Battles of Kroton
Battles of Crotone | |||||||
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Part of the Second Punic War | |||||||
Magna Graecia and Bruttium in the 3rd century BC | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Carthage | Roman Republic | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Hannibal |
Licinius Crassus | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
unknown | four legions | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,200 killed |
The Battles of Kroton in 204 and 203 BC were, as well as
Sources
The last exploits of Hannibal in Italy are recorded by
Southern Italy at the End of the Hannibalic War
By 204 BC, the Romans were clearly winning the war. Three years earlier, they had destroyed the army of
Following the
Livy describes the character of the ensuing warfare in this way: "The struggle in Bruttium had assumed the character of brigandage much more than that of regular warfare. The Numidians[3] had commenced the practice, and the Bruttians followed their example, not so much because of their alliance with the Carthaginians as because it was their traditional and natural method of carrying on war. At last, even the Romans were infected by the passion for plunder and, as far as their generals allowed them, used to make predatory incursions on the enemy's fields."[4]
At this point, Rome had to decide how to proceed. After much debating in the Senate, and had to spend a year in preparations for the expedition from Sicily.
The Campaign in Bruttium
With time, Scipio's assessment proved correct. For four years the main Roman forces were entangled in Bruttium and some were diverted to
Pressed by the loss of the strategic port, Hannibal set his base "at Croton, which he found to be well situated for his operations and where he established his magazines and his headquarters against the other towns".[12] As in the previous year, he was confronted by two armies of two legions each, one commanded by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus, the other by the proconsul Q. Caecilius.[6] According to Appian, Crassus managed to detach from Hannibal seven towns in Bruttium, Consentia among them.[13] It is open to debate whether he did this by force or persuasion. It is also debatable whether Crassus accomplished anything, for Livy narrates that Consentia surrendered after the battles at Croton in the following year. For Livy, the most memorable event in Bruttium in 205 BC was a pestilence that "attacked the Romans and the Carthaginians and was equally fatal to both, but in addition to the epidemic, the Carthaginians were suffering from scarcity of food".[14] This occurred toward the year's end. The disease was so serious that Crassus could not return to Rome for conducting the elections of the next consuls and recommended to the Senate to disband one of the armies in Bruttium, so as to preserve the soldiers’ lives.[15] The Senate let Crassus do what he deemed right and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus, who was sent the next year to Bruttium as a new consul had to enroll fresh troops.[16]
The first battle in the vicinity of Croton took place in the summer of 204 BC. In Livy's words, it was an irregular battle that was started by an accidental clash between the marching columns of Hannibal and Sempronius. The Carthaginians repulsed their enemies, who retreated in confusion to their camp leaving 1,200 dead. Hannibal was not prepared to storm the fortified camp, so the Romans were not entirely routed. Nevertheless, Sempronius received a severe blow and judged that his two legions were no match to the Carthaginians. He abandoned the camp under the cover of the following night and summoned the proconsul P. Licinius Crassus.[17]
After uniting with the other Roman commander in the region, Sempronius returned to Croton looking for revenge. He arranged his legions in front, leaving those of Crassus in reserve. This time, Hannibal could not stand his ground against an army doubled in size and was forced to retreat to Croton at the cost of 4,000 dead and 300 prisoners, if one believes Livy.[17] It is not clear whether the Romans made an attempt to take Croton itself. Our authority states that Sempronius turned his attention elsewhere. The same summer he took by storm Clampetia. "Consentia, Pandosia and some other unimportant places surrendered voluntarily."[18]
The fighting around Croton continued in 203 BC, but as Livy puts it himself, there are no clear accounts of the events. Livy is particularly suspicious of a story that the consul Cnaeus Servilius Caepio killed 5,000 Carthaginian soldiers in a pitched battle.[19] One thing is sure – Servilius could not prevent Hannibal from departing safely to Africa. Appian informs that, for the transportation of his veterans, Hannibal even built more ships in addition to the fleet that arrived in Croton from Carthage.[20] This was unimpeded by the Romans.[21]
Aftermath
As
Footnotes
- ^ Livy, The History of Rome, Book XXVII, 51; Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book XVI; Appian, Hannibalic War, Book VIII, 54 Archived 2015-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Delbrück, Hans, Geschichte der Kriegskunst im Rahmen der politischen Geschichte, I Teil: Das Altertum, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin 1964, S. 403
- ^ Hannibal's mercenaries
- ^ a b Livy, XXIX, 6
- ^ Livy, XXVIII, 40-45
- ^ a b Livy, XXVIII, 45
- ^ Cassius Dio, XVII; Appian, Hannibalic War, IX, 55 Archived 2015-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Cassius Dio, XVII, Appian, The Punic Wars, II, 7 Archived 2015-11-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Livy, XXVIII, 10
- ^ Cassius Dio, XVII
- ^ Appian, Hannibalic War, VIII, 54 Archived 2015-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Appian, Hannibalic War, IX, 57 Archived 2015-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Appian, Hannibalic War, IX, 56 Archived 2015-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Livy, XXVIII, 46
- ^ Livy, XXIX, 10
- ^ Livy, XXIX, 13
- ^ a b Livy, XXIX, 36
- ^ Livy, XXIX, 38
- ^ Livy, XXX, 19
- ^ Appian, Hannibalic War, IX, 58 Archived 2015-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Caven, Punic Wars, p. 247
- ^ Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History, III, 20
External links
- Livius, Titus, The History of Rome, Vol. IV, Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library
- Appian, History of Rome: The Hannibalic War , Livius Articles on Ancient History
- Cassius Dio, Roman History, LacusCurtius
Further reading
Note: The following works contain a wider description of the Second Punic war. They provide a context of the fighting in Bruttium, not exact details.
- Mommsen, Theodor, The History of Rome, Book III, Project Gutenberg (Retrieved on 2007-09-24)
- Delbrück, Hans, Geschichte der Kriegskunst im Rahmen der politischen Geschichte, I Teil: Das Altertum, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin 1964
- Caven, Brian, The Punic Wars, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1980, ISBN 0-297-77633-9
- Smith, William, A Smaller History of Rome, Project Gutenberg (Retrieved on 2007-09-24)