Hannibal lecter's life

Ganquan (247 BC-BC 183) was a famous Carthaginian in ancient North Africa. The era of growth coincides with the rise of ancient Rome and the strength of the country. When I was young, I marched into Spain with my father, hamilcar barca, and made a lifelong vow in front of my father to be an enemy of Rome for life. I received strict and arduous military training since I was a child and made outstanding achievements in military and diplomatic activities. Today, it is still one of the important strategists studied by many military scientists.

During the Second Punic War, he led Spanish troops across the Pyrenees and Alps, sacrificing a large number of mercenaries and entering northern Italy. In the battles of Trabia (2 18 BC), Lake TraSimeno (2 17 BC) and Canny (also known as the "Kangnai War") (2 16 BC), after the Battle of Canny, the Romans deeply felt the military threat of this man, especially in intelligence gathering and intelligence gathering. Strengthened the relationship with the Roman Union, adopted the scorched-earth strategy, blocked the supply and issuance of national debt, increased the legion, followed Hannibal's guerrilla strategy, and gradually regained the fortress in southern Italy. In 204 BC, the Romans led by Scipio Africanus invaded Carthage, forcing Hannibal to return to Africa. In 202 BC, Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal in the Battle of Zama.

After the war, Hannibal became the chief executive of Carthage and helped Carthage recover from the destruction of the war. In BC 195, under the pressure of the Romans, Hannibal left the East and went into exile in the kingdom of Seleucia. Until BC 189, Rome defeated Antioch III and demanded the extradition of Hannibal. Hannibal fled to the kingdom of Pythia in northern Asia Minor. Even so, the Romans still didn't trust Hannibal. They tried to extradite him to Rome for trial, and finally forced Hannibal to commit suicide by taking poison in BC 183.

Background and early career

After Carthage was defeated by Rome in the first Punic War, Hamilkar, the father of Hannibal? In order to improve the prospect of Carthage, hamilcar barca sent troops to conquer the Iberian Peninsula. According to the historian Livy, when Hannibal begged to walk with his father, Hamilkar made Hannibal swear in the temple that he would never be an enemy of Rome. After Hamilkar was killed in the war, his husband Haas Druba succeeded him as commander-in-chief.

Haas-Drupa-Israel diplomacy as the axis, focused on consolidating Carthage's economic and trade foundation in Iberia, established a new Carthage city, and signed a treaty with Rome, taking the Ebro River as the dividing line between the two sides, promising not to expand its influence to the north of the river. The rich mineral resources of Iberian Peninsula enabled Carthage not only to repay the war reparations to Rome, but also to grow and develop again.

Haas Druba was assassinated by the Celts in 22 1 BC. Hannibal took over the military power with the support of the army and was officially appointed by the Carthaginian government.

In the next two years, Hannibal not only consolidated his momentum, but also completed the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula south of the Ebro River. Worried about Hannibal's growing power, the Romans allied themselves with the Spanish city of Sagontum and declared it a Roman protectorate. As Saganto is far south of the Ebro River, Hannibal decided that this action violated the treaty between the two sides, so he sent troops to surround it and captured the city eight months later. Rome issued an ultimatum to Carthage, sending Hannibal to Rome for trial. Facing Hannibal's popularity at this time, the Carthaginian government not only rejected Rome's request, but also declared war on Rome, which opened the prelude to the Second Punic War. Hannibal decided to lead an army to attack the Italian peninsula and bring the war to the enemy's territory.

[Editor] The Second Punic War, Italian Campaign (218–203 BC)

The route of Hannibal's invasion of Italy was provided by the History Department of the United States Army Military Academy.

The route of Hannibal's invasion of Italy was provided by the History Department of the United States Army Military Academy.

[Editor] Invasion of Italy

After the first Punic War, Rome completely mastered the sea power of the Mediterranean, and the defeated Carthage could not build a navy that could compete with it because of the terms. Therefore, Hannibal planned an unprecedented strategy. He set out from New Carthage in the spring of 2 18 BC and led his army across the Pyrenees and through the territory of hostile Gaul. In September, he led 38,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry and 37 elephants across the Dragon River, avoiding the interception of Roman troops sent to Gaul, and arrived in the Alps in autumn.

