Polybius First Punic War

Book 1, Chapters 7-9 (Matt)

The Campanians, who came to be known as the Mamertines, had long coveted Messena. After being admitted into the city as their friends, the Mamertines turned on the people of Messena and murdered or expelled the men and took the women and children as their own. Another group of people, led by a Campanian General Decius, agreed to protect the people of Rhegium, but like the Mamertines, turned on the people and took over the city. This angered the Romans who had agreed to protect them and the Romans eventually came, successfully laid siege to the city, and then returned control of the city to the people of Rhegium. Initially, the Mamertines of Messena were not seen as trouble in the area, but after causing some trouble in the area, the Syracusans, led by Hiero, sprang into action to silence the Mamertines. At first, the army of Syracuse had internal problems, but Hiero essentially let them lose a battle, and that solved the internal problems (he then used mercenaries). The Syracusans scored a big victory at Longanus over the Mamertines, which ended the cockiness of the Mamertines which had persisted to that point.

Book 1, Chapters 10, 11, 12 (Charlie)

The Mamertines lost their closest ally when the Romans laid siege to the city of Rhegium, which was held by a renegade legion. Having suffered defeat at the hands of Syracuse, the treacherous Campanians retreated into the walls of Messana and sent pleas for help to Rome as fellow Latins and Carthage as potential subjects. The Romans found this suggestion unsettling. On one hand, it would be in their interest to help the Mamertines since they provided an additional buffer to the growing power of Carthage in Sicily. However, the Romans knew that it would be unfair to help a people who had committed the same injustice that had been punished so severely among their own citizens.

Though the Senate did not approve of helping the Mamertines for ethical reasons, the Assembly sided with the military, seeing the plan as an opportunity for plunder if nothing else. The consul Appius Claudius left Rome with a legion and headed for Messana. Upon notice of the Romans’ intent to help, the Mamertines kicked out the Carthaginian general who had installed a garrison there. Outraged at this concession, the Carthaginians mobilized their army and navy against Messana, gaining support from Hiero, the cunning Syracusan king. Their combined forces surrounded the city. The Romans managed to cross over to Sicily at night and enter the city. Seeing the dire state of affairs, Appius tried to negotiate with his opponents, but to no avail. Appius resigned himself to fighting his way out of the situation and engaged the Syracusans. After a lengthy battle, Hiero and his remaining soldiers left the field and retreated to their city, understanding now, since the Romans had actually joined in combat, the true implications of the conflict.

Riding high on their success against the Syracusans, the Romans wasted no time in attacking and routing the Carthaginians. On a roll, they continued on through the Sicilian countryside, raping and pillaging, eventually laying siege to the city of Syracuse itself. Polybius accounts for his tendency toward presenting extensive background information as an attempt to demonstrate the true causes of the history that is his primary interest. His description of Roman ascendance to power in Sicily after their near defeat at the hands of the Gauls provides the necessary backdrop to Roman conquests beyond Italy.

Book 1, Chapters 13, 14, 15 (Connor)

I will not be going into much detail about most of the wars the Romans were fighting at the time seeing as it has little influence on my real theme other than as an introduction. However, I will be describing the First Punic War due to the facts that it was the longest, the war for which both sides had the greatest preparation, as well as the war that had the greatest effect on both sides. It is also here that we get a view of uncorrupted enemies fighting war in its truest sense.

In life it is important to have love of friends and country, it is important to be loyal to both ones friends and country and to love who they love and hate who they hate. Nevertheless, these are not qualities shared by a good historian. Therefore it is important to stay away from the individual characters and their achievements but instead focus more on the actual events and action that has taken place throughout time.

