THE BATTLE OF CANNAE. (218-216.)
In the spring of 218 Hannibal started from Carthago Nova to invade
Italy. His army consisted of 90,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 37
elephants. His march to the Pyrenees occupied two months, owing to the
opposition of the Spanish allies of Rome. Hannibal now sent back a
part of his troops, retaining 50,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry, all
veterans. With these he crossed the mountains, and marched along the
coast by Narbo (Narbonne) and Nemansus (Nimes), through the Celtic
territory, with little opposition. The last of July found him on
the banks of the Rhone, opposite Avenio (Avignon). The Romans were
astonished at the rapidity of his movements.
The Consuls of the year were SCIPIO and SEMPRONIUS. The former had been
in Northern Italy, leisurely collecting forces to attack Hannibal in
Spain; the latter was in Sicily, making preparations to invade Africa.
Scipio set sail for Spain, touching at Massilia near the end of June.
Learning there for the first time that Hannibal had already left
Spain, he hoped to intercept him on the Rhone. The Celtic tribes of the
neighborhood were won over to his side. Troops collected from these were
stationed along the river, but Scipio's main army remained at Massilia.
It was Hannibal's policy to cross the river before Scipio arrived with
his troops. He obtained all the boats possible, and constructed numerous
rafts to transport his main body of troops. A detachment of soldiers
was sent up the river with orders to cross at the first available place,
and, returning on the opposite bank, to surprise the Celtic forces in
the rear. The plan succeeded. The Celts fled in confusion, and the
road to the Alps was opened. Thus Scipio was outgeneralled in the very
beginning.
His course now should have been to return to Northern Italy with all his
forces, and take every means to check Hannibal there. Instead, he
sent most of his troops to Spain under his brother Gnaeus Scipio, and
himself, with but a few men, set sail for Pisae.
Meanwhile Hannibal hurried up the valley of the Rhone, across the Isara,
through the fertile country of the Allobroges, arriving, in sixteen
days from Avenio, at the pass of the first Alpine range (Mont du Chat).
Crossing this with some difficulty, owing to the nature of the country
and the resistance of the Celts, he hastened on through the country of
the Centrones, along the north bank of the Isara. As he was leaving this
river and approaching the pass of the Little St. Bernard, he was again
attacked by the Celts, and obliged to make the ascent amidst continual
and bloody encounters. After toiling a day and a night, however, the
army reached the summit of the pass. Here, on a table-land, his troops
were allowed a brief rest.
The hardships of the descent were fully as great, and the fertile
valley of the Po was a welcome sight to the half-famished and exhausted
soldiers. Here they encamped, in September, and recruited their wearied
energies.
This famous march of Hannibal from the Rhone lasted thirty-three days,
and cost him 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry.
The Romans were still unprepared to meet Hannibal. One army was in Spain
under Gnaeus Scipio; the other in Sicily, on its way to Africa, under
the Consul Sempronius. The only troops immediately available were a
few soldiers that had been left in the valley of the Po to restrain the
Gauls, who had recently shown signs of defection.
Publius Cornelius Scipio, upon his return from Massilia, took command of
these. He met Hannibal first in October, 218, near the river Ticinus,
a tributary of the Po. A cavalry skirmish followed, in which he was
wounded and rescued by his son, a lad of seventeen, afterwards the
famous Africanus. The Romans were discomfited, with considerable loss.
They then retreated, crossing the Po at Placentia, and destroying the
bridge behind them. Hannibal forded the river farther up, and marched
along its right bank until he reached its confluence with the Trebia,
opposite Placentia. Here he encamped.
Meanwhile Sempronius, who had been recalled from Sicily, relieved the
disabled Scipio.
Early one raw morning in December, 218, the vanguard of the
Carthaginians was ordered to cross the Trebia, and, as soon any
resistance was met, to retreat. The other troops of Hannibal were drawn
up ready to give the enemy a hot reception, if, as he expected, they
should pursue his retreating vanguard. Sempronius was caught in the
trap, and all his army, except one division of 10,000, was cut to
pieces. The survivors took refuge in Placentia and Cremona, where they
spent the winter. Sempronius himself escaped to Rome.
The result of TREBIA was the insurrection of all the Celtic tribes in
the valley of the Po, who increased Hannibal's army by 60,000 infantry
and 4,000 cavalry. While the Carthaginian was wintering near Placentia,
the Romans stationed troops to guard the two highways leading north from
Rome and ending at Arretium and Ariminum, The Consuls for this year were
GAIUS FLAMINIUS and GNAEUS SERVILIUS. The former occupied Arretium, the
latter Ariminum. Here they were joined by the troops that had wintered
at Placentia.
In the spring, Hannibal, instead of attempting to pursue his march by
either of the highways which were fortified, outflanked the Romans by
turning aside into Etruria. His route led through a marshy and unhealthy
country, and many soldiers perished. Hannibal himself lost an eye from
ophthalmia. When he had arrived at Faesulae a report of his course first
reached Flaminius, who at once broke camp and endeavored to intercept
his enemy. Hannibal, however, had the start, and was now near LAKE
TRASIMENUS.
