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Baecula (208 BC)

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Title
Baecula (208 BC)
Description
Publius Cornelius Scipio inherited his slain father’s bravery, but he also had the intelligence to modify standard Roman tactical doctrine. As he rebuilt and retrained the legions in Spain, he made them far more flexible tactically than any other Roman …
Source
Publisher
Date
-208
Scenario#
11
Scenario Description
Publius Cornelius Scipio inherited his slain father’s bravery, but he also had the intelligence to modify standard Roman tactical doctrine. As he rebuilt and retrained the legions in Spain, he made them far more flexible tactically than any other Roman legions. He first put this training to use at Baecula where Hasdrubal, Hannibal’s brother, had drawn up his army in a strong hilltop defensive position – light troops to the front; heavy troops in reserve in the camps. Traditional Roman practice would have sent the legions straight ahead at the hills. Scipio, however, put his legionary infantry on each flank and advanced his light troops in the center. As the battle was joined, Hasdrubal discovered he was being outmaneuvered. If he advanced his heavies to support the light troops, the Roman legions on each flank would encircle his entire army. Knowing his army was urgently needed in Italy, Hasdrubal withdrew his heavies and left the light troops to either escape or die in place. While not a complete victory, Scipio had beaten a good Carthaginian army without the heavy casualties that would have occurred in a traditional Roman frontal assault.
Location
Baecula, Spain
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
The Battle of Baecula was a major field battle in Iberia during the Second Punic War. Roman Republican and Iberian auxiliary forces under the command of Scipio Africanus routed the Carthaginian army of Hasdrubal Barca.
Narrative Source
Combatants
Carthaginian
Roman
Additional Information
Second Punic War

Geolocation