Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War reexamines the Second Punic War from the ground up. Instead of retelling set-piece battles, it reconstructs campaigns with numbers orders of battle, losses, and force generation and tests every claim against the primary sources. The result is a clear, evidence-led narrative from Iberia to Italy, Africa, and even Hannibal's post-war campaigning in the eastern Mediterranean. Two convictions drive the work. First, that Rome's greatest military crisis can only be understood by quantifying the war: how many soldiers fought, where they were lost, and how fast either side could replace them. Second, that our main witness, Polybius brilliant but partisan toward the Scipios - must be read critically, not followed slavishly. Together, these principles redefine Hannibal not as a tactician without a plan after Cannae, but as a commander who adapted his strategy under relentless numerical pressure. New analyses shed light on the diffusion of the Macedonian phalanx and the emergence of the cohort legion; the use of reserves; the Battle of Tunis; Hannibal's actual Alpine attrition; new perspectives on Trebia and Cannae, Hannibal's post-Cannae strategy, Scipio Africanus' conquest of Iberia, Rome's two battles against the llergetes; and the Zama campaign from initial preparations to the final clash. Readers receive a testable framework - what probably happened, why, and how the commanders thought - rather than a narrative of inevitability. Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War is a must-read for historians, serious enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to weigh the evidence themselves.
| ISBN: | 9781806722648 |
| Publication date: | 15th November 2026 |
| Author: | Carl Fredrik Sverdrup |
| Publisher: | Helion & Company an imprint of Helion and Company |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 356 pages |
| Series: | From Alexander to Adrianople 3000 BCE-400 CE |
| Genres: |
Military history |
Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War reexamines the Second Punic War from the ground up. Instead of retelling set-piece battles, it reconstructs campaigns with numbers orders of battle, losses, and force generation and tests every claim against the primary sources. The result is a clear, evidence-led narrative from Iberia to Italy, Africa, and even Hannibal's post-war campaigning in the eastern Mediterranean. Two convictions drive the work. First, that Rome's greatest military crisis can only be understood by quantifying the war: how many soldiers fought, where they were lost, and how fast either side could replace them. Second, that our main witness, Polybius brilliant but partisan toward the Scipios - must be read critically, not followed slavishly. Together, these principles redefine Hannibal not as a tactician without a plan after Cannae, but as a commander who adapted his strategy under relentless numerical pressure. New analyses shed light on the diffusion of the Macedonian phalanx and the emergence of the cohort legion; the use of reserves; the Battle of Tunis; Hannibal's actual Alpine attrition; new perspectives on Trebia and Cannae, Hannibal's post-Cannae strategy, Scipio Africanus' conquest of Iberia, Rome's two battles against the llergetes; and the Zama campaign from initial preparations to the final clash. Readers receive a testable framework - what probably happened, why, and how the commanders thought - rather than a narrative of inevitability. Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War is a must-read for historians, serious enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to weigh the evidence themselves.
Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War features in the following genres: Military history
Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War is available in Paperback
Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War was written by Carl Fredrik Sverdrup and published by Helion & Company an imprint of Helion and Company
Hannibal Barca and the Second Punic War has 356 pages
Yes it is part of From Alexander to Adrianople 3000 BCE-400 CE series
£31.50