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The Battle of Trebia: December 218 - Coggle Diagram
The Battle of Trebia: December 218
Sempronius
Scipio's injury forced him to wait until his co-consul, Sempronius, arrived with reinforcements
Sempronius' troops managed to surprise a small detachment of Hannibal's cavalry on his way to Scipio's camp
Livy tells us that Sempronius and Scipio then discussed their next course of action
Cornelius Scipio wanted to wait because the Romans weren't as experienced as the Carthaginian force
Sempronius wanted a victory before his consulship expired at the end of the month, so he prepared for battle
Hannibal saw an opportunity...
if he won a decisive victory, then he would attract the support of more celtic tribes
he asked his brother, Mago, to create a small force of 1000 cavalry and infantry
at nightfall they were to hide from the Roman army, until a signal was given and they would attack the Roman army from behind
To lure sempronius into battle, Hannibal ordered his men to cross the river and taunt the romans to follow them
Hannibal made sure they did this before the Roman army had eaten breakfast
Sempronius fell into the trap and his army followed Hannibal's men into the river
Hannibal had ordered his men to cover themselves in oil to protect themselves from the cold temperatures, whereas the roman men were paralysed by the temperatures in the river
Sempronius ordered his velites to retreat, and Hannibal ordered his cavalry and elephants to attack the Roman cavalry
Now, Mago came into play and helped to surround the roman forces, who were exhausted and broke formation
hannibal ordered his men to masacre the roman troops, but Sempronius and hsi 10,000 principes escaped
The mistakes of Sempronius
he had enjoyed a small victory when he met a small group of Hannibal's men on his way to Scipio's camp, so he was over-confident
he ignored scipio's advice to wait until spring because he wanted to achieve something before his consulship ended
he was arrogant and overconfident, his army had not eaten before the battle and they froze in the river