed the Ebro River and marched upon the Celtic tribes, most of which did not oppose him. In fact, some tribes took the opportunity to rise up fight against the Roman colonists occupying their lands.

Roman plans were to send an army into Celtic Gaul to deal with Hannibal and launch an invasion of Libya in conjunction with it. Rome counted on the northern Spanish tribes supporting them, figuring that they would be viewed as liberators, helping them to throw off Carthaginian domination. Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal remained behind with barely 10,000 men to oppose any Roman invasion.

Hannibal's First Moves

Hannibal sought to bring Spain into the Carthaginian orbit and he therefore let 10,000 Spanish fighters go home as a goodwill gesture. Only those men who truly wanted to fight remained. Figuring that the Romans would not launch a winter invasion of Spain, he took his remaining army of 50,000 foot and 9,000 cavalry along with the elephants over the Pyrenees. Meeting the native Gallic tribes, he persuaded them to join him until he came to the rhone River. What was he planning on doing?

Hannibal realized that Rome had at her disposal huge numbers of potential soldiers, thanks to her control over the Italian tribes of the peninsula. He felt that these "allies" would not continue to support an oppressor when they could join the Carthaginians and regain their lost freedoms. To convince the Italian tribes of the value of joining the Punic forces against Rome, Hannibal knew he would have to show them that Rome could be defeated. The only way to do that would be to invade Italy itself and defeat the Romans on their own soil. Besides, the Carthaginian army would be living off Roman largess, not their own. Hannibal therefore would invade Italy. But several obstacles stood in his way, not least of which was the Rhone River.

A tribe of Gauls barred the Rhone crossing, as they assembled an army on the other side, waiting for the Carthaginians to wade the cold waters and arrive exhausted and ripe for destruction. Hannibal had other ideas. He sent a force upstream and they crossed, moving back down the river and catching the Gauls in the flank as Hannibal attacked them from the front, routing them. This was the first of what would be many successes over the next two decades of war.

The Romans Attack

Though late in the year, Publius Scipio took his two freshly recruited legions and sailed to the mouth of the Rhone River, intending to intercept the Carthaginian army as it moved toward Italy. Sending some cavalry out to reconnoiter, they ran headlong into Hannibal's Numidian scouts who got the worst of the fight and fled back to the Carthaginian camp. The Roman cavalry followed and quickly rode back to Scipio with news that Hannibal had already crossed the Rhone.

The Romans moved to contact the Carthaginian army, but Hannibal did not want to fight a pitched battle at this point and moved on. Scipio knew he could not catch the Carthaginians as they had a two-day head start on him. Figuring, most probably, that the Punic army would be severely weakened int its endeavor to cross the mountains in the fall (the Carthaginian army would not begin the ascent until October 14), the Roman commander left Spain.

Scipio returned to Italy, but only after giving his army orders to fight in Spain and harass the Carthaginians left behind. The Roman forces were left in command of Scipio's brother. Scipio intended to gather the consular army in Italy as well as two other legions and confront Hannibal if and when he entered the Po River valley.

The Alps

While many Romans doubted that Hannibal would actually dare to try a northern invasion across the formidable and dangerous Alps, Hannibal felt it would be worth the risk. In Rome, it was understood that the war would be fought in Spain. It was inconceivable that an army of any size could traverse the treacherous Pyrenees mountain ranges, much less the Alps. Besides, a Roman army stood between Hannibal and the Alps, or so the Romans thought until Scipio arrived and told them they were wrong.

Thus far, Hannibal had managed to either coerce or defeat any and all tribes that opposed him. The Celtic tribes living in the Alps did not fear him or his reputation, however. They simply saw the huge army of invaders as rich targets for plunder. Time and again, the long columns were forced to move in single file along slippery paths, only to be attacked by the wild mountain tribesmen. Thousands died, as well as large numbers of horses and elephants. Hannibal had to continually devise strategems to survive. Each time, he managed to push onward as snow blinded the troops and cold froze their feet and hands. The narrow trails sometimes disappeared and new ones had to be carved out of the icy rock ledges. At one point, a huge rock blocked the trail and had to be broken up before passage continued.

Finally, after over two weeks of slow, harsh marching, the Carthaginians saw before them the fertile green fields of northern Italy. They had at last arrived.

The First Battles

Hannibal's army had been decimated by the ordeal of crossing the Alps. Barely 25,000 men and two dozen elephants remained of the massive army that had begun the march. Yet only the hardiest, strongest, most dedicated remained. The best had survived. Expecting the Celtic tribes of northern Italy to join him, Hannibal quickly realized that his diminished army did not give them confidence in his ability to defeat Rome. He did put out the word that all Gauls were now free from roman rules, but few rallied to him. They needed to be convinced that Hannibal could win.

The unfortunate town of Taurini became the first victim. Refusing to immediately surrender, the town was taken, looted and the populace killed. Many tribesmen thereafter joined the Punic army. A victory over Roman troops, however, would really give proof to the Celtic tribes that Carthage was the faction to support.

Roman intelligence brought word of the Carthaginian invaders quickly to Rome, and the Senate wasted no time in sending Scipio north into the Celtic lands to confront the Punic army. The Roman force, mounted for maximum mobility, met Carthaginian cavalry at the Ticinus River. The Numidian and Carthaginian cavalry were far and away superior to that of the Romans, and Scipio escaped the battle wounded, only his son of the same name, who would become the most famous man in Rome by the wars end, saved him.

