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( Battle of Lake Trasimene)
The Battle of Lake Trasimene (June 24, 217 BC, April on the Julian calendar) was a Roman defeat in the Second Punic War between the Carthaginians under Hannibal and the Romans under the consul Gaius Flaminius. The battle is perhaps one of the largest and most successful ambushes in military history. The Romans, greatly alarmed and dismayed by Tiberius Sempronius Longus’ defeat at Trebia, immediately made plans to counter the new threat from the north. Sempronius returned to Rome and the Roman Senate resolved to elect new consuls the following year in 217 B.C. The new consuls were Gnaeus Servilius Geminus and Gaius Flaminius, the latter under threat with recall from the Senate for leaving Rome without carrying out the proper rituals upon being elected consul.[1] The Senate commissioned Servilius to replace Publius Cornelius Scipio and take command of his army, while Flaminius was appointed to lead what remained of Sempronius’s army. Since both armies had been weakened by the defeat at Trebia, four new legions were raised. These new forces, together with the remains of the former army, were divided between the two consuls.[2] After the battles of Ticinus and Trebia, Flaminius' army turned south to prepare a defense near Rome itself. Hannibal immediately followed, but marched faster and soon passed the Roman army. Flaminius was forced to increase the speed of his march in order to bring Hannibal to battle before reaching the city. Another force under Servilius was due to join Flaminius. Before this could happen, Hannibal decided to lure Flaminius into a pitched battle, by devastating the area he had been sent to protect. As Polybius tells us that Hannibal calculated that he could draw out Flaminius into battle and that "no sooner had he left the neighbourhood of Faesulae, and, advancing a short way beyond the Roman camp, made a raid upon the neighbouring country, than Flaminius became excited, and enraged at the idea that he was despised by the enemy and as the devastation of the country went on, and he saw from the smoke that rose in every direction that the work of destruction was proceeding, he could not patiently endure the sight."[3]. At the same time, Hannibal tried to sever the allegiance of Rome’s allies, by proving that the Republic was powerless to protect them. However, Flaminius remained passively encamped at Arretium. Unable to goad Flaminius into battle, Hannibal marched boldly around his opponent’s left flank and effectively cut Flaminius off from Rome (thereby executing the earliest recorded deliberate turning movement in military history). Still, Flaminius stubbornly kept his army in camp. Hannibal decided to march on Apulia, hoping that Flaminius might follow him to a battlefield of his own choosing.[4] Flaminius, over-eager to exact revenge for the devastation of the countryside, and facing increasing political criticism from Rome, finally decided to march against Hannibal. Flaminius, like Sempronius, was impetuous, over-confident and lacked self-control. His advisors suggested that he send only a cavalry detachment to harass the Carthaginians and prevent them from laying waste to any more of the country, while reserving his main force until the other consul, Servilius, arrived with his army. However, it proved impossible to argue with the rash Flaminius. Livy wrote that "Though every other person in the council advised safe rather than showy measures,urging that he should wait for his colleague, in order that joining their armies, they might carry on the war with united courage and counsels ... Flaminius, in a fury ... gave out the signal for marching for battle." [5]
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Battle of Lake Trasimene Subcategories
Battle of Lake Trasimene Articles
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The Battle of Bulimia by Anne Wolski
Copyright 2006 Anne Wolski
In a world where a person?s worth tends to be measured by appearance, it is little wonder that we have so many young women falling into the trap of eating disorders. This obsession with achieving the perfect figure ha...
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