Gcse ancient History

The Barcids were one of the leading noble families in Carthage. They opposed the expansion of Rome as a threat to Carthage. The following were members of this family:

Theme: Character, role and achievements of key individuals

Because these two themes (the invasion of Italy and the battles, and the character, role and achievements of key individuals) are so bound up together, with one providing evidence of the other, they have been treated together for this section of the textbook.

Hannibal’s intention in invading Italy was to cut off the source of Rome’s strength – her Italian allies and this meant fighting in Italy not Spain. He hoped they would rise up against Rome and welcome him as their liberator. He expected to gain support from the Gauls in North Italy. He would use this as a base instead of Spain. Because Rome commanded the seas, he would lose communications with Carthage and Spain. The Romans expected to meet him in either Northern Spain or Southern Gaul and so sent P. Cornelius Scipio with a force of 24,000 men and 60 ships. Scipio was delayed by trouble caused by two tribes in North Italy, the Boii and Insubres, which could well have been due to Hannibal. By the time he arrived in mid-August Hannibal was already crossing the Alps.

Hannibal began his invasion of Italy in April 218 BC. He had 50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry and 37 elephants when he marched north of the River Ebro. He left Hanno in Spain with 11,000 infantry and himself set off with 38,000 infantry, 8000 cavalry and 37 elephants (Polybius 3.42.11). He reached the River Rhone in mid-August, he found Gauls opposing his crossing (Livy 21.28). He sent Hanno (son of Bomilcar) upstream to distract them while he crossed unopposed.

Livy tells us:

Most of his army regarded the Romans as formidable opponents, since the memory of their previous war (First Punic War: 264 -241) was still fresh in many of their minds. But they were much more apprehensive of the long march and the crossing of the Alps, which camp gossip made all the more terrifying to those who had no experience of such things.

Once he had decided to stick to his original plan to march on Italy, Hannibal called his troops together and harangued them with a mixture of withering scorn and general encouragement, declaring that he could not believe that such sudden cowardice should have overwhelmed a body of men, whose brave hearts had never quailed before.

Livy 29.7-30.1

Task 2A The passage occurs just before Hannibal’s speech to his men: read the speech: what does Hannibal say to encourage his men? How does Livy portray Hannibal as a leader?

Meanwhile Scipio had landed in Spain only to find Hannibal gone!

Meanwhile Publius Cornelius Scipio recruited a fresh legion to replace the one which had been sent off with the praetor, Gaius Atilius. He left Rome with 60 warships and followed the coast past Etruria, Liguria, and the Salluvian mountains. When he reached the nearest of the estuaries of the Rhone (the river has a number of similar outlets to the sea) he encamped there. He still could not really believe that Hannibal had crossed the Pyrenees, but when he learned that in fact he was already planning a crossing of the Rhone, he was faced with a dilemma. He could not be sure where he would actually find him and his soldiers had endured a rough sea crossing, from which they had not yet fully recovered. As an interim measure, therefore, he picked 300 cavalry and sent them on ahead to reconnoitre the whole area and keep an eye on the enemy from a safe distance, with Massiliot guides and a support group of Gallic auxiliaries.

Livy 21.26.3-4

Task 2B What does this passage from Livy tell us about Scipio’s abilities and qualities? What does Scipio do when he learns Hannibal is already crossing the Alps? (Livy 21.32.1-32.5)

Task 2C Read the following account of an incident early in the march: what abilities as general and leader does Hannibal show?

He reacted accordingly and devised the following plan. He struck camp and with the whole of his army advanced openly until he was close to the key positions, which threatened his advance. There he set up a new encampment within easy reach of the enemy. When night fell, he ordered the usual camp fires to be lit and left the majority of his troops in position. But he ordered his most highly trained troops to take off most of their heavy equipment and then slipped through the narrowest section of the pass by night. They then seized the positions previously held by the enemy tribesmen, who had as usual retired to the nearby town.

