Hannibal in Central and Southern Italy (208-203 BC)
In 208 BC 06Claudius Marcellus took command of the army at Venusia in Lucania. While on reconnaissance with his consular colleague 06Quinctius Crispinus and a small band of 220 cavalry, he was ambushed by a much larger force of Numidian horsemen. Marcellus was killed and Crispinus died of his wounds a few days later.
In the winter the Romans received news from Massilia that 05Hasdrubal Barca had passed into Gaul and could soon arrive in Italy with some twenty thousand men. The Romans decided that to attempt to check him at the Rhone or even in Northern Italy would be too committed. Instead they decided to concentrate their forces in Central Italy and at all costs prevent his coming south to join his brother.
To block Hasdrubal’s path south the Romans put two legions under 01Terentius Varro at Arretium in Etruria, two more under a praetor 01Porcius Licinus at Ariminum to the east, and a reserve force led the consul 01Livius Salinator at Narnia just south of the northern armies, from where he could reinforce either, depending on Hasdrubal’s movements. To prevent Hannibal moving north, four legions under the consul 09Claudius Nero were positioned at Grumentum in Lucania.
In spring 207 BC Hasdrubal crossed the Alps much more quickly than expected and long before the Roman preparations to meet him had been completed. By continuing his march down the Po Valley he could have confronted Porcius at Ariminum and presented him with the choice of having to give battle with inferior numbers or allow the enemy to penetrate Italy, with good chances of joining Hannibal. But Hasdrubal turned away from his march and besieged Placentia.
In the south Hannibal moved northwards and after an inconclusive engagement with Nero at Grumentum continued northwards to Apulia and encamped at Canusium. Nero took up position opposite him and had the good fortune to intercept a message from Hasdrubal asking Hannibal to meet him somewhere in Umbria.
Nero, probably because he wanted to be at the point of greatest danger, left a legate Catius in command of most of the army to face Hannibal, while he himself marched north with a picked force of seven thousand men and joined Livius at Sena Gallica. Hasdrubal was camped about a half-mile (0.8 km) to the north.
When the opposing forces drew up the following day, Hasdrubal noticed that Livius’ army appeared to have grown considerably overnight. Correctly concluding that he was now facing two Roman armies he decided to retreat across Metaurus, but he was overtaken by the Romans before he could find a place at which he could ford the river.
On his right wing next to the river Hasdrubal’s cavalry blocked a potential outflanking movement by the superior Roman cavalry opposite; his left wing was well guarded by hills on the left and a ravine in front. He put the veteran Iberians on the right flank, in the centre the poorly-trained Ligures behind the elephants, on the left flank the Gauls. The numbers involved are unclear, but the Roman force probably numbered some forty thousand and Hasdrubal’s significantly fewer.
When the battle started the Carthaginian right and centre held their ground, and the war elephants before being overcome succeeded in breaking the Roman lines. Nero, making little progress on the Roman right because of the difficult terrain, took half his men round behind the Roman line to the Roman left and crashed into the Carthaginian right. The Iberians panicked and collapsed into the Carthaginian centre, which now attacked on three sides: Licinus from the front, Salinator on their right, and Nero from the rear. Hasdrubal, seeing that there was nothing he could do, charged into the battle and died fighting. Polybius (c.200-c.118 BC) says that ten thousand of Hasdrubal’s men were killed and the Romans lost two thousand. Hurrying south, Nero had Hasdrubal’s head thrown into Hannibal’s camp. The next day Hannibal broke camp and marched towards Bruttium.
In 205 BC Scipio was elected consul and proposed an invasion of Africa. Despite opposition by 08Fabius Cunctator, who wanted Hannibal to be expelled from Italy first, the Senate granted him Sicily as his province and gave him permission to cross to Africa if he deemed it necessary. Scipio’s opponents tried to restrict his actions by not granting him a formal new army. Four legions were to remain in Italy to guard against Hannibal, and Scipio managed to raise only seven thousand volunteers to add to his men already in Sicily.
Later that year, a group of Locrian prisoners offered to betray one of the city’s citadels to the Romans. Scipio gave orders for three thousand men commanded by the tribunes Marcus Sergius (1) and Publius Matienus to march from Rhegium to Locris. One of the legates, Quintus Pleminius, was detailed to assist but he apparently assumed overall command.
They succeeded in storming one of the citadels by the aid of exceptionally tall ladders. This action led to a skirmish with Carthaginian troops, who occupied the other. Hostilities escalated when Hannibal arrived on the scene, but Locrian insiders enabled Rome to hold out until Scipio could bring troops from Messana, at which time the Carthaginians withdrew.
Scipio returned with his troops to Messana and left Pleminius in charge of the city. In Scipio’s absence, the soldiers under Pleminius plundered the city. When the tribunes tried to intervene, Pleminius had them stripped and flogged. Learning of the tribunes’ dissent, Scipio returned and ordered them sent to Rome to stand trial. As soon as Scipio left for Sicily, Pleminius had the tribunes tortured to death. The Senate sent a commission to investigate and Pleminius was sent to Rome where he died while waiting to be tried for his crimes.
In Bruttium, one small town after another was being taken from Hannibal. In 204 BC he defeated an approaching army under 06Sempronius Tuditanus outside Croton. Reinforced by the proconsul 03Licinius Crassus, Sempronius renewed his attack. In a drawn action Hannibal suffered the greater losses and took refuge in the city.
Meanwhile, in summer 205 BC 06Mago Barca with fifteen thousand men and thirty quinqueremes had sailed from Minorca to Liguria. He managed to capture Genoa but some ships carrying reinforcements from Carthage were driven by a storm to Sardinia and captured. However, the following year he received six thousand troops and seven elephants from Carthage. In summer 203 BC he crossed into the Po Valley.
The Romans sent the proconsul 20Cornelius Cethegus and the praetor Publius 01Quinctilius Varus with an army of four legions to confront Mago in a regular engagement in the territory of the Insubres. In the battle that followed Mago’s elephants dispersed the Roman cavalry then turned and inflicted heavy losses on the Roman infantry. Cornelius brought his second line into action and the elephants were showered with darts. Some of them fell and others were forced back against their own ranks. Mago ordered the Gauls to stop the Roman counterattack, but they were routed.
Mago was severely wounded. He was recalled to Africa by the Carthaginians, but he died during the voyage. Hannibal was recalled about the same time and took with him some of the men who had followed him during his Italian campaigns.
Carthaginian Siegecraft
It has been often said that Hannibal had no siege equipment but Livy (59-00-17) mentions battering rams, a siege tower and undermining at Saguntum (219/8 BC); a blockade being adopted at Petelia only after the citizens had persisted in burning the Carthaginians’ machines (216 BC); siege sheds and mines at Casilinium (216/5 BC); that the Carthaginians had ‘all the equipment for besieging a town’ at Nola (216 BC); and a massive wheeled tower burnt by the defenders at Cumae (214 BC). Appian (c.95-c.165) lists towers, catapults, sheds and hooks at Tarentum (213 BC).
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