Roman Victories. Which Is Your Favorite?

[Guest Scanderbeg]

We often talk more about Roman defeats the victories. So for once lets look at the victories

[Marcus Regulus]

Zama -- it is the one I am most familiar with and became the decisive finally for Carthage. If it had gone the other way. Don't want to think about it.

[Guest Scanderbeg]

By then Rome was undisputably at the top. It's forces were not concetrated at Zama, in fact the soldier's there were just survivors of past battles stationed in Sicily, Rome knew the risks too well to allow to be of a force to go against Hannibal, even if at the hand of Scipio. That battle just meant the end of Hannibal. Carthage was already broke, its military had been diminished. Its lands in Spain had been taken. There really was no chance of it winning the war at that point. Even with a victory at Zama. However the Roman victory was decisive. It destroyed whatever military was left in the hands of the Carthage meaning that now it was Rome who would dictate whatever peace treaty would be signed and Carthage would have to obey it. Hannibal had already given Scipio a chance to end the war. He told Scipio, that Carthage would no longer fight with Rome and Rome would be able to keep all the lands they conquered. Scipio refused, knowing that the victory in the next battle, which he was pretty much assured he would get, would give him the glory of ending Hannibal and, as I pointed out before, would forceCarthage into whatever treaty Rome picked. However the same could be said of Magnesia. If Scipio wanted to he could have conquered Antiochus lands. The battle left Antiochus forces completely empty and Rome undisputably on the top. This does make me wonder however if Scipio and his brother were actually in on a bribe deal with Antiochus. Many other general would have just subdued the eastern empire and conquered. Yet after this decisive vicotry for Rome they just turned and left. After Rome forced Antiuchus into a large sum payment ofcourse.

 

Many of the battles I put above were very decisive also. Battle of Vercellae and the following victories crushed heavy Germanic opposition in Rome for a long while. Idistaviso crushed Arminius revolt. This revolt wasn't just a Germanic revolt. The destruction of Varus legions brought fear into Rome. Fear of a germanic invation. The decisive victory ended Arminius and any of his future plans. Alesia is well know. In *Major correction* Watling Street Boudicca's revolt was crushed and opposition in lower Britain, Ilipa was not all that decisive as the battle ended too early, before the Scipio could destroy Mago's army. But Scipio strategy in that battle was completely different from the strategies Rome would use in battle. In my opinion, that battle assured Scipio in the Roman Hall of Fame.

Battle of Agrigentum, was a decisive Roman victory in the first Punic War. Rome seiged the city and won it. Where it then sold the population of the city into slavery. This was one of four land battles fought during the war. Battle of Chaeronea (86 BC) was a decisive victory of Sulla during the First Mithridatic War

[Marcus Regulus]

Scanderbeg,

I agree with you assessment of the Battle of Zama, but truth is many of the other battles I am still learning about so It might help to have a little on each of them.

[Guest Scanderbeg]

lets look at Alesia for a moment. The battle ended, as we all know, with a crushing Roman victory. Confusion caught Gaul and they were routed. However the victory was not assured from the start. By the time of the battle Caesar's forces were starving from the lack of supplies. What if THEY were the ones that crumbled? This could have had profound affects on the future of the empire. Caesar's conquest in Gaul would have ended and could begin to reverse. Caesar's future in Rome would have ended there, if he survived. Same with Chaeronea but with Sulla in place of Caesar.

[skel]

to be honest with you, im not familliar with any of those names.

 

can you give maybe a brief synopsis of each? or what were the key things in it that maybe i would know about?

[Guest Scanderbeg]

Most of these battles are explained on this site.

 

Battle of Zama

 

The Battle of Zama was the final showdown between the Roman saviour Publius Cornelius Scipio and the fallen Hannibal. This important battle brought the Second Punic War to an end and completely destroyed Carthagenian power and put the put the African city at th mercy of Rome. The victory earned Scipio the cognomen "Africanus".

 

Battle of Magnesia

The battle between Scipio Africanus and his brother versus Antiochus III. The mobility of the legion and the lack of control Antiochus had over his army, by a foolish and overlong cavalry chase only to be routed at the Roman camp, secured the Roman victory and completely devastated The dying Seleucid Empire. One of the many major enemies of Rome at the time.

