Varro fails at Cannae.
You have changed History! This would have been the wiser choice,
as the Romans should have learned by now. You have to be concerned
for the intelligence of a people who keep getting the same lesson over
and over, but don't learn it. No Roman General is equal to Hannibal
in a head-on encounter. The only possible effective strategy against
him at home is to use the "Fabian Tactics" of maneuvering around
him, denying him supplies and rest, and wear him down. Varro could
not understand this, any more than Sempronius, Flaminius, or Minucius before
him. "Ah, what fools these mortals be." Scroll down...
This is the
historically accurate choice, but not a good move at all. Varro is
no match as a General against Hannibal, and he proves it conclusively here.
The Battle at Cannae is likely the most vicious and terrible battle of
all the Punic Wars. At the beginning, a large number of Hannibal's
mercenaries "surrendered" to the Romans, throwing their weapons to the
ground, and declaring that they had had enough. The intensity of
the battle was such that the Romans could not spare many men to watch these
"prisoners". At an arranged time, the deserters produced daggers
from under their uniforms, attacking the Romans from behind. The
battle became a melee, and the Roman force was decimated. Aemilius himself was killed here,
wounded in battle, then speared by every passing Carthaginian soldier.
Terrible stories of the methods of killing were retold for years after
the battle. Rome itself now lay open to Hannibal's attack, whenever
he should choose to do so. Still, the Romans had some choices
of their own.
The Roman
command was in disarray. Citizens of Rome were certain that they
were doomed to be conquered by Hannibal, but determined to fight him with
every weapon they could create, even to the point of throwing household
items. They would not give in willingly. This made Hannibal's
Fortification
Problem even more dramatic. Winter was again coming on, and Hannibal
did not wish to commence a siege at this point. He removed his troops to Capua,
and determined to make this city the new capitol of Italy. He was
close enough to Rome to cause concern, but far enough away to be safe from
any Roman attack. He sent word to Carthage that he needed money and
reinforcements to finish his conquest. Carthaginian Senators thought
this odd, considering his reports of great success, and the bushels of
golden rings he had sent to them, taken from the fingers of dead Roman
soldiers at Cannae. (Many of these soldiers had been from the wealthiest
families of Rome, evidence that the war was becoming a desperate situation.) Eight years passed while Hannibal
awaited help. Because of the Port Problem, his assistance
would have to come by land. In the meantime, he created trouble around
Rome, but, when he did, the Romans would create trouble around Capua, so
it became something of a standoff. Eventually, word came that Hannibal's
brother, Hasdrubal (different from the one you met in the beginning), was
on his way over the Alps with a new army. This was a good thing for
the Carthaginians, because Hannibal's army had grown rather soft from the
years of city living in Capua. By now, of course, the Romans had
an entirely new set of consuls. Livius was given an army to take
north, where he was ordered to meet up with, and destroy, Hasdrubal.
Nero (not the much later Emperor) was in charge of the southern armies,
and was responsible for containing (at least) Hannibal. As it had
been all along, their orders were very specific. History often revolves around unusual
circumstances, as this scene does. Hasdrubal sent a message to Hannibal
that he had crossed the Alps, and would soon join with his brother to rid
the world of the accursed Romans. Unfortunately for him, he had been
very specific in his plans, which were intercepted by Roman agents.
These plans were brought to Nero, who was faced with the most important
choice of his life. Nero was fairly certain that Livius
could not defeat Hasdrubal with the forces he had available. Knowing
Hasdrubal's plans meant that Nero could be of great help to Livius if he
took part of his army to the north. This, of course, would be in
direct violation of the Specificity of Orders Problem, and could
cause him to be branded a traitor. Worse yet, there was no time to
send to Rome for Senate approval. If Nero chose to go north, it would
leave his army almost defenseless against Hannibal. If Hannibal defeated
the southern army, it would leave Rome defenseless against Hannibal's attack.
What a dilemma! What should Nero do?