What Is The First Punic War?
In 264 BC a war called “the first Punic war” would begin between two great empires Rome located in Italy and Carthage located in Africa. The first Punic War would start when Rome started their takeover of Europe. In result of this Carthage fought Rome to keep them away from their homeland. Carthage had many generals but one main general who was a military geniuses his name was Hamilcar Barca. However in 241 BC Carthage leaders would surrender to Rome putting an end to the first Punic War. After the war, general Hamilcar Barca would leave Carthage with his son Hannibal to make a new city in Spain called New Carthage. Using the new Spain riches Hamilcar Barca would not only build up New Carthage but Hamilcar Barca would build up his armies.
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Since the age of nine Hamilcar would train his son in the art of war and fuel his hatred for Rome. However Spain was a dangerous place and Hamilcar Barca would be killed in a scrimmage against rebels in 221 BC Spain, leaving his empire to his son Hannibal. Hannibal would later take over his father's army of 46,000 mercenaries. With the growth of Hannibal armies Rome becomes uneasy with another big empire in mesopotamia. Resulting in Rome allying with a city in Hannibal territory called Saguntum. This made Hannibal angry and he would send his army to surround Saguntum to show how serious he really was. After Hannibal sent his army to surround Saguntum, Rome would send an envoy to give Hannibal a last chance to back down. Hannibal would turn down their offer and he would invade Saguntum. Romes senate would talk to Carthage and tell them to give them Hannibal or they would declare war, this would start the Second Punic war in 218 BC.
In 218 BC The Second Punic War started, and with permission from his home Carthage Hannibal started his battle plan for Rome.
Hannibal’s plan was a surprise attack on Rome though the Alps mountains. The Alps mountains are the tallest mountains in europe and they are the back door to Italy, which Rome would never expect an attack from. Hannibal wanted his army to travel through the Alps mountains something that has never been attempted before. Not only was he taking a whooping 46,000 troops but he was also taking elephants which made the journey even more difficult. While Hannibal army is preparing for the long journey to Italy Hannibal’s scouts send warnings to him that native tribes in The Alps would try to stop his invasion, however Hannibal would ignore these warnings. In spring 218 BC Hannibal would leave Spain with 46,000 troops and elephants to Italy to invade Rome. At the same time Hannibal is making his plans Rome would also start to prepare for the incoming war. The Rome Senate would start by electing one person to lead their army, in which they elected Scipio. Scipio much like the rest of the senate believe it will be easy to defeat Hannibal. The Romans plan was for Scipio to take his army to Spain and crush Hannibal’s army easily and put an end to the war fast. After four months of traveling Hannibal’s army would finally reach the Alps mountains and start the hardest part of their journey. While in the mountains Hannibal’s army would face frost bite, confusion of …show more content…
direction, attacks and lose of life. During the journey Hannibal’s army would lose a lot merail, however Hannibal would encourage his army to keep moving and make it though. When Scipio was on his way to Spain he got a message that Hannibal’s army went around east to Italy, resulting in him defining the senates orders and returning to Rome to be the first one to fight Hannibal. It would take Hannibal’s army sixteen days to cross Alps mountains and Hannibal would lose 20,000 troops to the mountains but the remaining troops were prepared for war.
Within weeks of being in Italy Hannibal would stumble across Roman cavalry lead by Scipio, who made it back in time to be the first to fight Hannibal. This first Battle would be held by a river in northern Italy called Ticinus in 218 BC. Scipio was trying to be the first to fight Hannibal putting an end the war and get the glory of winning the war, however Hannibal had other plans. Since Hannibal’s army was trained in mobile warfare they were able to run circles around the Romans confusing them resulting in a victory for Hannibal. This battle would give moral to Hannibal’s army and cause doubts that Rome can be Hannibal. The idea of Hannibal was well known and feared, the idea that a man can take a army with elephants though the Alps and come out and beat a Roman army was an agonising thought. Because of this Gauls under Roman rule(slaves) started to betray the Roman empire and left to fight in Hannibal’s army.
Soon after this Hannibal would take control of the Northern city states in Italy and start to march down south. The Romans would react to this by sending more and more troops at Hannibal. However Romans would keep losing do to being out strategized by Hannibal and his army. Even though Hannibal’s army was dominating the Romans it was not all going according to plan, his war elephants were dying even though they were hardly used. However Hannibal keeps pushing and does it without the use of elephants.
The next battle Hannibal’s army would fight would be at Lake Trasimenus in 217 BC in which he would face a Roman army of 30,000, under the command of Gaius Flaminius. Hannibal would use the Lake to his advantage to win this battle. Hannibal would ambush the Roman army by the lake trapping them between his army and the lake. This would make it easy for his troops to slowly trap and kill sections of Flaminius army. Even though Hannibal has been winning all the battles so far he is fearing his lack of troops will be his downfall, so much like the Roman wanted to do in Spain, He is looking for one battle to win them the war.
In 216 BC Hannibal would be given a chance to annihilate the Rome army at the Battle of Cannae.
