FABIAN STRATEGY IN THE SECOND PUNIC WAR

Fabian strategy in the Second Punic War

Fabian strategy in the Second Punic War

Introduction

The Second Punic conflict was the epic clash between the Republic of Rome and the city of Carthage between 218 BC and 202 BC. Initially intended to decimate Rome, the Carthaginian attack of Italy spurred the development of Roman methods and schemes after disastrous beatings such as Trasimene and Cannae at the hands of Hannibal. Instead of crumbling, Roman commanders, most prominently Scipio Africanus, began to learn from the flops of those before them when opposite the Carthaginians. By mastering the art of encirclement and permitting their troops room to maneuver in manipular fashion the Romans turned the surge of the war. Rather than opposite beat, after the Battle of Zama in 202 BC the Romans discovered themselves stronger and more powerful than they had ever been in their history. Militarily they had gone from a easy armed detachment that destroyed its opponents with brute force to a sleek, nearly surgical force that was proficient at outflanking and decimating their opponents with a blend of blended units.

The Second Punic War

Hannibal Barca was the key number of the Second Punic conflict and it was he who instigated the conflict. Rome had by 218 BC taken over parts of southern Gaul and were starting to go in Iberia. Hasdrubal, Hannibal's predecessor had marked a pact with the Romans, detailing that the Ebro stream was to be the dividing line between Roman and Carthaginian parts of Iberia.19 Hannibal had not ever acknowledged what he glimpsed as another impede to Carthage retrieving command of power in the western Mediterranean. In 218 BC he assaulted and apprehended the town of Saguntum, an partner of Rome, in southeastern Iberia, prompting Roman sound for Carthage to stop hostilities. It was denied and war was declared.

Instead of further endangering Carthaginian holdings in Iberia with little extra to gain, Hannibal accumulated a large armed detachment of 20,000 Liby-Phoenician heavy infantrymen battling in the Macedonian style and 70,000 Iberian infantry of all types. In supplement, and of most worth in the imminent fighting, Hannibal had an excellent cavalry corps, comprising of 6,000 Numidian lightweight equine and 6,000 heavy Iberian equinemen. Most famously he is remembered for bringing with him 40 conflict elephants, the infantry fad of the 3rd years BC.21 With these men he marched northeast, over the Pyrenees and south Gaul, battling various Celtic tribes along the way, before coming to the Alps, after which lay Roman controlled Italy.22 It was his aim to take the fight to Rome itself, initating sufficient impairment to Roman cities and territory to force them to submit to Carthage. Hannibal crossed the Alps in the after summer, going into Cis-Alpine Gaul in northern Italy, emerging in the territory of the Celtic Taurini, beside up to date Turin. Along the way Hannibal had gradually dismissed portions of his army back to Iberia and blended with deficiency to the components in the epic 15-day stride ...