Special Sub-Topic: Second Punic War Click Here To Play: Second Punic War

The first battle of the Second Punic War (on Roman territory) was at the Ticinus. This happened in which year?

218 BC. Hannibal set out for Italy in 218 BC from New Carthage. He crossed the Pyrenees, the Rhone river, and the Alps all in under one year, and by the time he reached Northern Italy, had roughly 30,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and around 30 elephants.

At the Battle of the Trebia, Hannibal's army defeated a significantly larger Roman army under the command of whom?

Tiberius Sempronius Longus. Tiberius Sempronius Longus was actually in Sicily when Hannibal had arrived in Northern Italy. Sempronius was immediately sent to counter Hannibal when Publius Cornelius Scipio, Senior, was injured in combat.

At the Trebia, around 10,000 Romans, including Sempronius, were able to escape from the slaughter and live to fight another day. How did most of them survive?

They broke through the center. The answer is pretty much the entire story. Around 10,000 Romans were able to break through the center, and escaped back to Placentia. The rest of the Romans still in the battle were all either slaughtered or captured.

At the Battle of Lake Trasimene, the Carthaginians ambushed the Romans and completely destroyed them. But once the Romans were in the trap, someone had to close the entrance in which the Romans had come in through. Who were the soldiers in the Carthaginian Army that successfully closed the trap?

Numidian and Gallic cavalry. For many decades, thousands of Gallic women and children had been slaughtered by invading Romans. Being in the rear of the Romans, the Gauls were able to take revenge on their loved ones. They showed no mercy, and, despite heavy casualties on their side, were able to quickly close the trap, and seal the fate of the Roman Army.

Before the Battle of Lake Trasimene, there were many assassination attempts on Hannibal by his own troops. How did he react?

Disguised himself as an anonymous figure when outside. There were many conspiracies against Hannibal, especially among the Gauls. His tactics were usually disliked by his troops, who wanted to be more offensive than Hannibal.

The most notable battle of the war is the Battle of Cannae. Here, which Roman commander was humiliated by Hannibal?

Gaius Terentius Varro. Gaius Terentius Varro was the consul of 216 BC, and came from a Plebeian family. The other consul was Aemilus Paulus, who came from a Patrician family. Even though Paulus was the more "noble" man, Varro was more popular among the people and the senate.

The number of Roman dead given for the Battle of Cannae varies. Polybius says that around 70,000 Romans were killed, 10,000 were captured, and possibly 3,000 survived the battle. Who is probably the most notable man that died fighting with his men?

Aemilius Paulus. The Roman "hero" of the battle, Aemilus Paulus, was on the Roman right flank with Varro at the beginning of the battle. The right flank was defeated by the Carthaginian cavalry, and while Varro and the rest of the cavalrymen were routed in the battle, Aemilus, being wounded, got down from his horse, and joined the Roman infantrymen in the center. There is, of course, no way of knowing exactly how he died, but he was most likely either killed by Carthaginian sword or was trampled by his own men during the slaughter.

Although the Battle of Cannae is known for the overwhelming number of Roman deaths, there were also Carthaginian casualties, too. Which of the types of soldiers suffered the most casualties?

Gallic and Spanish infantry. The Gallic and Spanish infantrymen, being in the center crescent of the Carthaginian lines, felt the full impact of the Roman juggernaut. They suffered the most casualties of all of the Carthaginian soldiers.

Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal Barca, set out for Italy, but was decisively defeated by the Romans at Metaurus in 207 BC. He was killed in the battle. How was his body treated by the Romans?

His head was beheaded and sent directly to Hannibal. Seeing the severed head of his younger brother, the impact would have been tremendous on Hannibal. In each of the battles that a Roman general had been killed, he treated the general's body with full respect, usually giving it a proper burial. Yet, this was how he was treated in return by the Romans.

What was the "grand finale" and the closing battle of the Seconde Punic War?

Battle of Zama. In the Battle of Zama, Rome's Publius Cornelius Scipio Jr., assisted by Masinissa of Numidia and his Numidian cavalry, were able to decisively destroy the Carthaginian Army led by Hannibal. But even this final defeat was not on the part of Hannibal's leadership failings, but rather the poor training of the majority of his troops. This was also the first and only battle in which the Romans had more cavalry than the Carthaginians.