Fed up with all the losses to Hannibal, the Romans would put together the biggest army Rome would ever see. This army would be lead by Hannibal’s enemy Scipio in which Scipio and the rest of the Rome senate thought this battle would be an easy victory. The Roman army would put together a 50,000 troop legion in hope to crush Hannibal’s army in one battle. Out numbered Hannibal puts together a plan that would use the Romans military tactics against them. Rome had manpower however their battle strategy was always the same, they would send in all their troops to out number and overpower their enemies. To contour is Hannibal would split up his troops into five different sections. In the middle would be him, his spaniards and the Gauls, on both right and left would be his cavalry in the front and African mercenaries in the back. Hannibal’s plan was to have his middle section engage the Roman legions but slowly retreat, while his cavalry was keeping the Roman cavalry occupied. Once Hannibal gets to a point in his retreat he would have his African mercenaries attack the legions from the sides and then his cavalry would attack from the back. Even though by this point the battle was over for the Romans a few escaped with their lives, among them was general Scipio. With the Romans enclose the 50,000 Roman army would be slaughtered and this would lead to a huge victory for
Hannibal.
After the battle Cannae Rome was hurting, entire blood lines of military families were wiped out and Rome's moral was down. Rome did not only lose troops and moral, they also lost support of their southern city states in Italy. After Cannae the name Hannibal was feared in Rome, they were even afraid of Hannibal taking control of Rome. However Hannibal could not put a siege on Rome due to his lack of troops. Hannibal would send a request to Carthage for troops, but be turned down by Carthage leaders. After the Romans defeat at Cannae the senate changed everything they new about warfare. They started to train a new legion of new troops and with the leadership of now a more experienced general Scipio. This new army would be the downfall of Hannibal and Carthage.
With all the defeats Rome has taken they decided to change their battle plan, instead of facing Hannibal face to face they plan to send their armies to Spain. Scipio decides to use Hannibal’s plan of “hitting them at home” against him. In 214 BC Scipio would take his army to Spain, to take over Hannibal’s land. While Scipio is in Spain Roman legions are taking back cities in Italy from Hannibal.
In 211 BC Hannibal would march on Rome in hopes to stop Scipio from attacking his allies. However Rome didn’t react the way Hannibal wanted, they were strong and had lots of Roman soldiers coming to help. Because of this and Hannibal’s lack of troops, he had to retreat from the city. After a few years of fighting Hannibal would get a message from Carthage stating that Scipio had taken Spain and is about to march on Carthage. In result of this Hannibal would rush home to defend his homeland.
Soon after Hannibal returned to Carthage in 202 BC the Roman legion would show up on the Plans of Zama. Before the battle both generals Scipio and Hannibal would talk for the first time and show respect for each other. However because of the countless times Scipio has faced Hannibal he has mastered his military tactic, and even though Hannibal has war elephants he is still outmatched by Scipio. This battle would lead Carthage to surrender to Rome and put an end to the Second Punic War in 202 BC.
Since the age of nine Hamilcar would train his son in the art of war and fuel his hatred for Rome. However Spain was a dangerous place and Hamilcar Barca would be killed in a scrimmage against rebels in 221 BC Spain, leaving his empire to his son Hannibal. Hannibal would later take over his father's army of 46,000 mercenaries. With the growth of Hannibal armies Rome becomes uneasy with another big empire in mesopotamia. Resulting in Rome allying with a city in Hannibal territory called Saguntum. This made Hannibal angry and he would send his army to surround Saguntum to show how serious he really was. After Hannibal sent his army to surround Saguntum, Rome would send an envoy to give Hannibal a last chance to back down. Hannibal would turn down their offer and he would invade Saguntum. Romes senate would talk to Carthage and tell them to give them Hannibal or they would declare war, this would start the Second Punic war in 218 BC.
In 218 BC The Second Punic War started, and with permission from his home Carthage Hannibal started his battle plan for Rome.
Hannibal’s plan was a surprise attack on Rome though the Alps mountains. The Alps mountains are the tallest mountains in europe and they are the back door to Italy, which Rome would never expect an attack from. Hannibal wanted his army to travel through the Alps mountains something that has never been attempted before. Not only was he taking a whooping 46,000 troops but he was also taking elephants which made the journey even more difficult. While Hannibal army is preparing for the long journey to Italy Hannibal’s scouts send warnings to him that native tribes in The Alps would try to stop his invasion, however Hannibal would ignore these warnings. In spring 218 BC Hannibal would leave Spain with 46,000 troops and elephants to Italy to invade Rome. At the same time Hannibal is making his plans Rome would also start to prepare for the incoming war. The Rome Senate would start by electing one person to lead their army, in which they elected Scipio. Scipio much like the rest of the senate believe it will be easy to defeat Hannibal. The Romans plan was for Scipio to take his army to Spain and crush Hannibal’s army easily and put an end to the war fast. After four months of traveling Hannibal’s army would finally reach the Alps mountains and start the hardest part of their journey. While in the mountains Hannibal’s army would face frost bite, confusion of …show more content…
direction, attacks and lose of life. During the journey Hannibal’s army would lose a lot merail, however Hannibal would encourage his army to keep moving and make it though. When Scipio was on his way to Spain he got a message that Hannibal’s army went around east to Italy, resulting in him defining the senates orders and returning to Rome to be the first one to fight Hannibal. It would take Hannibal’s army sixteen days to cross Alps mountains and Hannibal would lose 20,000 troops to the mountains but the remaining troops were prepared for war.