In the face of harsh climate and steep terrain, Hannibal successfully crossed the Alps and entered northern Italy in winter to command an army with mixed national languages to fight against the constant harassment and attacks of mountain tribes. It is estimated that Hannibal lost nearly half his troops in the whole process.

[Editor] The Battle of Trabia

Battle of Trabia

Battle of Trabia

Rome originally planned to defeat the Carthaginian army in Gaul and then invade Carthage territory in Iberia and North Africa. I didn't expect Hannibal to cross the Alps and appear in the valley of the Pados River (Po River). The local Gaul tribe surrendered to Rome not long ago, and Hannibal's appearance made them out of Rome's control.

The Roman consul and commander of the expeditionary force Bourlioux Corneli Scipio, after receiving the news from Gaul, quickly transported his troops back to Italy by sea, and planned to stop Hannibal's army in the north. After a short rest and supply, Hannibal first subdued Taurini's hostile tribe and relieved the threat to the rear of his army. Later, Hannibal made good use of his cavalry advantage and forced the Roman army to withdraw from Lombardy Plain in the Po River valley near Ticino (1920).

The failure of Rome in this small-scale confrontation accelerated the local Gaul rebellion, and soon all the tribes in northern Italy fell to the Carthaginian camp. With the participation of Gaul and Ligurian mercenaries, Hannibal's army was able to replenish 40,000 people in its heyday, and the day of full-scale invasion of Italy was just around the corner.

Scipio, who suffered a crushing defeat in Ticino and was seriously injured, led the intact Roman army to retreat to the other side of the Trebia River and set up camp in plesent, waiting for reinforcements. Before the Battle of Ticino, the Roman Senate had ordered Sicilian consul Sepronnis? Rangos led his troops back to the north to meet Scipio and fight Hannibal together. After a clever March, Hannibal moved his camp to the only way for the reinforcements of Cyprus, which blocked the plan of the Roman army to join forces. However, when he subsequently attacked Dim, a neighboring Crasti, and got a lot of rations, Sepronnis took the opportunity to bypass the Carthaginian army and successfully joined forces with Scipio.

In that year1February, the two armies fought a decisive battle on the banks of the Trabia River. Hannibal fully demonstrated his extraordinary military genius, harassed the Roman barracks with cavalry, and induced the impatient Sepronius to order the whole army to attack and enter the trap set by Hannibal. Just as the confrontation between the two sides was in full swing, the ambush in Carthage poured out of the ambush and raided the flank of the Roman army. Roman soldiers were defeated, and more than one third of the whole army was killed or injured.

[Editor] Battle of Lake Tra Simeno

Battle of Lake TraSimeno, 2 17 BC. Provided by the History Department of the United States Army Military Academy.

Battle of Lake TraSimeno, 2 17 BC.

Provided by the History Department of the United States Army Military Academy.

Hannibal's victory consolidated his strength in northern Italy, and that year he camped with Gauls for the winter. As Gaul's support for him gradually declined, in the spring of 2 17 BC, he decided to go south to find a more stable base.

In order to avoid Hannibal's attack on Rome, Rome sent new consuls, Severus and Gaius Flaminius to guard the east and west roads leading to Rome. The only road to central Italy is a swamp at the mouth of the Arno River. Hannibal knew the difficulty of crossing this swamp, and was often flooded in this season, but this road is undoubtedly the nearest and most feasible choice to enter central Italy. According to Polybius's records, Hannibal's army marched in the water for four days and three nights, and then crossed the Apennines and the Arno River without hindrance. In the process, Hannibal became blind in his right eye due to conjunctivitis, and lost many soldiers and all the remaining elephants since the war.

