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Description

Hasdrubal's campaign to reach Italy and aid his brother Hannibal had finally reached the Italian Peninsula and went excellent up until this point. He had recruited fresh mercenaries in Celtiberia, Gallia and Northern Italian Gaul. His way had been aided by some of the constructions and works left behind by Hannibal's army before and the Gauls in the region respected and feared the Carthaginians enough to allow him not only to pass trough their territory, but to increase his ranks even further. The Romans feared to face not only Hannibal but now also his brother, especially after their last defeats and so they hoped Claudius Neros force of 40,000 men would keep Hannibal busy in the south, so that Marcus Livius could head north with two Roman armies to oppose and defeat Hasdrubal before he would have a chance to untie his forces with that of Hannibal. Planning to meet Hannibal in Umbria, Hasdrubal's plans fell into the hands of the roman consul Claudius Nero and he marched north with 7,000 men and 1,000 cavalry to defeat him and further soldiers were gathered among their way north, boosting their numbers with young and veteran volunteers alike. In Sena the Roman forces met and combined and because they arrived at night, they were not detected until the next morning when they would meet Hasdrubal to battle. Hasdrubal quickly realized that the Roman army had grown significantly over night, especially in cavalry and he knew the Roman tromped had sounded the arrival of a important Roman leader the night before from his encounters with Romans in Hesperia. This lead to him rightfully believing he now faced two Roman armies and retread from the field before facing defeat. During the night Hasdrubal retreated his forces, planning to head back to Gaul and establish communications with Hannibal once again, but along the march some of his guides betrayed him and left him lost at the banks of the Metaurus were he hoped to cross. Trapped against the banks of the Metaurus, many Gaulic troops had gotten drunk the night before and the Roman cavalry headed quickly towards them their Legions right behind. Hasdrubal's army was made up of 48,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 15 elephants, including 8,000 Ligurians, while the Romans fielded 37,000 to 40,000 Legionaries, but many had refused Rome's call to arms out of their allies and auxiliaries (only 2,000 additional forces) while Hasdrubal had around 3,000 Roman prisoners in camp from previous engagements with the Romans. Between the mountains and the river, Hasdrubal used his cavalry on the right flank, were they would face the Romans alongside his ten elephants, while his left flank was secured by hill terrain were he positioned most of the tired and drunk Gauls. The Roman cavalry faced the Carthaginian one, while the center and the left were mainly infantry, in hopes of crushing them with superior numbers.
The battle started with the Roman left flank and center pushing into the Carthaginians, but their superior cavalry numbers were of little use as many feared the elephants and routed from them, giving the Punci cavalry the chance to chase them and flank the Roman center, while the Punic center and right wing held and some Romans there fleed from the elephants and cavalry now flanking them as well, breaking the Roman lines and spreading mass confusion. On the infantry flank Claudius Nero did not manage to overcome the terrain and reach the Gauls on Hasdrubal's left flank. On the other flank meanwhile the Cavalry, Elephants and Hispanics flanked and routed the Roman center together with the Logures and forced the Roman to fall back, thanks to the Punic two pronged attack. Claudius Nero fought alongside his men and exhorted them to keep fighting, rallying fleeing soldiers and re-starting the battle wherever he was present. However his Roman Legionaries now faced a thee pronged attack, as the Punic forces by now had also made their way to the back of his lines, completely defeating the Romans and leading to a mass retreat and chaos. Four of his ten elephants died during the battle either to enemy attacks, or because they were killed by their own mounts to stop them from rampaging trough their own lines when chaos broke out all around them. Seeing that the Battle was lost and unwilling to be captured Livius. Around 10,000 Romans and mostly auxiliary forces fled the battle while around 40,000 additional Gallic Umbrian and other tribal soldiers joined Hasdrubal after this victory or raid and pillage Roman lands taken from them and destroy Roman colonies under the Carthaginian officer, Hamilcar. Hasdrubal quickly informed Hannibal of his victory and that he would come to march alongside him while Hamilcar and his Gauls would remain a threat to the Romans in the north, raid and pillage the countryside, towns and cities there. Hannibal knew thanks to this victory, the Star of Rome had began to sink before it fully had risen. Hasdrubal's officers Hamilcar, who stayed behind in Cisalpine Gaul would later sack the city of Placentia and Cremona with his unified Gallic army of 40,000 men and later some of the mercenaries and local tribal warriors of his would head south and reach Hannibal and Hasdrubal to join them as well once they heard the Romans Legion left in the North had headed south to help in the defense of Central Italy and the city of Rome. On his way down south, Hasdrubal's victory forced the remaining Romanarmy Legionaries to travel trough the marches and be unsure if he would chose to cross the Apennines to instigate a uprising in Etruscan lands against Roman rule there, or if he would head further south into Senoni, Picentes and Umbria, while the Veneti and Boii in northern Italy's Po Valley would rose up and destroyed Roman colonies and allies in the region.

