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37:37
Transcript
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- [Narrator] This video was
made possible by Incogni.
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Don't make me mention it a third time,
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or I'll you know what.
0:18
(ominous music)
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0:21
(dramatic music)
0:22
Hannibal's army
0:23
had survived its famous
crossing of the Alps,
0:26
and he was now in Italy.
0:28
With Hannibal's arrival,
the Roman Consul Scipio
0:31
hit the ground running.
0:33
In typical Roman fashion
he marched his army
0:35
straight at the enemy, and
Hannibal began preparing
0:39
for his first combat with
Rome on Italian soil.
0:43
Before the battle, Hannibal
wanted to inspire his men,
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0:46
so he staged a gladiatorial death match
0:49
between captured Celt prisoners
0:51
with the winner getting
prizes and freedom.
0:55
He then explained that the
whole thing was a metaphor.
0:58
"A metaphor, for what?"
1:01
"You, these warriors are you.
1:04
You're trapped in Italy with no escape.
1:06
Your only choice now is to fight and win."
1:10
"What about the dead guy?"
1:11
"That's you if you don't win."
1:13
"And the prizes?"
1:14
"That's what you stand
to gain by winning."
1:16
"And the fact that I've soiled myself
1:18
in all this excitement?"
1:19
"That, no, that's not
part of the metaphor."
1:24
"Okay."
1:25
Hannibal also smashed
in the head of a goat,
1:27
again for inspiration.
1:29
Scipio, on the other hand,
now arriving in the area,
1:32
opted for the more classic route
1:34
of a rousing pre-battle speech.
1:37
"Look at the men.
1:38
Weak, starved by the Alps,
1:41
while we are the strongest
military in the world.
1:44
This will be easy.
1:46
Like 10,000 horse-sized ducks
fighting a baby sized baby.
1:51
It'll be like Mike Tyson in
his prime, kicking a baby.
1:54
A tug of war between 10
sumo wrestlers and, uh,
1:58
help me out here, Ralph."
1:59
"A baby, sir."
2:00
"Yes, yes, that's it, a baby.
2:03
The point is, there is
absolutely no possible way
2:06
we could lose a battle this easy.
2:09
So if everybody's ready
on my mark, charge."
2:14
(Roman soldiers yelling)
2:21
(Roman soldiers screaming)
2:24
The Battle of Ticinus was over
2:27
almost as soon as it had begun,
2:29
as the Romans found themselves
completely outmatched
2:32
by Hannibal's famed lightning
fast Numidian cavalry,
2:36
a key element in Hannibal's devastating
2:39
double envelopment tactics.
2:41
In the chaos, Scipio was wounded.
2:44
Thankfully, according
to some ancient writers,
2:47
his handsome 17-year-old
son, Scipio the Younger,
2:51
saw his father fall.
2:52
Scipio the Younger,
supposedly saved his father,
2:55
and in the process earned
himself a lot of daddy's kisses.
2:59
The Romans ended up fleeing the area,
3:02
destroying the bridge
behind them as they went.
3:05
For a nation so overtly
confident in victory,
3:08
believing Hannibal to be an easy kill,
3:11
the Romans found themselves running away
3:13
with their tail between their legs.
3:15
It was humiliating.
3:18
And do you know who thought so as well?
3:20
The Celts.
3:21
They began flocking to Hannibal's
side just as he had hoped.
3:26
Even Celtic troops fighting
for Rome in the Roman camp
3:29
began to reconsider.
3:31
"Man, I'm thinking we should
try to join Hannibal."
3:34
"I hear you, maybe we
should bring him a gift.
3:36
What do you think he'd like?"
3:38
"Hmm,
3:40
oh, I know."
3:41
"Hey, Hannibal, we wanna join your side
3:43
and we brought you a present."
3:45
"A gift for me?
3:47
I hope it's Roman heads."
3:49
Oh, please, oh, please be Roman heads.
3:55
How did you know?"
3:56
Running away from Hannibal
was humiliating enough,
3:59
but having dozens of Romans
beheaded in the night.
4:02
Now that's embarrassing.
4:05
Ticinus had been a
relatively small battle,
4:08
but the psychological impact
it had early on was huge.
4:12
And it was only just a taste
4:14
of what Hannibal was capable of.
4:16
Despite the shocking
initial loss, however,
4:19
Rome still didn't seem to
fully understand the danger
4:22
posed by the monster now
loose in their territory.
4:25
The Senate was full of excuses.
4:28
"It's those traitorous
Celts, that's why we lost.
4:31
"Yeah, and it was a cavalry battle,
4:33
wait until Hannibal faces
our almighty legions."
4:36
"And our Consul was bald,
4:37
once he faces our other
fully follicled Consul
4:40
then he'll really pee his pants."