Hannibal, who arrived in Therus, decided to lure Flamini, who was stationed in Aretiu, to fight with him, so he deliberately destroyed the surrounding farmland and manor, in order to show Rome's Italian allies that Rome could not protect them, in order to disintegrate their alliance with Rome. After all kinds of methods failed, Hannibal boldly drove the army to the left of the Roman army and cut off its road to Rome. Even so, Flamini continued to defend the city. At this time, Hannibal decided to March on Apulia, hoping Flamini would follow. Flamini finally sent troops to pursue after receiving the news of Hannibal's withdrawal. Hannibal laid an ambush on the north bank of Lake Meno in Tracy. When the Roman army marched through the narrow path of the lake, the Carthaginian army attacked it mercilessly from all sides. In this battle, the Roman army was completely annihilated, and the commander Flamini died with the army.

At this point, Hannibal removed the only obstacle that prevented him from marching into Rome, but realized that he lacked the equipment needed to attack the city. Hannibal decided to go to central and southern Italy to persuade the local insurgents to betray Rome. After the Battle of Lake TraSimeno, Hannibal declared:' I didn't come here to be an enemy of the Italians, on the contrary, I was an enemy of Rome for the freedom of the Italians.

After the fiasco at Lake TraSimeno, the Roman Senate appointed Fabius Maximus as dictator. Fabian, contrary to the tradition of Roman martial arts, ordered the army to keep a distance from Hannibal's army and restrict its action, but avoided any opportunity to confront it head-on, with the intention of consuming Hannibal's army's morale, patience and supply ability. Hannibal tried many times to lure Fabian to fight alongside him, but even though his army marched into the richest provinces of Italy, Samion and Campania, destroying and plundering along the way, Fabian only followed him from a distance and never entered a decisive battle with him. Fabian's passive tactics were extremely unpopular in Rome, and his political opponents publicly accused him of cowardice.

When Hannibal decided to leave Campania destroyed by him before winter, he found that all the retreat was blocked by the Roman army. Hannibal used a trick to convince the Roman army that he would escape from the forest. When the Roman army moved its troops, Hannibal took the way of deus ex, so that the whole army left the area unimpeded. Although Fabian was close at hand and worried about Hannibal's tricks, he chose to stay put. When Hannibal left Campania safely and found a winter base in the plains of Puglia, the news reached Rome, and Fabian's reputation was seriously frustrated. Shortly after his term ended, his military power returned to the Roman consul.

[Editor] Battle of Canny

The disintegration of the Roman army was provided by the History Department of the United States Army Academy.

The disintegration of the Roman army was provided by the History Department of the United States Army Academy.

Hannibal statue in the Louvre, Sebastian Sloth, 1704.

Hannibal statue in the Louvre, Sebastian Sloth, 1704.

In the spring of 2 16 BC, Hannibal pre-emptively captured Kannai, an important supply place for the Romans in Puglia Plain, and cut off its food supply to Rome. At this time, the Roman Senate elected two new consuls, Gaius Trentius Varo and Lucius Amill Barousse. In order to eradicate Hannibal completely, it mobilized the largest allied forces in Roman history, with an estimated number of100000.

The Roman legions eager to compete with Hannibal went south to Puglia under the leadership of two consuls. After finding him on the left bank of the O 'Fiedos River, they camped six miles away. The Romans combined the two armies into one, and the two consuls took turns to take command the next day. One of them, Farrow, is a reckless and arrogant man, and he is eager to defeat Hannibal as soon as possible. Hannibal took advantage of this feature and sent cavalry to harass Roman barracks and interfere with their water supply. When it was his turn to take power the next day, the enraged Farrow mobilized the whole army and vowed to have a showdown with Hannibal.

Hannibal lecter used his world-famous crescent-shaped tactics in this battle. At the beginning of the battle, he deployed his troops into a formation with a convex center to lure Roman troops to attack its center. In the face of the dominant Roman infantry, Hannibal's central infantry quickly retreated. There is no doubt that the treacherous Roman army poured into the middle of Carthage formation, trying to defeat its center and then copy its left and right wings. At this point, the Carthaginian army formation became a sunken crescent, surrounded the main forces of Rome, and the front began a tenacious counterattack. After defeating the Roman cavalry, Carthage's superior cavalry turned and stormed the rear of the Roman infantry. At this point, Hannibal successfully surrounded the Roman army with less troops than twice its number.

