Mago_s_2000

Member of ASC B. Because all great generals were already used, my alias is named after a younger brother of Hannibal: Mago. His ambush of the Romans in the Battle of the Trebia, fought in the Second Punic War between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Roman Republic legions under Sempronius Longus in December of 218 BC, made him famous. The battle took place in northern Italy, near Piacenza, on the left bank of the Trebbia River (or Trebia). The battle is named for the river... The night before the battle, an elite detachment under the command of Mago, were instructed to conceal themselves in the underbrush of the above-mentioned water-course, and prepare an ambush for the Romans. ... On the following morning, Hannibal sent his cavalry beyond the Trebbia to harass the nearby Roman camp and retreat, so as to lure the Romans into a position from which Mago’s hidden detachment could strike at the opportune moment. ... The day was raw; snow was falling; the Roman troops had not yet eaten their morning meal; yet, though they had been under arms for several hours, Sempronius pushed them across the Trebia, with the water breast-high and icy-cold. Arrived on the farther side, the Roman soldiers were so chilled that they could scarcely hold their weapons. Hannibal was ready to receive them. His men had eaten, rubbed themselves with oil before their camp-fires, and prepared their weapons... The Numidian cavalry attacked the Roman cavalry, strung out in pursuit. The Carthaginian wings attacked the Roman wings, forcing them back to the river and leaving the infantry, whom they intended to protect, exposed... Mago’s hidden force emerged from the ambush and fell upon the rear of the hard-pressed Roman infantry. With their morale already sapped by cold, hunger and fatigue, the Romans on the sides and in the rear broke formation under this fresh onslaught and ran for the river. ... As the disorganized men were milling about the river, Hannibal used the opportunity to effect a massacre. The great majority of the casualties fell here or drowned in the river. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Trebia)