HANNIBAL IN UMBRIA - THE STORY OF A FAMOUS VICTORY

WHAT HAS HANNIBAL GOT TO DO WITH UMBRIA'S LAKE TRASIMENO??

During our recent week in Umbria it rained a lot causing us spend more time than usual indoors. On one particular wet afternoon I got out the collection of old DVD's to choose one to wile away the afternoon and came across "Gladiator" which I haven't watched since it first came out. The story was cliched and familiar but I remembered it as an entertaining film. Whilst watching some of the Coliseum enactments mention was made, by the Master of Ceremonies I think it was, of the famous battle between the Romans and the Carthaginians in 217BC - a battle that the Romans famously lost. I'd forgotten that it took place just a few kilometres away from where I was sitting watching the film. Though I wouldn't describe myself as an avid fan of Roman military history I decided it was time to go and see where the famous confrontation took place. We made a decision to go the next day if the weather held up.

The battle site is located near the present day town of Touro on the northern shores of Lake Trasimeno just a 30 minute drive from our place and though we'd circumnavigated Italy's third largest lake on several occasions, we'd never stopped to discover more of this famous battle which played such a significant part in the second Punic war. Just outside Touro there's a pull-off by the road which gives a great vantage point of where the battle was fought.

March 2017 - a look out spot for viewing part of the battle site of Lake Trasimeno

There were two Punic wars fought between the Romans and the Carthaginians during the period of the Roman Republic. In the first, which ended in 241BC, the Carthaginians lost Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily and many other smaller islands to the Romans, - an economically disastrous result for the North Africans. The Phoenician city of Carthage didn't fall to the Romans however and it was from this ancient north African city that military retaliation against the Roman Republic was planned.

First the Carthaginians expanded in to southern Spain, a move not initially opposed by the Romans; they had plenty on their hands at the time attempting to control the tribes in Gallic and Germanic Europe. The Carthaginians, led by Hannibal the son of Hamilcar Barca, one of the great military leaders in Carthage, then moved on the Spanish city of Sagunto. and under Hannibal's army largely destroyed it. When the Romans decreed the city should be turned over to them, this became the official reason for the start of a second Punic war in 219BC.

Artist's impression of Hannibal crossing the Alpes with his army
and a herd of elephants

Hannibal, a clever, shrewd and tenacious military leader and tactician, had experience  and a reputation for using complex, intelligent and unusual strategies to defeat enemies superior in numbers. He had the capacity to cleverly assess the strengths and weaknesses of an enemy and play to his own strengths - all tactics he would use in the Battle of Lake Trasimeno.

A marble bust reputedly of Hannibal discovered in Capua, Italy. 

Sources reveal he decided to approach Italy by land, rather than crossing the Thyrrenian Sea - believing he might be able to stir up trouble and gather support for the war en route. His journey actually began in 218BC with an army of 50,000 men, 9000 horses, and 37 elephants and his route would involve crossing the Pyrenees and the Alpes. Who hasn't heard the story of  Hannibal taking these mighty beasts over the snow capped mountains? Sadly - most of them appear to have been lost during the journey. He went on to defeat the Roman armies at  the two great battles of Ticino and Trebbia and after crossing the Apennines he finally ended up in the vicinity of Lake Trasimeno in Umbria where he knew he would have to face up to Roman armies under the command of Consul Caius Flaminius. He had already been defeated by Hannibal but had been shadowing the victor's path with his army for some time. He believed a victory here would bring him the support of the Etruscans and perhaps the opportunity to take on Rome itself.

Hannibal considered the natural shallow basin, entered by a narrow valley with hills on one side and close to the northern shores of the lake on the other, a suitable place for an ambush and hearing that Flaminius was following his tracks he made preparations for another battle. He set up camp on the shores of the lake and developed his strategy. Below the camp he placed his heavy infantry on the top of shallow hills. Above the camp - on the heavily wooded hillside close to the valley where the Romans would come he concealed his cavalry so they could cut off any Roman retreat. Other troops were posted at points overlooking the basin with orders to keep themselves concealed in the woods. In addition Hannibal ordered his soldiers to light camp fires on the hills close to Touro to convince the Romans that his forces were further away than they actually were. Hannibal had cleverly set up an ambush site where the Roman armies would be surrounded on all sides and not easily able to retreat in any direction. They would be forced up against the waters of the lake in fact where Hannibal figured they could be finished off.

The Roman approach is marked in red, Hannibal's positions in blue.

The battle took place on the morning of June 24th 217BC (April in the Julian calendar) and the Romans approached from the west in fog. When they entered the narrow valley and the ensuing shallow basin Hannibal gave his troops the order to attack and his forces came down on the Roman armies swiftly so they had no time to form up - forcing them to fight in chaotic fashion - something they were not used to having to do. They were soon driven back to the lake shores from which there was no escape or return. In a matter of four hours most of the Roman army was wiped out. 15,000 Roman soldiers, including their Consul leader, were killed. A local myth says that because of the field of blood the stream which flowed through the area was renamed Sanguineto - Blood River. It was a tremendous victory for Hannibal and the Carthaginians and caused chaos back in Rome. Though Hannibal would never manage to attack and take the eternal city, he would occupy much of Italy and be at war with the Romans for another fifteen years. Only then would he be recalled to Carthage to engage in battle with the Romans at what would become the battle of Zana where he would be defeated once and for all by Scipius Africanus.

Artist's impression of the defeat of Flaminius's army on the shores of Lake Trasimeno

Hannibal is considered by many authorities on Roman history "to have planned and executed one of the greatest ambushes in history". Quite simply he is revered as one of the best military commanders ever to have lived and his planning and tactical methods have been much studied down the centuries.

The tranquil shores of Lake Trasimeno - the site of the battle - in March 2017

Today, from various vantage points, its possible to see the shallow basin where the massacre of the Roman soldiers took place, but in the quiet cultivated landscape of today there's little in the way of tangible evidence to reinforce the story I've told. The reconstructive evidence has largely come from literary sources. The other complicating factor concerns the fact that there have been conflicting theories about where exactly the shore of the lake was at the time of the battle as Lake Trasimeno has expanded and contracted in size at various points in time. Despite the arguments and the holes in the evidence however, this place remains an important battle site in the history of the Roman Republic and its story a testament to a Carthaginian General who has entered the realms of myth and folklore. Google "Hannibal" and one discovers a whole list of references to films, drama series and documentaries based on the career of this most illustrious of military characters. To tell you the truth I knew little of Hanniabal (other than the story about the elephants) before doing the research for this blog posting. Now I know not only a bit about him, but also quite a lot about the Punic Wars and their importance in Roman history. I felt privileged to have visited this evocative historical site. What a wonderful retirement hobby blogging is - I can recommend it!!

THERE ARE OVER 90 POSTS MAKING UP THIS BLOG WRITTEN OVER SEVERAL YEARS - I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE A LOOK ATA SOME OF THE OTHER LISTINGS OR EVEN CONSIDER BECOMING A FOLLOWER THUS HELPING ME KEEP THIS BLOG ALIVE. CHEERS - IAN