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The fall of Tallinnton had a huge impact on the surrounding Greek cities, and the heavily fortified city was taken by Hannibal overnight, although there was still a fortress that was not captured, but it did not affect people's re-judgment of the future. In the months that followed, the situation in Apria was in turmoil, with Metapontum and Turioi surrendering, and the Lucanians, who had been loyal to the Romans, began to secretly contact the Carthaginians, preparing to betray their former allies. The Romans, on the other hand, showed their impatience again after the fall of Tallinnton, and Hannibal had not been able to find a chance to annihilate the Romans due to the previous Fabian tactics, and now the Romans would once again taste the blow of the god of war.
Tiberius, a senior Roman consul stationed near Nora. Senpronius. Gracchus suddenly received a letter from the Lucanians asking for help, saying that the Carthaginians were raiding their territory and wanted the Romans to come and protect them. Since the Lucanians had been a staunch ally of Rome since the beginning of the war, Gracchus did not suspect it, and immediately set out for Brutium with his legion, which was a volunteer legion formed by the slaves after the Battle of Cannae. Although it has been continuously strengthened by personnel, it has expanded from the original 8,000 people to 1The strength of 50,000 people, but its combat effectiveness and will to fight are quite suspicious.
Gracchus had not found any Carthaginians after two days of rapid marching to Lucanian territory, unaware that Hannibal had set a trap for him to jump into, and that the bait was his trust in the Lucanians. When this army marched to Campivetris under the guidance of the guide, the Carthaginian ambush was everywhere, and the slave army, which was not strong enough to fight, collapsed in an instant, and most of the soldiers abandoned their posts and duties, only caring about fleeing for their lives. Gracchus watched helplessly as his men turned into a rabble in an instant, and with no hope of breaking through, Gracchus and most of his men died in battle.
Hannibal, who had just won the war of annihilation, had no time to celebrate his victory when he suddenly received a letter from Capua asking for help. The Roman legions, led by two consuls, were advancing deep into the countryside of Campania, one by Appius. Claudius commanded the other, while the other was commanded by his fellow colleague Quintus. Forvius. Flaccus commanded. Their goal was to raid the countryside of Capua and attack the Carthaginians' largest logistical supply base, and the Capuans, who were powerless to stop it, could only watch the rich farmland and manoras in prison at the head of the city, and the anxious Calavius could only ask Hannibal for help.
In order to stop the Romans' attempts, Hannibal wrote a letter to Monwar, who was fighting Marcellus in Sicily, asking him to return immediately; On the one hand, Mahalba led 2,000 cavalry to support first, while he himself led the main army to follow the advance. This year, the Roman Senate has formed 23 legions, although the number of Roman legions is only 4,000 Roman soldiers and the same number of allied troops, supplemented by about 1,000 cavalry, but the total strength still reaches more than 200,000, not including the huge number of navies, so they can always launch attacks on multiple battlefields at the same time. Hannibal, on the other hand, received little reinforcement and was tasked with defending the entire Greek city in southern Asian. The short-sighted Carthaginian Senate, preoccupied with the struggle for Sicily and Sardinia, poured vast amounts of men and materials into these two secondary battlefields, and deliberately neglected to support Hannibal, and now the overstretched Carthaginian god of war is becoming more and more exhausted.
By the time Mahalbal reached the vicinity of Capua, the Roman military camp in sight had surrounded the important city. But out of fear of Hannibal, when the Carthaginian banner appeared on the distant horizon, the two Roman consuls, after a quick consultation, decided that it was better to take it as soon as it was good, and not to touch the mold of the field expert. Before Hannibal's main force could reach the Romans, they pulled out their camp and withdrew in two different directions. Appius and Flaccus agreed that if Hannibal pursued either of them, the other would return and continue to ravage the poor Campanian countryside.
Hannibal, who arrived at the starry night, failed to meet the Romans, so he advanced to the city to pacify the terrified Capuans, and visited the mother and son of Emelse and Elisa. Later, Hannibal and his subordinates carefully studied countermeasures, Hannibal decided to lead the main force to pursue Appius's army, and sent Ducalius to lead the Gallic cavalry to follow Flachus, and at the same time, in order to strengthen Capua's defenses, he deliberately put "Busefhelus" and half of the war elephant troops in the city, and Guisgow's guard was also strengthened.