Here was a pass with a high hill on one side and the lake on the other.
Hannibal, with the flower of his infantry, occupied the hill. His
light-armed troops and horsemen were drawn up in concealment on either
side.
The Roman column advanced (May, 217), without hesitation, to the
unoccupied pass, the thick morning mist completely concealing the
position of the enemy. As the Roman vanguard approached the hill,
Hannibal gave the signal for attack. The cavalry closed up the entrance
to the pass, and at the same time the mist rolled away, revealing the
Carthaginian arms on the right and left. It was not a battle, but a mere
rout. The main body of the Romans was cut to pieces, with scarcely any
resistance, and the Consul himself was killed. Fifteen thousand Romans
fell, and as many more were captured. The loss of the Carthaginians was
but 1,500, and was confined mostly to the Gallic allies. All Etruria
was lost, and Hannibal could march without hindrance upon Rome, whose
citizens, expecting the enemy daily, tore down the bridges over the
Tiber and prepared for a siege. QUINTUS FABIUS MAXIMUS was appointed
Dictator.
Hannibal, however, did not march upon Rome, but turned through Umbria,
devastating the country as he went. Crossing the Apennines, he halted on
the shores of the Adriatic, in Picenum. After giving his army a rest, he
proceeded along the coast into Southern Italy.
The Romans, seeing that the city was not in immediate danger, raised
another army, and placed the Dictator in command. Fabius was a man of
determination and firmness, well advanced in years. He determined to
avoid a pitched battle, but to dog the steps of the enemy, harassing him
and cutting off his supplies as far as possible.
Meanwhile Hannibal again crossed the mountains into the heart of
Italy to Beneventum, and from there to Capua, the largest Italian city
dependent upon Rome. The Dictator followed, condemning his soldiers to
the melancholy task of looking on in inaction, while the enemy's cavalry
plundered their faithful allies. Finally, Fabius obtained what he
considered a favorable opportunity for an attack. Hannibal, disappointed
in his expectations that Capua would be friendly to him, and not being
prepared to lay siege to the town, had withdrawn towards the Adriatic.
Fabius intercepted him near Casilinum, in Campania, on the left bank of
the Volturnus. The heights that commanded the right bank of the river
were occupied by his main army; and the road itself, which led across
the river, was guarded by a strong division of men.
Hannibal, however, ordered his light-armed troops to ascend the heights
over the road during the night, driving before them oxen with burning
fagots tied to their horns, giving the appearance of an army marching by
torchlight. The plan was successful. The Romans abandoned the road and
marched for the heights, along which they supposed the enemy were going.
Hannibal, with a clear road before him, continued his march with the
bulk of his army. The next morning he recalled his light-armed troops,
which had been sent on to the hills with the oxen. Their engagement with
the Romans had resulted in a severe loss to Fabius.
Hannibal then proceeded, without opposition, in a northeasterly
direction, by a very circuitous route. He arrived in Luceria, with much
booty and a full money-chest, at harvest time. Near here he encamped in
a plain rich in grain and grass for the support of his army.
At Rome the policy of Fabius was severely criticised. His apparent
inaction was displeasing to a large party, and he was called Cunctator
(the Delayer). At length the assembly voted that his command be shared
by one of his lieutenants, Marcus Minucius. The army was divided into
two corps; one under Marcus, who intended to attack Hannibal at the
first opportunity; the other under Fabius, who still adhered to his
former tactics. Marcus made an attack, but paid dearly for his rashness,
and his whole corps would have been annihilated had not Fabius come to
his assistance and covered his retreat. Hannibal passed the winter of
217-216 unmolested.
The season was spent by the Romans in active preparations for the spring
campaign. An army of 80,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry was raised and
put under the command of the Consuls, LUCIUS AEMILIUS PAULLUS and GAIUS
TERENTIUS VARRO. It was decided to test Hannibal's strength once more in
open battle. His army was only half as strong as the Roman in infantry,
but was much superior in cavalry.
In the early summer of 216 the Consuls concentrated their forces at
CANNAE, a hamlet near the mouth of the Aufidus. Early one morning in
June the Romans massed their troops on the left bank of the river, with
their cavalry on either wing, the right under Paullus, and the left
under Varro. The Proconsul Servilius commanded the centre.
The Carthaginians were drawn up in the form of a crescent, flanked by
cavalry. Both armies advanced to the attack at the same time. The onset
was terrible; but though the Romans fought with a courage increased by
the thought that their homes, wives, and children were at stake, they
were overwhelmed on all sides. Seventy thousand fell on the field,
among whom were Paullus, Servilius, many officers, and eighty men of
senatorial rank. This was the most crushing defeat ever experienced by
the Romans. All Southern Italy, except the Latin colonies and the Greek
cities on the coast, went over to Hannibal.