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Hannibal Barca
Contents Page 1 - Introduction - Historical Background - Young Hannibal - A Leader of Men - A Genius of War
Introduction
‘Hannibal is at the gates’ cried the Roman senators, many years after the general’s death, whenever the republic faced severe adversity; and mothers warned errant children of Hannibal – who took the place of the bogeyman and kept the young ones in check. Hannibal’s name passed into Roman popular culture with good reason; for throughout the mighty reign of the Roman Empire, only once was her very existence mortally threatened.
Hannibal’s generalship single-handedly struck fear deep into the common-man’s psyche, humility into Roman generals’ mind, fortitude into his own mercenary army’s soul and hope into oppressed peoples’ heart. The Roman treasury was bankrupted raising legion after legion while Hannibal roamed the length and breadth of the Italian peninsula with impunity, almost always annihilating his enemies, sometimes retreating but never being defeated.
Of all his Roman adversaries only two are worth mention. The first – Quintus Fabius Maximus who was nicknamed ‘the delayer’ for his unique approach of avoiding pitched battle with the fearsome Carthaginian general; and Cornellius Scipio who earned the cognomen-Africanus after conclusively defeating Hannibal on Carthaginian territory; that too after studying the same martial principles that Hannibal employed in his Roman campaign. More on both these giants later.
Historical Background
Carthage – Hannibal’s country (located near modern day Tunisia, North Africa) was originally a Phoenician colony of traders and shipbuilders. Carthage was a superpower in her own right, battling for precious resources with the only visible threat – Greece, until around the 4th century BC when along came the Roman Empire.
Carthaginians were businessmen in the truest sense. They fought for resources and minerals; their colonies in the Mediterranean were prized possessions and their ship-building skill was the finest of the time. Their army was almost completely mercenary for they were not a large population.
The Barcid clan of Carthage were noblemen who could trace their origins all the way back to the founders of their city. The Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca was at the helm of military affairs during the First Punic War with Rome in 247 BC, but even his military skill could not hold back the Roman navy who had gained mastery over the seas after seizing a Carthaginian ship and besting their design. Precious mineral resources in the Mediterranean like Sicily were lost to Rome and heavy war reparations became incumbent on Carthage. Hamilcar Barca was furious at the Romans whose severe impositions had crippled his country’s economy; and discontent at home prompted a revolt from within the mercenary army. Nevertheless the revolt was effectively suppressed by Hamilcar, who set out shortly afterward to occupy more territory for Carthage.
Before leaving his country Hamilcar took Hannibal – his eldest son who was aged nine at the time to the temple of a Carthaginian deity. There Hannibal swore a lifetime of enmity towards Rome. Hannibal’s oath had a profound impact on his life – which from that point onwards makes him not just a fierce adversary of the greatest superpower of the time, but also a proud patriot of his own small country – Carthage, Queen of the Mediterranean.
Young Hannibal
Hannibal spent his youth in military camp being exposed not only to war and conflict but seeing first-hand how men were commanded. His father had set out from Carthage towards Spain where he tamed the people and colonised the territory; recruiting mercenaries for his army along the way. Spain proved fertile territory for Carthage and her mineral and wealth made the small city-state powerful once again and a force to be reckoned with. Hamilcar remained a loyal subject of Carthage but enjoyed virtually independent charge of his affairs in Spain. After his death in battle Hasdrubal the handsome (Hannibal’s brother-in-law) assumed command; Hannibal was second-in-command.
Compared with Hamilcar’s expansion policy, Hasdrubal was more of a consolidator who strengthened the newly acquired lands. Hannibal’s exposure to policy making and diplomacy as well as pitched battle provided him with the groundwork he needed to lead. When Hasdrubal was murdered in 221 BC Hannibal took command; he was twenty-six.
A Leader of Men
In 216 BC while Hannibal’s vastly outnumbered army stood facing the Roman legions Officer Gisgo voiced concern:
‘It is astonishing to see so great a number of men.’ Hannibal sensed his anxiety and decided to turn it his own way: ‘Yes, Gisgo, you are right, but there is one thing you have not noticed.’ ‘What is that, sir?’ asked the puzzled officer. ‘In all that great number of men opposite us there is not a single one named Gisgo.’
As the small group of officers that Hannibal had just spoken to broke in laughter the rank and file of the army looked on, their confidence restored by the apparent nonchalance of their leaders. – Hannibal: Ernle Bradford.
Probably the greatest testament to Hannibal’s leadership is that despite his army being almost completely mercenary and not under his leadership for long, he never faced mutiny or lost the confidence of his men. Not while crossing the Alps with their entire baggage train and elephants, not while fighting away from their homeland for over fifteen years, nor at any other time. The only betrayal he faced seemed to come from politicians and kings who had probably never entered the theatre of war.
His men rallied around him for a number of reasons. In appearance Hannibal could only be distinguished from his soldiers by the weapons he carried rather than armour or dress. His presence in the battlefield was at least equal to that of his men, and the loss of an eye stands testament to him enduring the same hardships as them. However Hannibal was not the first in leading soldiers in battle, nor was it his only claim to successful leadership.