An example of a historian not focusing on the events themselves and their logical progression would be Philinus’ narrative on the Carthaginian siege of Messana. He tells the story in such a way that the events do not progress in logical fashion; meaning if the first part of the story is true than the second half does not make any sense and vice versa. Fabius makes similar mistakes. Now that I have pointed that out, let us get down to business and discuss what actually happened…

Book 1, Chapters 16, 17, 18 (James)

After Appius besieges Syracuse, Rome decides to dispatch its entire army to Sicily. This action causes most of the cities on the island of Sicily to rebel against Carthage and join the Romans. Seeing what has happened, King Hiero, of Syracuse decides it would be wise to join the invaders as well. He negotiates an alliance with the Romans. After Rome has resolved the threat from Syracuse they figure the war will die down and they recall half of the forces they had shipped over. Conversely the Carthaginians see nearly all of Sicily in Roman hands and decide they need to escalate the conflict. To counteract this, the Romans lay siege to the city the Carthaginian forces are camped in. The Carthaginians try a surprise attack to break the siege but the Romans win because it is against their principles to run from attackers. After the attack the siege continues and the Carthaginians get desperate. Hannibal sends to Carthage for reinforcements and more soldiers are sent to Hanno, another general, who in turn lays siege to the Romans that are camped, besieging the other Carthaginians.

Book 1, Chapters 19, 20, 21(Ian)

261 BCE (Battle of Acragas)

This chapter talks about a Carthaginian general named Hanno. Apparently during a battle he used the Numidians to lure out Roman cavalry and ambushed them by joining up with his own horses. After the battle he camps next to them and they exchange only shots for 2 months. Finally, forced by a famine Hanno rushes the battle and is defeated by the Romans. The Romans celebrate this victory and Hannibal sneaks away under their loose watch while they are partying.

261 BCE

This chapter talks about the naval ventures of the Romans. Now that Acragas was under Roman control, the idea of pushing Carthage entirely out of Sicily was beginning to become a reality. Also, they wanted to attack North Africa directly to deal significant blows to the Carthaginian territory in places other than Sicily. However, in order to do this, the Romans needed a navy. Having no naval experience what so ever (in fact they previously borrowed ships from other groups of people for battles), the brave Romans were determined to succeed. Through trial and error, they began to build a navy

260 BCE

The Romans begin to perfect their rowing ability by training on land. As soon as they were trained, Scipio (Roman naval general) put them in the water headed for two destinations; Messana and the strait. Hannibal, hearing that Lipara (Aeolian island) made an agreement with the Romans, sends Böodes to block Cnaeus (Roman naval commander) in the harbor. In a state of panic, Cnaeus takes to the land and eventually surrenders. The Carthaginian fleets, along with the captured ships, go to regroup with Hannibal’s ships. The chapter ends by the telling of a story about Hannibal’s own close call with the Roman fleet as he is surprised rounding the Cape of Italy. This Roman fleet seems to be a little more than Hannibal expected.

Book 1, Chapters 22,23,24 (Elliot)

22- The Romans await the arrival of Caius Duillius and the land forces after their loss and prepare for another sea battle. Their ships are slow and poorly built so they invent the corvi. The corvi are 11 meter gangways with spikes on the bottom which could be used to board other ships and were held up by pulleys. Once the corvi were dropped onto other ships they could board the enemy ships giving them a great advantage in battle.

23- The Carthaginians, led by Hannibal, were eager for battle and approached the inexperienced Romans with 130 ships. The Carthaginians were unfazed by the corvi and continued their attack at full speed. The first 30 ships were destroyed by the Romans. The rest of the Carthaginians tried to avoid the corvi but there were too many Roman ships. The remaining Carthagenian fleet of 50 ships was forced to retreat.

24- The Romans, after their military dominance of the sea, were much more determined in their war effort. They took the city of Macella, but Hamilcar surprised the Roman encampment and killed 4,000 men. Meahnwhile, Hannibal took the remainder of his naval fleet to Sardinia where he was blockaded, captured, and crucified. The Romans took no further action in Sicily until the newly elected counsels, Aulus Atilius and Caius Sulpicius, arrived. The Romans then attacked Panormus where the Carthaginian forces were based. The Carthaginians avoided battle at Panormus so the Romans took Hippana, Myttistratum, Camarina and a variety of other Carthaginian areas. They then began their siege of Lipara

Book I, Chapters 25, 26, 27 (Clem)

[257] Caius Atilius Regulus, a Roman consul, attacks the Carthaginian fleet with ten ships because the enemy appears disordered. Unfortunately, the Carthaginians turn and fight, and all but the consul’s ships are sunk. Then the rest of the Roman ships catch up and manage to capture or destroy ten Carthaginian ships. The rest of that fleet sailed to the Liparaean islands. The result of this battle is that the navies feel that they are equally matched, and the two countries begin organizing for further fights at sea. The Romans set sail to Ecnomus with 330 ships, and the Carthaginians sail to Heraclea Minoa with 350.

