Battle of Ager Falernus - Importance

Importance

The battle itself was smaller in scale when compared to the Battle of Ticinus. Although Fabius was not duped by Hannibal’s moves, his blocking force at the pass was. Leonard Cottrell, in his book “Hannibal: Enemy of Rome”, wrote that the trick was designed to be recognized by Fabius as a trick. Hannibal had studied the mind of his opponent, and devised a plan to make him do exactly what Hannibal needed him to do. Fabius thought Hannibal was trying to get him to fight a night action over broken, uneven ground, where Roman infantry would lose their greatest advantages of discipline and teamwork, as their formations would become disorganized. Since Hannibal was choosing the battle ground and the hour, he might have sprung other surprises to gain further advantages on the Romans. Fabius predictably did what Hannibal had anticipated: nothing. The Romans guarding the pass, with no Fabius to keep them in check, thought they were doing their job when they rushed out, preventing a Carthaginian escape. Again, they acted as Hannibal had anticipated, and the Carthaginians took advantage of their actions to escape.

It seems both commanders here were following one of the observations of Sun Tzu, “A battle avoided cannot be lost’’. Fabius, who had avoided fighting a pitched battle with Hannibal because he now held the upper hand, faced Hannibal, who now had to avoid a pitched battle, because he would have to assault fortified Roman positions directly. As B.H. Liddell Hart had observed in his books Strategy and Great Captains Unveiled, successful generals normally understand the concept of economy of force and the value of indirect approach, and also the implications of another Sun Tzu observation, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and victory will be yours”. Hannibal demonstrated all these factors in planning, implementing and orchestrating this small but significant episode. In one years time, he would give a very devastating demonstration of his tactical abilities at a place in Apulia called Cannae. Also, a night operation is always hazardous, and requires a certain amount of discipline and administrative control, which was superbly demonstrated by the Carthaginians.