this post was submitted on 05 Nov 2025
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Romans saved from their own stupidity by divine intervention. Average mid-Republic moment. 💪
More seriously, offering battle may have been a wise decision - Hannibal was wily, but often risk-averse. The chances of Hannibal accepting a battle on Roman terms was low, while the morale boost from Hannibal refusing to meet them would have been crucial at that point.
The book I was reading made it sound like they were preparing for a proper siege, but the Wiki said they were fielded in lines. Which blows my mind.
So this image. One legion (5,000) lined up against presumably the bulk of Hannibal's* army (50-60,000), and then Hannibal "paper hands" of Carthage fucking leaving instead of fighting them!
Yeah I can see how a Roman would ride that high into an empire. They were probably ready to die.
Tap for spoiler
I'm not sure if this was the bulk of his army. I havent seen any numbers on exactly how many of Hannibal's men were there. I know he was baby sitting a lot of the shaky allies he'd made so he might have split it up to take care of those matters.I'm also not sure exactly how many legions were in Rome. It looks like Fulvius Flaccus made it back with 3 legions (15,000) and there was a swearing in of 1 (5000)
But numbers get in the way of a good story.
He was also trying to simultaneously carry out a siege of the city of Capua, which would've reduced his numbers further.
Still, one of Hannibal's subordinate commanders may have been correct when they told him "You know how to win a victory, Hannibal, but you don't know how to use it!"
What an almost bold general.
I swear, the History channel documentary on his crossing of the Alps made this seem like a bigger threat.
Poor bastard tried to insert himself into Italian politics, found out how petty and absurd it is (and always will be), then lost due to confusion.
Funny enough, years later, when talking to Scipio Africanus at a diplomatic meeting in Anatolia, Hannibal suggested that boldness was one of the highest qualities a general could have.
Perhaps he had time to reflect in the intervening years!
With all seriousness, Hannibal was a major threat. The issue was twofold - first, that the Romans were stupidly, pathologically stubborn. Few other polities - of any period - would lose a full fifth of their male population and say "Fuck you, I'm just getting warmed up."
And second, related to the first, that Hannibal took the wrong strategy to deal with stubborn fuckers. He was never going to wear the Romans down, and Rome's vassals were both fond of the whole "They don't ask for taxes" thing and terrified of what the infamously grudge-bearing polity would do to them once Carthage's back was turned if any of them betrayed Rome, but had to remain neighbors with the Republic after a negotiated peace - ie, if Rome was not destroyed entirely, it would almost certainly destroy any of the turncoat polities out of sheer spite, even if it took patience in waiting for an opportunity.
The decapitation strike was his only option, not just a option. By failing to recognize this, he made himself a boogeyman for the next 500 years of Roman history, burned a decade in Italy, and thousands of lives - mercenary and Italian alike - but never made the progress he needed to.
Brilliant general! But military science was not a well-developed field at the time. I mean, hell, Hannibal performed the first double-envelopment in recorded history, man gets at least a little leeway for being a trailblazer rather than a perfected end-product!