Carthage Versus Rome: Lake Trasimene Part 10

Carthage Versus Rome

This piece of writing was based on the Roman Republic which was a child hood favorite topic and it was highly requested by people that filled out a form about the website. This post is an analysis of the Punic War, - Rome vs. Carthage, and how the different generals fought the set of Punic War battles. The Second Punic War was a make-or-break moment for the Roman Republic, which was one of the most stressful times for Rome because of the Carthaginian General Hannibal. He outmaneuvered the Roman Army- even with a number disadvantage and left the Republic with a major defeat.

The Battle of Lake Trasimene was a decisive battle for Carthaginians – a decisive surprise attack trap which allowed the Carthaginians to fight two more decisive battles that gave the less manpowered Carthaginians a chance at winning the war on the ground. Lake Trasimene was a surprise attack. The battle happened in 217 BC at Flaminius’s camp and the Roman’s deployed their troops which were crushed in the eye of a trap. Flaminius’s army was 3-6 times larger than the Carthaginian army.

The area of Lake Trasimene created a significant advantage for Hannibal’s army to surprise the Roman army which they did by crossing the Alpine mountains. Hannibal lost an eye over the winter due to an untreated infection. Hannibal’s army recovered its Vigor and set off into the part of Italy called Etruria.  The Roman general Flaminis recruited his fellow consul Servatius. After- Hannibal rampaged through the countryside and Flaminius went after him. Flaminius had trouble pinning his soldiers between the two armies and tried to pin Hannibal but failed.

Lake Trasimene in 217 BC: 1 at 7 am Flaminius broke camp and marched in a small way to the Carthaginian rearguard were they passed to the east. Lake Trasimene was on one side and the shallow hills were on the other. 2. Hannibal sprung his trap attacking his column at its head at its rear and all along the flank in a major simultaneous assault. In the general confusion the Romans were unable to deploy their troops and were crushed in the trap.

Flaminius’s army consisted of 25,000-30,000 troops. Hannibal’s army consisted of 8,000-12,000 men so Hannibal was at a large disadvantage- his genius of destroying the Roman army at the battle of Lake Trasimene was a decisive victory for the Carthaginians and gave Hannibal a chance of winning the war. The Carthaginian army core was the Libyo-Phoecians heavy infantry numbering between 8,000-12,000 men.

Flaminius’s strategy for winning the war was to pin the lower number of Carthaginian soldiers between the mountains, the lake and the hills however the Carthaginians did a great job of trapping Flaminius’s army in an ambush and destroying the Roman army. Lake Trasimene was a major battle of 35,000-50,000 men which was a decisive victory for the Carthaginians- they captured 6,000 Roman troops- larger then an entire Roman legion.

The Roman’s at Lake Trasiemene were very arrogant and incompetent allowing the Carthaginians to trap and destroy them. Flamisues- the Roman Generals strategy was to pin the Carthaginian army against the hills and crush the smaller Carthaginian army. The Roman were in a strongly superior situation until Hannibal won the big three battles leading to 20% of all the military aged men in Rome to be killed in battle.

Citations

Cambell, D. (2018a). Roman Legionary Versus Carthaginian Warrior. Osprey Publishing.