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Have You Ever Wondered How It Was That Hannibal Led an Army Of Hamilcar had left his corps of mercenaries under the general Gisgo, commandant of the garrison at the Have you ever wondered how it was that Hannibal led an port of Lilybaeum. The mercenary army of mercenaries for two decades and never faced a force was composed of assorted serious rebellion or major desertion? His army was often soldiers of fortune, including Liby- ans, Iberians, Celts, Ligurians, hungry, always pushed hard by the Romans and usually Balearics, Greeks, and Roman and faced appalling conditions. Yet his soldiers of fortune Italian deserters, as well as smaller invariably remained loyal. Many historians credit this bands from all around the Mediterra- nean world. These hardened profes- phenomena to Hannibal's charismatic leadership and his sionals had defeated Rome's legions concern for the welfare of his men. But there was a darker time and again, and were returning side. Hannibal's army had been created and trained by his not as a defeated army, but as a victorious corps forced to withdraw father, Hamilcar Barca. And every mercenary in that army only because of a naval defeat. soon learned the tales of the Truceless War. The long shadow of Hamilcar's ruthless suppression of that rebellion Gisgo wisely dispatched the merce- naries back to Carthage in small lingered in the collective memory of Hannibal's army. groups, so that each mercenary band These hard bitten soldiers of fortune had learned and could be paid off and sent back to accepted this fact - you just don't cross a Barca. their homeland before the next arrived. This procedure would have But the Romans still did not give up. prevented the massing of a danger- Historical Background Instead they raised another fleet, ous number of idle soldiers of fortune In the later years of the First Punic even after so many had been de- in the capitol. But the home authori- War (from 249 BC) the Carthaginian stroyed by storms and the Punic ties did just the opposite. Reluctant General Hamilcar (father of the great navy. The Roman navy won a to part with any money, they balked and delayed payment until the entire Hannibal) waged a masterful decisive victory off the Aegates mercenary army was concentrated in guerrilla war with a polyglot merce- Islands in 242 BC. It was now Carthage. The mercenaries began to nary corps against the Romans in Carthage that was exhausted, and get rowdy and brawls and distur- Western Sicily. His campaign was forced to sue for peace to end the bances became common. Only then the linchpin of a strategy that had First Punic War. Hamilcar Barca was did the government authorities successfully maintained a forced to accept the humiliating peace awaken to the danger of the situation. Carthaginian presence in Sicily for and withdraw his troops from the centuries. When confronted with a island. Barca, who thought that The senate decided to send all the powerful enemy, such as the things couldn't get any worse, mercenaries out of the city to the Syracusan tyrants Dionysius or resigned his command in disgust. nearby village of Sicca. But they still Agathocles, or the Epirote King But Hamilcar was wrong - things didn't pay them. The mercenaries' Pyrrhus, the Carthaginians would could get a lot worse. prolonged waiting allowed the withdraw to their western fortresses smoldering embers of discontent to and maintain only a toehold in Sicily. The Origin of the Truceless War burst into the flames of insurrection Their opponent would eventually The Carthaginians were looking and mutiny. Gisgo had been negoti- exhaust himself, and then the forward to a quiet period in order to ating with the mercenaries, and he Carthaginians would sweep back in. recoup their losses after 24 years of and his party were seized and held But the Roman legions had far greater combat (264-241 BC). Although a hostage. Two mercenary captains staying power than the mercenary heavy indemnity had been imposed emerged as generals of the rebel armies of the Greek warlords. Only by the victorious Romans, Carthage army. Mathos, a Libyan soldier, was Hamilcar's brilliant generalship would be easily able to pay this off joined by Spendius, a runaway allowed the Carthaginians to hang on once peace allowed her commerce to Campanian slave. for seven years. Hamilcar's hit-and- again prosper. One final detail run campaigns of raid and ambush remained to be taken care of — the Mathos invited the local Libyan earned him the name Barca or demobilization of the 20,000 merce- "Lightning". naries that had to be evacuated from Sicily. peasants to join his rebellion, and routed the militia army and seized all encouraging. Outside the city, received an enthusiastic response. of Hanno's artillery and siege train. Mathos' mercenaries continued to The rural populace