Battle of the Upper Baetis
Part of the Second Punic War
Date: 211 BC Location: near the Upper Baetis River Result: Carthaginian victory
Combatants
Carthage	Roman Republic
Commanders
Hasdrubal Barca	Publius Cornelius Scipio† Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus†
Strength
35,000 foot, 3,000 Numidians, 7,500 Spanish tribals	30,000 foot, 3,000 Horse + 20,000 Celt-Iberian mercenaries
Casualties
unknown-	approximately 22,000

Combatants Roman Republic Carthage Commanders Publius Cornelius Scipio†, Titus Sempronius Longus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Gaius Flaminius†, Fabius Maximus, Claudius Marcellus†, Lucius Aemilius Paullus†, Gaius Terentius Varro, Marcus Livius Salinator, Gaius Claudius Nero, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus†, Masinissa Hannibal Barca, Hasdrubal Barca†, Mago Barca†, Hasdrubal Gisco, Maharbal, Syphax, Hanno the... Battles of the Second Punic War Created by Panairjdde with GMT (Generic Mapping Tools, gmt. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC - 210s BC - 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC Years: 216 BC 215 BC 214 BC 213 BC 212 BC - 211 BC - 210 BC 209 BC... Guadalquivir is one of the major rivers of Spain. ... Carthaginian settlements in the western Mediterranean. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Hasdrubal was the name of several Carthaginian generals, among whom the following are the most important: 1. ... Publius Cornelius Scipio (died 211 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. ... Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus (d. ... Combatants Roman Republic Carthage Commanders Publius Cornelius Scipio†, Titus Sempronius Longus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Gaius Flaminius†, Fabius Maximus, Claudius Marcellus†, Lucius Aemilius Paullus†, Gaius Terentius Varro, Marcus Livius Salinator, Gaius Claudius Nero, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus†, Masinissa Hannibal Barca, Hasdrubal Barca†, Mago Barca†, Hasdrubal Gisco, Maharbal, Syphax, Hanno the... The Battle of Ticinus (also Tichino or Techino) a battle of the Second Punic War fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Romans under Publius Cornelius Scipio in November 218 BC. It was the first battle to take place on Italian soil. ... 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The Battle of Numistro was fought in 210 BC between Hannibals army and a Roman army led by Marcus Claudius Marcellus. ... The Battle of Asculum was fought in 209 BC between Hannibals Carthaginian army, and a Roman force. ... The Battle of Baecula was Scipio Africanus’s first major field battle after he had taken command of Roman interests in Spain during the Second Punic War, in which he routed the Carthaginian army under the command of Hasdrubal Barca. ... The Battle of Grumentum was fought in 207 BC between Romans led by Gaius Claudius Nero, and Hannibals Carthaginian army. ... The Battle of the Metaurus was a pivotal battle in the ancient conflict between Rome and Carthage, fought in 207 BC near the Metaurus River in Italy. ... The Battle of Ilipa was a battle of the Second Punic War. ... The Battle of Crotona was fought in 204 BC between Hannibals Carthaginian army, and a Roman force led by Sempronius. ... The Battle of Bagbrades (also known as Campi Magni, Great Plains) was fought in 203 BC between a combined Carthaginian and Numidian force, and the Roman army of Scipio Africanus. ... Combatants Carthage Roman Republic East Numidia Commanders Hannibal Scipio Africanus Masinissa Strength almost 58,000 infantry 6,000 cavalry 80 war elephants 34,000 Roman infantry 3,000 Roman cavalry 6,000 Numidian cavalry Casualties 31,000 killed and wounded 15,000 captured 1,500 killed 4,000 wounded The...

Introduction

The Battle of the Upper Baetis was fought in 211 BC between a Carthaginian force led by Hasdrubal Barca (Hannibal's brother) and Roman force led by Publius Cornelius Scipio and his brother Gnaeus. The immediate result was a Carthaginian victory in which both brothers were killed. Despite this defeat, the brothers had spent seven years (218BC - 211BC) in Hispania, which in turn limited the resources available to Hannibal who was simultaneously fighting the Romans in Italy. These two battles also represent the only victories in major land battles in which Hannibal was not in command of the Carthaginian armies. Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC - 210s BC - 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC Years: 216 BC 215 BC 214 BC 213 BC 212 BC - 211 BC - 210 BC 209 BC... Hasdrubal was the name of several Carthaginian generals, among whom the following are the most important: 1. ... Bust of Hannibal Hannibal (247 BC – 183/182 BC; sometimes referred to as Hǎnnibal Barca) was a Carthaginian politician and statesman who is considered to be one of the finest military generals in history. ... Publius Cornelius Scipio (died 211 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. ... Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus (d. ... Roman theater at Mérida; the statues are replicas Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra and Gibraltar) and to two provinces created there in the period of the Roman Republic: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ...

Strategic Situation

After the defeat of Hasdrubal Barca in the Battle of Dertosa in the spring of 215 BC, the Romans had secured their bases in the north of Ebro. They then proceeded to win over some Iberian tribes, raid Carthaginian lands in the South of the Ebro, with Publius Scipio raiding as far South as Saguntum in 214 BC. Both the Romans and Carthaginians faced and put down Spanish tribal revolts. The Scipios recieved no reinforcement from Italy, where Hannibal Barca had the Romans hard pressed. Hasdrubal was the name of several Carthaginian generals, among whom the following are the most important: 1. ... Saguntum, now Sagunt, (Castilian Sagunto) is an ancient city in the fertile district of Camp de Morvedre in the province of Valencia in eastern Spain. ...