[256] The Romans decided to draw the war to Africa. The Carthaginians determined to prevent this from happening, for they knew the country was easily conquered if invaded. The Romans packed their ships with land soldiers as well as marines, with a total force of 140,000. They prepared for both land and sea battles. The Carthaginians, on the other hand, wanted to engage the Romans in a naval battle before they ever reached Africa, to halt them before they could invade. They had about 150,000 troops. To ward off naval attacks, the Romans organized their fleet into a triangle with two back rows, like so:

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[256] The Carthaginian commanders built up their troops determination be reminding them that if they lost against the Romans at sea, they would then have to fight to defend their homeland. When the Carthaginians fleet saw the Roman one, they adapted their order: the right wing, under the command of Hanno, stretched out to encircle the Romans, and the much shorter left wing, under Hamilcar, angled forward. The Romans attacked the center of the Carthaginian line, which retreated. The first and second Roman squadrons pursued until they were far away from the rest of their fleet, when the Carthaginian ships turned and attacked. The third and fourth squadrons were separated by the rest of the Carthaginians. The battle raged, each side determined to win. For though the Carthaginians fought for their country, the Romans were inspired by their consuls, who fought alongside them.

Book 1, Chapters 28, 29, 30 (David)

Three separate sea battles were fought between the Romans and the Carthaginians. Their forces were of equal strength, thus, great losses resulted. The ships of the triarii were also involved. Hamilcar’s division was finally forced back and fled. Marcus rushed to the assistance of the triarii, thus, two parts of tha battle were united. Now, the Carthaginians were being attacked from both the front and the rear. Much of the Carthaginian force retreated out to sea. However, one part had trapped the Roman ships in by the shore. Marcus sailed to rescue them, and the Carthaginians lost because they feared the corvi. Thus, the Romans won the battle and captured 64 Carthaginian ships.

The Romans then repaired the captured ships and sailed for Africa. They reached Hermanaeum, a promontory in front of the Gulf of Carthage. They then laid siege to the city of Shield. The Carthaginians realized that the Romans were not coming after them, so they took time to recover and repair their fleet. The Romans took Shield, and set about plundering the country. They captured over 20,000 slaves. Messengers from Rome then told the consuls that one, Marcus, was to remain with a sizeable land force while the other, Lucius, was to return to Rome with the fleet.

The Carthaginians realized that the Romans were preparing for a long occupation,and elected three generals, Hasdrubal, Bostar, and Hamilcar. They decided to aid the country, and no longer allow the Romans to plunder it. The Carthaginians camped on a hill because they were eager to retake the open country. This, however, rendered the elephants and cavalry of the Carthaginians useless. The Romans chased the Carthaginians from the country, and plundered the towns unmolested. They established a base in the town on Tunis.

Book 1, Chapters 31, 32, 33 (George)

Carthage is in trouble: a famine has hit the city, the Numidians have been constantly attacking from the south, and they have been defeated by the Romans twice (one naval battle and one land battle). Both of these defeats were due to incompetent commanders. Regulus, the head of the Roman consular army, wishes to end the war as quickly as possible so that his successor (on his way from Italy) does not get any credit. He gives the Carthaginians harsh demands and is promptly refused by the Carthaginian Senate; their reason being that they will not voluntarily throw away all that they have accomplished.

Xanthippus (a Spartan) has been recruited to help the Carthaginians. Xanthippus claims that the Carthaginian commanders are incompetent. He also claims that they will fare much better if they only fight on flat ground. After the generals give Xanthippus control of an army, he shows his commanding excellence and reveals the incompetence of the Carthaginian commanders. His superior abilities boost the troops' moral and Carthage plans to start a new campaign.

The Romans come upon Xanthippus' troops in Sicily stationed (surprisingly) on flat-ground. Xanthippus has recently been given full command of the highly-energized Carthaginian troops and plans to march against the Romans. Soon, the two armies meet and begin to form their battle lines. Xanthippus places his elephants in the front, phalanxes in the back, cavalry on the wings, and mercenaries spread out everywhere. The Romans place velites (skirmishers) in the front, a deep row of legions in the back, and cavalry on the wings. The Romans hope that the deep row of legions will decrease the effectiveness of the elephants. They are also aware that their cavalry is at a disadvantage.

