In 207 B.C., Hannibal had been dominating Italy for 11 years. He had defeated every Roman army that faced him. By this time, the Romans were avoiding battle and just trying to contain him. It was obvious that he could not take Rome, but they could not take him. However, in 208, his brother Hasdrubal lost the Battle of Baecula to Scipio in Spain. He managed to retreat through the Pyrenees and headed for the Alps. Finally, after all the years of begging Carthage for reinforcements, his brother was coming to the join him. Hasdrubal’s crossing of the Alps with elephants is forgotten. His journey was not difficult as he went in springtime and the Gauls did not bother him. Many joined him. Unfortunately, big brother was in southern Italy. That was a long way through hostile territory. The Senate sent one consul to take on Hannibal and one to take on Hasdrubal. Claudius Nero (not the fiddler) faced Hannibal and Marcus Livius was given Hasdrubal. They had to keep the two brothers from joining. Hasdrubal had 30,000 men, 10 elephants, and siege equipment for besieging Rome. He sent messengers to Hannibal saying he was coming. The Romans intercepted one of the messages and it was brought to Nero. Nero had a decision to make. The rule was a consul could not leave his army, but he decided this situation called for some rule-breaking. He took 7,000 of his best men and secretly marched quickly to join Marcus Livius. If Hannibal found out, he might attack and destroy Nero’s army. Nero arrived after dark and snuck into camp. His men crammed into the tents of Livius men. Nero must have slept with Livius. That was awkward! After victory in Illyria, Livius had been exiled for a while because of accusations of speculation and unfair distribution of the spoils. Nero had led the persecution. The two men hated each other. But they agreed that they must attack the next day. When the two armies came out to face each other, the wily Hasdrubal realized the Roman army was bigger than before. He refused to give battle. That night he withdrew his army. The Romans followed and forced him to fight on June 23, 207 B.C. Hannibal was brought to ground with his back to the river Metaurus. And his army was exhausted and disordered. He put his cavalry on his right with his best soldiers. On his left, he placed his Gauls, many of whom were drunk. But they were on a very defensible hill. Livius took the left and Nero the right. The Roman cavalry attacked and pushed back the Carthaginian cavalry on the left, but Hasdrubal’s center, led by his elephants, was doing well. Unfortunately, the elephants got out of control and began stomping both sides. Nero tried attacking the Gauls, but the terrain was too difficult. So, Nero decided he would be more useful elsewhere. He took half of his men and marched behind Livius’ men all the way to the far left. He flanked Hasdrubal’s right, which collapsed because of the pressure from the side and in front. Sensing the disaster, Hasdrubal made a suicide charge. His army ceased to be and Hannibal got no reinforcements. How did Hannibal find out his brother was not coming? The Romans tossed Hasdrubal’s head into his camp. Harsh. The Battle of Metaurus may have been one of the most decisive battles in history. Edward Creasy included it in his “15 Decisive Battles of the World”. However, had the brothers united, they still would not have been able to take Rome. And they would not have been able to stop Scipio from threatening Carthage and forcing the brothers to return to Africa. But maybe the Battle of Zama would have had a different ending.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Metaurus
https://www.historynet.com/second-punic-war-battle-of-the-metaurus/
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