Hassdrubal meanwhile had been reinforced by 2 armies, led by his younger brother Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco. These armies fought several indecisive battles with the Scipio brothers during 215-211 BC. On the whole, the situation was stable enough for Hasdrubal Barca had to shift to Africa to put down a rebellion by Syphax, a Numidian king in 212 BC. However, Hasdrubal Barca returned to Spain in late 212 BC, bringing 3,000 Numidians to Spain under Masinissa, the future king of Numidia. Mago Barca (also spelled Magon) (243 BC - 203 BC), brother of the Carthaginian General Hannibal, he played a major role in the Second Punic War against Rome. ... Hasdrubal Gisco was a Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War. ... Syphax was a king of the Masaesyles of western Numidia. ... Masinissa, King of Numidia Masinissa or Massinissa (c. ...

On other fronts, while Hannibal had managed to win over Capua, capture Tarentum and generally retain his hold over Lucania, Bruttium and Apulia, the Romans had retaken several Italian towns and had besieged both Capua and Syracuse. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Map of Italy showing Taranto in the bottom right Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, southern Italy. ... For the mountain in Canada named after Lucania, see Mount Lucania. ... Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ... Apulia (official Italian name: Puglia) is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Clinton Square in Downtown Syracuse Syracuse is an American city in Central New York. ...

Prelude

The Scipio brothers had hired 20,000 Celt-Iberian mercenaries to reinforce their army of 30,000 foot and 3,000 horse. Observing that the Carthaginian armies were deployed separately from each other, with Hasdrubal Barca and 15,000 troops near Amtorgis, and Mago Barca, Hasdrubal Gisco with 10,000 troops each further to the West of Hasdrubal, the Scipio brothers planned to split their forces. Publius Scipio decided to take 20,000 Romans and allied soldiers and attack Mago Barca near Castulo, while Gnaeus Scipio took one double legion (10,000 troops) and the mercenaries to attack Hasdrubal Barca. This would lead to 2 battles, the Battle of Castulo and the Battle of Ilorca to taking place within a few days of each other.

Gneaus Scipio arrived at his objective first. However, Hasdrubal Barca had already ordered the armies of Hasdrubal Gisco, Masanissa and Indibilis, a friendly Spanish chieftain, to join Mago near Castulo. Hasdrubal Barca held his ground against Gneaus Scipio, staying within his fortified camp, then managed to bribed the Celt-Iberian mercenaries to desert Gneaeus Scipio.

Battle of Castulo

As Publius Scipio neared Castulo, he was harassed by the Numidian light cavalry under Masanissa day and night. When informed that Indibilis with 7,500 Iberians was moving into his line of retreat, Publius Scipio decided to attack the Spanish chieftain, fearing that he would be surrounded. He left 2,000 soldiers under a legate, Tiberius Fonteus, in his camp, and marched out to attack the Iberians at night. Scipio marched all night and caught Indibilis and his men by surprise in early morning, and with a 18,000 to 7,500 advantage, began to gain the upper hand in the ensuing action. However, the Iberians managed to hold off the Romans in the confused battle just long enough for Masanissa to arrive, whom Scipio had hoped to evade undetected, but had failed.

With the Numidian horse attacking from the flank, the Roman assult began to slacken. When Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco arrived with their armies, the Romans finally, after a grim struggle,broke and fled, leaving Publius Scipio dead on the field. Mago gave the Numidians enough time to loot the dead before force marching the army towards Hasdrubal Barca's position. A few handful of survivors managed to reach the camp.

Battle of Ilorca

Gnaeus Scipio had lost the advantage of numbers with the desertion of the mercenaries. Although unaware of Publius Scipio's fate, Gnaeus decided to withdraw towards northern Spain after Mago and Hasdrubal Gisco arrived with their armies. The Romans moved out of their camp leaving his camp fires burning and made for Ebro at night. The Numidians located them the following day, their attacks forcing the Romans to take position on a hilltop for the night near Ilorca.. The main Carthaginian army arrived the during the night. In desperation, the Romans tried to create a defencive wall with baggages and saddles, as the ground was too stoney for digging. The Carthaginians easily overran this, and Gnaeus was killed in the fighting, most of his army was destroyed.

Aftermath

The Roman fugitives fled north of Ebro, where they eventually gathered a hodge-podge army of 8,000. The Carthaginian commanders made no coordinated attempts to wipe them out and send help to Hannibal Barca. Rome sent some 10,000 troops under Cladius Nero in late 211 BC to reinforce their position. Nero scored no spectacular victories, while the Carthaginians did not launch a coordinatet assult on the Romans in Spain. With the arrival of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the son of Publius Scipio with another 10,000 troops in 210 BC, the Carthaginians would regret their inaction in the Battle of Cartagena in 209 BC. Hannibal Barca Hannibal Barca (247 BC – 182 BC) was a military commander of ancient Carthage, best known for his achievements in the Second Punic War in marching an army from Spain over the Pyrenees and the Alps into northern Italy and defeating the Romans at the Battles of the river... Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major (Latin: P·CORNELIVS·P·F·L·N·SCIPIO·AFRICANVS) (236 - 183 BC) was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic. ...

With the Carthaginian armies in Spain failing to eliminate the Romans, Hannibal would not get any reinforcements from Spain during the crucial year of 211 BC, when the Romans were besieging Capua.

Reference

-G.P. Baker, Hannibal, 1990.