Battle of Tunes
| date | 255 BC Chr. |
|---|---|
| place | Tunes, today's Tunis |
| output | decisive victory for the Carthaginians |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 15,000 infantry 500 cavalry |
12,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry 100 elephants |
| losses | |
|
12,000 men |
800 men |
Agrigento - Mylae - Aeolian Islands - Sulci - Tyndaris - Cape Ecnomus - Aspis - Adys - Tunes - Cape Bon - Panormus - Drepana I - Drepana II - Aegatic Islands
The Battle of Tunes (today: Tunis ) in 255 BC BC, also known as the Battle of Bagradas or Battle of the Bagradas , was a battle of the First Punic War , in which the Carthaginians under the Spartan military leader Xanthippos defeated the Roman troops under Marcus Atilius Regulus on the banks of the Bagradas River, which had landed in Africa the previous year .
Starting position
At the beginning of the year the situation for the Carthaginians looked desperate: the Romans had devastated and conquered the area around Carthage. Trying to get them 256 BC To stop at the battle of Adys , failed. Since the Romans were then able to set up their winter camp in Tunes and the Carthaginians were practically locked in their capital, they asked the Roman general Marcus Atilius Regulus for peace. However, this imposed such harsh conditions - Carthage should surrender Sardinia and Sicily, return the Roman prisoners of war without compensation, surrender their navy, be allowed to wage war only with Roman consent and pay high annual tributes - that the Carthaginians decided to keep fighting instead of theirs Losing independence. When the Spartan mercenary Xanthippos, who had been recruited together with other Greeks, promised the desperate Carthaginians to turn the tide, the city council agreed.
procedure
Xanthippos actually cared for effective preparation of the Carthaginians in the battlefield of tunes that played off the strengths of the Punic army: The cavalry he distributed on the two wings, mercenary troops were stationed on the left wing, hastily dug in the center Carthaginian and Greek hoplites , the were supported and covered by elephants placed in front of them. At first the Romans succeeded against the weaker left wing of the Carthaginians, but especially through the use of the elephants, Xanthippus was able to disrupt the Roman advance. The decisive factor, however, proved to be the superior Punic cavalry, which routed the Roman cavalry and then stabbed the legionnaires in the rear. Trapped between the horsemen and the intact Carthaginian phalanx , countless Romans were killed. A small Roman group around Marcus Atilius Regulus initially escaped the Carthaginians, but were caught up by them and imprisoned. Another group managed to make their way to Clupea and escaped with the ships there.
consequences
In fact, the Carthaginian victory meant the annihilation of the Roman landing army, which left such a lasting impression on the Romans that they only dared to land in Africa again in the Second Punic War (202 BC Battle of Zama ). Moreover, it is no coincidence that the tactics used by Xanthippos at Tunes are reminiscent of Hannibal's later actions in the battle of Cannae .