Within weeks of being in Italy Hannibal would stumble across Roman cavalry lead by Scipio, who made it back in time to be the first to fight Hannibal. This first Battle would be held by a river in northern Italy called Ticinus in 218 BC. Scipio was trying to be the first to fight Hannibal putting an end the war and get the glory of winning the war, however Hannibal had other plans. Since Hannibal’s army was trained in mobile warfare they were able to run circles around the Romans confusing them resulting in a victory for Hannibal. This battle would give moral to Hannibal’s army and cause doubts that Rome can be Hannibal. The idea of Hannibal was well known and feared, the idea that a man can take a army with elephants though the Alps and come out and beat a Roman army was an agonising thought. Because of this Gauls under Roman rule(slaves) started to betray the Roman empire and left to fight in Hannibal’s army.
Soon after this Hannibal would take control of the Northern city states in Italy and start to march down south. The Romans would react to this by sending more and more troops at Hannibal. However Romans would keep losing do to being out strategized by Hannibal and his army. Even though Hannibal’s army was dominating the Romans it was not all going according to plan, his war elephants were dying even though they were hardly used. However Hannibal keeps pushing and does it without the use of elephants.
The next battle Hannibal’s army would fight would be at Lake Trasimenus in 217 BC in which he would face a Roman army of 30,000, under the command of Gaius Flaminius. Hannibal would use the Lake to his advantage to win this battle. Hannibal would ambush the Roman army by the lake trapping them between his army and the lake. This would make it easy for his troops to slowly trap and kill sections of Flaminius army. Even though Hannibal has been winning all the battles so far he is fearing his lack of troops will be his downfall, so much like the Roman wanted to do in Spain, He is looking for one battle to win them the war.
In 216 BC Hannibal would be given a chance to annihilate the Rome army at the Battle of Cannae.
Fed up with all the losses to Hannibal, the Romans would put together the biggest army Rome would ever see. This army would be lead by Hannibal’s enemy Scipio in which Scipio and the rest of the Rome senate thought this battle would be an easy victory. The Roman army would put together a 50,000 troop legion in hope to crush Hannibal’s army in one battle. Out numbered Hannibal puts together a plan that would use the Romans military tactics against them. Rome had manpower however their battle strategy was always the same, they would send in all their troops to out number and overpower their enemies. To contour is Hannibal would split up his troops into five different sections. In the middle would be him, his spaniards and the Gauls, on both right and left would be his cavalry in the front and African mercenaries in the back. Hannibal’s plan was to have his middle section engage the Roman legions but slowly retreat, while his cavalry was keeping the Roman cavalry occupied. Once Hannibal gets to a point in his retreat he would have his African mercenaries attack the legions from the sides and then his cavalry would attack from the back. Even though by this point the battle was over for the Romans a few escaped with their lives, among them was general Scipio. With the Romans enclose the 50,000 Roman army would be slaughtered and this would lead to a huge victory for
Hannibal.
After the battle Cannae Rome was hurting, entire blood lines of military families were wiped out and Rome's moral was down. Rome did not only lose troops and moral, they also lost support of their southern city states in Italy. After Cannae the name Hannibal was feared in Rome, they were even afraid of Hannibal taking control of Rome. However Hannibal could not put a siege on Rome due to his lack of troops. Hannibal would send a request to Carthage for troops, but be turned down by Carthage leaders. After the Romans defeat at Cannae the senate changed everything they new about warfare. They started to train a new legion of new troops and with the leadership of now a more experienced general Scipio. This new army would be the downfall of Hannibal and Carthage.
With all the defeats Rome has taken they decided to change their battle plan, instead of facing Hannibal face to face they plan to send their armies to Spain. Scipio decides to use Hannibal’s plan of “hitting them at home” against him. In 214 BC Scipio would take his army to Spain, to take over Hannibal’s land. While Scipio is in Spain Roman legions are taking back cities in Italy from Hannibal.
In 211 BC Hannibal would march on Rome in hopes to stop Scipio from attacking his allies. However Rome didn’t react the way Hannibal wanted, they were strong and had lots of Roman soldiers coming to help. Because of this and Hannibal’s lack of troops, he had to retreat from the city. After a few years of fighting Hannibal would get a message from Carthage stating that Scipio had taken Spain and is about to march on Carthage. In result of this Hannibal would rush home to defend his homeland.
Soon after Hannibal returned to Carthage in 202 BC the Roman legion would show up on the Plans of Zama. Before the battle both generals Scipio and Hannibal would talk for the first time and show respect for each other. However because of the countless times Scipio has faced Hannibal he has mastered his military tactic, and even though Hannibal has war elephants he is still outmatched by Scipio. This battle would lead Carthage to surrender to Rome and put an end to the Second Punic War in 202 BC.