4:42
That other Consul, Longus
4:44
had been in the south all this time,
4:46
preparing to invade Africa.
4:48
He had seen some success
even capturing Malta,
4:51
but then he heard the news,
4:54
"Hannibal's in Italy, and
I'm being ordered home.
4:57
But, but I was gonna be the big boy.
4:59
I was gonna invade
Carthage and win the war."
5:02
"Well, you can be a big boy at home."
5:04
"No."
5:04
"Does somebody need a nap, sir?"
5:06
"No, no, no!"
5:10
And so Longus brought his army
on the long journey north,
5:14
when he arrived in the area
5:15
to decisively neutralize Hannibal.
5:18
The two Consuls joined
their forces together,
5:20
creating a double consular army.
5:23
But the two Consuls weren't
exactly on the same page,
5:26
"Having a nice rest there, old man?"
5:28
"I'm wounded, Longus."
5:30
"Pathetic."
5:31
"You don't understand.
5:32
He's more dangerous than we thought."
5:34
"Maybe for you, whoops."
5:36
"Listen, we can't just march
5:37
straight at him like we normally do.
5:39
We need to train our
man through the winter
5:41
and we'll try again in spring."
5:42
"Sorry, I don't take advice
from a bowling bowl."
5:45
"H-hey, I'll kick your ass, Longus."
5:48
"Any day now."
5:49
"I'm coming, just you wait."
5:51
"Oh, Scipio, you feeble old man."
5:54
(Longus screeches)
5:55
Scipio was apparently quite cautious
5:57
after his recent encounter with Hannibal,
5:59
while Longus, typically Roman,
6:01
couldn't wait to give Hannibal a swirly.
6:04
So who would get their way?
6:06
Well, when two Consuls
joined their forces,
6:09
it turned out the Romans had
an interesting system in place.
6:13
They would each take turns
being the one in charge.
6:15
Consul one would lead one
day, then Consul two the next,
6:20
back and forth, back and forth.
6:22
As you can imagine, when the
two Consuls didn't agree,
6:25
things didn't go so well.
6:27
In this case, due to Scipio's injury,
6:29
Longus probably assumed even
more command than normal.
6:33
Hannibal had Celtic
spies in the Roman camp.
6:36
He fully understood the Roman system
6:38
and Longus's hotheaded nature,
6:40
and he knew he could exploit it.
6:43
"For goodness sake."
6:44
"What's wrong, sir?"
6:45
"I'm trying to order some pizza,
6:46
but I keep getting fed
all these personalized ads
6:49
about being a hothead.
6:50
I'm not a hothead, am I?"
6:51
"No, sir."
6:52
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Who would buy butt insurance?"
6:57
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6:59
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They could sell that data to Hannibal."
7:04
"What?"
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8:42
Now, where were we?
8:43
Oh yeah, Roman heads, a double
consular army and a hothead.
8:50
Hannibal needed to keep
smashing the Romans in battle
8:53
in order to maintain the
loyalty of the Celts.
8:55
And so he was eager to
fight another battle.
8:59
The combined Roman force
possibly outnumbered him.
9:02
So he carefully crafted a clever trap,
9:05
and he made sure to spring it,
9:06
while Longus was still in charge.
9:08
The plan began with his army
getting an early night's sleep.
9:12
"All right, boys, time for lights out."
9:15
(Carthaginian soldiers whine)
9:16
"Sorry, but we got a big day ahead of us.
9:18
Tomorrow we're gonna massacre the Romans."
9:22
(Carthaginian soldiers cheer)
9:23
"Goodnight boys, dream of revenge."
9:26
(door clicks)
9:27
"Gorzog, send out the cavalry."
9:30
(dramatic music)
9:33
That night, Hannibal's Numidian cavalry
9:35
made their way over to the Roman camp
9:37
arriving just before dawn.
9:39
"Hey, Romans, wakey, wakey."
9:42
"What, what the, what's going on?"
9:45
"Hey, Longus, your butt
smells like a butt."
9:48
"It does not.
9:49
Scipio, awaken the troops."
9:51
"Longus, these playground insults
9:53
are clearly meant to lure you out."
9:55
"Well, it's working, send out the troops."
9:57
"Longus, it's clearly a trap."
9:59
"And I'm falling for it,
send out the troops."
10:02
"Hey guys, wake up, you're
heading out for battle."
10:05
"What?
10:06
But we haven't had breakfast."
10:07
"We're skipping breakfast."
10:09
"I don't think you can do that."
10:11
As the Romans hurried out of camp,
10:13
the Numidians began luring them back
10:14
to the Carthaginian camp,
where these gentle angels
10:18
were just awakening from their slumber.