The Roman army was completely defeated. According to estimates from different sources, about 50,000 to 70,000 Romans were killed or captured in this battle. The list of the dead includes Roman consul Barousse (another consul, Farrow, successfully escaped to Rome), two former consuls, two financial officers, 29 of the commanders of the 48th Regiment of the Republic of China, and 80 members of the Senate (about 25%-30% of the members of the Roman government).

This battle became the most painful defeat in the history of ancient Rome, and it was also one of the most deadly battles in the history of the world.

After the Battle of Canny, the Roman human body will gain Fabian's wisdom, and from then on, it will never confront Hannibal directly, but adopt a passive war of attrition.

Rome's fiasco in this war shook its alliance in southern Italy, and the Greek city-states in Sicily revolted one after another. Hannibal made an alliance with the new king of Syracuse, Hieronymous. King Philip V of Macedonia in the Balkans also expressed support for Hannibal's letter and launched the first Macedonian war against Rome. Many people think that if Hannibal gets reinforcements from Carthage in manpower and equipment at this time, he is likely to successfully capture Rome.

However, it backfired. Although Kapuya, the second largest city in Italy, ran into Hannibal's camp in the same year, Hannibal took this city as his new base, and only a few Italian city-states joined his camp from beginning to end, and Rome's alliance in Italy still stood.

[editor] deadlock

The Italian war was deadlocked, and the Romans understood that the only way to defeat Hannibal was to make full use of the consumption strategy. The Romans did not give Hannibal any chance to confront him head-on, and constantly sent small troops to harass the enemy to consume Hannibal's energy and shake his morale. In the following years, Hannibal carried out a series of ineffective military operations in southern Italy.

Rely on the inefficient supply of local towns, lack of independent generals, delay in waiting for Carthage's reinforcements, unable to obtain resources that can compete with Rome, and the hope of entering Rome is getting smaller and smaller. Although Hannibal still won several remarkable victories with Rome during this period, he completely wiped out two Roman armies and killed two Roman consuls in a battle in 2 12 BC, but he could not win any key victory in the end.

[Editor] Leave Italy

In 2 12 BC, Hannibal captured Tallinn, but failed to capture and control its port. At this time, the advantages of both sides have gradually turned to Rome.

After two sieges, Rome retaken Kapuya in 2 1 1 BC, occupied Syracuse, wiped out a Carthaginian army in Sicily, and put down the local uprising. At the same time, he made an alliance with Aetolian League in Greece to deal with Macedonian Philip V, and Philip surrendered to the Allies shortly after being attacked on all sides.

In 2 10 BC, Hannibal once again showed his strategic talents, defeated the Roman army in Herr Donea, Puglia, and wiped out another Roman army in the siege of Rory Epizefili in 208 BC. However, during this period, Rome gradually recovered its lost territory and captured Tallinn du in 209 BC, so Hannibal almost lost control of southern Italy.

In 207 BC, Hannibal once again marched into Puglia and waited here with his second brother, Haas Druba? Haas Druba Barca joined the reinforcements brought from Spain and marched into Rome together. Haas Druba was unfortunately defeated by the Roman army in Metarhus in northern Italy. After receiving this news, Hannibal retired to Brutius and spent his old age in the Italian peninsula. During this period, the failure of Hannibal's third brother Margo Baka in Liguria (205-203 BC) and the breakdown of negotiations with Macedonian King Philip V sounded the death knell for Hannibal's plan to conquer Italy.

In 203 BC, Hannibal stayed in Italy for nearly fifteen years, and was recalled to North Africa by the Carthaginian government to fight the Roman Expeditionary Force led by Scipio Africanus (son of Scipio, lost to Hannibal in 2 18 BC, with the same name as his father) who invaded Carthage.