 

Siege(Battle) of Alesia

This is the very popular siege where Caesar destroyed the last remaining opposition in Gaul under Vercingetorix. The army within the city already was larger than Caesars but outside the city a relief army was there that numbered 100,000. Caesar's army numbered 60,000. The devastating defeat caused by confusion and panic within the Gallic forces brought Caesar's conquest of Gaul to an end

 

Battle of Ilipa

A would be decisive battle between Scipio Africanus and Mago Barca. Scipio broke awa from the usual formation of the army. Sending his heavy infantry to the flanks creating "wing" like formation, his weaker spanish forces were placed in the center moving slower than the heavy infantry on the flanks. When the they touched the Lybian fitghters in the center of Magos army did not come to the aid of the flanks for fear of retalliation from the Spanish troops. Forced in the middle they were trampled by the routing Elaphants. However the battle came to a halt when a storm began.

Battle of Vercellae

This Roman victory ended Germanic aggression in Italy and sent Cimbri and Teutonic tribes, whom had crossed the Alps into Italy, back into Germany.

Battle of Chaeronea

A decisive victory for Sulla inwhich allowed him to capture Athens during the first defeats Sulla handed to

Mithridates.

 

The rest of the battle are explained in the upper post.

[skel]

hmm well from those descriptions id have to go with alesia... but i will for sure learn about all of these and maybe my opinion will change. thanks for describing them for me!

[Guest Scanderbeg]

MAJOR CORRECTION...

 

 

Battle of Towcester should be the Battle of Watling Street. Sorry for the mess up.

[Hamilcar Barca]

A decisive victory for Sulla inwhich allowed him to capture Athens during the first defeats Sulla handed to Mithridates.

 

 

Well actually, Sulla had already captured Athens and the Piraeus. Mithridates General, Archalus then retreated to Macedonia where he took command of an army numbering 100,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 96 chariots. Sulla had only 15,000 infantry and 15,000 cavalry, thus he was badly outnumbered. But he divised a combination of both an ambush and a full frontal attack which created chaos for the Mithridatic army. But this was only a minor advantage as the enemies shear weight of numbers looked to topple the Romans. It was here that Sulla showed his brilliance as a commander as he went up and down the lines, diverting cohorts and commands to all areas of the action to constantly hold the line. Eventually he personally took control of the right wing and routed his adversaries while the left wing followed suit under Murena and Hortensius. What followed was a slaughter, only 10,000 of Archalus' men escaped alive. The Roman losses by comparison were light, in fact Sulla claimed he only lost 12 men, but this is hardly believable given the scope of the action.

 

Later that year, Sulla followed up his victory with another at Orchomenus. This time 60,000 of the enemy were killed and Mithridates was left without an army. The war from that point onwards was a simple affair.

 

As you can guess Chaeronea was my favorite of the above victories, Alesia been a close second. I would have added Ecnomus to that list also as it was Rome's greatest naval victory.

[Legate of XVPrimigenia]

I did enjoy reading about the tactics of Illipea so im voting for that

[Flavius Scipio]

I actually prefer the civil war battles, particularly the battle of Munda as it was the final battle of the civil war and it led to the end of the republic.

[Tobias]

I voted for Alesia, again because i am a great admirer of Caesar, and the huge circumvallation up hill and down dale around Alesia. As well as facing the army numbering about 80 000 in Alesia itself facing over 100 000 man Gallic relief army on the outside at the same time is no mean feat. I admit that Scipio Africanus' great victory at Zama struggled for supremacy with Alesia, but i got Caesar out on top. However, i do strongly admire Scipio's victory at Zama; both are terrific examples of Rome at it's ascendency to the heights of glory.

[Princeps]

Strangely enough my favourite Roman victories are generally those won against other Romans. Constantine's victory against Maxentius(?), or Octavian's victory at Actium (I suppose this could be considered a victory against Egypt in a way).

 

For victories against non-Roman forces, I would go for Trajan (I think it was the Dacians).

[Guest Mundensi]

If you like the battle of Munda I have fresh notices about it.