10:21
"Eat up boys we're having pancakes."
10:24
(Carthaginian soldiers cheer)
10:26
While the Carthaginians
10:27
were enjoying their hearty breakfast.
10:29
The starving Romans
were still on their way.
10:33
"Hurry up, we have to
catch those Numidians.
10:35
Hey, why have you stopped marching?"
10:37
"Longus, there's a freezing
river in front of us."
10:40
"Well get your gluteus
maximus in the water."
10:44
(Roman soldiers yelling)
10:47
"All right, boys, time to lather up.
10:49
This oil will insulate you from the cold.
10:51
It also smells like lavender."
10:53
(Carthaginian soldiers hum)
10:55
"There's the Carthaginian
camp, get ready to fight men."
10:59
"Sir, I take the water from the river
11:02
is beginning to ice over.
11:04
I can't move."
11:05
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, you
thought war would be fun.
11:08
Sitting around a nice hot campfire
11:10
playing truth or dare with your friends?
11:11
Welcome to the real world."
11:13
"Truth."
11:14
"Who do you like?"
11:16
"Sharon."
11:17
"Ew."
11:20
"Hey, look, guys, the Romans are here."
11:22
(Roman soldiers shivering)
11:25
Having perfectly orchestrated events
11:28
so that his enemy was
cold, tired, and hungry,
11:30
while his men were well
rested and covered in oil.
11:34
When the two sides engaged one another,
11:36
the Romans were in no condition to fight.
11:39
And the cherry on top?
11:41
The previous night, Hannibal had sent out
11:43
an elite force of men led by his brother
11:45
to go and hide behind a bush.
11:47
They suddenly sprung out
encircling the exhausted Romans
11:51
who were then cut to pieces.
11:54
Once again, Hannibal's superior cavalry
11:56
and double envelopment tactics
had flummoxed the Romans.
12:00
But the key word at Trebia was control.
12:03
Hannibal used his intel on the enemy
12:05
and the environment of the battlefield
12:07
to carefully control the
conditions of battle,
12:10
creating lots of little
advantages for himself
12:13
that paved the way to success.
12:15
And concealing troops for an ambush?
12:17
All of these things are what make Hannibal
12:19
the genius he's remembered as today.
12:22
As for Longus, he managed
to escape the battlefield
12:25
with a small number of troops.
12:27
Disgraced, he didn't want this Senate
12:29
to find out what had happened,
12:31
and he began obscuring
communications back to Rome.
12:35
"Longus, where have you been?
12:37
We've been looking for you."
12:38
"Uh, nowhere in particular."
12:40
"Longus, 30,000 men are missing.
12:42
Do you know where they are?"
12:44
"Uh, they're taking a bath."
12:46
"30,000 men, all in a bath."
12:49
"Yes."
12:50
"Longus, what's under that rug?"
12:52
(flies buzzing)
12:53
"Aurora Borealis."
12:55
"Aurora Borealis?
12:58
Oh."
(alarm beeps)
12:59
"Well, that's my consulship over.
13:01
Good luck with Hannibal, bye."
13:03
Trebia had been a disaster for the Romans.
13:07
And as even more Celts
began flocking to Hannibal,
13:10
Rome largely lost its
control over Cisalpine Gaul.
13:14
In Rome, complacency turned to alarm.
13:17
Hannibal had outwitted
them on their own soil
13:20
and inflicted a costly defeat.
13:22
But with that,
13:23
Scipio and Longus's terms
as Consul were over.
13:27
They were replaced with two new Consuls,
13:29
Servilius and Flaminius.
13:31
The Romans may now have begun to realize
13:34
the trouble they were in,
13:35
and the genius Hannibal had
shown in invading Italy.
13:39
The Romans had expected to be
the ones controlling this war.
13:43
Remember, they thought they
were going to invade Carthage.
13:46
Now their plans lay in ruins,
13:49
and they were levying 11 new legions
13:51
to deal with the threat,
13:53
Hannibal had completely redefined the war.
13:56
But Hannibal had a little
problem of his own.
13:59
Things had gone well so far,
14:01
but the Celts were notoriously fickle.
14:03
And Hannibal needed to ensure
he maintained their alliance
14:06
and his base of support in Italy.
14:08
Any Celts he captured fighting for Rome
14:10
he treated extremely well
14:12
and allowed them to return to their homes.
14:14
But the longer he hung
around in their territory,
14:16
eating all their food
14:18
and leaving beard
trimmings in their sinks,
14:20
the more resentful they may become.
14:22
They wanted to go south and
plunder some Roman booty.
14:25
And Hannibal also hoped to sway
14:27
Rome's other Italian allies
in the south to his side.
