Hannibal

Command #11

by Nic Fields, Peter Dennis (Illustrator)

By the end of the First Punic War against Carthage, the Romans had reduced the capital city of the Carthaginian Empire to a heap of ashes and destroyed its culture. In 219 BC, however, Hannibal, the eldest son of the charismatic general Hamilcar Barca, began the Second Punic War and was so successful that he threatened to destroy Roman power completely. Hannibal was a cool, thoughtful general, and can arguably be described as the greatest general of antiquity. His genius rested on a mixture of bluff, double bluff, and an ability to use all troop types to their best advantage. The battle of Cannae remains a chef-d'oeuvre to which generations of subsequent generals have aspired.

Genres: Biography, History, Ancient History, Military History, World History, Nonfiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2011

About the author

Dr Nic Fields started his career as a biochemist before joining the Royal Marines. Having left the Navy, he went back to University and completed a BA and PhD in Ancient History at the University of Newcastle. He was Assistant Director at the British School of Archaeology, Athens, and is now a lecturer in Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh.

Reviews

[Manolo González · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice analisis about Hannibal and his adversaries, It's a shame that is really short.

[Anibal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fields is quickly becoming an essential step to understand warfare in the classical world and to know the main shakers of the ancient world. As always he keeps the text very readable, fast paced, with very good analysis and supported by three very good color plates by Peter Dennis (Hannibal crossing the Alps exhorting the Troops; Hannibal fighting at Cannae; Hannibal meeting his nemesis Scipio at Zama), Good battle maps of Trebbia, Cannae and Zama, wonderful descriptions of those clashes (and also Lake Trasimeno).

But I believe that the main treat is the extremely competent evaluation of Hannibal's characteristics as general. It focuses his strengths as a leader and brilliant tactician (understanding his army and his foes) and explains supposed weaknesses like the avoidance to siege Rome for example. Using a vast amount of examples, Fields makes a very valid portrait of Hannibal Barca. The author also shows insight showing the true dimension of his foe - the roman military system and its absolute obstinacy and refusal to negotiate in a position of weakness (although for several times the author falls for the same old view of the huge manpower...Carthage also had HUGE manpower sources: All western north Africa (extremely populous at the time); Almost all Hispania; huge amounts of Gauls that gladly fought for Carthage; considerable parts of southern Italy, including the second and third biggest Italian cities - Capua and Tarentum . The staggering amount of casualties Carthage sustained through the war is proof of that)
The early life of the Carthaginian general and his fabulous administration of Carthage after the war are also mentioned although in necessarily summarized form. Hannibal's epic flight from the city that he served for so long and his service to Hellenistic rulers is also addressed, just like the Roman persecution that led to the suicide of Hannibal.

Now, there are some weaknesses in this book. Hannibal is the hero of Nic Fields - he admits it (which shows a great amount of honesty from the author) - and there is some bias in this book. Although the author defends with competence the question of Hannibal avoiding making sieges, it fails to mention the fact that the Romans outsmarted Hannibal in almost all sieges and that he failed to relieve his allies in the most important ones; also Claudius Nero isn't even mentioned in his opponents, even being one of the most competent foe he faced (right after Scipio and Fabius Cunctator, obviously); the defeats at Grumentum and Venusia are certainly exaggerated by Livius, they probably were big skirmishes, but the author doesn't even writes a line about those engagements.

Those remarks don't detract from this very good book that I truly recommend as one of the best ways to get introduced to one of the greatest military minds of all times.

[Bogdan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannibal Barca, probabil cel mai faimos și talentat general al Cartaginei, spaima romanilor, învingătorul de la Cannae și Trebia, a fost de asemenea și cel care a invadat peninsula italică trecând Alpii cu o armată (218 î.Hr), ajungând aproape și să cucerească orașul capitală Roma.
Editura Osprey ori a găsit rețeta secretului pentru cărțile de istorie militară ori sunt doar teribili de încâpățânați: pentru fiecare dintre seriile lor au un calapod fix de la care nu se abat cu niciun pas. Din fericire, mai toate cărțile publicate de ei au multe imagini, planșe detaliate cu hărțile de campanie precum și artă originală creată de un artist profesionist, care, ca un bonus, mai este și corectă dpdv istoric. Cartea aceasta despre Hannibal nu face nici ea excepție de la acest model universal: ne sunt prezentate bătăliile cele mai importante ale lui Hannibal, modul său de gândire, scurte biografii ale inamicilor săi prinicpali, dar și ce a făcut spre finalul vieții. Autorul are un stil detaliat și informativ, fără a fi uscat, cititul venind de la sine. Bineînțeles, cartea este un excelent punct de plecare, oarecum comprimat, despre viața și bătăliile generalului cu un singur ochi.

[Declan Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

The name of Hannibal became a warning in Rome, and remained in use even long after his death. This book explores and explains the life of Hannibal, and his impact on Carthage, Rome and the wider Mediterranean civilizations.

Short and concise, but clearly set out with lot of pictures, and maps of two of Hannibal's victories in Italy, this is a great book to explain his impact - especially for those who don't know much about his life.

[Cosma Catalin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief description of one of the most revered general of antiquity . I was only disappointed at the end .. few details about his mercenary life after the defeat against Rome and also the exile.

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent art, very good intro to Hannibal. Makes me want to read more about him (Everything an Osprey book should do in my opinion). What I appreciated though is that one can tell how passionate Nic Fields is about the subject from the writing alone. It is almost, dare I say, irreverent? What I mean by that is, I felt like I was sitting down in a pub with Nic, listening to him describe Hannibal's greatest hits with great animation and excitement, rather than hearing him speak in a stuffy, 'these are the hallowed halls of history' setting.

[Neg Uneg · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very brief summary