Book 1, Chapters 34,35,36 (Will)

255 BCE- Starts when Roman cavalry advances on the far larger Carthaginian force. The Roman cavalry does manage to break through the Carthaginians right wing, however much of there cavalry is halted and surrounded, the men that managed to get through were slaughtered by the Carthaginian Phalanx. Very bad turn of events for the Romans, not only did their cavalry get intercepted and slaughtered, there were also many men that got trampled by Carthaginian elephants. 500 men, including Regulus, managed to escape, but they were eventually caught and imprisoned by the Carthaginians. Battle results poorly for Romans, there were 800 Carthaginian mercenaries killed, but the Roman force was cut down to 2000 men and the Carthaginians had captured a Roman consul.

At this point, Plybius goes on a tangent to point out the irony in the capture of Regulus. A man who had been known to refuse to show mercy was now asking to be shown mercy to save his life. Plybius also talks about human improvements. He says that there are two ways for improvement, to learn from one’s own mistakes or the mistakes of others. He says that it is far better to learn from the mistakes of others because it results in less pain and grief.

Meanwhile, the Carthaginians are rejoicing their victory. The Romans, when learning about the defeat proceed in rebuilding their fleet and going to Africa to collect survivors. When the Carthaginians here this, they too rebuild their fleet to 200 ships and send them out to watch for the Romans. In early summer, The Romans send a fleet of 350 ships around the coast of Sicily towards Africa led by Marcus Aemilius and Servius Fuluius. On there way to Africa they encounter the Carthaginian fleet and rout them capturing roughly 140 ships. From here they proceed to Sicily.

Book 1, Chapters 37,38,39 (Jeremy)

On the way back to Sicily, the Roman fleet encounters a giant storm and loses all but 80 of their 364 ships. Polybius says the blame is not so much on the weather as on the generals who disregarded advice that it would be a dangerous time to sail. This spirit and idea that nothing is impossible is a Roman trait that allows them to be very successful on land, but is a huge flaw when it comes to having a navy.

Once the Carthaginians heard about the destruction of the Roman fleet, they sent the general Hasdrubal to Sicily with 140 elephants and 200 ships to exert dominance over the open territory in Sicily. When the Romans hear that their fleet is destroyed, they decide immediately to build another fleet. In three months, they build 220 ships and send them to siege Panormus, a city in the most important Carthaginian province. They capture the city and return to Rome leaving a garrison in the city.

The new consuls send the Roman fleet down to Africa, but after doing virtually nothing there, they return to Sicily. Again, the fleet is wrecked by a storm and loses 150 ships. After this, the Romans decide to give up building ships and rely solely on their army. However, after the Roman army hears of how Carthaginian elephants tore though their lines in Africa, they spend two years running from the Carthaginians and refusing to fight a battle on level ground. Back in Rome, the timidity of the army annoys the government and so the new consuls begin putting back together the Roman navy.

Book 1, Chapters 40, 41, 42(Johanna):

In 250 BC one of the Roman consuls left Sicily for Italy with half of the Roman Army. The Carthaginian commander, Hasdrubal, was aware of this and was considering attacking them. Caecilius, who was in charge of the rest of the Roman army wanted to provoke Hasdrubal to attack and kept his soldiers inside the gates of Panormus. Hasdrubal saw this as an opportunity and advanced his forces into the territory. Caecilius allowed the Carthaginians advance until their men and elephants crossed the river in front of the town. At this point Caecilius had troops aggravate the elephants while other men shot at the elephants from a distance. After being wounded the elephants turned on the Carthaginian army, breaking the ranks. Caecilius used this opportunity to let the rest of his army out of the city. They succeeded in capturing all of the elephants while defeating the Carthaginian men.