14:30
So from here, the path was clear.
14:33
Hannibal had to move south.
14:35
Just one problem.
14:37
There were two main routes
14:39
Hannibal could take to move south.
14:41
And wouldn't you know it?
14:42
That's exactly where the
two new Roman Consuls
14:45
had taken fortified positions.
14:47
If Hannibal tried to move on them,
14:49
he'd be fighting from a
disadvantaged position
14:51
and could be bottled in.
14:53
"There is a third option."
14:54
"Ooh, tell me, tell me."
14:56
"We could move through this
vast, impassable marshland
14:58
flooded with dirty, stinky
disease infested water
15:00
that at times would come up to our necks."
15:02
"But there's no way we
would attempt that, right?
15:05
That it'd be crazy, right?
15:07
(playful music)
15:11
Hannibal?"
15:12
Hannibal's four day trek
across the Arno marshlands
15:14
was hell on Earth,
15:16
almost as crazy as when
he crossed the Alps.
15:19
Imagine three full days
unable to sit or lie down
15:22
because there's nowhere
to sit or lie down.
15:24
Meaning four full days without sleep
15:27
slugging through heavy mud.
15:29
You contract cholera.
15:30
Your foot falls off
15:31
and Jimbob directly in front of you
15:33
won't stop pooping in your path.
15:35
In fact, everybody's pooping in your path.
15:38
Some delirious sleepless
men would see clumps of mud
15:41
and say, "Man, I could
just sink into that."
15:44
And then they would.
15:46
When Pack animals died,
15:47
it gave nearby men a chance to rest,
15:49
but only for a few moments
15:51
before they were whipped back into line.
15:53
Even Hannibal himself couldn't
escape the torture of it.
15:56
"Hey, Hannibal, if we see
a Starbucks, can we stop?
15:59
I need to take a leak."
16:01
(Carthaginian soldiers screaming)
16:06
"What?"
16:07
"Geez, Hannibal looks like you picked up
16:08
a nasty eye infection.
16:10
Normally for this sort of thing,
16:11
we'd just wash it out
with some clean water.
16:12
But as you can see, water everywhere,
16:15
but it's full of Jimbob's poop."
16:16
"No worries, doc, I'll just
take care of it myself."
16:21
(Carthaginian soldiers gasp)
16:24
"That'll be $3,000."
16:25
When the now possibly one-eyed Hannibal
16:27
and his army emerged from the
swamp, they were shattered.
16:30
But he had just managed to slip 50,000 men
16:34
right past the Romans
into Rich Etrurian lands
16:38
where he could replenish his supplies
16:40
and his Celt allies could go crazy
16:43
securing Roman loot and booty.
16:45
As fields and villages went up in flames,
16:48
one Roman Consul couldn't help but notice.
16:50
The hotheaded Flaminius,
16:52
feeling it was his responsibility
to protect these lands.
16:56
Rather than waiting for his
co-consul to come join him,
16:58
immediately left to go chase Hannibal.
17:02
Now this Flaminius was
an interesting character.
17:05
He was what the Romans called a new man.
17:08
He came from the lower plebeian
classes of Roman society,
17:11
and as a result, he reportedly had
17:13
kind of a screw you attitude
to the establishment
17:16
and a big old, arrogant
chip on his shoulder.
17:19
Picture Sid Vicious wearing
a toga, that's Flaminius.
17:23
And Hannibal, thanks to
his spies, knew everything.
17:28
Just as with Longus,
Hannibal knew Flaminius
17:30
was just the kind of man
he could lure into a trap.
17:34
Hannibal led Flaminius to
the entrance of a narrow pass
17:38
along the north shore of Lake Trasimene.
17:40
Flaminius watched as Hannibal's
army entered the pass.
17:44
"I've done it, I've spotted the enemy."
17:47
"Uh, sir, that big "Follow us" sign
17:50
seems kinda like they're
trying to lure you in."
17:52
"Yes, Gareth, and I'm taking the bait."
17:55
"Sir, this really seems like a trap."
17:57
"Yes, Gareth, and I'm falling for it."
18:00
Daylight was fading, so for
now, the Romans set up camp.
18:03
The two armies encamped across
the lake from one another
18:06
and night fell over the two camps.
18:10
In the morning, Flaminius
would catch up to Hannibal
18:13
and he would be the hero of Rome.
18:16
For now, the Romans got nice
and comfy in their beds.
18:21
Goodnight, Flaminius.
18:22
Good night, Rome.
18:25
Good evening, Hannibal.
18:27
During the night, Hannibal
ordered total stealth
18:30
(Flaminius snoring)
18:34
as tens of thousands of troops
18:37
(Roman soldiers snoring)
18:41
scaled the wooded hills above the pass,
18:43
(Roman soldiers snoring)
18:46
completely undetected by Rome's scouts.