Polybius 3.50.8-50.9
Hannibal took in the situation and decided that there would be no hope of safety, even for those who survived the immediate danger, if the baggage train was destroyed. So he collected the special forces with which he had seized the high points during the previous night and rushed to the support of those at the front of the column. 51.7. As a result the enemy suffered severe losses, because Hannibal had the advantage of charging down on them from higher ground. But their losses were matched by those of his own troops.

Polybius 51.6-51.7

The elders of these fortified hill villages came in an embassy to him, claiming that the misfortunes of others had taught them a useful lesson and that they would prefer to gain the friendship of the Carthaginians, rather than test their strength. 34.3. They were happy, therefore, to follow orders and hoped he would accept supplies, guides for the next stage of his journey, and hostages as proof of their goodwill. 34.4. Hannibal was reluctant to trust them, but felt that it would be unwise to reject their overtures in case it would make them openly hostile. So he made a friendly response, accepted the offered hostages, and made excellent use of the food supplies which they had brought with them. He followed their guides, but took good care to keep the column tightly closed up, rather than in open order appropriate to travel through peaceful territory.

Livy 21.34.2-34.3

Task 2E Read the rest of 21.34: was Hannibal right to mistrust the Gauls? What ability does he show in this episode?

Hannibal and his army overcame the hardship and losses by determination and discipline: it was a magnificent achievement and an indication of Hannibal’s confidence in himself and his men. He had wrong-footed Scipio who had now to hurry back to defend Italy. Roman strategy had been to keep Hannibal in Spain and attack Africa itself: with this in mind the Romans had sent one consul , Scipio, to Marseille, and the other, Tiberius Sempronius, to Sicily. Hannibal had overcome this strategy in one decisive blow by attacking Rome’s resources in Italy. However, in one way, he failed: Polybius (3.74.11) says that only one of his elephants survived the cold and difficulties.

Scipio left his army with his brother Gnaeus in Spain but within a month was back in Italy facing Hannibal with the legions left there to fight the Gauls. His decision to leave the army in Spain meant that Carthage would be occupied with keeping a hold on Spain, and reinforcements would not reach Hannibal from Spain.

Livy describes the formation of the Roman army as it was c340 BCE and to some extent it was much the same when Hannibal invaded.

The heavy infantry was drawn up in three lines : hastati (the front line), principes, and triarii (veterans). The legion was divided into 30 maniples, 60 from the hastate and 60 from the principes, with 20 leves attached to each maniple of hastati. At the back the triarii the rorarii and accensi were organized into a group of three maniples, about 180 men, called an ordo.

So a legion might number about 4,800 soldiers.

1. 
   The hastati would charge the enemy. They could retreat through the lines of the heavy infantry principes and be used again as reserves or counter-attacks.
   
2. 
   Behind the principes were the triarii who could charge forward with their spears, if the principes were under-pressure in order to surprise the enemy with a sudden supply of fresh soldiers and allowing the principes to form up again. The triarii were the last line of defence, behind which the hastati and principes could retire, if the battle was lost
   
3. 
   'It has come to the triarii.' is a saying by the Romans meaning that the battle was going very badly!
   

A cavalry battle near the River Ticinis (at Lomello) in Northern Italy between 6000 Carthaginian cavalry and 2000 Roman cavalry (November 218).

The Roman cavalry was defeated by Hannibal’s tactics in which the enemy’s centre was held while the flanks and rear were attacked. In the retreat, Publius Scipio was injured, and saved by his son Scipio (later to Africanus). It meant that Scipio was unable to take command in the next battle. it also revealed the superiority of the Numidian cavalry. Another result was that the Celtic tribes deserted to Hannibal, and a grain store at Clastidium was handed over to Hannibal.

Scipio was joined by Sempronius in late November at the River Trebia near Placentia. With Scipio injured, Sempronius was eager to fight a battle and win the victory before his year as consul ran out on January 1^st 217 BC.

