by Polybius
[1] ρεῖς ἐνέβαλλον τοὺς ἔνδον. Ἄννων δὲ περὶ μὲν τὰς παρασκευὰς ἐνδεχομένως ἐγίνετο: καὶ γὰρ ἦν πρὸς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος εὐφυής: [2] ἐξορμήσας δὲ μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἕτερος ἦν: καὶ γὰρ τοῖς καιροῖς ἀστόχως ἐχρῆτο καὶ τοῖς ὅλοις πράγμασιν ἀπείρως καὶ νωθρῶς. [3] διὸ καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον εἰς Ἰτύκην παραβοηθήσας τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις καὶ καταπληξάμενος τοὺς ὑπεναντίους τῷ πλήθει τῶν θηρίων: εἶχεν γὰρ οὐκ ἐλάττους ἑκατὸν ἐλεφάντων: καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα λαβὼν προτερήματος ἀρχὴν ὁλοσχεροῦς οὕτως ἐχρήσατο κακῶς ὥστε κινδυνεῦσαι προσαπολέσαι καὶ τοὺς πολιορκουμένους. [4] κομίσας γὰρ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως τοὺς καταπέλτας καὶ τὰ βέλη καὶ συλλήβδην ἁπάσας τὰς πρὸς τὴν πολιορκίαν παρασκευὰς καὶ στρατοπεδεύσας πρὸ τῆς πόλεως ἐνεχείρησε προσβάλλειν πρὸς τὸν τῶν ὑπεναντίων χάρακα. [5] τῶν δὲ θηρίων βιασαμένων εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν, οὐ δυνάμενοι τὸ βάρος οὐδὲ τὴν ἔφοδον οἱ πολέμιοι μεῖναι πάντες ἐξέπεσον ἐκ τῆς στρατοπεδείας. [6] καὶ πολλοὶ μὲν αὐτῶν ἀπέθανον τρωθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων, τὸ δὲ διασῳζόμενον μέρος πρός τινα λόφον ἐρυμνὸν καὶ σύμφυτον ἔμενεν, πιστεῦον ταῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν τόπων ἀσφαλείαις. [7] ὁ δ᾽ Ἄννων εἰθισμένος Νομάσι καὶ Λίβυσι πολεμεῖν, οἵτινες ὅταν ἅπαξ ἐγκλίνωσι ποιοῦνται τὴν φυγὴν ἐπὶ δύ᾽ ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς ἐκτοπίζοντες αὑτούς, ὑπολαβὼν καὶ τότε πέρας ἔχειν τοῦ πολέμου καὶ νενικηκέναι τοῖς ὅλοις, [8] τῶν μὲν στρατιωτῶν ὠλιγώρησε καὶ καθόλου τῆς παρεμβολῆς, αὐτὸς δ᾽ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐγίνετο περὶ τὴν τοῦ σώματος θεραπείαν. [9] οἱ δὲ συμπεφευγότες τῶν μισθοφόρων εἰς τὸν λόφον, σύντροφοι μὲν γεγονότες τῆς Βάρκα τόλμης, συνήθεις δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν κατὰ Σικελίαν ἀγώνων πολλάκις τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας ποτὲ μὲν ὑποχωρεῖν, ποτὲ δὲ πάλιν ἐκ μεταβολῆς ἐγχειρεῖν τοῖς πολεμίοις, [10] καὶ τότε συνιδόντες τὸν μὲν στρατηγὸν ἀπηλλαγμένον εἰς τὴν πόλιν, τοὺς δὲ πολλοὺς διὰ τὸ προτέρημα ῥᾳθυμοῦντας καὶ διαρρέοντας ἐκ τῆς στρατοπεδείας, [11] συστραφέντες ἐπιτίθενται τῷ χάρακι καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν αὐτῶν ἀπέκτειναν, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἠνάγκασαν φυγεῖν αἰσχρῶς ὑπὸ τὰ τείχη καὶ τὰς πύλας: [12] ἐκυρίευσαν δὲ τῆς ἀποσκευῆς ἁπάσης καὶ τῆς τῶν πολιορκουμένων παρασκευῆς, ἣν Ἄννων πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐκκομίσας ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐποίησε τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ὑποχείριον. [13] οὐ μόνον δὲ περὶ τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν οὕτως ἀνεστράφη νωθρῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας περὶ τὴν καλουμένην Γόρζαν ἀντιστρατοπεδευσάντων αὐτῷ τῶν πολεμίων, λαβὼν καιροὺς δὶς μὲν ἐκ παρατάξεως εἰς τὸ νικᾶν δὶς δ᾽ ἐξ ἐπιθέσεως, [14] ἅτε καὶ στρατοπεδευόντων σύνεγγυς αὐτῷ τῶν ὑπεναντίων, ἀμφοτέρους δοκεῖ τούτους εἰκῇ καὶ παραλόγως προέσθαι.