18:49
(Flaminius snoring)
18:53
(upbeat music)
18:56
"Let's go girls."
18:57
Flaminius took off across the lake shore
19:00
to try to catch Hannibal.
19:02
As he did, even the weather
seemed to be on Hannibal's side.
19:06
A thick fog rose from
the surface of the lake
19:09
obscuring visibility.
19:11
"Look at this, this is perfect.
19:14
The mist will obscure our approach.
19:16
Hannibal will never see me coming."
19:18
(battle horns blast)
19:22
"Sir, why does it sound
like 50,000 Carthaginians
19:25
are charging down the hill towards us?
19:27
"You mean 50,000 Carthaginians
19:29
are charging right into my trap."
19:31
(Carthaginian soldiers yelling)
19:33
The Romans found themselves
19:34
completely hemmed in on all sides.
19:37
With zero visibility in the fog,
19:39
the fighting was terrifying and chaotic.
19:42
Troops were pushed into the
lake in their heavy armor
19:45
where they were either
cut down or drowned.
19:48
And Flaminius, who likely
stood out like a sore thumb
19:51
in his Consul attire caught the attention
19:53
of one Celt warrior.
19:55
With his head possibly
swirling with thoughts
19:58
of how the Romans had
decimated his homeland.
20:01
According to the ancient writers,
this Celt took his chance.
20:08
(triumphant music)
20:13
In the three hour long massacre,
15,000 Romans were killed,
20:18
and an equal number captured.
20:20
An entire army completely wiped out
20:23
along with their Consul.
20:25
During the battle, the Roman vanguard
20:27
had managed to break through at the front
20:29
and climb the hill above the fog.
20:31
When the mist cleared, what
they saw was a blood red lake
20:36
and a sea of Roman bodies.
20:40
Worse yet, when the other
consuls sent cavalry
20:43
to try to aid Flaminius's doomed legions,
20:45
they too were caught and defeated.
20:48
A double disaster.
20:53
(senators screaming)
20:55
Rome went into a frenzy.
20:58
For the second time, Hannibal
had completely decimated
21:01
an entire Roman army.
21:03
Romans were dying by
the tens of thousands.
21:06
Common citizens began flocking
to the city for safety.
21:10
Women waited by the city gates in tears,
21:13
hoping to hear news of loved ones.
21:15
This one man, having just led
21:17
his battered army across
the Alps the previous year
21:20
now stood less than a
hundred miles from Rome.
21:24
To this point, he had been a problem.
21:27
Now Hannibal was a crisis.
21:32
And in a crisis, Rome
took desperate measures.
21:36
They actually had a system in place
21:38
when dealing with an
emergency of this magnitude.
21:41
They would forego their two
Consul power sharing system,
21:44
and instead, temporarily give one man
21:47
near total power and authority
21:50
to be as decisive as he needed
21:52
and hopefully salvage the situation.
21:54
This all powerful position
in Rome's government
21:57
had a name, dictator.
22:00
It's actually where we get the word.
22:02
But unlike modern dictators,
22:04
Roman ones didn't score
perfect rounds of golf
22:07
or ride bears through the Siberian Tundra.
22:09
They held their power for just six months
22:11
before they were required to give it up.
22:14
And in Rome's hour of need,
22:16
the man chosen to be dictator in 217 BC,
22:20
one of the most highly esteemed
members of the Roman Senate,
22:24
Fabius Maximus.
22:26
So how would Fabius as
dictator confront Hannibal?
22:30
Well, Fabius understood
22:31
that marching all of Rome's young men
22:33
straight into a one-man meat
grinder was bleeding Rome dry.
22:37
Hannibal was clearly too dangerous
22:39
to face head on in battle.
22:41
However, he was also
stuck in their territory
22:44
with dwindling manpower and
forced to live off the land.
22:48
It wasn't a sustainable
position to be in long term,
22:51
and he could only remain
there for so long.
22:54
So if Rome avoided battle with Hannibal
22:57
to prevent any more crippling losses,
22:59
and instead simply maneuvered
around him, blocking supplies
23:03
and taking out smaller
contingents where possible
23:05
Hannibal would gradually become weaker
23:08
while they would
gradually become stronger.
23:11
And so Fabius presented his
new idea to the Roman Senate.
23:15
"Okay, guys, I have an idea.
23:18
See if you can follow me here, okay?
23:20
Instead of fighting
Hannibal when he approaches,
23:23
we run away."
23:27
(senators booing)
23:31
Fabius's strategy couldn't
have been any less Roman.
23:35
Romans were meant to march
headfirst into battle,
23:37
not run away from it.
