Carthage Destroyed! 2nd Punic War

On October 19th 202 BC Scipio Africanus defeats Hannibal and his army in the great battle of Zama by using the superior tactics of his enemy!

Hannibal is the son of general Hamilcar, and at the time is 26 years old. Scipio Africanus was selected by Rome to be their general. At first the main goal of Carthage was to steal gold from Rome’s allies in Spain, but when they did Rome declared war on them. Hannibal then leads 60,000 soldiers, 6,000 horses, and 37 elephants through Gaul, and to the Alps. He and his army crushed all the Romans he came across but when they reached the alps they only had ½ of their army. Hannibal and his army still needs to cross the alps, and when they do they lose most of their elephants. After they cross the Alps Hannibal and his men meet Rome at the battle of Cannae, and they are greatly outnumbered. All of the odds are against them, but they end up defeating Rome and killing all 70,000 Romans. Carthage could have attacked Rome, but Hannibal made a controversial decision to hold back.

When Rome saw that Hannibal could have attacked and destroyed Rome, they recruit Scipio Africanus as their general. Instead of going straight for Hannibal and his army, he goes straight to Carthage and starts attacking them. Carthage immediately makes Hannibal return to Carthage to help them, but Scipio suspected this. Scipio and his army meet Hannibal’s army at Zama, and they face off with each other at The Battle of Zama. Hannibal sends his elephants at Scipio’s army, but at the last second Scipio commands his men to dodge the elephants. The elephants get confused and start trampling everything in their path, including Carthaginians. Scipio takes advantage of Hannibal and his army’s confusion and attacks. Rome ends up defeating Carthage for a second time, and Scipio becomes a hero to Rome.

#politics #economy #conflict