Scipio Africanus

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The Great General Hannibal Barca had never lost a battle in the field. Scipio Africanus would change that, his actions ensuring the end of the Second Punic War.

The eldest son to one of the five great families of Rome, Scipio had high expectations from the early days of his upbringing. He was known to have a keen intellect and a large amount of confidence in his own abilities. These attributes would serve him well as he would soon be called upon to command Rome’s legions.

The Second Punic War

The Second Punic War was one of the most important episodes in Roman History. Carthage would contest Rome for domination of the Mediterranean.

The Carthaginian commander was Hannibal Barca.

Hannibal had ravaged Rome’s armies, plunging the Roman Empire into disastrous circumstances. Hannibal’s Carthaginian army famously crossed the Alps, launching surprise attacks in Italy. The Romans were defeated at Ticinus, Trebia, and Trasimene. At Cannae, Hannibal had killed or captured 60,000-70,000 Roman soldiers. The Roman military command was decimated. Roman casualties over the second Punic war were estimated to be more than 300,000.

Hannibal Barca was the greatest General the Romans had ever faced, and it took ten years of fighting until the Romans produced a General of his caliber. This man would be Scipio Africanus.

Scipio Africanus served in the Roman legions from an early age, quickly assuming command and becoming a junior officer before the age of 20. At the age of 26, Scipio was given command of all the Roman legions in Spain. Scipio began to reform the Roman army. He began to make more use of his cavalry and light infantry to create gaps in the enemy ranks. He introduced new heavy infantry maneuvers to his troops, and Romans began to use the gladius as a weapon under his direction. Scipio understood the importance of maintaining good intelligence networks in war, and Carthage began to score less victories over the Romans via ambush after he assumed command.

Scipio always made sure his supply lines were well protected and this allowed his troops to engage in long operations in foreign battlefields.

Scipio was a strategic mastermind, understanding that to defeat Hannibal, you had to threaten his homeland, not defeat him in Italy. He made alliances with the Numidians in North Africa and defeated the Carthaginian army three times. Carthage was forced to recall Hannibal from Italy so that he could defend his homeland.

Scipio would then engage Hannibal in the Battle of Zama.

The Battle of Zama (202 BC)

Scipio had ravaged the lands of Carthage and the time had finally come. The two greatest military generals of their time, Scipio and Hannibal would finally confront one another in battle.

Each had never lost a battle, and this battle would finally decide the question: Carthage or Rome? Only one could dominate the Mediterranean, and both Generals prepared for this monumental engagement.

Hannibal had 40,000 men. Unfortunately, only 12,000 were his veteran troops, and the rest were untrained levies that were raised in Carthage. He still had around 80 war elephants, although they were also untrained. He had been forced to leave his horses in Italy as he had no way to transport them to Carthage, so his cavalry was severely depleted.

Scipio’s 40,000 were veteran legions, in addition to a vastly superior Roman cavalry. He also had the support of the deadly Numidian cavalry.

Both sides skirmished to begin the battle, with their cavalry units battling for superiority. With Scipio’s cavalry now occupied, Hannibal moved his heavy infantry forward. Unfortunately, the Roman heavy infantry won the engagement, pushing the Carthaginians back.

In the battle, the elephants charged forward, but the Romans were well prepared for that after years of battling the Carthaginians. They moved aside in a well-coordinated manner.

Scipio now had the upper hand. Hannibal pushed his second line of infantry forward, and his counterattack left Scipio’s forces disordered. Scipio understood the danger he was in and pulled his troops back to buy himself some time. That Hannibal did not push the pace and try to destroy Scipio’s force at this time was a massive mistake. Scipio’s cavalry arrived back at the battle at exactly the right time, throwing the Carthaginian army into chaos. Scipio’s infantry then methodically cut down the fleeing Carthaginians. Scipio had become the first man to defeat Hannibal Barca.

This battle brought an end to the second Punic war. Scipio Africanus was truly a first-rate military commander, and his victories gave Rome total control over Spain and North Africa.

Source: Richard Gabriel- Great Generals of the Ancient World

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