Battle of Ticinus

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Ticinus
partof=the Second Punic War


caption=
date=November, 218 BC
place=Ticinus River, present-day Italy
casus=
territory=
result=Carthaginian victory
combatant1=Carthage
combatant2=Roman Republic
commander1=Hannibal
commander2=Publius Cornelius Scipio the elder
strength1=6,000 cavalry
strength2=Around 4,000 cavalry
casualties1=Minimal
casualties2=MinimalThe Battle of Ticinus was a battle of the Second Punic War fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Romans under Publius Cornelius Scipio in November 218 BC. It was the first battle of the war to take place on Italian soil.

Battle

After Hannibal left Iberia, an army under Scipio was sent to Massilia (modern Marseille) in order to halt his advance. The two forces crossed paths near the Rhône, but as they were several days apart and there was no contact.

Scipio left the army to continue on to Iberia and face the remaining Carthaginian forces there, while he returned for Italy to face Hannibal in Cisalpine Gaul. Having recently entered Italy, Hannibal was busily trying to recruit among the local Gaulish tribes when he heard of Scipio's return.

Hannibal decided to face Scipio as a show of force, hoping to improve his standing among the local tribes, and immediately set out for the Po river. Scipio was just as eager for a fight and was then marching northward up the Po to meet him. The two scouting forces met near the Ticinus river, and both armies made camp.

The next day both forces set out scouting parties. Hannibal probably took the majority of his 6,000 cavalry that remained after crossing the Alps, while Scipio took all of his cavalry and a small number of "velites" (light infantry armed with javelins).

The two forces both met, with the heavy cavalry in both forces soon mixing into a huge melee in the centre. Hannibal had kept his lighter Numidian cavalry on the flanks however, and soon ordered them to attack the flanks of the velite skirmish line. The line collapsed and the Romans disengaged and fled for their camp.

Aftermath

The immediate outcome of the battle itself was trivial, with both forces suffering only minor setbacks and the main force of each army remained intact and combat-effective.

Nevertheless, as a result of Rome’s defeat at Ticinus, the Gauls were encouraged to join the Carthaginian cause. Soon all northern Italy was unofficially allied with Hannibal and both Gallic and Ligurian troops soon bolstered his army back to 40,000 men.

Hannibal’s army, significantly reinforced, now stood poised to invade Italy. Scipio, injured in the battle, retreated across the Trebia River with his army still intact, and encamped at the town of Placentia to await reinforcements from the other consul, Tiberius Sempronius Longus. The result would be the Battle of the Trebia.

In Modern Fiction

In the Science Fiction story "Delenda Est", renegade time travellers from the far future interfere at the Battle of Ticinus, with the result that Publius Cornelius Scipio and his son, the future Scipio Africanus, are killed. With their generalship removed from the scene, Hannibal eventually wins the war and destroys Rome - after which the adventurers from the future assassinate him and take over Carthago.

In the climax of the story, the protagonist - Time Patrolman Manse Everard - travels back to restore the original history and save the Scipios. The story includes a vivid and realistic description of the battle from the common soldier's point of view.

External links

* [http://www.rickard.karoo.net/articles/battles_trebia.html Battle of Ticinus]