When he learned that Hannibal's main force was coming after him, Appius showed his wise side, he was not as impulsive as other Roman commanders who were eager to fight, and he knew the strength of his opponent after Canny's defeat, so he constantly led Hannibal away from Capua to create more opportunities for Flaccus to raid in Campania. After a period of cat-and-mouse games, Hannibal discovered his opponent's strategic intentions.
This Appius is smarter than we think. Hannibal sighed to his men.
This man had participated in the siege of Syracuse last year, so he should not be a reckless person. Monhua studied the map and said that he had just returned from Sicily, and had returned to Hannibal before he could visit his wife.
Judging by the route he took, this guy was gradually luring us out of the Campania region, presumably trying to get the rest of the Roman army to attack Capua, so that we couldn't take care of each other. The infantry commander Bosda put forward his idea, he had been recuperating for a long time since he was wounded in the Battle of Cannae, and now he could finally return to the battlefield.
Hannibal, Monwal, had just reported that the scouts had found another Roman army about 30 kilometers away from us, and I wonder if they had come to support Appius. Mahalba gasped and rushed into the tent.
Another Roman? Everyone was astonished to see if Appius had deliberately lured them into a trap with the intention of striking them back and forth, and everyone looked at Hannibal and Monwale.
Where is the other party now? How many troops are there? Hannibal asked without changing his face.
The other side was walking on a mountain road that was not marked on the map, and was accidentally discovered by our scout cavalry, and the number was about two legions. Mahalbath said as he gave a rough indication of the location on the map.
Did Appius make any moves? Meng Hua asked as he studied the map.
Bosda went out to observe for a while and then ran back and said
The other party was cooking on the fire, and he didn't see anything abnormal. ”
It seems that the other party does not know about the arrival of reinforcements nearby, which is a good opportunity. Monhua smiled at Hannibal.
by veteran centurion Marcus. Centenius. Reinforcements led by Penulla are hurrying through the valleys of the Lucanía region. This one consists of 1The 60,000-strong contingent was given to him by Penulla after convincing the Senate, because he had lived in the Lucania region since he was a child, so that the Roman Council would give the command of the legions, which belonged to the consuls, to a centurion. Penura cherishes this opportunity and can perform in today's fight, and will have a chance to squeeze into the top in the future.
The road ahead became narrower and more winding, and the hills on both sides were covered with lush vegetation, and the whole valley was silent except for the sound of the Roman army marching. At this time, the scouts reported that Appius' camp was a few kilometers ahead, and that the Punic camp was nearby. But the veteran centurion was not particularly worried, because he was very familiar with every plant and tree here. Now they were traveling on a very hidden mountain road, and it was unlikely that the Carthaginians who had come from afar would have known about the existence of this road, and even if they did, they would not have had time to stop it, and by then he would have joined the consul's ranks. Just when Penura was hoping for luck, suddenly there was an ominous muffled thunder ahead, and the centurion looked at the sky suspiciously, causing the forward troops to stop advancing.
Suddenly, a dull trumpet sounded from the top of the hill around them, and countless javelins and stones rained down on the heads of the Roman column like hailstones. Caught off guard, the Romans fell to the ground in wailing, and the survivors, instinctively trained, quickly gathered together, shields held aloft to protect their heads. The first reaction of the dazed Penura was that he had been injured by his own people, and he tried to maintain order in the ranks and give the signal to the Romans to communicate, but the attacks on the hills on both sides did not stop, but became more violent. Penura could only organize the forward troops to break through to the valley mouth, and Appius's troops were nearby, and there was still hope as long as he could come to support. But when the Iberian hoplites in front of him appeared with the banner of battle held high, he was in complete despair. This was another battle of annihilation like Lake Trasimeno, and when Monhua, who had entered the Roman formation, picked the veteran centurion under his horse, the morale of the Roman soldiers who were still struggling to support immediately collapsed, and everyone began to choose to flee for their lives, and the battle became **. When Appius received the news and hurried to reinforcements, he saw only Roman corpses covered in the valley, which had been 1Of the 60,000 troops, less than 1,000 survived in the end.
Two successive battles of annihilation in Lucania temporarily eliminated the Roman threat to Capua, and the nearby Roman forces were all far away from the Carthaginian commander's footsteps. Just as Hannibal was about to return to Capua to recuperate, he suddenly received letters for help from various cities in Apuria. Roman Vice-Consul Gnaeus. Forvius. Flacus is leading a team of 1An army of 80,000 men swept through the Greek cities that had defected from Rome. The Carthaginian commander had no choice but to abandon the rest plan, hastily leave Campania, and gallop in the direction of Apriria.