23:39
It seemed cowardly and Fabius
was extremely unpopular.
23:44
At this point, Hannibal
was continuing south.
23:47
He had to stay on the
move to keep his army fed,
23:49
and he was still aiming
23:50
to undermine Rome's
alliances in the south.
23:53
As he went in a calculated
display of aggression,
23:56
he devastated the Roman
countryside and killed many Romans,
24:00
all in plain sight of Fabius and his army.
24:03
"We're just gonna stand here?"
24:05
"Yes."
24:06
"Are you a coward?"
24:07
"No."
24:08
"But Fabius, that's my farm."
24:10
"Well, MacDonald, thank
you for your sacrifice.
24:13
You're a hero now.
24:14
Think of the stories you'll tell."
24:16
"Old McDonald had a farm." (cries)
24:22
"Shut up."
24:23
But you know who else
hated Fabius's strategy?
24:26
Hannibal.
24:27
He understood the danger he was in.
24:30
Turning Rome's allies against her,
24:32
required Hannibal to keep
smashing the Romans in battle.
24:35
He couldn't do that if
Fabius wouldn't fight him.
24:38
Multiple times, Hannibal tried
to goad Fabius into a fight,
24:42
but Fabius wouldn't bite.
24:44
Failing that he tried to
turn room against Fabius.
24:48
According to the writer, Livy,
24:49
he burned down all the farms he could.
24:52
But any farm he learned
was owned by Fabius himself
24:55
he left well alone.
24:56
"Hey, Fabius, why isn't
he burning down your farm?
25:00
You got some sort of a
secret deal with him."
25:03
"What, of course not."
25:04
"Hey, Hannibal!"
25:06
"What?"
25:07
"Burn my farm too, please."
25:09
"What?"
25:11
"Burn my farm too, please."
25:14
"No, remember our secret deal."
25:20
(sighs) Well, you gotta
admit he's a genius.
25:23
Hannibal's problem, however,
25:24
was that he had to stay on the move
25:26
to keep supplying his
army from the local lands.
25:29
At one point, he entered Campania,
25:31
one of the richest regions of
Italy, great for resupplying
25:34
and great for showing up Fabius
25:36
in front of Rome's south Italian allies.
25:39
But he was caught in a valley,
25:41
and Fabius quickly moved
to block his escapes.
25:44
"Ha ha, we've got him.
25:46
After he's used up
25:47
all the valley's supplies, he'll starve."
25:50
"Uh, sir, what are all those
lights leaving the valley?
25:53
Is he trying to escape?"
25:54
"Lights in plain view?
25:57
Well, that's a trap if
I've ever seen one."
25:59
"And we're falling for it."
26:01
Suspecting a trap,
Fabius refused to budge.
26:04
But other Romans in the valley
rushed to confront Hannibal,
26:07
only to find the Carthaginian army
26:09
was actually just a herd of oxen
26:11
with torches tied to their heads.
26:13
They then found themselves
caught in an ambush.
26:16
With the Romans distracted Hannibal's army
26:19
was able to slip away
into the night unopposed.
26:23
Classic Hannibal.
26:25
For all his inaction,
the dissatisfied Romans
26:27
mockingly dubbed him Fabius the Delayer.
26:31
But the thing is, Fabius's strategy
26:33
was probably the best
thing he could have done.
26:35
He was right that constant
encounters with Hannibal
26:38
were bleeding Rome dry.
26:40
And the time he took allowed
Rome some breathing room
26:43
to recover their forces when
they desperately needed to
26:46
while putting Hannibal
26:47
into an increasingly
more difficult position.
26:50
Modern historians view Fabius's strategy
26:53
as generally a good idea.
26:55
To this day, the act of
not engaging an enemy,
26:58
but instead gradually wearing them down
27:01
is still referred to
as the Fabian strategy.
27:05
But when Fabius's term
finally came to an end,
27:08
the Senate couldn't have been happier.
27:11
It was time to start fighting again.
27:13
However, they probably had a little chat
27:16
about how they were gonna go about it.
27:18
See, Hannibal's tactics up
until now had been very sneaky.
27:22
Or if you're a Roman, you
might say dishonorable.
27:26
"I'm sick of it.
27:28
Every time we try to take this guy down,
27:30
we march straight at him.
27:31
But then, oh, no,
Hannibal's hiding in a bush.
27:35
Hannibal's got 30,000 men up a tree.
27:38
At this point, I'm not convinced my wife
27:40
isn't just Hannibal wearing a disguise."
27:42
(senator's wife coos)
27:44
(senator shudders)
27:45
"Look, this time we obviously
have to switch something up.
27:48
Now, granted, we're Roman,
27:50
so we're gonna march straight
at him without thinking.
