Hannibal's Defeat Of Carthage In The First Punic War

Because the Romans were successful at defeating the state of Carthage in the First Punic War, Hannibal Barca was determined to retaliate and claim victory over the Romans. Hannibal’s threats caused widespread fear amongst Italian citizens for many years. For the Second Punic War, Hannibal looked to his father, a great commander of Spain, to assist him with forming a powerful army. Hannibal was able to gather 50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and several elephants for his journey from Spain to Rome. Hannibal traveled by land instead of by water because he was aware of the Roman’s presence at the Mediterranean Sea.
The Roman army, led by Publius Cornelius Scipio the Elder, was seemingly prepared for Hannibal’s attack on Rome. Scipio enlisted the help of his brother, Gnaeus, in an effort to prevent an invasion of Rome. After an overdue attempt at blocking Hannibal at Massilia, Hannibal rerouted north towards the Rhone River. Scipio then sent Gnaeus to Spain to fight off any Carthaginian forces that may have been planning to join Hannibal at a later time. Since Hannibal
With two leaders, the Romans could alternate leadership daily and possibly benefit from the individual strengths of both Varro and Paulus. During the battle of Cannae, Varro decided to push forward with an attack against Hannibal, ignoring Paulus’ reservations. Hannibal was prepared for a strategic battle and lined his army up in flanks near the river banks. The typical army setup placed the cavalry at the wings and the infantry at the center. Instead, Hannibal sent the weaker Gauls and Spanish foot soldiers to the center and reserved stronger African foot soldiers for the flanks. The Romans advanced towards the Gauls and Spanish, but the Africans moved inward, surrounding the Romans from both sides. The Romans were trapped and unable to escape defeat. Hannibal proved that strategy is more valuable than