By Robert L. O'Connell
Switching to non-fiction, here is a look into the Second Punic War, the lead up to the war and the consequences. The author said he tried to use contemporary reports from Livy and Polybius but there just isn't much surviving firsthand accounts from the time.
The title refers to the surviving Roman solders who were sent off in disgrace to live the rest of their lives alone after their defeat at Cannae. They had taken an oath, win or die. Unfortunately for them they didn't die.
The book starts off with brief history of beginnings of war, Gauls who hated Rome. Build up of all the groups that would end up fighting in the Second Punic War.
The author goes into great detail about the construction of the armies, describing the formation and thought behind Roman army formation. Mostly they admired solo battle (a 6x6' area for each solider?) and infantry over calvery and especially archers. Also the logistics of supplying so many troops is discussed.
It's amazing how many died on both sides in "smaller" battles before the second Punic War. Nowadays the media reports every death. A loss of a handful of soldiers at time brings talks of great loss. This makes it even harder to fathom how families reacted in the past. News traveled slower. There probably wasn't accurate records of who died and how. What became of the body. During sea battles it was common that tens of thousands if not almost a hundred thousand lost their lives! The author speculates on what this did to the population of Carthage as most were men. The Romans may have lost up to 15% of their soldiers in weather related sailing accidents. Some by their own inexperience early between the wars and other because they were tricked or outmaneuvered in the face of oncoming weather by the Charthegeneans.
Hannibal's' father fought the Romans and vowed to defeat Rome. A pledge his sons took up. Goes into description of Hannibal and the start of his quest to attack Rome.
Interesting facts from the book:
Hannibal's big problem was feeding his army. Initially 60 tons of food a day. 100,000 troops. After crossing the alps he was down to estimated 27,000. And yes he took elephants. O'Connell goes into why he might have done this, probably for psychological effect.
Roman culture was to fight in battle. Not a defensive fight of attrition.Hannibal knew and exploited this.
At Cannae the average Roman weighed 130lbs. So some six million pounds of bodies were left in about one square mile!
45,500 legionaries 2700 cavalrymen. 19,000 prisoners who were still slaves in Greece and Crete 2 decades later.
To save the state (Rome) from Hannibal they had to generate the same kind of leader, a Caesar, who would ultimately destroy the Republic. This was the true Barcid curse upon Rome.
Diplomacy and politics played a big part in the successes on both sides. The Barca brothers (minus Hannibal) were slowly picked off by the Romans. Spain was rid of Carthaginian's but would be in unrest for another generation. The fight was being taken to Africa.
Hannibal blames Hanno and Carthage senate for his ultimate defeat. They wouldn't send more troops/money and were always trying to recall him. Finally he goes back to help defend Carthage.
At Zama the ghosts defeated what was perhaps the most victorious army in human memory. All because Hannibal waited for the Romans to regroup and attack. He lived another 2 decades. A ghost himself.
At 63 while helping in Greece Hannibal was pursued by Roman soldiers. Upon being caught he dank poison rather than be taken prisoner.
I remember this book being a bit of a slow read. It was a very interesting and well told story. O'Connell goes into the politics of the time, trying to figure out why they acted the way they did. My rough outline of the book really doesn't do it justice.
I guess in the end people haven't changed. Those in charge don't like losing. They do everything they can to stay in power and when you have an army at your disposal you use it to appease your ego even if it destroys your Empire in the long run.
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