27:53
That can't be helped, it's in our blood.
27:55
But I have a proposition.
27:59
This time when we march straight at him,
28:01
we do it with a massive army.
28:04
I'm talking like 80,000 men.
28:06
It won't matter what kind
of shenanigans he pulls.
28:09
He can hide in all the bushes he wants.
28:11
There's no way he can
possibly beat off 80,000 men."
28:17
(senators laughing)
28:18
"Grow up, you know what I mean."
28:19
And so it was with two new Consuls
28:22
Rome put together a massive army.
28:25
The biggest Rome had ever fielded
28:27
to put Hannibal away once and for all.
28:30
To gather them in required,
two thirds of them
28:33
ended up being completely inexperienced.
28:35
But how much experienced does it take
28:37
to be expendable war fodder?
28:39
As this massive army set
out in the summer of 216 BC
28:43
the Romans knew they
needed to win this battle.
28:47
Just one victory over Hannibal
28:49
would likely be enough to
end his entire campaign.
28:52
And this time, their overwhelming manpower
28:55
gave them confidence they could do it.
28:57
Hannibal had taken position
at the town of Cannae
29:00
where he had captured an
important Roman Supply depot.
29:03
With Fabius gone, Hannibal knew
29:05
the battle was likely coming,
29:07
and he was eager to fight it on his terms.
29:10
But when his men looked
out at the Roman camp,
29:13
they couldn't believe
what they were seeing.
29:16
"That army's huge.
29:18
There's no way we can possibly
beat off all these men.
29:20
How are we gonna beat
off all of these men?"
29:22
"Heh, heh."
29:23
"You know what I mean."
29:24
"I think he's right, Hannibal."
29:26
Hannibal is then said to have replied,
29:28
"Gisco, my friend, don't worry.
29:31
There may be a lot of them,
but amongst their ranks,
29:34
there's not a single man named Gisco."
29:37
This joke was apparently so funny
29:40
that his officers began
to laugh and laugh.
29:43
And when his men in the
camp heard the laughter,
29:45
they were like, "Hey, they're laughing.
29:47
I guess that means we're
gonna win the battle."
29:50
(Carthaginian soldiers cheer)
29:52
As for the Romans, the
Consuls were another pairing
29:55
between an inexperienced
hothead and a wise scholar.
29:58
Although the main historian from this era
30:00
was good friends with Paullus's family,
30:03
so take that with a grain of salt.
30:05
On his day of command,
the rash and hasty Varro,
30:08
despite the apparent pleas from Paullus
30:11
sent the army out for battle.
30:12
And when Hannibal saw
this, he did the same.
30:16
And here comes the single largest battle
30:19
of the Second Punic War
30:21
and one of the most
renowned battles in history.
30:24
The infamous Battle of Cannae.
30:28
In all the pre battle maneuvering,
30:30
Hannibal was able to ensure his army
30:32
was fighting from the south.
30:34
This meant the seasonal dust
carrying winds were to his back
30:37
and blowing directly into
the faces of the Romans.
30:41
Like I said, control.
30:43
After two years in Italy,
Hannibal's infantry
30:46
had dwindled to about 40,000.
30:48
The Romans possibly
outnumbered him two to one.
30:52
Their army was so big
30:53
that their maniple stretched far deeper
30:55
than they normally would.
30:57
The Romans plan to charge
Hannibal's thin weak line
31:00
like a battering ram and break it.
31:02
They also chose a narrow battlefield
31:04
in the hopes it would prevent
31:06
Hannibal's far superior cavalry
31:08
from being able to outmaneuver them.
31:10
They wanted an honorable
battle where pure strength,
31:13
rather than trickery,
would decide the outcome.
31:16
If Hannibal had his say, however,
31:18
trickery might end up
having a lot to do with it.
31:21
He ordered his line
31:23
to position themselves as an outward bulge
31:25
with his weakest troops
at the very center.
31:28
Just behind them out of
sight from the Romans,
31:31
stood the elite Libyan infantry
31:33
waiting for their moment to strike.
31:36
The battle commenced as
the massive Roman troops
31:39
smashed into the Carthaginian center.
31:42
The shape of Hannibal's line
31:44
ensured the overwhelming
weight of the Romans
31:46
hit his weakest troops first,
31:48
and they were pushed back.
31:51
Hannibal's outward bulge reversed inward
31:54
with the Romans being funneled
in towards the weak center.
31:57
Hannibal had positioned
himself at the center
32:00
to encourage the troops to hold out
32:02
as long as possible against
the Roman onslaught,
32:05
because while the Romans
32:06
were on leashing carnage on the center,
32:08
Hannibal's cavalry needed
time to do their job.