Description

Hasdrubal's campaign to reach Italy and aid his brother Hannibal had finally reached the Italian Peninsula and went excellent up until this point. He had recruited fresh mercenaries in Celtiberia, Gallia and Northern Italian Gaul. His way had been aided by some of the constructions and works left behind by Hannibal's army before and the Gauls in the region respected and feared the Carthaginians enough to allow him not only to pass trough their territory, but to increase his ranks even further. The Romans feared to face not only Hannibal but now also his brother, especially after their last defeats and so they hoped Claudius Neros force of 40,000 men would keep Hannibal busy in the south, so that Marcus Livius could head north with two Roman armies to oppose and defeat Hasdrubal before he would have a chance to untie his forces with that of Hannibal. Planning to meet Hannibal in Umbria, Hasdrubal's plans fell into the hands of the roman consul Claudius Nero and he marched north with 7,000 men and 1,000 cavalry to defeat him and further soldiers were gathered among their way north, boosting their numbers with young and veteran volunteers alike. In Sena the Roman forces met and combined and because they arrived at night, they were not detected until the next morning when they would meet Hasdrubal to battle. Hasdrubal quickly realized that the Roman army had grown significantly over night, especially in cavalry and he knew the Roman tromped had sounded the arrival of a important Roman leader the night before from his encounters with Romans in Hesperia. This lead to him rightfully believing he now faced two Roman armies and retread from the field before facing defeat. During the night Hasdrubal retreated his forces, planning to head back to Gaul and establish communications with Hannibal once again, but along the march some of his guides betrayed him and left him lost at the banks of the Metaurus were he hoped to cross. Trapped against the banks of the Metaurus, many Gaulic troops had gotten drunk the night before and the Roman cavalry headed quickly towards them their Legions right behind. Hasdrubal's army was made up of 48,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, and 15 elephants, including 8,000 Ligurians, while the Romans fielded 37,000 to 40,000 Legionaries, but many had refused Rome's call to arms out of their allies and auxiliaries (only 2,000 additional forces) while Hasdrubal had around 3,000 Roman prisoners in camp from previous engagements with the Romans. Between the mountains and the river, Hasdrubal used his cavalry on the right flank, were they would face the Romans alongside his ten elephants, while his left flank was secured by hill terrain were he positioned most of the tired and drunk Gauls. The Roman cavalry faced the Carthaginian one, while the center and the left were mainly infantry, in hopes of crushing them with superior numbers.
The battle started with the Roman left flank and center pushing into the Carthaginians, but their superior cavalry numbers were of little use as many feared the elephants and routed from them, giving the Punci cavalry the chance to chase them and flank the Roman center, while the Punic center and right wing held and some Romans there fleed from the elephants and cavalry now flanking them as well, breaking the Roman lines and spreading mass confusion. On the infantry flank Claudius Nero did not manage to overcome the terrain and reach the Gauls on Hasdrubal's left flank. On the other flank meanwhile the Cavalry, Elephants and Hispanics flanked and routed the Roman center together with the Logures and forced the Roman to fall back, thanks to the Punic two pronged attack. Claudius Nero fought alongside his men and exhorted them to keep fighting, rallying fleeing soldiers and re-starting the battle wherever he was present. However his Roman Legionaries now faced a thee pronged attack, as the Punic forces by now had also made their way to the back of his lines, completely defeating the Romans and leading to a mass retreat and chaos. Four of his ten elephants died during the battle either to enemy attacks, or because they were killed by their own mounts to stop them from rampaging trough their own lines when chaos broke out all around them. Seeing that the Battle was lost and unwilling to be captured Livius. Around 10,000 Romans and mostly auxiliary forces fled the battle while around 40,000 additional Gallic Umbrian and other tribal soldiers joined Hasdrubal after this victory or raid and pillage Roman lands taken from them and destroy Roman colonies under the Carthaginian officer, Hamilcar. Hasdrubal quickly informed Hannibal of his victory and that he would come to march alongside him while Hamilcar and his Gauls would remain a threat to the Romans in the north, raid and pillage the countryside, towns and cities there. Hannibal knew thanks to this victory, the Star of Rome had began to sink before it fully had risen. Hasdrubal's officers Hamilcar, who stayed behind in Cisalpine Gaul would later sack the city of Placentia and Cremona with his unified Gallic army of 40,000 men and later some of the mercenaries and local tribal warriors of his would head south and reach Hannibal and Hasdrubal to join them as well once they heard the Romans Legion left in the North had headed south to help in the defense of Central Italy and the city of Rome. On his way down south, Hasdrubal's victory forced the remaining Romanarmy Legionaries to travel trough the marches and be unsure if he would chose to cross the Apennines to instigate a uprising in Etruscan lands against Roman rule there, or if he would head further south into Senoni, Picentes and Umbria, while the Veneti and Boii in northern Italy's Po Valley would rose up and destroyed Roman colonies and allies in the region.