Battle of Cornus
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Location of Cornus (green dot)
| date | Autumn 215 BC Chr. |
|---|---|
| place | Cornus in Sardinia |
| output | Roman victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Titus Manlius Torquatus |
Hiostos, Hampsicora |
| Troop strength | |
| 20,000 legionaries | 15,000 foot troops, 1,500 horsemen |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
complete destruction of the army |
Saguntum - Lilybaeum II - Rhone - Ticinus - Trebia - Cissa - Lake Trasimeno - Ager Falernus - Geronium - Cannae - Nola I - Nola II - Ibera - Cornus - Nola III - Beneventum I - Syracuse - Tarentum I - Capua I - Beneventum II - Silarus - Herdonia I - Upper Baetis - Capua II - Herdonia II - Numistro - Asculum - Tarentum II - New Carthage - Baecula - Grumentum - Metaurus - Ilipa - Crotona - Large fields - Cirta - Zama
Coordinates: 40 ° 5 ′ 36 ″ N , 8 ° 30 ′ 29 ″ E The Battle of Cornus was a skirmish between the Romans and the Carthaginians that began in 215 BC. Took placein Sardinia . The battlefield was near the west coast, near Cornus , in the province of Oristano about 30 kilometers north of Oristano .
prehistory
Hampsicora came to Sardinia with a Carthaginian army to hire mercenaries there. The real reason was a revolt of the Sardinians against the Romans. They were convinced of the defeat of Rome in the Second Punic War and wanted to take the side of the winner. Hampsicora wanted to cross over to the Apennine peninsula with the new army in order to help Hannibal to conquer Italy. The Roman general Titus Manlius Torquatus , who represented the sick praetor, had meanwhile brought new legionaries to the island, whereby the number of the Roman armed forces rose to 20,000 men.
In the meantime, the Carthaginians had marched to Caralis and attacked Roman villages. In response, the Romans attacked the Carthaginian army at Cornus.
The battle
The Carthaginians had learned of the arrival of the Romans early on and holed up. Several days of minor skirmishes ensued without the two armies facing each other in a field battle. When the Romans stood at the gates of the camp, the Carthaginians attacked. A cavalry unit was able to break through on one flank and penetrate the core of the army, which cost Hiostos his life. Now the infantry of the Romans attacked and put the Carthaginians to flight. Hampsicora fled and the rest of the army was taken prisoner.
consequences
Hampsicora committed suicide after the defeat. The Battle of Cornus was the last stand on Sardinian soil in this war. The real victory of the Romans in this battle was the suppression of the insurrection. This ensured the food supply in Italy, which enabled further actions in the Second Punic War.
literature
- Nigel Bagnall: The Punic Wars . 1990, ISBN 0-312-34214-4 . (en)
- Adrian Goldsworthy : The Fall of Carthage. The Punic Wars 265–146 BC Chr. Phoenix, 2006, ISBN 978-0-3043-6642-2 , pages 295-298