The Campaigns of Hannibal and Scipio by Major Michael R. Johnson

Author:Major Michael R. Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2014-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

Scipio’s Tactics at Ilipa

At Ilipa, Scipio’s army of approximately 45,000 men and 3,000 cavalry faced a battle-tested army in excess of 70,000, commanded by a seasoned veteran of many campaigns. The Army led by Hasdrubal had a formidable cavalry of 4,000 and 32 elephants. Each day prior to the actual battle, Scipio arranged his forces in nearly a mirror image of the enemy: Roman infantry in the center opposing African center, Spanish allies on the wings opposing Hasdrubal’s Spanish allies. Knowing his forces were severely outnumbered, Scipio devised a bold, innovative plan to surprise the enemy and gain a tactical advantage.{12} He ordered his cavalry to attack the Carthaginian camp before dawn on the day Scipio selected to launch his attack. This served the twin purposes of confusing the enemy as to the Roman’s intentions, and to force Hasdrubal to assemble his forces before his men had a chance to eat. This also ensured that they would take the battlefield in the same formation as each day previous. Scipio on the other hand, had completely changed his formation. He switched his Romans to the flanks and placed his Spanish allies in the center against the Africans. He did this for two reasons: to place his strength against the enemy’s weakest point, and to ensure his allies didn’t defect over to their countrymen as had happened to the Romans at Cannae. He reassured his allies that they were a fixing force, and that the real battle would take place on the wings.

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