21 June 217 BC, morning
The trap is sprung
The Romans set off very early and march east along the shore, probably in three parallel columns ready to form a battle line. Ancient accounts describe a thick morning mist over the lake, which some modern historians think exaggerated. Flaminius sends no cavalry ahead to scout.
Lake Trasimene seen from Tuoro sul Trasimeno, on the ground where the Roman column was caughtWikimedia Commons, PROPOLI87, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Lago Trasimeno visto da Tuoro sul Trasimeno.jpg)
When the head of the column meets the African and Iberian infantry at the eastern end, the signal is given and the whole Carthaginian army comes down from the hills. The cavalry closes the road behind the Romans, and the Gauls fall on the middle of the column. Attacked from the flank and the rear, the Romans have no time to form a line.
Sources
- Polybius, Histories, book 3, 84.
- Livy, History of Rome, book 22, 4 to 5.
- Adrian Goldsworthy, The Fall of Carthage (2006).
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