Following Publius & Gnaeus Scipio — the Second Punic War

Publius & Gnaeus Scipio (Publius c. 255 – 211 · Gnaeus c. 260 – 211 BC), Rome. The brothers who held Spain for seven years and kept Hasdrubal from Italy — until their Celtiberian mercenaries were bought away and both armies were destroyed within a month.

Publius: consul, then proconsul in Spain; Gnaeus: legate, then proconsul in Spain.

Publius killed at Castulo, Gnaeus at Ilorci 29 days later, 211 BC.

Fell June 211 BC. Gnaeus, cornered on a bare hill near Ilorci, was killed with his rearguard (Livy 25.36).

The itinerary — 8 stops, Autumn 218 BC to Summer 211 BC

  1. Landing at Emporiae — Autumn 218 BC: The strategic masterstroke nobody noticed: while Hannibal marches on Italy, Publius Scipio sends his brother Gnaeus on to Spain with the army. Rome will fight for Hannibal's base while Hannibal fights for Rome's. (Polybius 3.76; Livy 21.60)
  2. Battle of Cissa — Late 218 BC: Gnaeus routs Hanno, captures the Carthaginian baggage left behind by Hannibal's expedition — and the chieftain Indibilis, whose grudge will matter. Everything north of the Ebro is Roman; Tarraco becomes the base. (Polybius 3.76; Livy 21.60–61)
  3. Naval battle of the Ebro — Spring 217 BC: Hasdrubal's fleet, caught beached and unready at the river mouth, loses 25 of 40 ships. Rome rules the Spanish coast for the rest of the war — the quiet victory that makes everything else possible. (Polybius 3.95–96; Livy 22.19–20)
  4. The brothers united — Autumn 217 BC: Publius, recovered from his Ticinus wound, arrives with 8,000 men and the Senate's blessing. The brothers raid to the walls of ruined Saguntum, where the trickster Abelux delivers them the Iberian hostages — and with them, the tribes' goodwill. (Polybius 3.97–99; Livy 22.22)
  5. Dertosa — the unsung salvation — Spring 215 BC: Months after Cannae, Hasdrubal marches for Italy under orders to repeat his brother's road. The Scipios meet him on the Ebro: his centre collapses, and with it the reinforcement of Hannibal at his strongest. Arguably the battle that saved Rome. (Livy 23.28–29)
  6. Saguntum avenged — 212 BC: After years of raid and counter-raid against three Punic armies, the brothers storm the city whose destruction began the war and restore its survivors. The high-water mark of their seven-year campaign. (Livy 24.41–42 (campaigns); Livy 28.39 (recapture recalled))
  7. Death of Publius — 211 BC: Emboldened, the brothers divide their army — as 20,000 Celtiberian mercenaries are quietly bought off by Punic silver. Publius, lunging at Masinissa's raiders, is caught between three armies and dies fighting. (Livy 25.32–34)
  8. Death of Gnaeus — 211 BC: Twenty-nine days later, deserted and cornered on a bare hill with a rampart of pack-saddles, Gnaeus falls in turn. Spain collapses to the Ebro — where the knight Lucius Marcius rallies the survivors and holds the line for the son who is coming. (Livy 25.35–39)

Battles fought

  • Battle of Cissa — Autumn 218 BC — victory
  • Battle of the Ticinus — Autumn 218 BC — defeat
  • Naval Battle of the Ebro — Spring 217 BC — victory
  • Battle of Dertosa (Ibera) — Spring 215 BC — victory
  • Recapture of Saguntum — Summer 212 BC — victory
  • Battles of the Upper Baetis — Spring 211 BC — defeat
  • Siege of Utica — Summer 204 BC — inconclusive
  • Burning of the Camps — Spring 203 BC — victory
  • Battle of the Great Plains — Spring 203 BC — victory
  • Battle of Zama — Autumn 202 BC — victory