The Romans split up.
You have changed History! This is what Minucius wanted to do, so
that he could eventually bring the entire army into conflict against Hannibal.
Fabius still thought this was a mistake that would lead to disaster.
Had they done this, it is very likely that, on his day of command, Minucius
would have created a fight that would have destroyed the entire Roman army.
Instead, Fabius chose the more careful option. Scroll down...
Fabius decided
to split the army, figuring that he could at least save half of the troops,
no matter what Minucius did. As it turned out, this was a wise decision.
Hannibal might have preferred Minucius' choice, but he would willingly
take advantage of whatever the Romans gave him. Shortly after the division of the
army, Minucius found a detachment of Carthaginian troops upon a small hill.
He attacked this detachment, having great success in the early going.
He drove them off the top of the hill and down the other side, only to
find himself assaulted on 3 sides, and forced to retreat uphill over uneven
ground. Hannibal had created another trap, and Minucius had fallen
into it by being overly aggressive. It was at this point that Fabius'
decision became so important. With the other half of the army, he
raced to Minucius' rescue, turning the tide of battle, and allowing Minucius
to escape. A major disaster was narrowly avoided, but the Romans
still had tough choices to make.
Fabius' dictatorship
had expired, and he returned home, retiring with class. His final
act was to sell his farm property to pay the ransom for soldiers in his
command that Hannibal had captured. He still had no doubts that his
strategy was the most effective way to defeat Hannibal, so when the Romans
selected new consuls, he advised them to do as he had done. One of
the new consuls, Paulus Aemilius, came from a patrician family, and listened
carefully to Fabius' advice. Fabius told him, "We grow strong while
Hannibal grows continually weaker by delay. He can only prosper
so long as he can fight battles and perform brilliant exploits. If
we deprive him of this power, his strength will be continually wasting
away, and the spirit and courage of his men waning." The other consul at this time was
Varro, a member of the plebeian class. It often seems that the Romans
were excellent at choosing two completely different personalities as consul,
so that the strengths of one balanced the weaknesses of the other.
It also seems that during the Punic Wars, they were always choosing one
sensible leader, along with an impetuous and rash one. As a popular
hero, Varro saw his chance to become a legend, by leading his army to victory
over Hannibal. All he needed was an opportunity. Hannibal tried to provide that
opportunity to him. Varro and Aemilius had decided to alternate power
daily, so there was continual confusion about what strategy was being pursued.
Varro, on his day, defeated one of Hannibal's scouting party, and became
quite inflamed with the idea of Hannibal's destruction. Roman scouts
came across Hannibal's camp, and found it deserted. Varro was certain
that this was the time to chase Hannibal down and finish him, but an officer
named Statilius convinced him that it was a trap. The Romans avoided
this trap. (It's about time!) A few days later, Hannibal really
did abandon his camp (though making it look like another trap), and was
able to slip away from the Romans, heading south. Varro was certain
that this was his great opportunity. Near the city of Cannae, the
two armies once again came into contact. It was an interesting dance,
with Varro preparing for war on his days, and Aemilius maneuvering the
troops away on his days. Sooner or later, there would have
to be a final decision. What would you think best to do?