Hannibal used the eagerness of Sempronius to force a battle in a place of his choosing. He understood the psychology of his enemy. He sent his cavalry across the river to lure the Romans into an attack before they had breakfasted; they then crossed the river, waist-high, which was freezing in early December. Hannibal’s forces lined up only when the Romans had crossed. He had 20,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, but he had also placed 1000 cavalry and 1000 infantry in a concealed water-course under the command of Mago, ready for an ambush at the right time. The Roman infantry consisted of 16,000 Romans and 20,000 allies with 4000 cavalry. Hannibal’s centre held the Romans while the wings were attacked by the cavalry and the elephants. At the right time the ambush was released breaking the Romans; however, about 10,000 Romans broke through and made it to Placentia. The rest were either killed or taken prisoner. Hannibal used the terrain to his own advantage using the river to weaken the enemy at the start and prevent a retreat at the end. Polybius tells how he used the skirmisher and spearmen to harass the Roman line effectively. He had made the weather and the flooded river work in his favour, with the help of Sempronius’ desire to fight so late in the season. Nothing was left to chance.

Task 2H Read Polybius’ account of the battle (3.73-74) at http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/3*.html What aspects of Hannibal as general and leader are shown in this account? The Romans remained very confident despite the defeat: how far was this justified?

As a result of this battle, 15,000 Roman soldiers were either killed or captured. The Celts in Cis-alpine Gaul deserted to Hannibal. Hannibal now had control of the entry into Italy through the Apennines. The Romans now raised 11 new legions. Scipio was sent to Spain. The two new consuls, C. Flaminius and Servilius Geminus were to confront Hannibal when he crossed the Apennines.
2.4 Battle of Lake Trasimene

Hannibal’s route into Etruria:

He appears to have taken the road over the Collina Pass into the marshy area of the River Arno which was flooded at this time of the year. Most of the baggage animals were lost in the marshes and the horses developed scurvy. Hannibal had ophthalmia and lost the sight in one eye.

The exact site of the battle is uncertain. Flaminius certainly did not fall into every trap that Hannibal set; despite the devastation he remained in camp at Arretium. Even when Hannibal marched round the left flank of Flaminius, the consul did not move. Only when he moved off towards Cortone and Apulia did Flaminius follow. He may have been waiting for his fellow consul to arrive; he knew he could not let Rome’s allies lose crops and possession in Hannibal’s destruction of the land. Flaminius had a history of success, particularly against the Insubres and would have been seen as a sound choice. However, in the sources, he seems to behave without much sense and understanding.
Task 2I

Read the following passages:

Polybius 3. 81.1

Polybius 3. 81.12 -82.2

Polybius 3. 82.10-11

Polybius 83.2-4

The following websites have plans and photographs of the battle field so you can check how accurate your plan is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_lake_trasimene.gif

http://www.livius.org/to-ts/trasimene/trasimene.html

Flaminius followed Hannibal into the pass very early the next day. In the mist, unable to see the enemy forces, Flaminius and his army were completely surprised when attack on all sides. 6000 men in the front fought their way through but were rounded up later. Two legions were destroyed. A second success followed when Maharbal and the cavalry destroyed 4000 Roman cavalry sent by Servilius near Assisi. (Polybius 3.86.3) However, no towns in Eturia and Umbria opened their doors to Hannibal despite his actions after the battle:

When he had finished, he handed over the Roman prisoners to his various regiments to be kept under guard, but released the allied troops without ransom and sent them all home. 85.4. declaring, as he had on previous occasions, that he had not come to make war on the Italians but to fight for their freedom against the Romans.

Polybius 3.85.3

• 
  Hannibal had control of central Italy and its resources but had not secured the support of the cities of the Confederacy.
  
• 
  His losses amounted to 1500 - mostly Celts [Livy says 2500].
  
• 
  There was no army between Hannibal and Rome.
  
• 
  Rome had one consul instead of two and no effective army in the field.
  
• 
  Roman strategy changed from the offensive to defensive: Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus was appointed Dictator. with the policy of avoiding battles, keeping to the hills, depleting Hannibal’s forces by frequent attacks and giving his own soldiers renewed confidence
  
• 
  Two new legions were raised which joined Servilius force
  

Polybius tells us what happened after the battle:

Polybius 3.87.4-6