Quora Question: What Was the Greatest Military Comeback in History

September 28, 2019 By 4 Comments

I’d have to give that to the Romans in the Second Punic War. The Carthaginian general Hannibal brought an army over the Alps in 218 B.C. During the next two years he won four battles: Ticinus, 2300 Roman casualties, Roman Consul wounded. Trebia 28,000 Roman Casualties. Trasimene, 15,000 Romans killed, 15,000 captured, Roman Consul killed. […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why is Scipio Africanus Considered a Military Genius for Clearing a Path for Hannibal’s Elephants? Isn’t that the Obvious Thing to Do?

September 11, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Elephants were known to wreak havoc in ancient warfare. In the case of Zama, it wasn’t a simple matter of stepping out of way and clearing a path for the elephants. Scipio wanted Hannibal to think that his elephants would be effective in disrupting the Roman lines, so he disguised the paths he was planning […]

Filed Under: Carthage Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Why did Hannibal Hate the Romans?

September 10, 2019 By Leave a Comment

Hannibal’s father was Hamilcar Barca, the most effective general Carthage produced during the 23 year long First Punic War, 264 B.C. to 241 B.C. In 241 B.C. Carthage suffered a massive defeat at the naval battle of the Aegates Islands and sued for peace. Hamilcar Barca had been having some success against the Romans in […]

Filed Under: Carthage Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Quora Question: Who in Your Opinion Was the Greatest General in World History

March 2, 2019 By Leave a Comment

    There are many candidates for the greatest soldier/warrior in world history, but I would choose Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the Roman general who defeated the Carthaginian general Hannibal in the Second Punic War (218 B.C. to 202 B.C.) Scipio never lost a battle. At the start of his military career, at age 17 […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Carthage Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Book Review: Las Legiones Malditas by Santiago Postaguillo

December 16, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Las Legiones Malditas (The Accursed Legions) is the second in a series of three novels by Santiago Postaguillo about the life of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the conqueror of Carthage in the Second Punic War. The books are written in Spanish with no English translation available, but if your Spanish is up to the task, […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Book Review, Carthage Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Scipio Africanus, Rome’s Greatest General

December 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Richard Gabriel is a military historian and his strength lies in his thorough understanding of military history, strategy, tactics and logistics. In Scipio Africanus Gabriel thoroughly analyses Scipio’s military campaigns in Spain and Africa and gets into details that will fascinate students of military history. For example he shows that, based on logistics it would […]

Filed Under: Ancient Rome, Book Review, Carthage Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,