The Second Punic War

The battle of Metaurus is one of most strategically important battles of the Second Punic, yet it’s not one many people can name. When we think of the Second Punic war we think of Hannibal and Scipio. Great feats performed by legendary generals. We think of the the battles of Cannae and Zama. Cannae and Zama however, did very little to alter the course of the war. Hannibal knew Carthage had been defeated long before he stepped foot at Zama, in fact he offered to surrender Carthage’s vast oversea empire to the Romans in a last ditched effort to save the city of Carthage itself. The massacre at Cannae while being the single great loss the Romans faced to date didn’t force the Romans into surrender. The real turning point of the war was to be played out by the somewhat minor players at the Battle of Metaurus.

Background

The year is 207 BC, it’s been 11 years since Rome was sent reeling by a string of unprecedented defeats at the hands of Hannibal Barca. The battles of Trebia, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae have cost Rome a staggering one-fifth (150,000) of the entire adult male citizen population. Yet, the Gates of Janus lay open. The Senate and People of Rome have refused to parley with Hannibal, going so far as to even prohibiting the word “peace”. Hannibal, lacking the necessary manpower and siege engines to take the city of Rome itself, is forced into a prolonged game of cat-and-mouse with the remaining legions in Italy waiting until he can be reinforced with fresh troops from Iberia under the command of his brother Hasdrubal. In the Spring of 207 BC Hasdrubal using the very same route Hannibal had taken a decade earlier crosses the Alps and arrives into Northern Italy with a force of 30,000 strong and an additional 10 war elephants.

This is the real turning point of the Second Punic War. While battles like Cannae and Trebia have been immortalized in history and showcase Hannibal’s brilliance on the field, they haven’t been able to secure Hannibal the advantageous peace treaty he desires.  If Hannibal is able to link up with his brother’s forces and marched on Rome itself, Carthage can keep Roman hegemony in check and expand its own influence in the Mediterranean. Already Gallic tribes, which once harassed Hannibal in his own trek over the Alps, have flocked to Hasdrubal’s banner eager to serve under one of the famous Barca or “Thunderbolt” generals of Carthage. The senate realizing the danger of the situation quickly elect consuls Marcus Livius and Claudius Nero to meet the threat.

Enter Claudius Nero

Avdacibvs Annve Coeptis
Assent to my bold undertakings 

Marcus Livius is sent north to meet Hasdrubal, while Claudius Nero is dispatched south towards Hannibal to try and prevent the Carthaginian forces from joining up. The familiar game of cat-and-mouse continues. Marcus too cautious to attack without an overwhelming advantage allows Hasdrubal to press further south. Meanwhile, Hannibal outnumbered by Claudius’ forces refrains from meeting Claudius Nero in open battle. It wasn’t until Claudius, intercepting one of Hadrubal’s messengers with detailed plans to link up with Hannibal in South Umbria, that a decisive plan of action was agreed upon.

In a desperate gamble, using the cover of night and circumnavigating the authority of the Senate, Claudius plans to split off a portion of his army and force march over 300 miles to meet his co-consul Marcus. Claudius hopes that by combining their armies they can overwhelm and defeat Hasdrubal and deny Hannibal his much needed reinforcements. The risks to this plan are daunting.

• If Hasdrubal attacks and overcomes Marcus’ forces before Claudius can arrive Hasdrubal can then march to Hannibal unhindered.
• If Hannibal catches wind that Claudius had split his forces, he can quickly dispatch the skeleton force left behind and proceed to give chase to Claudius.
• The messages themselves could have been a ruse to entice either consul into doing something rash.

Worse yet, even with a larger force the Romans weren’t assured victory. Hasdrubal could easily defeat an overwhelming Roman army much like his brother had before him. The fact was that Hasdrubals troops included many seasoned veterans from Iberia. The Romans in contrast were mostly raw recruits quickly pressed into service to meet this new threat.

Aware of these risk Claudius Nero nevertheless set off knowing it was better to risk it all for a chance at victory than to wait for defeat. Posting double-watch with the token force left behind to shadow Hannibal, Claudius takes 7,000 men and marches North. Sending riders ahead with orders to gather supplies along the way (he army had left with only their weapons and armor) he made the trek in a record seven days. Claudius and his 7,000 men arrive at Marcus’ camp undetected.