The Romans were excited and encouraged when the news of the battle reached Rome. As a result they decided to send both the consuls on campaign with the Navy, hoping to end the war. The consuls sailed to Sicily with 200 ships and anchored off of Lilybaeum, where they, along with their land forces attacked the Carthaginians. This city was important because if the Romans won they could easily transfer the war to Africa. The Carthaginians recognized this importance and put all of their energies into this battle. They realized that if they lost this battle they had no hope because the Romans had control of the rest of Sicily.

Polybius begins this chapter by describing Sicily’s convenient location. It is a triangular Island a little over two kilometers off the coast of Italy. The opposite side faces Carthage, which is only 180 kilometers away. The city of Lilybaeum is located on this south-eastern coast that faces Carthage. Lilybaeum was well fortified, surrounded by a deep moat and tall walls. The Romans attacked on both sides of the city, knocking down six of the adjacent towers. The Romans continued to advance into the city; however, the Carthaginians fought back fiercely. As a result the battle continued without a transfer of power.

Book 1, Chapters 43, 44, 45 (Najib)

Chapter 43

The Celtic mercenary force began to doubt whether Sicily would hold against the Roman besiegement. To end their fighting, the mercenaries sent a proposal to the Roman’s for the surrender of the city. The message was intercepted by Achaean Alexon who convinced the army to remain promising large plots of land. Hannibal and Alexon were sent to watch over the troops and the traitorous Celtic officers were banished from the city.

Chapter 44

The Carthaginian army fearing the fall of Sicily sends 10,000 troops to fight the Romans. The Romans having a weak navy are forced to allow the Carthaginian army to land. This war tactic initiated a massive battle that would weaken both sides.

Chapter 45

Himilco, commander of the Carthaginian army, rouses his troops and sends them to disable the Roman siege. The Romans were prepared; therefore, they had strengthened the weak points of their camps forcing a “company to company and “man to man” battle. Eventually the Romans began to lose due to Carthaginian war tactics both inside and outside of the city. To their luck, the Carthaginian general called a retreat around the same time allowing the Romans to regain their position.

Book 1, Chapters 46, 47, 48 (Eilis)

Hannibal the general sailed out to meet Adherbal, the Carthaginian commander, at Drepana, a conveniently located town with an excellent harbor. Meanwhile, a leading Carthaginian citizen, called Hannibal the Rhodian, offered to go to the besieged Lilybaeum to learn firsthand of the events there. Although the other Carthaginians believed this to be impossible because the Romans guarded that port so closely, Hannibal sailed both into and out of the port easily in clear sight of the enemy’s ships. He repeated the same feat a number of times in order that Carthage might learn of urgent or important news. Eventually, however, the Romans, after numerous attempts to stop him, managed to fill up a part of the mouth of the harbor, capture a Carthaginian ship, and use this ship to overtake and arrest Hannibal the Rhodian, thus ending his exploits.

Shortly afterwards, during a windstorm, some of the Greek mercenaries threw fire onto the works that the Romans had built to attempt to take the city—towers and posts that supported battering rams. Because the works were old and easily flammable, and the wind spread the flames quickly, Roman attempts to save these works failed. Meanwhile, the Greek mercenaries threw missiles and other objects at the enemy to wound the rescuers and to ensure the destruction of the works. After this complete destruction, the Romans ended their attempt to take the city through the means of towers and battering rams, and instead built a trench and a stockade around the city and a wall around their own encampment, leaving the outcome of the siege to time.

Book 1, Chapters 49, 50, 51 (Peri)

49: After hearing of the fire, the Romans started recruiting people for its navy and then sent them to Sicily. There, the general Publius told them that it was time to attack Drepana, because Adherbal, the Carthaginian general would not be prepared. When the ships first came into view, Adherbal moved all his ships out of the harbor to avoid a siege.

50: Publius had expected that the Carthaginians would surrender, but when he saw they intended to fight, he turned his ships around. This caused great confusion among the men, and many ships were damaged in the ensuing chaos. As the Carthaginians advanced, the Romans were backed up close to shore, an unfavorable position.

51: At first the battle was equally balanced, but soon the naval superiority of the Carthaginians began to show. This meant that when they were in trouble, they could just use the speed of their ship to get out into open water and then attack there. However, if the Romans were in trouble, they were stuck close to shore, and their clumsy ships and lack of skill prevented them from doing any tricky maneuvering. In the end, the Roman commander saw that the battle was hopeless and escaped with 30 of his ships, while the remaining 93 were captured by the Carthaginians.