The soldiers in the Carthaginian army were precious to Hannibal. It could not have been an easy task to replace the lost soldiers in a foreign land, and Hannibal never shied from staging a strategic withdrawal from the battlefield when he knew that victory was eluding him. The Carthaginian army could see that their general had no special thirst for blood; not theirs at least.
A Genius of War
‘No toil could exhaust his body or overcome his spirit. He could endure heat and cold alike, and his consumption of food and drink was determined by natural want and not by pleasure. His times of sleeping and waking were not determined by night or day. Once his work was done he gave what time remained to rest, but he did not court this with a soft bed or quiet. Many have often seen him lying on the ground wrapped only in a military coat amid the sentries and outposts of his soldiers.’ – Livy, Roman Historian.
Hannibal’s fierce invasion of Italy was only tempered by his judgment and discretion. Intelligence and leadership were hallmarks of his campaign because of the limited resources available to him; and it is for this reason that he is often acclaimed as the father of military strategy.
The Carthaginian army was a heterogeneous unit made up of infantry and cavalry, foot soldiers and special-forces, expert-horsemen and crude barbarians. Hannibal’s recruitment of oppressed or recalcitrant people from Gaul and Italy was a constant feature of his campaign. These untrained warriors were expertly but ruthlessly employed in combination with his motley crew of horsemen, slingers, infantry and elephants.
Hannibal paid close attention to where he made war. Never one to fight on Roman terms he risked life and limb in order to reach a battlefield of his own choosing; he shameless occupied high ground and blinded the haughty Roman Consuls to his plans by playing with their psyche. One of his favourite tricks was to infuriate the consul with guerilla techniques, who would inevitably fear for his own reputation and fall into the trap by giving chase and end up ambushed. The resulting massacre of Romans would be no small affair. Tiberius, Flaminius, Varro and Paulus were fours Roman consuls who encountered the Carthaginian general early in his Roman campaign and suffered greatly because of their lack of awareness about the man.
To say that Hannibal’s tactics were unorthodox would be a gross understatement. In contrast to the straightforward psychology of the Roman generals Hannibal challenged the endurance of his men whenever he had to avoid a battle he couldn’t win. The repeated ambushing and annihilating of numerically superior Roman armies is almost comical and unbelievable. The formation of his army was visually obtuse when observed facing Roman legions; it was only once battle had commenced that Hannibal’s foresight manifested itself to the surrounded Roman soldiers and generals, many of whom escaped from the conflict at the first opportunity.
Animals played an important part of the Carthaginian arsenal. The notorious crossing of the Alps with elephants is a favourite of all Hannibal’s exploits; the psychological impact of seeing the enemy on their homeland with gigantic beasts from the African wild gave the invaders a great advantage. But the Numidian cavalry were probably the army’s greatest asset and most effective killing weapon. Their flexibility and maneuverability was matched only by their experience in battle and training. Even cattle were employed – with nothing less than burning branches on their head to confuse the Romans about the true numbers of the Carthaginian army that were on the move in the dark!
Go to Hannibal Barca Page 2
Contents Hannibal Barca (Page 2) - Getting the Better of Hannibal - Peace for the Romans, Finally! - The Burning Plains of Zama - Retirement |
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Hannibal’s legendary crossing of the Alps took the Second Punic War to Rome’s doorstep. The audacious move won him many defecting Roman allies, who saw that Rome was not all-powerful. (Image: toptenz.net ) |
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Hannibal in popular culture. BBC DVD |
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‘Claude, View of Carthage with Dido and Aeneas’ The tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas was described in Virgil’s Aeneid. Dido was the founder-queen of Carthage. (Image: shafe.co.uk) |
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Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama ending the Second Punic War in 202 BC. Despite adversity, both generals held each other in high regard, meeting and conversing as equals if not friends much later in life. (Image: Wikipedia) |
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Fabius Maximus earned the cognomen - The Delayer, by employing a strategy of attrition against Hannibal. This tactic weakened Hannibal’s troops without engaging them in battle; and has since been known as the Fabian Strategy. (Image: Wikipedia) |
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Hannibal Barca |
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The Carthaginian general counting the rings of fallen Roman knights at the Battle of Cannae (216 BC). Sculpture by Sebastien Stodtz. (Image: Wikipedia) |
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Adventure | Authors | Biographies Business | Crime | Espionage & War Reference | Renderings | Treatise | Vintage |
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If there is one book to read about Hannibal Barca it is this one.
Equally enjoyable for beginners and old-fans alike, this books shreds the bias of the original historians and cuts a believable picture of the Carthaginian. Mr. Bradford has in effect cleaned up the inconsistencies in Livy and Polybius’ texts and written in a contemporary style that keeps the pace up.
The most enjoyable bonus is a more detailed and insightful biography and detail into the kind of man Hannibal was.
- Webster Fortyone |
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