The Punic Wars
First Punic War- Rome marched on Sicily in 264 BCE, most of this island being controlled by the powerful Carthaginians. The initial battle was on Sicily and the smaller surrounding islands, which was a new experience for Carthage, because in the past they had almost always fought on sea. Because of their inexperience on land, Carthage decided to use their navy which for a long time ruled the Mediterranean Sea. But to their surprise, the Romans had been building hundreds of cheap ships for carrying men. They would sail near one of the expensive Carthaginian Naval vessels, lay a plank of wood across the gap and use it as a bridge to board the ship. They were not prepared for close range combat and were taken by the Romans. Carthage managed to win many of the battles but it was not enough to defeat the emerging empire that was Rome.
Second Punic War- In 218 BCE A Carthaginian general named Hannibal crossed the Alps with and army of foot soldiers, horseman and war elephants to invade Rome. The first battle happened on the banks of the Ticino River, where Hannibal's cavalry faced off against and defeated Roman general, P. Cornelius Scipio, who was severely wounded and barely escaped with his life. Flaminius the new Roman consul at the time Blocked what seemed like Hannibal's only two routes to the capitol, so Hannibal went through a thick marsh. He got between the two Roman armies and the city of Rome. When Flaminius realized the Carthaginians had gotten behind them he started to rush back to Rome assuming Hannibal was going there. This was anticipated by the North African armies and they ambushed the Romans from the heights near Lake Trasumenus. More than 15,000 Italians including Flaminius were killed with any survivors drowned in the lake.
Second Punic War- In 218 BCE A Carthaginian general named Hannibal crossed the Alps with and army of foot soldiers, horseman and war elephants to invade Rome. The first battle happened on the banks of the Ticino River, where Hannibal's cavalry faced off against and defeated Roman general, P. Cornelius Scipio, who was severely wounded and barely escaped with his life. Flaminius the new Roman consul at the time Blocked what seemed like Hannibal's only two routes to the capitol, so Hannibal went through a thick marsh. He got between the two Roman armies and the city of Rome. When Flaminius realized the Carthaginians had gotten behind them he started to rush back to Rome assuming Hannibal was going there. This was anticipated by the North African armies and they ambushed the Romans from the heights near Lake Trasumenus. More than 15,000 Italians including Flaminius were killed with any survivors drowned in the lake.
Hannibal, instead of heading to Rome, decided go East. He thought that he could convince towns to align themselves with him and together they could head to the capital city and destroy it, but unfortunately for Carthage the towns stayed loyal to Rome. While marching Roman general Fabius Maximus started to block passes through the mountains so Hannibal could not pass. To counter this strategy Hannibal started a stampede of a huge heard of cattle he gathered from the countryside. The terrified Roman soldiers decided to abandon their posts so that they were not trampled to death, and Hannibal's army marched through an unguarded mountain pass. Two new consuls took control of the largest Roman army that had ever been assembled to that point. The Romans gathered near the town of Cannae. Seeing that he was severely outnumbered Hannibal devised a brilliant plan to not only defeat them, but to completely destroy them. He spread his army out into a wide line, much longer then the Romans, with his weak soldiers in the middle against the strongest infantry. His very strong troops and his cavalry went on the outside. He told all of his troops to advance, but his troops in the middle had to stop to fight. The troops on the end of the line swung around flanking the Roman army on either side and within a few minutes the opposing army was fighting off Carthaginians from three sides. He had 6,000 cavalry ride to the rear of the Romans so there was no escape. It is said that only one of the consuls survived with only 70 horsemen and
a minuscule infantry.
a minuscule infantry.
After this major victory many towns throughout Italy and abroad decided to turn against Rome and ally themselves with the powerful Africans. In Campania the Romans overcame Hannibal for the first time stopping his advance but not destroying his army. The Roman city of Capua, who had sided with Carthage, was surrounded by two legions of Romans and was sieged. When Hannibal rushed to their aid the Romans were already entrenched enough that Hannibal could not attack. Hannibal marched straight to Rome in an attempt to distract the legions from the city of Capua, but they knew he did not have enough siege equipment to mount an attack large enough that the garrison in the city itself could not defend against.
Hannibal's brother, Hasdrupal, came with an army to reinforce the existing one. But his army was attacked by Roman legionaries and completely destroyed. When Hasdrupal's lifeless head was thrown into the Carthaginian camp by Romans Hannibal said "O Carthage, I see thy fate" and started to retreat. After Hadsrupal and his army were eliminated Spain was left almost unattended and Cornelius Scipio took it under the control of Rome. Upon return to Rome he was elected consul and he mounted an attack on Carthage from Sicily. Hannibal was recalled to Africa to protect his homeland and Rome was very relieved. Hannibal and Scipio faced off, Hannibal at a huge disadvantage with a much smaller and less experienced army. Rome defeated Hannibal and his hoards of elephants that day.
Third Punic War- The third Punic War started after Carthage broke its treaty with Rome when they declared war on Rome's neighbor Numidia in 149 B.C. Rome then sent forth an army to invade Northern Africa. Rome sent two consular armies consisting of 80,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry to Utica, which was only 10 miles away from Carthage. Carthage tried to hand over 300 hostages to stop the war, but the Romans did not care. Roman leader Scipio Africanus then took control of the army. After this change in leadership, Rome started to seige the city and Carthage resisted it for two years. Rome cut off the port and Carthage had no choice but to surrender after a while of having no supplies. After Carthage's surrender, the remaining citizens were sold off into slavery. During the next ten days, the Romans continued to plunder and burn the city and its buildings until it was obliterated. Carthage would not be successfully rebuilt until the reign of Augustus about 150 years after the third Punic War and the destruction of Rome.
Hannibal's brother, Hasdrupal, came with an army to reinforce the existing one. But his army was attacked by Roman legionaries and completely destroyed. When Hasdrupal's lifeless head was thrown into the Carthaginian camp by Romans Hannibal said "O Carthage, I see thy fate" and started to retreat. After Hadsrupal and his army were eliminated Spain was left almost unattended and Cornelius Scipio took it under the control of Rome. Upon return to Rome he was elected consul and he mounted an attack on Carthage from Sicily. Hannibal was recalled to Africa to protect his homeland and Rome was very relieved. Hannibal and Scipio faced off, Hannibal at a huge disadvantage with a much smaller and less experienced army. Rome defeated Hannibal and his hoards of elephants that day.
Third Punic War- The third Punic War started after Carthage broke its treaty with Rome when they declared war on Rome's neighbor Numidia in 149 B.C. Rome then sent forth an army to invade Northern Africa. Rome sent two consular armies consisting of 80,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry to Utica, which was only 10 miles away from Carthage. Carthage tried to hand over 300 hostages to stop the war, but the Romans did not care. Roman leader Scipio Africanus then took control of the army. After this change in leadership, Rome started to seige the city and Carthage resisted it for two years. Rome cut off the port and Carthage had no choice but to surrender after a while of having no supplies. After Carthage's surrender, the remaining citizens were sold off into slavery. During the next ten days, the Romans continued to plunder and burn the city and its buildings until it was obliterated. Carthage would not be successfully rebuilt until the reign of Augustus about 150 years after the third Punic War and the destruction of Rome.