Hannibal's Defeat Of Carthage In The First Punic War

Because the Romans were successful at defeating the state of Carthage in the First Punic War, Hannibal Barca was determined to retaliate and claim victory over the Romans. Hannibal’s threats caused widespread fear amongst Italian citizens for many years. For the Second Punic War, Hannibal looked to his father, a great commander of Spain, to assist him with forming a powerful army. Hannibal was able to gather 50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and several elephants for his journey from Spain to Rome. Hannibal traveled by land instead of by water because he was aware of the Roman’s presence at the Mediterranean Sea.
The Roman army, led by Publius Cornelius Scipio the Elder, was seemingly prepared for Hannibal’s attack on Rome. Scipio enlisted the help of his brother, Gnaeus, in an effort to prevent an invasion of Rome. After an overdue attempt at blocking Hannibal at Massilia, Hannibal rerouted north towards the Rhone River. Scipio then sent Gnaeus to Spain to fight off any Carthaginian forces that may have been planning to join Hannibal at a later time. Since Hannibal
had rerouted north, Scipio decided to travel to northern Italy with his men to surprise Hannibal upon arrival. Scipio’s approach enabled a surprising defeat of the Carthaginian forces.
The journey by way of the Drome river valley proved to be quite disastrous due to the cold weather and heavy snow of the Alps. More than half of Hannibal’s soldiers and animals died due to the weather and at the hands of mountain tribesman by October 218. When Hannibal reached the Ticinus River, Scipio was there waiting, but Hannibal’s cavalry was much more advanced and quickly defeated Scipio’s army. This setback allowed Hannibal to regroup and increase his army size with the help of Gauls. Hannibal called upon his brother, Mago, to confront the Roman army from a hidden ravine which resulted in the Romans being attacked from all angles. The Romans lost a good majority of its army while Hannibal only lost a few.
As battles went on, Hannibal created spy networks, studied the geographical elements, and continued to build his armies. His strategy was to confuse Scipio’s army and take unpredictable routes. Hannibal would lay low and rest, which would cause his adversaries to become anxious and react irrationally. At Lake Trasimeme, Hannibal was able to plan a sneak attack by hiding his armies and Gaul allies. The Romans unknowingly entered the heavily occupied area of Carthaginians and were systematically ambushed from all sides. The shock and terror the Romans suffered gave Hannibal the upper-hand to secure victory.
When Varro and Paulus were named consuls, the Romans built its greatest army of over 85,000.
With two leaders, the Romans could alternate leadership daily and possibly benefit from the individual strengths of both Varro and Paulus. During the battle of Cannae, Varro decided to push forward with an attack against Hannibal, ignoring Paulus’ reservations. Hannibal was prepared for a strategic battle and lined his army up in flanks near the river banks. The typical army setup placed the cavalry at the wings and the infantry at the center. Instead, Hannibal sent the weaker Gauls and Spanish foot soldiers to the center and reserved stronger African foot soldiers for the flanks. The Romans advanced towards the Gauls and Spanish, but the Africans moved inward, surrounding the Romans from both sides. The Romans were trapped and unable to escape defeat. Hannibal proved that strategy is more valuable than
numbers.
Hannibal based his army strength on the power of movement and the element of surprise. His horsemen were superior and his ability to gain allies, Intel, and geographical knowledge set him above Scipio as a commander. Hannibal had the knowledge and the know-how to rally soldiers from other countries around him. Hannibal’s reputation as a great commander also put fear in the hearts of his enemies and caused them great mental anguish. Eventually, Scipio’s allies would desert him and ultimately lead to his death in battle.