The following morning the Romans draw up their army in front of Hasdrubal’s camp. Hasdrubal starts to do the same in preparation for battle, only to realize to his dismay that he is now heavily outnumbered. Correctly deducing that he was now facing a combined army he sounds the retreat. Backtracking north he tries to send word to Hannibal that both consuls are pursuing him in Northern Italy, and that Hannibal now faces only a reserve force in the south. Not one day after falling back from the consul’s combined forces however, in an act of treachery, the guides Hasdrubal had hired lead him astray. The next day with his army in disarray and his back against the river Metaurus he has no choice but to give battle.

Battle of Metaurus

Marcus took control of his army and now superior cavalry forces on the left wing facing Hasdrubal’s best units from Iberia. Propraetor Porcius Licinius took up the center facing Hasdrubal’s Ligures contingent. Claudius Nero commanded the right wing facing arguably the weakest troops composed of various Gallic tribes across. Hasdrubal, realizing the weakness of his left flank placed those Gallic troops across rough terrain hoping to tire and delay Claudius’ forces.

Hasdrubal begins the battle by sends his elephant corps forward hoping to incite panic in the Roman lines. The lumbering grey beasts rampage through the Roman formations instilling chaos in their wake. This isn’t Zama, the legions aren’t use to fighting these ancient battlefield tanks. With great effort the elephants are driven back, but at a cost. The mostly inexperienced Romans are shaken and disorganized. The Battle of Metaurus begins to the Carthaginian advantage.

Roman left and center march forward to meet the enemy as cavalry wings engage on the flanks. Outnumbered the Carthaginian cavalry is being pushed back exposing Hasdrubal’s right flank. The main Carthaginian line however is holding their own against the Roman heavy infantry. Exhausted and unnerved from their earlier engagement with the elephant corps the Romans strain to make progress. Meanwhile, the Gallic troops enjoying an advantageous position watched as Claudius struggles in vain to overcome the mountainous terrain.

As long as the Carthaginian cavalry holds for just a bit longer, Hasdrubal can push through the Roman left and center using his best troops and rout the remainder of the Roman army before the Roman cavalry could turn around to engage his rear. While not as elegant as Hannibal’s battles, Hasdrubal is beginning to realize he can win here, or at the very least not be defeated. score a win here against a superior Roman force. Claudius Nero begins to realize this too.

Claudius has staked everything on this battle. He has defied the Senate. Marched across the length of Italy. Put the lives of his men at the mercy of Hannibal in Southern Italy. All of this to try and pull off this reckless endeavor. Now before his own eyes he was about to witness the defeat of another Roman army at the hands of a Barca general. The forces under his direct command never even able to engage. So, Claudius again does the unthinkable, and doubles down on another bold plan.

Seeing the futility of trying to reach the opposing Gallic troops; Claudius decides to split his forces. Leaving half of his force to protect the Roman right flank he then takes the other half and proceeds to transverses, from behind the Roman lines, the entire length of the battlefield. Claudius then swings his army around and smashes into the exposed Carthaginian right flank.

Faced with a surprise two prong attack, Hasdrubal’s right flank, composed of his best troops, begins to buckle and waver. They withstand the onslaught bravely, but then. By now the Carthaginian cavalry has also been completely driven off the field. The Carthaginian center is now lies exposed and assailed on all sides. Facing Licinius in the front, Marcus on the right flank, and Claudius in the rear, they too begin to rout. In a matter of moments the balance of power completely shifting. Hasdrubal knowing defeat is imminent, and not wanting to be captured alive commits to suicidal charge into the Roman lines. The Carthaginian army is cut down to a man in the ensuing retreat.

Hannibal, without the reinforcements needed to bring an end to the war in Italy, and with Carthage herself under threat from Scipio in Africa, is recalled. We’re it not for Claudius Nero’s bold plans at the Battle of Metaurus, the outcome of the Second Punic War would have been very different. It’s very likely that Rome would have lost the war long before Scipio could earn the cognomen Africanus at Zama.