Scipio’s well-trained troops executed a series of pincer attacks and quickly surrounded groups of defenders while attacking uphill and eventually routing the whole army.Īt Ilipa, Scipio refused his weaker center infantry and attacked with his elite Roman infantry on his wings. At the battle of Baecula, Scipio faced a fortified Carthaginian army on top of a hill and waiting for reinforcements. When he was old enough, actually even younger than the required age, Scipio was elected Consul and went to Spain to take over his deceased father and uncle’s command.įighting against the same Carthaginians who killed his father, Scipio quickly took the offensive against one of the three full-sized armies in Spain. Scipio was only 18 when Hannibal invaded Rome in 218 BCE, but he fought in at least two of the great Roman losses against Hannibal, including Cannae. Scipio brought Rome from the brink of defeat after Cannae, to the beginnings of an Empire. The Second Punic War was the last war of the Republican era where the Romans had to fight for their very existence. Scipio fought in a war that very easily could have ended with a subjugated Rome, but emerged with an extra name (Africanus) for the region he conquered. We already have a great list of Roman generals, but only Scipio has the claim of defeating a commander who could easily find himself in a top ten list of all-time greatest commanders. Wikipedia Scipio Africanus: Tactical Innovator and Vanquisher of Hannibal Scipio is painted here returning the captured but untouched wife of a powerful tribal warlord, eventually gaining him as an ally. Fears of an invasion were very real until Marius stepped in and soundly defeated armies vastly larger than his own and saved the Republic. These Germanic tribes numbered in the hundreds of thousands and had won a string of defeats at the very doorstep of Italy. This, combined with a flanking move similar to Hannibal’s at Cannae won the day against the Cimbri. Cimbri prisoners said it seemed like heaven was on fire. The result was that the sun caught the glittering metal of the Roman’s standardized equipment, namely their helmets, and blinded the horde of Cimbri. Here, Marius decided to attack when the sun was facing the Romans, an unorthodox move. The next year, Marius would take on the Cimbri at Vercellae. After marching uphill to fight against a well-trained Roman army, the barbarians were then attacked from behind by a well-hidden Roman force and soundly defeated. Marius poked at the Teutons and made them attack the Roman position on a hill. Eventually, the battle of Arausio saw the Romans lose 80,000 men in the worst defeat in Roman history and Marius was elected to put an end to the losses.Īt Aquae Sextiae, Marius’ 40,000 men faced an army three times their size. When Roman armies marched to stop them, they were soundly defeated. The Germanic tribes of the Cimbri and Teutones stormed out of the Jutland Peninsula around 113 BCE and eventually came into Roman-occupied Gaul. Marius gets his place on this list mostly due to his reforms, but he also has two victories that possibly saved Rome from an invasion that could have been deadlier than Hannibal’s lengthy invasion of the Second Punic War. These reforms did make legions more loyal to their generals than to Rome, leading to civil wars, but when pitted against foreign foes, the Roman armies dominated. Now a standing army, the legions trained year-round and had standardized equipment, and looked to their generals for land-grants and other retirement benefits. On top of this change, Marius instituted countless other reforms. This also led to more professionalism as most recruits joined for decades at a time and were molded into capable forces that were almost an extension of their general’s mind. Poor citizens joined in droves, hoping for steady pay and meals and a payoff of land ownership on their retirement. This simple change on its own drastically changed the Roman army. Marius gained the Consulship in 107 BCE where he abolished the land ownership requirement for joining the Roman army. Marius is more known for his military reforms than for his victories, and perhaps rightly so, but his victories really were extraordinarily important for the future success of Rome. Wikipedia Gaius Marius: Great Reformer and Defender of Rome Marius’ reforms gave the Legions a nickname of “Marius’ Mules” as each man carried his own supplies.
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