This victory, though not a decisive one, did show the Gallic tribesmen that the Carthaginians were for real. Not only did it bring more recruits to Hannibal, the Celtic Roman allies defected as well, so Scipio prudently took his remaining forces south to join together with the other Roman consul, Sempronius. It would not be until December when the Romans finally joined together and made their camp on the banks of the Trebbia River. Facing them across another river, the Luretta, assembled the Carthaginian army.

Hannibal, apprehensive about crossing two freezing rivers in the face of an army twice the size of his own, decided to outwit the Romans. He took the majority of his army with him while leaving a few thousand behind in his camp to make the Romans believe that he had not left. Marching upstream, the army crossed the Luretta River with no opposition and formed into battle formation in an open area between the two rivers with little terrain to impede his own cavalry.

The movement was made in full sight of the Roman camp. Sensing that the Roman commanders could not let him simply maneovre past their own army, he enticed them to go move to the attack. As insurance, Hannibal sent his youngest brother, Mago and 1,000 cavalry into cover before dawn, with orders to attack the Romans when ordered. As daylight broke, the Numidian cavalry attacked the Roman camp, whereby Sempronius had his own cavalry attack them.

They made such a noisy demonstration, however, that the entire Roman army soon charged out of the protection of the fortified camp in pursuit of the enemy cavalry. This happened to be a fatal mistake. The Romans had not eaten and were forced to make a hard march through snow squalls, cross the cold waters of the Trebbia, and form up in the face of the polyglot Carthaginian army. Fully 36,000 Roman and allied foot, with 4,000 cavalry, faced 20,000 enemy foot, 10,000 horse and a handful of elephants.

The battle began with the Punic cavalry destroying the Roman horse. This left the flanks of the Roman army exposed. Hannibal had his Punic foot, Numidians and skirmishers assault the open Roman flanks, with the elephants also edging around toward the Roman rear. This effectively destroyed the Roman allied troops on the right and left flanks.

At this point, Mago and his cavalry arrived, hitting the distraught Romans in the rear. As the center of the Roman army dealt severely with the Celtic warbands in front of them, the rest of the Roman army died. Fighting through the encirclement, Sempronius and his survivors made it to Placentia along with Scipio and others who managed to escape. Fully half of the Roman army lay dead on the field.

The Next Steps

The Romans had been embarrassed by Hannibal and Sempronius sought revenge. Wintering in the Po River valley, Hannibal relied on his numerous Celtic allies to bring supplies to his army, which they dutifully did, deciding that the Punic army did indeed have the generalship and will to defeat the hated Romans.

Hannibal now began to focus on his ultimate goal - to drive a wedge between Rome and her allies. To do this, he would have to march his army into southern Italy, crossing the Appenine Mountains in the process. The Romans could block the passes over the range, but Hannibal felt he could fight his way through. Choosing the more difficult of the two routes, probably figuring the Romans would be less apt to apportion large numbers of troops there, instead heavily defending the easier route, the Carthaginian commander led his army into Etruria.

The Romans were also figuring that melting snows would seemingly prevent Hannibal from making the passage in the early spring, but Hannibal's superior scouts led him through marshland and low water. Once again the Carthaginian army came though and surprised the Romans. Hannibal did lose sight in one of his eyes during this week of travail.

The new Roman consul, Flaminius, confident in his own generalship after defeating Gallic armies, wasted no effort in attacking Hannibal, whose own army wreaked havoc throughout Etruria. But the Roman avoided coming to battle! Content with dogging Hannibal's footsteps, Flaminius simply followed the Carthaginian army at a safe distance. Hannibal wanted a decisive victory and worked on getting one.

He marched his army past the Roman camp in an insulting rebuke to Flaminius' ego. That did the trick. Ignoring counsel to the contrary, Flaminius broke camp and began to pursue the Carthaginains in earnest, expecting to catch the Punic army between his own army and that of his pro-consul, Geminus.

Hannibal, aware of his vulnerability if caught between two consular armies, sought out a place from which to deal with Flaminius. He soon found it.

Lake Trasimene

On June 20, 217, Hannibal made his camp in the low hills above Lake Trasimene. Only a single road ran along the lake, and Hannibal quickly began to deploy his army at nightfall, hiding his troops in shrubland, behind low hills and in ravines. When morning came, Flaminius broke camp and began to follow the road through a deep mist which not only restricted visibility, but also deadened sound.

Foolishly, the Romans traveled along the shoreline, not bothering to send out scouts to check out the nearby hills. Before too long, the Roman advance guards walked right into the Carthaginian foot blocking their advance. Trying to warn the rest of the army, the advance guards signaled the situation, but Hannibal used it as his own signal…to attack.

The Carthaginian army swarmed downhill into the shocked Romans. Only the advance guards escaped. With a ferocity terrible to behold, the Celtic forces avenged themselves upon their oppressors. Flaminius' bodyguard could not prevent the death of their commander. Thousands of Romans tried to flee into the lake and drowned. After three hours, the Roman army had been destroyed. Rome no longer had a field army between the Carthaginian army and the capital city.

More 2nd Punic War

Back to Saga #73 Table of Contents
Back to Saga List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 2000 by Terry Gore
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com