Conclude lessons from the Punic War

Transcription

1 Conclude lessons from the Punic War Your position is Rome (Sometimes you will be a consul and sometimes you will be the senate giving orders to the consul)

2 Background: Rome is not yet the great power that it will come to be during its age of empire. She lacks a great navy, and has not yet been tested in battle to an extent that will prove her might. Rome has potential trouble on all frontiers; a dangerous situation for an unproven military. The Gauls to the Northwest are warlike, and move quite often. The Macedonians to the Northeast are fully aware of their Alexandrian heritage, and often have been in conflict along the border. Those darn Carthaginians control almost all trade in the Western Mediterranean, and, along with the Greeks, have designs on Sicily and other lands that would further restrict Roman expansion and security. As our story opens, the Roman Senate is faced with a difficult decision. Word has come to Rome that Hannibal is in Spain, and is causing concern among Roman allies there. Knowing the Barca family, it will not be long before Hannibal begins some sort of conquest of Roman lands. In fact, there is great blame in Rome over the settlement to the First Punic War, which allowed Carthage to keep lands in Spain. This policy gave the Carthaginians a land base from which to attack Rome's allies. Unfortunately, the Gauls are also getting out of hand at this point. They have been insolent and aggressive, and are in obvious need of a lesson in manners. They threaten the Roman border, and have been known to cross the mountains, sacking towns and destroying Roman outposts. Each time this occurs, they become more confident, and seem bent on eventually invading Rome itself, which they had done in the dim mists of your past.

3 With the question before the Roman Senate: "Shall we send our forces to Spain to confront Hannibal, or to Gaul to put the Gauls in their place?, how do you vote? I choose to send troops to Spain I choose to send troops to Gaul

4 Choice #2 Background Hannibal soon became a major nuisance to the Romans. It was obvious that he would not be content to leave the boundaries as they had been set following the First Punic War. The Roman Senate was forced to debate how this impudent rascal should be dealt with. An immediate concern was the safety of the city of Saguntum, the southernmost boundary of Roman possessions in Spain. A port city on the Iberus River (hence Iberia), Saguntum was loyal to Rome, and was rather wealthy. If Hannibal chose to attack it, there would definitely be war, but if Rome could be considered to have provoked Hannibal's actions, then Rome might be held responsible for the conflict. This was not a position that Rome could easily take. The Romans also knew that Hannibal had what we will call the Fortification Problem. It takes a great deal of time, effort, resources, and men to reduce a city. A siege requires an army to stay in one place, making them an easier target. It would take Hannibal at least 9 months to reduce Saguntum and capture it. This might work contrary to his overwhelming desire to assault Rome itself.

5 The Roman Senate decided that they had two options. One was to send a large force immediately to Saguntum, which might provoke Hannibal into a full-scale assault that would begin the Second War. The other option was to send diplomats to negotiate with Hannibal, in hopes of keeping conflict from occurring. These diplomats might even be sent to Carthage itself, in hopes that Hannibal would be called home by his own people. Which choice do you think they made? I choose to send a large force I choose to send diplomats

6 Choice #3 Background Hannibal destroyed Saguntum, and proceeded north to invade Italy by land. He was aware of what we will call the Port Problem: Italy has a marshy coast, with few good harbors. He felt that it would be impossible to invade Rome by sea, so a land route was his best option. He crossed over the Pyrenees Mountains into Gaul, and headed for the Alps. Hannibal crossed the Alps, although it cost him many of his war elephants, one of his greatest weapons. The steep descent into the Po River valley made it obvious that there would be no retreat by that path. Hannibal's only course now was to head into Italy itself. Moving north from Rome, Scipio convinced his men that they had Hannibal trapped between themselves and the Alps. He stirred their patriotism by reminding them that, if they failed, Rome would be lost. At the Ticinus branch of the Po, Scipio found himself only 5 miles from Hannibal's camp. At this point, the Ticinus was rather deep, so fording the river was not an option.

7 Scipio was faced with a choice: build a bridge across the river, or wait on Hannibal to cross it. With a bridge, Scipio could fight Hannibal earlier and away from any important Italian cities. It would also give the Roman soldiers something to do until conflict came. To wait might mean that Hannibal would move farther north, or even away from conflict altogether. Waiting might also cause Hannibal to become impatient, and perhaps make some mistakes, and Scipio would be fighting on his own territory. I choose to build a bridge I choose to wait for Hannibal

8 Choice #4 Background Word was quickly sent to Rome that Scipio had been wounded, and the Senate recalled Sempronius from Sicily, ordering him to reinforce Scipio at once. Having learned a painful lesson, Scipio advised that the combined Roman army find a defensive position, from which they could prevent Hannibal from advancing further. Sempronius, however, was anxious to prove his greatness as a General, and wished for immediate conflict. The anxiety became greater when Roman detachments won some skirmishes with Hannibal's men. Sempronius wondered why he should fear Hannibal in Italy, when Romans had defeated Carthaginians in Africa during the First Punic War. He had personally not seen any reason to fear Hannibal, and wanted to pursue action at any moment. He knows that Hannibal is subject to the Replacement Factor, and he is not. Rome can draft new soldiers at any time, but Hannibal can only add to his army by capturing native, paying mercenaries, or waiting for help from Carthage. Each of these options is becoming less available with every passing day. By now, it was late in the year, and the war "season" would soon be over. It was already an unusually cold and wet December, and both armies were miserable living out in the open. The two forces found themselves on opposite sides of the same branch of the Po, which was swollen by the continuing rains. On a dark and stormy night (really), Sempronius found that his camp was under attack by a Carthaginian detachment. He quickly rallied his men, and began to fight back. The Romans had great success in this encounter, and Sempronius was greatly excited.

9 Sempronius now had an important decision to make: should he pursue Hannibal's troops while he had them on the run, or wait until a better day with better weather? I choose to pursue Hannibal's forces I choose to wait for a better opportunity

10 Choice #5 Background The Romans now had new consuls to lead their troops in the spring of 216 BC. The consul chosen to find and attack Hannibal was a man named Flaminius. This man believed that Hannibal had been overrated as a General. (Error.) He felt that Roman defeats so far had been due to poor leadership, bad planning, and a lack of aggressiveness. (He was not entirely wrong in that.) He was quite self-confident, to the point of being vain. He was certain that he had the ability to defeat Hannibal, where others had failed. Flaminius was aware that Hannibal had spent a rough winter. Hannibal had tried to cross the Apennine Mountains to get to the warmer eastern coast of Italy for the winter, and failed to do so. This failure had cost him men and supplies, weakening his forces. Spies now reported to Flaminius that Hannibal was struggling to cross the swamps around the Arno River. All but one of Hannibal's war elephants had died, removing a fearsome weapon from his arsenal. Flaminius, excited by the prospect of catching a weakened Hannibal in an unfavorable location, pushed his troops north, looking for battle. He dreamed of the great parade of victory, a triumph, that would be held in his honor when he returned to Rome. At Lake Thrasymene, Flaminius caught his first glimpse of Hannibal's army. Lake Thrasymene is long and narrow, surrounded by mountains. Through the narrow pass at one point in the Lake, Flaminius could see the encampment of the Carthaginians at the far end. He could hardly contain his excitement at the prospect of battle.

11 He was now faced with an important choice. He might set up a defensive line and wait for Hannibal to come to him. He might lead his men in a brave attack upon the Carthaginian encampment. Making the correct choice could be decisive in ending the war I choose to attack Hannibal's camp I choose to wait for Hannibal to come