Battle of Geronium - Hannibal's Response

Hannibal's Response

The results of this debacle had not changed the strategic situation for Hannibal. His main winter base at Geronium still remained secured, and the Carthaginian general had not planned any major operations for the time being. The Roman army still outnumbered the Carthaginian one, and Hannibal did not wish to engage it unless he could ensure some decisive tactical advantage for his soldiers to win any future engagements with the minimal casualties. A war of attrition was a luxury he could not afford, being cut off from regular reinforcements from Carthage and adrift in hostile territory.

When informed of the division of the Roman army, Hannibal reconsidered his strategic position and studied the possibility of destroying part of the Roman army in a pitched battle. The Roman armies were camped separately, so one army could be drawn out and engaged under favorable conditions before the other could intervene. It was a foregone conclusion that Minucius was more likely to swallow whatever bait laid out by Hannibal, as Fabius had shown himself to be immune to all forms of Punic provocations throughout the summer of 217 BC. So, it became a question of getting Minucius to fight before Fabius did anything, not fighting Fabius before Minucius hightailed to the rescue. Hannibal's next challenge was to formulate a plan to entrap and destroy the Roman army commanded by Minucius. After a careful study of the terrain, Hannibal devised a tactical plan which would take advantage of the aggressiveness of Minucius and the geographical features of the chosen battle site. The plan was to entice Minucius with a careful and timed maneuver into thinking that he was fighting a repeat of the skirmish he had earlier fought at Geronium, while springing a trap similar to the one Hannibal had sprung on the Romans at the Battle of Trebbia in 218 BC on the unsuspecting army of Minucius. It had been suggested that Hannibal had deliberately lost the skirmish on purpose to obtain this very opportunity, but that speculation seems a bit far-fetched.