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Battle of Lake Trasimene

Part of the Second Punic War

Lake Trasimene battlefield, from the lake.

Date 21 June 217 BC[1]

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Location North of Lake Trasimene, Italy

Result Carthaginian victory

Belligerents

Carthage Roman Republic

Commanders and leaders

Hannibal Gaius Flaminius †

Strength

55,000 men[2] 30,000 men[3]

Casualties and losses

1,500 killed (Polybius)[4] 30,000

2,500 killed and "many" dead from wounds (Livy)[5] 15,000 killed[6]

15,000 captured[4]

The Battle of Lake Trasimene (21 June 217 BC) was a major battle in the
Second Punic War. The Carthaginians under Hannibal defeated the Romans
under the consul Gaius Flaminius. Hannibal's victory over the Roman army at

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Lake Trasimene remains, in terms of the number of men involved, the largest
ambush in military history. In the prelude to the battle, Hannibal also achieved
the earliest known example of a strategic turning movement.[7]

Prelude[edit]

The Romans, greatly alarmed and dismayed by Tiber Sempronius Longus's

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 BC. The new consuls were Gnaeus
Servilius Geminus and Gaius Flaminius. The latter was under threat of recall
from the Senate for leaving Rome without carrying out the proper rituals after
being elected consul.[8] The Senate commissioned Servilius to replace Publius
Cornelius Scipio and take command of his army, and 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. The new forces,
together with the remains of the former army, were divided between the two
consuls.[9] After the battles of Ticinus and Trebia, Flaminius' army turned
south to prepare a defence 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 to bring Hannibal to battle before reaching the
city. Another force under Servilius was due to join Flaminius.

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Before that could happen, Hannibal lured Gaius Flaminius' force into a pitched
battle by devastating the area that Flaminius had been sent to protect. Polybius
wrote that Hannibal calculated that he could draw out Flaminius into battle
and that "no sooner had he left the neighborhood of Faesulae, and, advancing a
short way beyond the Roman camp, made a raid upon the neighbouring
country, then 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."[10][11] At the same
time, Hannibal tried to sever the allegiance of Rome's allies, by proving that the
Republic was powerless to protect them. 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, providing the earliest record of a deliberate turning movement
in military history. Military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge describes the
significance of the maneuver and its intended effects on the campaign:

We are told nothing about it by the ancient authors, whose knowledge of war
confined them solely to the description of battles. But it is apparent enough to
us [...] By this handsome march Hannibal cut Flaminius off from Rome ... as he
was apt to move by the flank past the Roman camp [so as] to taunt the Roman
general. Here is shown ... the clear conception of the enemy’s strategic flank,
with all its advantages [...] Nor by his maneuver had Hannibal recklessly cut

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himself loose from his base, though he was living on the country and
independent of it, as it were; the fact is, that the complete integrity of his line
of communication ... was preserved. A more perfect case of cutting the enemy
from his communications can scarcely be conceived. . . . If he [Flaminius]
fought, it must be under morally and materially worse conditions than if his
line was open; and the effect on his men of having the enemy between them
and Rome... could not but be disastrous.[12]

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.[13][14]

Flaminius, eager to exact revenge for the devastation of the countryside and
facing increasing political criticism from Rome, finally marched against
Hannibal. Flaminius, like Sempronius, was impetuous, overconfident, and
lacking in self-control.[15] 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. It proved to be impossible to argue with the
rash Flaminius. Livy wrote, "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

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for battle."[11]

Tactical disposition[edit]

As Hannibal passed Lake Trasimene, he came to a place very suitable for an

ambush, and hearing that Flaminius had broken camp and was pursuing him,
made preparations for the impending battle. To the north was a series of
heavily forested hills where the Malpasso Road passed along the north side of
Lake Trasimene. Along the hill-bordered skirts of the lake, Hannibal camped
where he was in full view of anyone entering the northern defile, and spent the
night arranging his troops for battle. Below the camp, he placed his heavy
infantry (Iberians and Africans) upon a slight elevation. Here, they had ample
ground from which they could charge down upon the head of the Roman
column on the left flank, when it should reach the position.[14][16] His cavalry
and Gallic infantry were concealed in the hills in the depth of the wooded valley
from which the Romans would first enter, so that they could quickly sally out
and close the entrance, blocking the Roman route of retreat. Then he posted his

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light troops at intervals along the heights overlooking the plain, with orders to
keep well hidden in the woods until signalled to attack. Also, the night before
the battle commenced, Hannibal ordered his men to light campfires on the hills
of Tuoro, at a considerable distance, so as to convince the Romans that his
forces were further away than they actually were.[7]

Battle[edit]

From the Department of History, United States Military Academy

The morning of June 21, the Roman troops marched eastward along the road
running near the northern edge of the lake. Eager for battle, Flaminius pushed
his men hard and hurried up the column in the rear. Hannibal then sent a
small skirmish force to draw the vanguard away from the front of the line, in
order to split the Roman forces. Once all the Romans had at last marched
through the foggy, narrow defile and entered the plains skirting the lake,

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trumpets were blown, signalling the general attack.[citation needed]

The Carthaginian cavalry and infantry swept down from their concealed
positions in the surrounding hills, blocked the road and engaged the
unsuspecting Romans from three sides. Surprised and outmanoeuvred, the
Romans did not have time to draw up in battle array, and were forced to fight a
desperate hand-to-hand battle in open order. The Romans were quickly split
into three parts. The westernmost was attacked by the Carthaginian cavalry
and forced into the lake, leaving the other two groups with no way to retreat.
The centre, including Flaminius, stood its ground, but was cut down by
Hannibal's Gauls after three hours of heavy combat.[citation needed]

As described by Livy:

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For almost three hours the fighting went on; everywhere a desperate struggle
was kept up, but it raged with greater fierceness round the consul. He was
followed by the pick of his army, and wherever he saw his men hard pressed
and in difficulties he at once went to their help. Distinguished by his armour he
was the object of the enemy's fiercest attacks, which his comrades did their
utmost to repel, until an Insubrian horseman who knew the consul by sight -
his name was Ducarius - cried out to his countrymen, "Here is the man who
slew our legions and laid waste our city and our lands! I will offer him in
sacrifice to the shades of my foully murdered countrymen." Digging spurs into
his horse he charged into the dense masses of the enemy, and slew an armour-
bearer who threw himself in the way as he galloped up lance in rest, and then
plunged his lance into the consul.

