Spring 255 BC
Elephants and cavalry
The battle opens with attacks by the Carthaginian cavalry and elephants, and the 500 Roman horsemen are swept from the field. On the Roman left, probably Latin allies, part of the line overlaps the end of the elephants. It charges the mercenary infantry on the Carthaginian right, which breaks and flees back to its camp with the Romans in pursuit.
Terracotta statuette of a war elephant with a tower, found at PompeiiWikimedia Commons, Jona Lendering, Public domain (Pompeii, Statuette of a war elephant.jpg)
The rest of the Roman infantry advance shouting and beating their swords on their shields, but the elephants charge home and throw the ranks into confusion. Some legionaries fight their way through the elephant line and reach the Carthaginian phalanx, which holds. Carthaginian cavalry returning from the pursuit start to attack the Roman rear and flanks, and the Roman advance comes to a halt.
Sources
- Polybius, Histories, book 1, 34.
- John Lazenby, The First Punic War (1996).
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