Book 1, Chapters 52, 53, 54 (Richard)

Adherbal gains great prestige, and Publius is condemned with a heavy fine and almost dies. New consuls are elected, and one of them, Lucius Junius Pullus is sent to provide supplies for the besiegers of Lilybaeum. He reaches Syracuse with 120 ships and 800 transports, and sends off half of them immediately with the quaestors. Meanwhile, Adherbal sends Carthalo with 100 ships to make a surprise attack on the Roman fleet at Lilybaeum, and at dawn they wreak havoc on the Romans. As the Roman land forces go to rescue the fleet, the town attacks at the same time. The Carthaginians break off and keep watch, and are able to intercept the supply ships coming from Syracuse. The Romans anchor and stage their defense from land with siege weapons. The Carthaginians withdraw and wait for them to go back to sea. Meanwhile, the second half of the supply fleet is sailing towards Syracuse. The Carthaginians intercept them, and the Romans withdraw to a very dangerous stretch of coastline to keep from getting their ships captured. The Carthaginians are cautious, and decides not to follow. At this time, a great storm comes up, and the Carthaginians wisely decide to sail to safety. Meanwhile, the two Roman fleets, pinned down, are utterly destroyed.

Book 1, Chapters 55, 56, 57 (Michael)

Following the storm the Carthaginians were the rulers of the sea and had prospects of winning the land war as well. Junius returns to his army and attempts then takes over Eryx, which is a mountain, second in size to Etna, with a temple to Venus at the summit. Hamilcar is introduced as the naval commander and moves to attack the Italian Coast in the 18th year of the war. He destroys Locris and the Bruttii and then moves toward Panormus. He stops at Hercte a hill excellent for resting an army and with a nice port for ships. Hamilcar stayed here and continued raids against the Romans for the next 3 years. There were small skirmishes over these three years but no decisive conflicts because of the defenses that both sides had to fall back on and the equal sizes of the armies.

Book 1, Chapters 58, 59, 60 (Nathan)

Hamilcar seized the town lying between Eryx (the summit of a mountain where the Romans had some garrisons) and the base of the mountain. In this way, the Romans were besieged for a couple years with neither side really accomplishing anything. Finally, the Romans decided for a third time to attempt using naval force. Under Lutatius’ command, the Romans besieged a Sicilian harbor that supplied the Carthaginians. Hanno and Hamilcar set off to the island where they would unload their ships and obtain the best mercenaries around before attacking the Romans. However, Lutatius realized what they wanted to do and attacked them before they had a chance to unload, even though there was great risk due to stormy weather.

Book 1, Chapters 61, 62,63,64(JG)

The Romans learned from their mistakes at Drepana. For the last major sea battle of the war they fought with lean and mean ships. All unnecessary gear was left on shorre. The Carthaginians, meanwhile, had grown sloppy and overconfident, believing that the Romans were no longer a threat at sea. In the ensuing battle, the Carthaginians lost 50 ships sunk and 70 captured. The victorious Romans sailed to Lilybaeum with their prizes and nearly 10,000 Carthaginian prisoners.

The Romans now controlled the sea, so the Carthaginians couldn't resupply Sicily. They told Hamilcar to deal with the situation as best he could. The latter, says an admiring Polybius, was a prudent, wise leader. He knew he had no chance against the Romans at that point, so he sued for peace. The Romans were happy to oblige; they, too, were exhausted by this time. The Carthaginians gave up Sicily, agreed not to mess with the Syracusans anymore, and accepted the levy of a substantial indemnity.

The Roman Senate wanted harsher terms for Carthage and sent a commission to reduce the time allowed for payment of the indemnity and to increase the total by some 1000 talents. Also, the commission insisted that the Carthaginians give up Corsica and Sardinia as well as Sicily. The Carthaginians really have no choice. So ended the 24 year conflict, says Polybius, one of the biggest wars fought up to that time. By way of evidence he notes that the Romans lost some 700 quinqueremes and the Carthaginians 500.

His next task, says Polybius, is to explain the workings of the Roman government. He thinks the palm for best leadership during the first war should go to Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal.