HANNIBALʼS STRATAGEMS

Abstract

Romeʼs fiercest enemy, the one who defeated Rome on its own in the Second Punic War, Hannibalus was one of the most special warriors of all time, so we can call the Second Punic War, his war. It was through all the actions he really took his war with Rome, both after all the outstanding theories about the war, but especially by the fact that the talented Carthaginian general defeated Rome at her home, shattering the myth of her invincibility, as a city of Mars. We are not wrong when we claim that Hannibal would have defeated the god of war in this conflict as well.From the beginning of military hostilities to their end, the perfect strategist of the Puns fully controlled the theatre of operations, even being its sole director, putting his enemy, Rome, in the most disastrous situation of all time. Basically, Hannibal eliminated the echelon of command of the Roman army, but also the Roman army that is shattered in three successive battles at Trebia, Trasimenus and Cannae, ending up threatening Rome itself through the famous ante portas episode. Even though Hannibalʼs war did not result in Hannibal’s peace, the intention of the brilliant general was to eliminate Rome as an armed force and economic strength, an objective fully accomplished during the military operations. The detail that eluded him was the Roman tenacity, the one that stole his peace, but Hannibal has entirely the paternity of the second war between the Puns and the Romans, being to this day a genius of the art of war, unmatched yet.