74. Hanno, however, was busying himself with some success in providing defences. In this department of a general’s duty he showed considerable ability; but he was quite a different man at the head of a sally in force: he was not sagacious in his use of opportunities, and managed the whole business with neither skill nor promptitude. It was thus that his first expedition miscarried when he went to relieve Utica. The number of his elephants, of which he had as many as a hundred, struck terror into the enemy; yet he made so poor a use of this advantage that, instead of turning it into a complete victory, he very nearly brought the besieged, as well as himself, to utter destruction. He brought from Carthage catapults and darts, and in fact all the apparatus for a siege; and having encamped outside Utica undertook an assault upon the enemy’s entrenchment. The elephants forced their way into the camp, and the enemy, unable to withstand their weight and the fury of their attack, entirely evacuated the position. They lost a large number from wounds inflicted by the elephants’ tusks; while the survivors made their way to a certain hill, which was a kind of natural fortification thickly covered with trees, and there halted, relying upon the strength of the position. But Hanno, accustomed to fight with Numidians and Libyans, who, once turned, never stay their flight till they are two days removed from the scene of the action, imagined that he had already put an end to the war and had gained a complete victory. He therefore troubled himself no more about his men, or about the camp generally, but went inside the town and occupied himself with his own personal comfort. But the mercenaries, who had fled in a body on to the hill, had been trained in the daring tactics of Barcas, and accustomed from their experience in the Sicilian warfare to retreat and return again to the attack many times in the same day. They now saw that the general had left his army and gone into the town, and that the soldiers, owing to their victory, were behaving carelessly, and in fact slipping out of the camp in various directions: they accordingly got themselves into order and made an assault upon the camp; killed a large number of the men; forced the rest to fly ignominiously to the protection of the city walls and gates; and possessed themselves of all the baggage and apparatus belonging to the besieged, which Hanno had brought outside the town in addition to his own, and thus put into the hands of the enemy.
But this was not the only instance of his incompetence. A few days afterwards, near a place called Gorza, he came right upon the enemy, who lay encamped there, and had two opportunities of securing a victory by pitched battles; and two more by surprising them, as they changed quarters close to where he was. But in both cases he let the opportunities slip for want of care and proper calculation.
[1] διόπερ οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι θεωροῦντες αὐτὸν κακῶς χειρίζοντα τὰς πράξεις, Ἀμίλκαν τὸν ἐπικαλούμενον Βάρκαν αὖθις προεστήσαντο, [2] καὶ τοῦτον ἐξέπεμπον εἰς τὸν ἐνεστῶτα πόλεμον στρατηγόν, δόντες ἑβδομήκοντα μὲν ἐλέφαντας καὶ τοὺς ἐπισυνηγμένους τῶν μισθοφόρων καὶ τοὺς ηὐτομοληκότας ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, ἅμα δὲ τούτοις πολιτικοὺς ἱππεῖς καὶ πεζούς, ὥστε τοὺς σύμπαντας εἰς μυρίους ὑπάρχειν. [3] ὃς κατὰ τὴν πρώτην εὐθέως ἔξοδον καταπληξάμενος τῷ παραδόξῳ τῆς ἐπιβολῆς ἥττησε μὲν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ὑπεναντίων, ἔλυσε δὲ τὴν τῆς Ἰτύκης πολιορκίαν, ἐφάνη δ᾽ ἄξιος τῶν προγεγονότων ἔργων καὶ τῆς παρὰ τῷ πλήθει προσδοκίας. [4] τὸ δὲ πραχθὲν ἦν ὑπ᾽
