Second Punic War Part 11

History of Second Punic of War: Part Eleven

This piece of writing was based on the Roman Republic which was a recommended topic that I decided to write about, by a friend. This post is an analysis of the Punic War, - Rome vs. Carthage, and how the different generals fought the 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. The Carthaginian General Hannibal outmaneuvered the Roman Army- even with a number disadvantage and left the Republic with a major defeat.

The Second Punic Wars are an important part of the history of military strategy- from Hannibal’s battle winning- to Rome’s overall how to win a war strategy. This war is still being taught and studied today. Ancient Roman’s relied on the strength of the Senate and People connection which prevented Hannibal’s strategy of crushing Rome’s army and recruiting Italian Allies from working. Hannibal however had a very good battle to battle strategy. The Second Punic War was impacted by the Eastern Mediterranean because of the Empire of Macedon’s quest to move west but it was a draw. The Battle of Cannae came after the devastating defeat of four Roman legions, and they raised four new legions to deal with Hannibal but were promptly defeated.

Military generals in the United States study how to win the war rather than a single battle. The Second Punic War was a great example of a military concept called: “COG” or center of gravity analysis. This military concept is a strategy to win a war but may not be right for a single battle. It’s based on understanding the cultural, structural, economic and military of the enemy and poking holes in the enemy’s infrastructure, allies and political system. It is based on understanding the enemy and using a war-based- not battle based- tactic to win the war. This time coincided with Alexander the Great’s- father’s rise to power- King Phillip.

The Second Punic War was partly impacted by the Kingdom of Macedon, which changed the political/military landscape across the Mediterranean.  At the beginning of the Second Punic War- King Phillip of Macedon was 17 years old and was about to lead a campaign against the Messenians and Achaeans of Greece. The military factors and wars that drove the Second Punic Wars started in Greece and carried over to Rome, Carthage, the Gaul’s and Spain. King Phillip had to deal with very intelligent smart leaders. King Phillip tried to lead the Macedonian empire west to invade the Romans but after a drawn battle they retreated and decided to invade Persia and go East instead. The biggest battle of the Second Punic Wars was the battle of Cannae- an important piece of military history.

The Battle of Cannae occurred in the Summer of 216 BC and was a decisive and heavily studied battle in world history. The battle came right after Lake Trasimene and the Romans were heavily embarrassed- and hurt them badly. The Roman general named Quintus, Fabius, Maximus stabilized the Roman Empire and put them in a better situation than they were after Lake Trasimene. The “Romans raised four more legions with their associated alae- an unprecedented doubling of the consular armies. (Cambell 41).” The Roman’s had lost four legions at Lake Trasimene and created four more legions to replace them and expand their army to deal with the highly rated general Hannibal.

The Roman Army was led by a smarter and more effective General- named Flavius - after Lake Trasimene, which helped the Roman’s get on their feet, but were still over matched until Scipio Africanus took control of the Roman Army. The Second Punic War was an example of an overall war strategy and infrastructure winning the war -versus a battle-by-battle strategy.  The Second Punic War was also impacted by the Macedonian Empire lead by King Phillip. The Roman empire won the Punic War because of a misunderstanding of the best way to win by Hannibal and overall Roman citizen contentment with leadership.

Citations

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

Polybius. Histories, Book 4. Translated by W.R. Paton. Edited by Bill Thayer. LacusCurtius: University of Chicago, 2022. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/4*.html.

Klima, Kenneth T. “Max,” Peter Mazzella, and Patrick B. McLaughlin. “Scipio Africanus and the Second Punic War: Joint Lessons for Center of Gravity Analysis.” Joint Force Quarterly 88 (January 10, 2018). https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/1412483/scipio-africanus-and-the-second-punic-war-joint-lessons-for-center-of-gravity-a/.