Romans make their first major error.
You have changed History! Maybe you made a better choice, since the
Romans are about to be slaughtered here. Had they waited, they might
have found a place more favorable to their success, because Hannibal is
exceptional at using geographic locations to his own advantage. At
this point, however, they are not yet aware of his amazing generalship,
nor sufficiently respectful of his ability as a tactician. Scroll
down to see what actually happened. Imagining
the opportunity to hit Hannibal hard in the early stages of this war, the
Romans pursued him with all the haste they could muster. Catching
up with him at the Tagus River, the Romans willingly chased Hannibal into
the water. Unfortunately for them, Hannibal had concealed his cavalry
on the opposite shore, and, when the Romans were up to their armpits in
water, that cavalry rushed in and cut them to shreds. Despite their
superior numbers, the Romans had chosen very poor ground for this encounter,
and they paid dearly. Soon, they would have another choice
to make. Hannibal soon
became a major nuisance to the Romans. It was obvious that he would
not be content to leave the boundaries as they had been set following the
First Punic War. The Roman Senate was forced to debate how this impudent
rascal should be dealt with. An immediate concern was the safety
of the city of Saguntum, the southernmost boundary of Roman possessions
in Spain. A port city on the Iberus River (hence Iberia), Saguntum
was loyal to Rome, and was rather wealthy. If Hannibal chose to attack
it, there would definitely be war, but if Rome could be considered to have
provoked
Hannibal's actions, then Rome might be held responsible for the conflict.
This was not a position that Rome could easily take. The Romans also knew that Hannibal
had what we will call the Fortification Problem. It takes
a great deal of time, effort, resources, and men to reduce a city.
A siege requires an army to stay in one place, making them an easier target.
It would take Hannibal at least 9 months to reduce Saguntum and capture
it. This might work contrary to his overwhelming desire to assault
Rome itself. The Roman Senate decided that they
had two options. One was to send a large force immediately to Saguntum,
which might provoke Hannibal into a full-scale assault that would begin
the Second War. The other option was to send diplomats to negotiate
with Hannibal, in hopes of keeping conflict from occurring. These
diplomats might even be sent to Carthage itself, in hopes that Hannibal
would be called home by his own people. Which choice do you think
they made?