Battle of the Great Fields
Coordinates: 37 ° 3 ′ 29 ″ N , 10 ° 3 ′ 45 ″ E
Map of Tunisia with Utica north of Carthage
| date | 203 BC Chr. |
|---|---|
| place | Near Utica, northwest of Carthage in North Africa |
| output | roman victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| about 30,000 men | 30,000 men |
| losses | |
|
almost the whole army |
unknown |
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
In the Battle of the Great Fields also known with the Latin name Battle of Campi Magni or after the river that flows through the Great Fields, as the Battle of the Bagradas or Second Battle of Utica fought around 203 BC. During the Second Punic War, Roman troops under Scipio Africanus against Carthaginian forces under Hasdrubal . It ended with a decisive victory for the Romans.
prehistory
In the spring of 204 BC BC Scipio landed undisturbed at Cape Farina with about 25,000 men and advanced towards Utica . The city held out until Hasdrubal and Syphax arrived with their forces. They wanted to get to Carthage from their landing site north of Utica. They felt too weak for an open battle against the legions of Scipios.
Scipio, in turn, lifted the siege of Utica and withdrew to a rocky peninsula near Utica to set up his winter quarters here. Syphax offered him peace and, as a Carthaginian concession, the withdrawal of Hannibal and Magos from Italy. Scipio, meanwhile supported by Massinissa , kept the negotiations upright and then in the spring of 203 set fire to the Numidian and Carthaginian camps in quick succession.
With that the battle was inevitable. Fresh troops were raised in and around Carthage. 4,000 Celtiberian soldiers arrived in Africa and joined Hasdrubal and Syphax. Only when they were able to hire Numidian mercenaries inland, which increased the strength of the Carthaginian army to 30,000 men, did they face the Romans in 203 BC. Near Utica. Scipio decided to strike before the Carthaginian army could expand any further.
The battle
The Carthaginian army was made up of three groups: Carthaginians, the Celtiberians from the Spanish peninsula and Numidian mercenaries. Hasdrubal took command of the Numid and Celtiberians, while Syphax led the main army, the Carthaginians. In the middle of the great plain that was to become the battlefield, the Celts were placed, the Numidians and Carthaginians, especially their cavalry , came on their wings as usual . On the opposite side, the Roman legions had been formed in Scipio's new constellation : the Hastati in front, behind them the Principes and the Triarians as the rear meeting. It was the first attempt with this tactic newly developed by Scipio. The numerically large cavalry of the Romans was also posted on the wings, somewhat removed from the main army.
At the beginning of the battle, the Carthaginians stormed forward, but the attack was caught by the Roman cavalry. Surprised by the unexpected intervention of the horsemen in the battle, the Numidians and Carthaginians offered little resistance and then fled. When Scipio's riders wanted to smash the core of the army, however, the Celtiberians put up bitter resistance, and the spearmen in particular inflicted considerable losses on the cavalrymen. As a result, the horsemen turned away and the Roman infantry, under the command of Gaius Laelius , advanced. They tried to outflank the Celtiberians by attacking on a broad front with the first two encounters . The disciplined legionaries were far superior to the Celts in close combat. After a while the mercenaries wanted to surrender to the Romans. Angry about the high losses, however, Scipio had them put down without exception, only a handful managed to escape.
The Roman cavalry pursued the refugees, but Syphax escaped and fled to his kingdom in Numidia. Hasdrubal Gisko came with a small group of horsemen to Carthage , where he was then 202 BC. Committed suicide.
consequences
After this battle, Scipio seized the city of Tunis . From here he could cut the connections between Carthage and the interior of the country. In Carthage the peace party gained the upper hand. Thirty members of the Carthaginian Senate threw themselves in the dust in front of the Roman general and put all the blame for the war on Hannibal. As a result, the Carthaginians had to make a very unfavorable peace with the Romans. Scipio demanded the extradition of all prisoners of war, the evacuation of Italy, Gaul and Spain, the extradition of the entire fleet except for twenty ships, war compensation of 5000 talents and the supply of the Roman troops until the ratification of the peace treaty.
Scipio Africanus had his army camped in the area and fed by the locals. The last Carthaginian army had been defeated with the Battle of the Great Fields, only Hannibal was undefeated. This event was followed by the Battle of Zama .
literature
- Adrian Goldsworthy : The Fall of Carthage - The Punic Wars 265–146 BC Chr. Phoenix, 2006, ISBN 978-0-3043-6642-2 , pages 295-298
- BH Warmington: Carthage. The rise and fall of a world power . Title of the original English edition: Carthago . Robert Hale Ltd., London 1960. Translation from English by Paul Baudisch. FA Brockhaus, Wiesbaden 1964, p. 227 ff.