had been harshly Hanno withdrew with the shattered besiege Utica and Hippacritae, and oppressed and heavily taxed by remnants of his army. his forces blocked all exits from Carthage during the long war with Carthage. The mutineers' victory Rome, and now leapt at the chance to Enter Hamilcar Barca over Hanno at Utica had encouraged overthrow their masters. Word was The senate now turned to Hamilcar thousands more Libyan and sent to outlying Libyan and Barca and pleaded with him to accept Numidian tribesmen to rebel. Things Numidian tribes, and volunteers a command. Barca agreed, but the were not much more encouraging in flocked into the rebel camps by the situation he found was hardly the city. Hamilcar managed to scrape thousands. So began the Truceless War, also known as the Mercenary War, the Libyan War or the Servile War, in late 241 BC. Opening Moves Their was no Carthaginian army on hand to oppose the rebels. Mathos set up his main base at Tunis, and dispatched divisions to besiege the cities of Utica and Hippacritae. A guard force occupied the main bridge over the Bagradas river, while other detachments covered all the fords. Carthage was completely sur- rounded, and shut off from contact with still friendly tribes and cities to the West and South. The senate appointed Hanno the Great to raise and field an army. Hanno had earned his title by ruthlessly sup- pressing the Libyan revolts that had followed the Roman invasion of Regulus (256-55 BC). Hanno had crushed the Libyans by routing their army and assaulting and sacking their main base at Hecatompylus. Hanno called out the civic militia and the citizen cavalry, organized an extensive siege train and added 100 elephants. Hanno did an excellent job of equipping, organizing and drilling his units into shape. But when Hanno took the field, his weaknesses as a commander were revealed. Hanno advanced on the rebel army at Utica, and overran the mercenary camp with an elephant charge supported by ballistae fire. Hanno, accustomed to fighting Libyan tribesman who fled for days once defeated, thought he had already won the war. But these mercenaries had been trained by Hamilcar Barca. They withdrew before the elephant charge only to regroup and counterattack later. The rebels stormed back into their camp, together about 8,000 second-string hardened mercenary veterans in a elephants and his superior militia infantry. But he couldn't straight fight. Barca pinned his hopes generalship. expect these raw levies to take on on his 2,000 heavy cavalry, his 70 Hamilcar seized the initiative. He discovered that it was possible to bypass the rebel blocking forces by fording the Bagradas River at its mouth under a favorable wind. Barca made his surprise crossing at night, and emerged in full battle array on the far side by morning. Hamilcar headed for the rebel guard force at the bridge, which probably numbered 5,000 men. Spendius, in command of the division besieging Utica, marched out to join with the force at the bridge, bringing another 10,000 troops. Once they sighted the enemy, the two rebel forces advanced to converge on the Carthaginian army. The Battle of Utica, Summer 240 BC Hamilcar's army was in three columns - nearest the enemy were his elephants, next the light infantry and cavalry, with the militia furthest over. Hamilcar ordered his elephants, light infantry and cavalry to conduct a feigned flight. The over anxious rebels were lured into a disorderly pursuit. But the Carthaginian mounted and light forces wheeled to the flanks of the militia line, and faced about. The elephants broke the rebel charge, and then the heavy cavalry hammered the open flanks of the rebel line. The militia in the center held just long enough, and the rebel army broke and fled. The rebels lost 6,000 men slain and 2,000 taken prisoner. (See Battle of Utica sidebar on previous page for Scenario.) Naravas and the Battle of Hippacritae, Fall 240 BC Hamilcar put his victory at Utica to good use, traversing the countryside and taking towns and villages back into Carthaginian alliance. Mean- while, Mathos continued his siege of Hippacritae. He dispatched Spendius with 6,000 crack mercenaries to observe and harass Hamilcar. Mathos also sent a band of 2,000 Gauls (more on this unit later) under their captain Autaritas to support Spendius, and ordered large Libyan and Numidian forces to join him as well. Hamilcar had received limited Hippacritae defected to the enemy. man garrisons that Carthage had sent reinforcements for his army, but These two key cities had remained to aid in their defense. The rebels, when the rebels massed over 20,000 loyal during the invasions of both strengthened by the financial support troops against him he was hard- Agathocles and Regulus, but now of these two major cities, advanced to pressed.
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