In less than four hours, most of the Roman troops were killed. The Roman
advance guard saw little combat and, once the disaster to their rear became
obvious, fought their way through the skirmishers and out of the forest. Of the
initial Roman force of about 30,000, about 15,000 were either killed in battle
or drowned while trying to escape into the lake — including Flaminius himself,
who was slain by the Gaul Ducarius. Another 10,000 are reported to have made
their way back to Rome by various means, and the rest were captured.[17][18]
Polybius reports losses of 1,500 killed for Hannibal, most of them Gauls,[4]
while Livy gives 2,500 killed and "many" who died of their wounds.[19] About

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6,000 Romans escaped, under the cover of fog, only to be captured by

Maharbal the following day. Both Livy and Polybius wrote that Maharbal
promised safe passage ("with a garment apiece") if they surrendered their
weapons and armour, but Hannibal had them sold into slavery irrespective of
the promise made.[20][21]

The disaster for Rome did not end there. Within a day or two, a reinforcement
force of 4,000 under the propraetor Gaius Centenius was intercepted and
destroyed.[22][23]

Aftermath[edit]

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According to Basil Liddell Hart, Hannibal, emerging from another brilliant

victory, had successfully planned and executed "the greatest ambush in
history."[24] Dodge added, "It is the only instance in history of lying in ambush
with the whole of a large army."[citation needed] Similarly, historian Robert L.
O’Connell also writes, "[It was] the only time an entire large army was
effectively swallowed and destroyed by such a maneuver."[citation needed]

News of the defeat caused a panic in Rome. Quintus Fabius Maximus

Verrucosus was elected dictator by the Roman Assembly and adopted the
"Fabian strategy" of avoiding pitched conflict, relying instead on low-level
harassment to wear the invader down, until Rome could rebuild its military
strength. Hannibal was left largely free to ravage Apulia for the next year, until
the Romans ended the dictatorship and elected Paullus and Varro as consuls.
The result would be the Battle of Cannae, the worst defeat the Romans would
suffer throughout the Second Punic War.[citation needed]

Notes[edit]

Livy states that so terrible was the massacre at Lake Trasimene, that neither
army was aware of the occurrence of an earthquake, which at the very moment
of the battle "overthrew large portions of many of the cities of Italy, turned
rivers, and levelled mountains with an awful crash."[25]

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An ancient tradition says that, because of the blood, which for over three days
filled the water, a small stream feeding the lake was renamed Sanguineto, the
"Blood River".[26] In the vicinity of Lake Trasimene, there are further areas
that retain a particular meaning, including Ossaia ("Charnel House, Place of
Bones"), Sepoltaglia ("Sepulchre"), Caporosso ("Cape Red"), Piegaro
("Subdued Place"), Preggio (from peggio, "worse"), Pugnano ("Place of
Battle"), and Pian di Marte ("Field of Mars").[citation needed]

References[edit]

1. ^ P. S. Derow, "The Roman Calendar, 218-191 B. C.", Phoenix, 30 (1976), p. 275

2. ^ Battle of Lake Trasimene, M.R. van der Werf, Ground Warfare: H-Q, ed.
Stanley Sandler, (ABC-CLIO, 2002), 486.

3. ^ Battle of Lake Trasimene, M.R. van der Werf, Ground Warfare: H-Q,
486.

4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Polybius, The Histories, 3.85

5. ^ Livy, Ab Urbe condita 22:7.3-4 (citing historian Quintus Fabius Pictor who
fought in and wrote on the war)

6. ^ Livy, 22:7.2-4 (citing Pictor)

7. ^ Jump up to: a b 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of World History

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8. ^ Livy, Ab urbe condita, 21:64

9. ^ Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 21.63

10. ^ Polybius, The Histories, 3.82.

11. ^ Jump up to: a b Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 22.3

12. ^ http://www.punicwars.org/second-punic-war/battle-of-lake-trasimene.php

13. ^ Polybius, The Histories, 3.81–3.

14. ^ Jump up to: a b Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 22.4

15. ^ Polybius, The Histories, 3.80

16. ^ Polybius, The Histories, 3.83.

17. ^ Polybius, The Histories, 3.84.

18. ^ Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 22.6-7 (who for the casualty figure cites Quintus
Fabius Pictor, a historian who fought in and wrote on the Second Punic War)

19. ^ Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 22.7 (citing Pictor)

20. ^ Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 22.6.

21. ^ Polybius, The Histories, 3.84-5.

22. ^ Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 22.8; Polybius.

23. ^ The Histories 3.86

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24. ^ Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (1991). Strategy. Meridian. p. 26.
ISBN 978-0-452-01071-0.

25. ^ Livy, Ab Urbe condita, 22.5

26. ^ Hannibal Barca and the Punic Wars Archived March 24, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine by Hilary Gowen.

Coordinates: 43°08′22″N 12°06′27″E / 43.13944°N 12.10750°E

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