αὐτοῦ περὶ τὴν χρείαν ταύτην τοιοῦτον. τῶν γεωλόφων τῶν ἐπιζευγνύντων τὸν αὐχένα τὸν συνάπτοντα τὴν Καρχηδόνα πρὸς τὴν Λιβύην ὄντων δυσβάτων καὶ χειροποιήτους ἐχόντων διεκβολὰς ἐπὶ τὴν χώραν, συνέβαινε τοὺς περὶ τὸν Μάθω πάντας τοὺς διὰ τῶν προειρημένων λόφων εὐκαίρως κειμένους τόπους φυλακαῖς διειληφέναι, [5] πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τοῦ προσαγορευομένου Μακάρα ποταμοῦ διείργοντος κατά τινας τόπους παραπλησίως τὴν ἐπὶ τὴν χώραν τοῖς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἔξοδον καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ ῥεύματος ἀβάτου κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον ὑπάρχοντος, μιᾶς δ᾽ οὔσης ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ γεφύρας, καὶ ταύτην τηρεῖν τὴν δίοδον ἀσφαλῶς, πόλιν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς ᾠκοδομηκότας. [6] ἐξ ὧν συνέβαινε τοὺς Καρχηδονίους μὴ οἷον στρατοπέδῳ τῆς χώρας ἐπιβαίνειν, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τοὺς κατ᾽ ἰδίαν θέλοντας διαπεσεῖν ῥᾳδίως ἂν δύνασθαι λαθεῖν τοὺς ὑπεναντίους. [7] εἰς ἃ βλέπων Ἀμίλκας καὶ παντὸς πράγματος καὶ καιροῦ πεῖραν λαμβάνων διὰ τὸ δυσχρηστεῖν περὶ τὴν ἔξοδον διενοήθη τι τοιοῦτον. [8] τοῦ προειρημένου ποταμοῦ κατὰ τὴν εἰς θάλατταν ἐκβολὴν συνθεωρήσας κατά τινας ἀνέμων στάσεις ἀποθινούμενον τὸ στόμα καὶ τεναγώδη γινομένην τὴν παρ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ στόμα πάροδον, ποιήσας εὐτρεπῆ τῷ στρατοπέδῳ τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον καὶ κρύπτων ἐν αὑτῷ τὴν ἐπιβολὴν ἐτήρει τὸ προειρημένον σύμπτωμα. [9] παραπεσόντος δὲ τοῦ καιροῦ, νυκτὸς ἐξορμήσας ἔλαθε πάντας ἅμα τῷ φωτὶ τὸν προειρημένον τόπον διαβιβάσας τὴν δύναμιν. [10] παραδόξου δὲ τοῦ πράγματος φανέντος καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις, ὁ μὲν Ἀμίλκας προῆγεν διὰ τοῦ πεδίου, ποιούμενος τὴν πορείαν ἐπὶ τοὺς
75. The Carthaginians, therefore, when they saw his mismanagement of the campaign, once more placed Hamilcar Barcas at the head of affairs; and despatched him to the war as commander-in-chief, with seventy elephants, the newly-collected mercenaries, and the deserters from the enemy; and along with them the cavalry and infantry enrolled from the citizens themselves, amounting in all to ten thousand men. His appearance from the first produced an immediate impression. The expedition was unexpected; and he was thus able, by the dismay which it produced, to lower the courage of the enemy. He succeeded in raising the siege of Utica, and showed himself worthy of his former achievements, and of the confidence felt in him by the people. What he accomplished on this service was this.
A chain of hills runs along the isthmus connecting Carthage with the mainland, which are difficult of access, and are crossed by artificial passes into the mainland; of these hills Mathos had occupied all the available points and posted guards there. Besides these there is a river called Macaras (Bagradas), which at certain points interrupts the passage of travellers from the city to the mainland, and though for the most part impassable, owing to the strength of its stream, is only crossed by one bridge. This means of egress also Mathos was guarding securely, and had built a town on it. The result was that, to say nothing of the Carthaginians entering the mainland with an army, it was rendered exceedingly difficult even for private individuals, who might wish to make their way through, to elude the vigilance of the enemy. This did not escape the observation and care of Hamilcar; and while revolving every means and every chance of putting an end to this difficulty about a passage, he at length hit upon the following. He observed that where the river discharges itself into the sea its mouth got silted up in certain positions of the wind, and that then the passage over the river at its mouth became like that over a marsh. He accordingly got everything ready in the camp for the expedition, without telling any one what he was going to do; and then watched for this state of things to occur. When the right moment arrived, he started under cover of night; and by daybreak had, without being observed by any one, got his army across this place, to the surprise of the citizens of Utica as well as of the enemy. Marching across the plain, he led his men straight against the enemy who were guarding the bridge.
