Rome Vs. Carthage Battle Analysis

Roman Battle with Roman Soldiers

 This piece of writing was based on the Roman Republic which was recommended by a friend for something to draw and write about. This post is an analysis of the Punic War, - Rome vs. Carthage, and how the generals fought the battles. The Second Punic War was a make-or-break moment for the Roman Republic, which was a very difficult time for Rome[JS1] . The Carthaginian General Hannibal outmaneuvered the Roman Army- even with less men and left the Republic with a major defeat.

              The Roman Army was highly effective but underwent serious changes and reforms- during and after the Second Punic War- due to Hannibal’s devastating military victories that at one point killed 20% of all the men in the Roman Republic. The Roman’s also increased the size of their navy substantially and developed new tactics because of this. The Roman Army consisted of four legions, but Hannibal’s military strategy caused them to need to change the army’s structure, pass new reforms, and change army standards.

The Punic wars were three wars between Rome and Carthage. The Second Punic War was the most impactful, risky and highest lives lost war for the Romans until the very end of the empire. The Roman Empire had to fight a superior Carthaginian naval fleet that allowed it to move troops where they needed to be and destroy roman trade. In response to this the Romans developed a drawbridge for the troops which allowed the Roman navy to board enemy ships.

The war started in Iberia: which was Hannibal’s home and where Hannibal inherited a large army from his family. Modern day Spain had a large amount of gold, silver and had lots of fighter tribes. Hannibal’s goal was to bring the war to the Romans after the first Punic war enriched and blew up the Roman empire’s success.

The Roman Army included men between 17 and 49 years old as well as it included an amount of property valued at 11,000 bronze asses which was the equivalent of 1,100 denarius or the silver roman mainstream coin. The Roman army consisted of drafted citizens and included 4 standing legions. However, during the Second Punic war they had to draft more because Hannibal destroyed two of the legions in a single battle! Hannibal was even able to defeat another one and half legions in the next battle which killed 20% of Rome’s entire population.

The Roman Army was defeated badly in the Second Punic War and its navy was beaten even worse, but Rome passed major military, economic, government, and naval reforms that greatly helped them with future wars and changed the way the republic worked. The Roman Navy underwent significant reforms to be able to defend themselves from the best navy in the world, the Carthaginian fleet.