October 202 BC
The first two lines
With the elephants and the cavalry gone, the Roman infantry and the first two Carthaginian lines advance, while Hannibal’s veterans stay in place. After a hard fight the hastati break the mercenaries of the first line. The second line refuses to let the fugitives through, and Polybius writes that it fights them off, so they escape round its flanks, where many rally.
Hannibal fighting Scipio, engraving by Heinrich Aldegrever, 1538Wikimedia Commons, Rijksmuseum, CC0 (Hannibal vechtend tegen Scipio Hanibal pu cor Scipio (titel op object), RP-P-OB-2688.jpg)
The hastati then attack the second line, which fights fiercely and drives them back in disorder, and Scipio sends in the principes. The second line breaks in turn. Scipio recalls the hastati from the pursuit, since the ground before the third line is covered with bodies and the veterans stand fresh beyond it.
Sources
- Polybius, Histories, book 15, 13.
- Livy, History of Rome, book 30, 34.
- Adrian Goldsworthy, The Fall of Carthage (2006).
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