32:12
The heavy cavalry on the left
32:14
after a barbaric fight sent
the Roman horse packing
32:17
with the Consul Paullus
32:19
even sustaining a severe head injury.
32:21
He managed to move into the
center to keep the battle going.
32:25
Then the heavy cavalry turned
32:27
and approached Varro's
cavalry from behind.
32:30
At the first sight of the
coming Carthaginian envelopment
32:33
Varro ordered his horsemen
to flee the battlefield,
32:37
the Carthaginians had
won the cavalry battle.
32:40
But back in the center,
according to some accounts,
32:43
Hannibal's line did
eventually end up caving
32:46
to the massive weight of the
Romans, and they began to flee.
32:51
The Romans pushed deeper
32:53
and organization within
the army likely broke down,
32:56
as they became a giant mass
32:58
trying to massacre the
fleeing Carthaginians.
33:01
They didn't realize
33:03
that they were playing
right into Hannibal's hands.
33:07
At that moment, Hannibal's elite units
33:10
having done no fighting yet,
and therefore fresh as a daisy
33:14
turned and smashed into the Roman sides.
33:16
Many of these troops were
wearing Roman helmets and armor
33:19
they had picked up after previous battles,
33:21
and the confused Romans
may not have even realized
33:24
they were the enemy.
33:26
As Hannibal managed to regain
the composure of his center
33:30
and encourage them back into the fight,
33:32
the Carthaginian cavalry
swooped in from behind.
33:36
And look at what lies before you.
33:39
A military general's wet dream
33:42
the total encirclement
of a much larger force
33:45
by a much smaller force.
33:47
The Romans were trapped.
33:50
Hannibal had unbelievably managed to use
33:53
their own superiority
in numbers against them,
33:56
rather than simply encircling them,
33:58
he had actually allowed them
to use their own immense power
34:03
and push themselves into
an encircled position.
34:07
This was the genius of Cannae
34:11
And with that, the annihilation began.
34:16
For hours the Carthaginians
34:18
slaughtered the helpless
Romans from all sides.
34:21
The terrified Romans were so
tightly packed that at times
34:25
they couldn't even lift their
arms to defend themselves.
34:28
The killing went on so
long that the Carthaginians
34:32
became exhausted from
the nonstop massacre.
34:35
And by the time the
butchery came to an end,
34:38
the grim toll spoke for itself.
34:41
To Hannibal several thousand lost.
34:43
The Romans suffered 60 to
80,000 dead or captured.
34:49
Yet another entire army
wiped out by Hannibal.
34:54
Many high-ranking Romans
met their end at Cannae.
34:57
Paullus for one, but also
80 senators and more.
35:01
It's been estimated that 20%
35:05
of Rome's male population,
aged 18 to 50 died at Cannae.
35:10
This was it, Hannibal's vengeance.
35:14
The stunned Carthaginians
35:16
as they searched for their
own survivors among the dead,
35:19
couldn't believe the sight of it.
35:21
An estimated 30,000 gallons of blood
35:24
now lay spilled on the battlefield.
35:28
Rome's defeat at Cannae sent
shockwaves throughout Italy.
35:32
Just as Hannibal had hoped,
35:34
most of southern Italy
now defected to his side,
35:38
including the second largest
city on the peninsula.
35:42
"Wow, Hannibal, this is incredible.
35:45
What could possibly come next?"
35:47
"Next?
35:49
Jimbob, I've killed 150,000 Romans.
35:53
I've turned her allies against her.
35:55
That's it, that's vengeance.
35:59
So let me tell you what comes next.
36:01
Rome surrenders.
36:03
(dramatic music)
36:05
Their territories are reduced.
36:09
We recover our lost islands.
36:14
And Carthage dominates the
Mediterranean once again."
36:20
"But sir, what if they don't surrender?"
36:23
"Jimbob, did you miss what just happened?
36:25
Of course, they're gonna surrender."
36:28
Throughout his campaign
Hannibal had shown himself
36:30
to be very adept at
reading the Roman mind.
36:34
But if he now thought
that Rome might surrender,
36:37
it was the first time he
severely underestimated them.
36:41
And he was about to discover
36:42
an extremely inconvenient fact about Rome.
36:46
Rome never surrenders.
36:49
At a Roman survivor's camp near Cannae.
36:52
One young officer overheard some troops
36:55
discussing how they would flee Rome.
36:57
Drawing his sword he
threatened to cut down any man
37:01
that would abandon Rome
in its hour of need.
37:05
That officer was Scipio the Younger,
37:08
but soon enough, the Romans
would come to call him
37:11
Scipio Africanus, the hero of Rome.
37:16
(dramatic music)
— end of transcript —
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