With the autumn wind, Hannibal, who had advanced thousands of miles, finally caught up with Vlakus and his army near Herdonia. The Roman consuls were completely unaware that Hannibal was approaching his camp, and he always believed that the Carthaginians were still protecting their wives and children in Campania, until it dawned on him when the Numidian cavalry began to attack his logistical troops. When night fell, the Carthaginians encamped not far from the Romans, and both sides were resting and awaiting the next day's decisive battle.
There was silence in the Carthaginian camp, and everyone was exhausted from the long march and went to bed early, while the commander's tent was still brightly lit, and the generals were studying strategies for the next day's battle.
God, this is the third time this year that we have fought with the Romans. Mahalba grumbled in frustration.
These damned Romans never seem to be going to be diminished, how many of them have we eliminated? Bosda said with emotion.
Let's do what is in front of us first, if only we could have more troops. Monhua said as he studied the map around Herdonia.
How about another ambush war? The farmsteads and woods in the vicinity are great for hiding people. "Hannibal carefully observed the terrain of the battlefield during the day.
In the middle of the night, groups of Carthaginian soldiers silently drove out of the camp, still tired, but these loyal veterans did not complain, and tomorrow they would wash their tired bodies with Roman blood.
When the bloody dawn came, both camps awoke almost simultaneously, and Hannibal was the first to lead his army out of the camp and challenge the Romans on the preset position the night before. Completely unvigilant, Flaccus immediately led his army to meet the battle, and both sides set up in traditional formations. Hannibal had 20,000 infantry in a line, and 6,000 Iberian and Numidian cavalry on both flanks. And Vlakus knew that he was at a disadvantage in numbers, and the cavalry was his weakness, so he put 1The 80,000-strong force stretched out to the edge of nearby farms and trees, using these natural objects to cover their flanks from the opposing cavalry.
The battle first broke out on the ** battlefield, the Roman heavy infantry and the Carthaginian heavy infantry fought indefinitely, and the Gallic warriors continued to use their physical advantages to rush into the Roman army formation and fight for a while before quickly withdrawing, the cavalry on both sides fought without suspense, the Roman cavalry and the allied cavalry were soon unable to resist under the onslaught of Monhua and Mahalba, and Flaccus hurriedly transferred the third row of veterans in the reserve to the two wings to protect the flanks. When the battle was at its most intense, Hannibal gave the predetermined signal, and thousands of light infantry in ambush in nearby farms and dense forests the night before were killed from hiding under the leadership of Bosda, while Monhua led the Iberian cavalry to kill the Roman veterans, and then detoured to the rear of the Roman army to cut off the enemy's retreat, and the situation on the battlefield took a sharp turn for the Romans. This is a remake similar to the Battle of the Trebia River, like the original Senpronius, Flaccus saw that the situation was not good, and immediately led the guards to flee the battlefield, while his men struggled in the encirclement, this time Hannibal would not let the Roman heavy infantry break through from the **, he deliberately deployed the phalanx of the most combat-ready Libyan veterans in the middle of the battle line. When the bloody battle ended, the Romans ended up with fewer than two thousand people alive.
In just one year, Hannibal fought continuously, galloping back and forth in the southern Apennines, using his wits to defeat his opponents in three different places, but he was not particularly happy as a firefighter. Despite the successive battles, the strength of the Romans continued unabated, and the huge human resources of the opponent made the originally confident Carthaginian commander also start to worry, while his elite veterans slowly wore out in the continuous battle, but never received an effective replenishment. When the Battle of Herdonia ended, the exhausted Carthaginian army had to spend the winter in Brutium, where they could take care of both Apuria and Campania.
Both Hannibal and Monwar began to worry about the future prospects of war, but they had no other more effective way to change their situation, because they did not have sufficient troops, no grand strategic idea could be realized, and the news of sending Carthage to ask for reinforcements never received a reply, and now Hannibal could only pin his hopes on his two younger brothers, and if Hasdruba or Margo could not break the Roman blockade on the Ebro, It would not have been possible to cross the Pyrenees and march in the direction of the Po River. Just as spring came, when the Scipio brothers, on the other side of the sea, decided to launch a campaign aimed at pacifying the whole of Iberia, the news of Capua's siege once again came with the spring breeze, and Hannibal understood that the situation in the entire Apennine battlefield had changed.