Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 348Various
History
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 348
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
allowed his communications with the soldiers who had conquered
under him at Thrasymene and Cannae, to be cut off. Rome perceived
the fault of Hannibal, and hastened to profit by it. Two armies in
_echelon_, the one to the north, and the other to the south,
intercepted the communication between the Cisalpines and Magna
Graecia. That of the north, by its incursions and by its threatening
attitude, occupied the Gauls at their own hearths, whilst the
second made head against the Carthaginians."--(I. 297-300.)
It has been said by the most renowned conqueror of modern times, that,
give him but the Gallic infantry and the Mameluke cavalry, and he would
subdue the world. And it cannot fail to strike the attentive reader with
astonishment, to learn that the severest blow ever given to the power of
Rome was inflicted by the Gaulish foot and the Numidian horse. It is
curious, as exemplifying the unchanging characters of race, to observe
that the greatest general of antiquity triumphed at the head of an army,
composed of those very nations whom Napoleon, after the lapse of two
thousand years, declared best fitted to pursue the blood-stained paths
of military greatness.
The efforts of the Gauls did not cease with the battle of Cannae; they
defeated an army under Posthumius, which invaded their territory. When
Hasdrubal led his ill-fated expedition to strew their bodies on the
Italian plains, he was accompanied by large bands of those brave
adventurers; and when Carthage, making a last effort to succour her
general, disembarked 14,000 men under the command of Mago, Hannibal's
brother, at Genoa, numerous bodies of Gauls flocked to his standards.
And this general, though unable to effect his junction with Hannibal,
yet maintained his ground for ten years, till at last, defeated in the
territory of the Insubrians, he retired to Genoa. There he received
orders to return to the defence of Africa:--
"His brother also, recalled by the Carthaginian senate, was obliged
to embark at the other extremity of Italy. The Gaulish and Ligurian
soldiers, who had faithfully served Hannibal during seventeen
years, abandoned him not in his days of misfortune; re-united to
their compatriots who had followed Mago, they formed still a third
part of the Carthaginian army at Zama, in the celebrated day which
terminated that long war to the advantage of the Romans, and
displayed to the world the genius of Hannibal humbled before the
fortune of Scipio. The ferocity with which the Gauls fought has
been recorded by the historian: 'They showed themselves,' says
Titus Livy, 'inflamed with that inborn hate against the Roman
people, peculiar to their race.'"--(I. 310-311.)
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