Historical Battles: Part Three

 The Second Punic War

The Roman Empire was expanding its territory in the 200s BC. Their biggest enemy at the time was the kingdom of Carthage in Iberia (Spain and Portugal) and northern Africa. Rome had already fought against Carthage, notably in the First Punic War a couple of decades prior. Rome had won that war and gained the island of Sicily as a result. The war began in 219 BC when Carthage destroyed the Roman town of Saguntum in Iberia. The beginning of the war favored the Carthaginians. The Carthaginian army, led by Hannibal, marched through central Gaul (France) and crossed the Alps to get past the Roman defenders and enter Italy. The Gallic tribes had long been enemies of Rome, so they joined Hannibal's army, which increased to about 60,000 men. In Italy, Hannibal won decisive victories at Taurini and the Trebia River. After quartering his troops for the winter, Hannibal cut off the Roman army, led by Gaius Flaminius, from Rome. This invoke a hasty pursuit, and Hannibal defeated the Romans at the Battle of Lake Trasimene, killing 15,000 Romans and Flaminius. After these losses, the Roman armies merged forces, creating an army of 68,000 men, which engaged the Carthaginians at Cannae. Despite his disadvantages, Hannibal out-flanked the Roman army and won the day, killing or capturing 67,000 Romans in what is known as Rome's greatest loss. With the war going poorly for Rome, many southern Italian cities joined Hannibal's cause. However, Rome was able to intercept Samnite tribes, led by Hanno, at the Battle of Beneventum. Gaining the coastal region of Campania meant that Hannibal received reinforcements from Carthage. With most of its armies destroyed Rome took drastic steps to rebuild its numbers, enrolling slaves and criminals. These armies were not able to win a pitched battle against Hannibal, but rather relied on low-level harassment. Over the course of the next few years, Rome was able to win victories against Carthage: they besieged Campania, beat Carthage at the battles of the Metarus and Insubria, and broke a siege at Sicily. The Roman general Scipio took the opportunity to invade Africa, which forced Hannibal to pull his army out of Italy. At the Battle of Zama, Scipio was able to destroy Hannibal's army, effectively ending the war.