[1] τὴν γέφυραν φυλάττοντας. οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Σπένδιον συνέντες τὸ γεγονὸς ἀπήντων εἰς τὸ πεδίον καὶ παρεβοήθουν ἀλλήλοις, οἱ μὲν ἐκ τῆς περὶ τὴν γέφυραν πόλεως ὄντες οὐκ ἐλάττους μυρίων, οἱ δ᾽ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰτύκης ὑπὲρ τοὺς μυρίους καὶ πεντακισχιλίους. [2] ἐπεὶ δ᾽ εἰς σύνοπτον ἧκον ἀλλήλοις, νομίσαντες ἐν μέσῳ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἀπειληφέναι, σπουδῇ παρηγγύων ἅμα παρακαλοῦντες σφᾶς αὐτοὺς καὶ συνῆπτον τοῖς πολεμίοις. [3] ὁ δ᾽ Ἀμίλκας ἦγε μὲν τὴν πορείαν πρώτους ἔχων τοὺς ἐλέφαντας, ἐπὶ δὲ τούτοις τοὺς ἱππεῖς καὶ τοὺς εὐζώνους, τελευταῖα δὲ τὰ βαρέα τῶν ὅπλων. [4] κατιδὼν δὲ προχειρότερον ἐπιφερομένους τοὺς ὑπεναντίους, ἀναστρέφειν παρήγγειλε πᾶσι τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ. [5] καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς πρωτοπορείας ἀναστρέψαντας σπουδῇ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἀποχώρησιν ἐκέλευσε: τοὺς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῆς οὐραγίας ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπάρχοντας ἐξ ἐπιστροφῆς περισπῶν ἐξέταττε πρὸς τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἐπιφάνειαν. [6] οἱ δὲ Λίβυες καὶ μισθοφόροι νομίσαντες αὐτοὺς καταπεπληγμένους φυγεῖν, λύσαντες τὴν τάξιν ἐπέκειντο καὶ συνῆπτον εἰς τὰς χεῖρας ἐρρωμένως. [7] ἅμα δὲ τῷ τοὺς ἱππεῖς συνεγγίσαντας τοῖς παρατεταγμένοις ἐκ μεταβολῆς ὑποστῆναι, τὴν δὲ λοιπὴν δύναμιν ἐπάγειν, ἐκπλαγεῖς γινόμενοι διὰ τὸ παράδοξον οἱ Λίβυες ἐγκλίναντες εὐθέως ἔφευγον, ὡς ἂν εἰκῇ καὶ σποράδην ἐπικείμενοι. [8] λοιπὸν οἱ μὲν τοῖς κατόπιν ἐπιφερομένοις περιπίπτοντες ἐσφάλλοντο καὶ διέφθειρον αὑτούς τε καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους: οἱ δὲ πλείους συνεπατήθησαν, ἐκ χειρὸς τῶν ἱππέων ἐπικειμένων αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν θηρίων. [9] ἀπώλοντο μὲν οὖν εἰς ἑξακισχιλίους τῶν Λιβύων καὶ τῶν ξένων, ἑάλωσαν δὲ περὶ δισχιλίους: οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ διέφυγον, οἱ μὲν εἰς τὴν πρὸς τῇ γεφύρᾳ πόλιν, οἱ δ᾽ ἐπὶ τὴν πρὸς Ἰτύκῃ παρεμβολήν. [10] Ἀμίλκας δὲ ποιήσας τὸ προτέρημα τὸν προειρημένον τρόπον, εἵπετο κατὰ πόδας τοῖς πολεμίοις καὶ τὴν μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς γεφύρας πόλιν ἐξ ἐφόδου κατέσχεν, προεμένων καὶ φευγόντων εἰς τὸν Τύνητα τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ πολεμίων, τὴν δὲ
λοιπὴν χώραν ἐπιπορευόμενος τὰς μὲν προσήγετο, πλείστας δὲ κατὰ κράτος ἐξῄρει. [11] τοῖς δὲ Καρχηδονίοις βραχύ τι θάρσους ἐνειργάσατο καὶ τόλμης, ἐπὶ ποσὸν αὐτοὺς ἀπαλλάξας τῆς προγεγενημένης δυσελπιστίας.
76. When he understood what had taken place Spendius advanced into the plain to meet Hamilcar. The force from the city at the bridge amounted to ten thousand men; that from before Utica to more than fifteen thousand men; both of which now advanced to support each other. When they had effected a junction they imagined that they had the Carthaginians in a trap, and therefore with mutual words of exhortation passed the order to engage, and at once commenced. Hamilcar was marching with his elephants in front, his cavalry and light troops next, while his heavy armed hoplites brought up the rear. But when he saw the precipitation of the enemy’s attack, he passed the word to his men to turn to the rear. His instructions were that the troops in front should, after thus turning to the rear, retire with all speed: while he again wheeled to the right about what had been originally his rear divisions, and got them into line successively so as to face the enemy. The Libyans and mercenaries mistook the object of this movement, and imagined that the Carthaginians were panic-stricken and in full retreat. Thereupon they broke from their ranks and, rushing forward, began a vigorous hand to hand struggle. When, however, they found that the cavalry had wheeled round again, and were drawn up close to the hoplites, and that the rest of the army also was being brought up, surprise filled the Libyans with panic; they immediately turned and began a retreat as precipitate and disorderly as their advance. In the blind flight which followed some of them ran foul of their own rear-guard, who were still advancing, and caused their own destruction or that of their comrades; but the greater part were trampled to death by the cavalry and elephants who immediately charged. As many as six thousand of the Libyans and foreign troops were killed, and about two thousand taken prisoners. The rest made good their escape, either to the town on the bridge or to the camp near Utica. After this victory Hamilcar followed close upon the heels of the enemy, carried the town on the bridge by assault, the enemy there abandoning it and flying to Tunes, and then proceeded to scour the rest of the district: some of the towns submitting, while the greater number he had to reduce by force. And thus he revived in the breasts of the Carthaginians some little spirit and courage, or at least rescued them from the state of absolute despair into which they had fallen.