Romans rest up.
You have changed History! This time, with likely disastrous results.
If the Romans had chosen to stay and fight, it is likely that Hannibal
would have destroyed their entire army, and have nothing left to prevent
him from attacking Rome. His encampments near Rome would have been
much better winter quarters than they were here, and his siege could have
begun at a time when Rome might have been unable to overcome it.
The only wise thing to do was to retreat and hope for better days.
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This was really
the Romans' only option, since their defeat at this point would give Hannibal
unrestricted access to Rome. By returning home, the Roman army spent
the winter in their own houses, while Hannibal had to remain in camps and
forage for food. Every hardship Hannibal endured toughened his men,
but also reduced his force. By spring, this might give the Romans
some advantages. It would also give them new choices.
The Romans
now had new consuls to lead their troops in the spring of 216 BC.
The consul chosen to find and attack Hannibal was a man named Flaminius.
This man believed that Hannibal had been overrated as a General.
(Error.) He felt that Roman defeats so far had been due to poor leadership,
bad planning, and a lack of aggressiveness. (He was not entirely
wrong in that.) He was quite self-confident, to the point of being
vain. He was certain that he had the ability to defeat Hannibal,
where others had failed. Flaminius was aware that Hannibal
had spent a rough winter. Hannibal had tried to cross the Apennine
Mountains to get to the warmer eastern coast of Italy for the winter, and
failed to do so. This failure had cost him men and supplies, weakening
his forces. Spies now reported to Flaminius
that Hannibal was struggling to cross the swamps around the Arno River.
All but one of Hannibal's war elephants had died, removing a fearsome weapon
from his arsenal. Flaminius, excited by the prospect of catching
a weakened Hannibal in an unfavorable location, pushed his troops north,
looking for battle. He dreamed of the great parade of victory, a
triumph,
that would be held in his honor when he returned to Rome. At Lake Thrasymene, Flaminius caught
his first glimpse of Hannibal's army. Lake Thrasymene is long and
narrow, surrounded by mountains. Through the narrow pass at one point
in the Lake, Flaminius could see the encampment of the Carthaginians at
the far end. He could hardly contain his excitement at the prospect
of battle. He was now faced with an important
choice. He might set up a defensive line and wait for Hannibal to
come to him. He might lead his men in a brave attack upon the Carthaginian
encampment. Making the correct choice could be decisive in
ending the war. What do you think he did?