Hannibal escapes the box
You would have fallen for the same trick the Romans did. Scroll down...
The Romans
never really knew what to expect of Hannibal, and he took advantage
of that now. It seemed like suicide to try to break through the narrow
opening to the canyon, but that's exactly what he did... after appearing
to do the opposite. Realizing that he was near the
end of his food supply, Hannibal used part of it for a ruse. He tied
torches to the horns of the oxen that were still part of his possessions.
In the middle of the night, he lit the torches, and drove the oxen up the
hill. The Romans spotted the lights and assumed, incorrectly, that
Hannibal was making his way out of the canyon. There was no way the
thin line of troops at the top could withstand all of Hannibal's
force, so troops were immediately rushed from the pass to the hilltop to
defend it. The situation became very bizarre, when the torches burned
so low that they singed the oxes' horns, causing them to dash about wildly.
The torches caught small trees and shrubs on fire, and the Romans found
themselves fighting forest fires, along with the "enemy". Hannibal,
meanwhile, sneaked his troops out through the pass, and completed his escape.
A daring, desperate move had succeeded. Now, the Romans had even more tough
choices.
This failure
did not deter Fabius from his strategy, but it did make him even more unpopular
in Rome. The Roman military commander of the cavalry was known as
the "Master of the Horse". Fabius' man in that capacity was named
Minucius, who now began to lobby for a more aggressive strategy.
Minucius was another active, arrogant man, who believed that he could defeat
Hannibal if given the chance. He began to convince Roman politicians
that Hannibal could be beaten, if attacked head-on. Ironically, Hannibal helped
Minucius in his play for power. Learning from his spies about the
controversy, Hannibal burned all the farms in one particular area, except
for the one that belonged to Fabius. This convinced some Romans that
Hannibal and Fabius had some sort of "deal", and were in cahoots.
Hannibal always desired the impetuous opponent. Fabius was eventually recalled
to Rome to explain his strategy. While he was gone, Minucius, acting
contrary to direct orders, engaged Hannibal in a minor battle, and lost,
though he reported it as a success. Fabius knew it was a lie, but
the Senators were excited by the possibilities of success. They granted
Minucius equal powers with Fabius, and decreed that he would be treated
as an equal dictator. Fabius was, of course, terribly
upset over this turn of events, but resolved to make the best of a bad
situation. Upon returning to camp, he sat down to determine the best
way for him and Minucius to divide control. They could each rule
the army on alternating days, or they could split the army in two, equally.
Minucius vowed to accept Fabius' choice in the matter as final. Fabius,
even though his feelings had been hurt and his reputation damaged, wished
to do what would be best for the safety of Rome. Which option do
you think he chose?