[Editor] The Second Punic War ended (203-20 BC1)

[Editor] Back to Carthage

Before Hannibal returned to Carthage, Scipio Africanus led an army to invade North Africa, and the pacifists in Carthage's government intended to discuss an armistice agreement with Rome. Hannibal lecter was recalled by hawks, and people's support for the war was restored. Hannibal lecter was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, in charge of the allied forces composed of African troops and mercenaries Hannibal brought from Italy.

In 203 BC, Hannibal and Scipio Africanus met for the first time in peace talks. Although they admired each other's military talents, the negotiations broke down when Rome insisted on accusing Carthage of violating the contract after the First Punic War. Soon the two sides fought a crucial battle of Zama.

[Editor] Battle of Zama

The biggest difference between Zama Battle and other battles in the Second Punic War is that Carthage has an advantage in the number of infantry. On the contrary, after Masini Caesar, Carthage's former ally, defected to the Roman camp, the Roman army had the advantage of cavalry for the first time. Although Hannibal, who is getting older, has been fighting in Italy for many years and is exhausted physically and mentally, Carthage still has a numerical advantage as a whole, with 80 elephants.

Rome's superior cavalry defeated the Carthaginian cavalry and drove them out of the battlefield shortly after the battle began, while Scipio Africanus's tactical formation easily resolved the threat of Hannibal's elephant soldiers. Even so, the two sides fought a tough battle, and the situation even showed that Hannibal was about to win, but Scipio Africanus regrouped at the right time and attacked the Carthaginian army with the Roman cavalry who returned from victory. The front of Carthage's army collapsed. It is estimated that Carthage lost 3 1 1,000 people, and another 1 1,500 people were injured, while the Roman army only lost 1 1,500 people.

Carthage lost confidence in Hannibal's military ability after the defeat in this battle, and immediately surrendered to Rome, officially ending the Second Punic War. After the war, Rome imposed extremely harsh terms on Carthage. In addition to the huge war reparations, Carthage lost all its overseas territories, and the navy was disbanded to only ten anti-piracy warships. From then on, no army can be established without the permission of Rome.

[Editor] Late career

[Editor] Postwar peacetime (200- 196 BC)

Hannibal, 46, began his political career at this time and proved that his ability in internal affairs is no less than his military talent. After the war, he kept a low profile for some time, but the corruption in Carthage's political situation soon enabled him to rectify. After he was elected as the magistrate, he restored the prestige of this position and carried out a series of reforms with remarkable results, which made Carthage expect to pay off the war reparations to Rome by stages without increasing taxes significantly.

[Editor] Exile and Death (BC195–183)

Hannibal

Hannibal

Seven years after the Battle of Zama, the Romans began to worry that the Carthaginians' revived economy would threaten them again and demanded that the Carthaginian government hand over Hannibal. Hannibal left Carthage and went into exile voluntarily. He first visited Tyre, the hometown of Carthage, and then went to Ephesus, where he was respected by Antioch III, king of Seleucia, who was preparing to go to war with Rome.

Hannibal soon found that Antioch's army could not compete with the Roman army, so he suggested that he send a fleet to land in southern Italy and volunteered to lead the army. But Antioch III listened to his wife's advice and didn't want to hand over any important position to Hannibal, so he didn't adopt it. According to Strappo and Plutarch, during this period, he also spent some time in the Armenian court to help King Altak I build the new capital, Sata, Altak.

In BC 190, Hannibal was ordered to command Antioch's fleet, but was defeated by the Roman allies. After being defeated by Rome in a series of battles, Antioch intended to make peace with the Romans and hand over Hannibal, so Hannibal fled to Crete, but soon returned to Asia Minor to take refuge in Rusila I, king of Persinia who was at war with Roman ally Pegamo. Hannibal made great achievements for Rusila in this war, which once again made the Romans determined to capture him. At the request of Rome, Prusi Rath agreed to surrender Hannibal, but determined not to fall into the hands of the Romans, and committed suicide by taking poison.

The exact date of Hannibal's death is still controversial, but the works of historian Li Wei seem to imply that Hannibal died with Scipio Africanus, who was 12 years younger than him, at the age of 64 BC 183.