Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 348Various
History
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 348
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
We cannot follow the steps of the great conqueror in his memorable
campaigns--in his fatal march over the fens of Etruria, or through the
glorious field of Thrasymene. But the share which the Gauls had in the
mighty victory of Cannae, and the change of the seat of war, with the
results which followed from it, are of such importance, and the remarks
made upon them by M. Thierry are so just, that we shall give the whole
of his account of this event at full length:--
"From the field of Thrasymene Hannibal passed into southern Italy,
and gave battle a third time to the Romans, near the village of
Cannae, on the banks of the Aufidus, now called the Offanto. He had
then under his banners 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry; and of
these 50,000 combatants, at least 30,000 were Gauls. In his order
of battle, he placed their cavalry on the right wing, and in the
centre their infantry, whom he united to the Spanish infantry, and
whom he commanded in person: the Gaulish foot, as was their custom
on all occasions when they were determined to conquer or die, threw
off their tunic and sagum, and fought naked from their waist
upwards, armed with their long and pointless sabres. They commenced
the action; and their cavalry and that of the Numidians terminated
it. We know how dreadful the carnage was in that celebrated
battle--the most glorious of the victories of Hannibal--the most
disastrous of the defeat of Rome. When the Carthaginian general,
moved with pity, called to his soldiers 'to halt, and to spare the
vanquished,' without doubt the Gauls, bloodthirsty in the
destruction of their mortal enemies, carried to that butchery more
than the ordinary irritation of wars, the satisfaction of a
vengeance ardently wished for, and long deferred. There 70,000
Romans perished; the loss on the side of the conquerors was 5500,
of which 4000 were Gauls. Out of 60,000 Gauls, whom Hannibal had
enumerated around him after the combat of the Trebia, 25,000 only
remained; battle, sickness, above all, the fatal passage over the
marshes of Etruria, had cut off all the rest; for up to this period
they had supported almost exclusively the weight of the war. The
victory of Cannae brought to the Carthaginians other auxiliaries; a
crowd of men from Campania, Lucania, Brutium, and Apulia, filled
his camp; but it was not that warlike race which he formerly
recruited on the banks of the Po. Cannae was the term of his
success; and assuredly the fault ought not to be imputed to his
genius, more admirable even in adverse than in good fortune--his
army only had changed. For two thousand years history has accused
him with bitterness for his inaction after the battle of Aufidus,
and for his delay at Capua; perhaps it might reproach him more
justly for having removed from the north of Italy, and for having
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account