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Adys (256 BC)

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Title
Adys (256 BC)
Description
Following the Battle of Agrigentum, the Carthaginian leaders decided to avoid pitched battles and instead fall back on fortified posts, while harassing the Romans with their fleet and guerrilla raids. The focus of the war shifted to Rome’s successful struggle …
Publisher
Date
-256
Scenario#
C3i02
Scenario Description
Following the Battle of Agrigentum, the Carthaginian leaders decided to avoid pitched battles and instead fall back on fortified posts, while harassing the Romans with their fleet and guerrilla raids. The focus of the war shifted to Rome’s successful struggle to wrest naval supremacy from Carthage, 260-265 BC. With the seas clear of the Punic navy, the consul Gaius Attilius Regulus landed in Africa with a small army of 15,000 infantry and 500 cavalry in 256. In the emergency, Carthage called out her seldom used civic levies under two generals, Hasdrubal Hanno and Bostar. These generals assembled about 10,000 militia foot, along with about 1,500 cavalry and some elephants. The council also recalled Hamilcar from Sicily with 5,500 crack mercenaries. The Punic army advanced to meet the Romans and Adys. The Carthaginians, hesitant to face the legions on the plain, encamped in rough, hilly terrain. Boldly, Regulus launched a dawn assault on the Punic camp from two sides. The Punic cavalry and elephants were unable to engage effectively, but Hamilcar led his mercenaries in a vigorous counter-attack. The mercenaries drove back one legion, but were then caught in the flank and cut down in a fierce struggle. The Romans then routed the Punic militia and overran their camp. Carthage sued for peace. Regulus offered terms that were impossibly harsh, prompting Carhage to renew the struggle. A Spartan mercenary captain, Xanthipus, was hired and Cartage fought on.
Location
Uthiona, Tunisia
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
The Battle of Adys was a battle in late 255 BC of the First Punic War between a Carthaginian army jointly commanded by Bostar, Hamilcar and Hasdrubal and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus. Earlier in the year, the new Roman navy established naval superiority and used this advantage to invade the Carthaginian homeland, which roughly aligned with modern Tunisia in North Africa. After landing on the Cape Bon Peninsula and conducting a successful campaign, the fleet returned to Sicily, leaving Regulus with 15,500 men to hold the lodgement in Africa over the winter.
Narrative Source
Wikipedia: Battle of Adys
Combatants
Carthaginian
Roman
Additional Information
First Punic War

Geolocation