What was Hannibal's strategy in the Second Punic War?

Answer 1

Hannibal gathered an army in southern Spain, defeated Spanish cities on the northern coast of Spain which were Roman allies, crossed southern France and the Alps and reached northern Italy. It did this at an astonishing speed, catching the Romans by surprise.

Hannibal joined up with Gallic allies in northern Italy who had rebelled against Rome while he was heading for Italy. These Gauls swelled his troops.

He routed the armies of the Romans and their allies in the northern and in central Italy Battle of the Trebbia and Battle of Lake Trasimene). Instead of marching on Rome, he headed to the south. This was because he had lost his siege machines while crossing the Alps. Without these he could not attack Rome.

After a third battle, Cannae, which was his biggest victory, Rome's allies in southern Italy (except for the Greek cities) sided with Hannibal. Capua (in Campania, near Naples) the second largest city in Italy, allied with him and this area became his base. While based here, he won a couple of battles. However, he failed secure two key strategic towns and attempts at providing reinforcements and supplies from further south were thwarted by the Romans twice. Hannibal also captured Tarentum, the largest Greek city in the south, but did not gain access to its port. The Romans besieged Capua. After five years Hannibal had to leave because the Romans retook Capua and Campania.

Hannibal withdrew further south. He fought a Roman army which was sieging an allied city in Apulia and routed it. However, he did not gain much from this. His next two battles were inconclusive. Three Roman armies were advancing into the deep south to regain control. Hannibal engaged with one of these armies in another inconclusive battle. Meanwhile, the second Roman army retook Lucania (between the toe and the heel of Italy) and the third retook Tarentum.

Hannibal moved his base to the easily defensible mountains of Calabria (the toe of Italy). His strategy had already become more defensive as he lost many of his better infantrymen and half of his cavalry was slaughtered in a Roman attack in an Apulian city which betrayed him. He fought two minor battles in Apulia, but after this the Romans dealt the final blow. They intercepted and routed army led by his brother in a battle in central Italy. His brother was bringing desperately needed reinforcements and siege machines from Spain. Without these reinforcements Hannibal could no longer sustain his war effort. Without the sieges machines he could not attack.

Hannibal sent the last four years of his campaign stuck in Calabria. The Romans had defeated the Carthaginians in Spain and took over their territories there. Reinforcements could no longer be sent from Spain. Carthage refused to send him reinforcements from Africa. Eventually, he was recalled to Tunisia as the Romans were campaigning there.

Answer 2

After the war Hannibal was elected as suffete (head of the city) with an anti corruption platform. His fight against corruption was so effective that Carthage was able to pay Rome the war indemnity without the need for extra taxes. He also reformed the tribunal of judges which had acquired despotic powers. He ended the life tenure of this office and made it subjected to annual elections and and set a limit of a total of two years in office. He was very popular. However, in 196 BC, seven years after the battle of Zama, Rome asked for him to be handed over because they were worried about Carthage's renewed prosperity which was largely due to Hannibal.

To avoid having to go to Rome, Hannibal volunteered exile. He went to Tyre, the Phoenician mother city of Tyre. He then became military adviser to Antiochus III of Syria who was preparing for war against Rome. He was put in command of a Syrian fleet which was defeated. After this he entered the service of King Prusias I of Bithynia, for whom he won a naval battle and two land battles against King Eumenes II of Pergamon who was an ally of Rome. Because of this Rome demanded Eumenes II to hand him over. Hannibal committed suicide.

Answer 3

Rome had an inexhaustible supply of manpower from its Italian allies. King Pyrrhus of Epirus 50 years earlier had found this out when he twice defeated them with heavy loss to his own army, which he could not replace, and gave up.

Hannibal learnt from this and made his main objective to detach as many allies as he could from the Roman side to his own. He had sufficient success in this to keep going in Italy for a decade and a half, but the most important allies stayed with Rome.

Rome's eventual counter-strategy was to land in North Africa and threaten Carthage, so Hannibal and his army were recalled to defend their city.

Answer 4

In 219 BC, Hannibal laid siege to Saguntum, a coastal city in northeast Hispania that enjoyed a long-standing treaty of friendship with Rome. In 226 BC, however, Hasdrubal the Fair signed a treaty with Rome that acknowledged Carthage's control of Hispania south of the Ebro River. Saguntum's status, therefore, was ambiguous: was it an ally of Rome or a ward of Carthage? When the besieged Saguntines appealed to Rome, Rome pressured the Carthaginians to recognize their alliance with Saguntum. Even as the Romans attempted to negotiate a settlement to the crisis, Hannibal captured the city after an eight-month siege. When Carthage refused Roman demands for Hannibal's extradition, both sides prepared for war.

Answer 5

He took the war to Rome by moving his army to Italy and attempting to bring the Italian cities, disgruntled by Rome's dominance of them, to his side. As he did not have a siege train to actually attack the city, he moved around the countryside, attempting to enlist the other cities and tempt Rome to meet him in the open where his superior cavalry force could best the Roman infantry.

He was partly successful in this over 15 years, but the Romans finally turned the tables by sending an army to Africa to threaten Carthage. Hannibal was withdrawn back to Africa to defend the city and was defeated there.

Answer 6

Hannibal was the primary general, putting Rome under threat in Italy, and running the final defence of Carthage in North Africa, losing at the battle of Zama.

Answer 7

To occupy Italy and threaten Rome to divert it from Spain and Carthage.

Answer 8

He led the invasion of Italy and defence of Caarthage in the 2nd Punic War. He was dead during the 3rd Punic War.