Campaign 400: The Second Punic War in Iberia 219–206 BC.

Campaign 400: The Second Punic War in Iberia 219–206 BC. (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-second-punic-war-in-iberia-219-206-bc-from-hannibal-at-saguntum-to-the-battle-of-ilipa-mir-bahmanyar/19994256?ean=9781472859754)

Yes, I am one of those people who has always been fascinated by Hannibal. Back in the day when I was very young the shopping center across from our home in Hamburg, Germany had an old game in one of the retail stores. It wasn’t so much a game in the traditional sense but more a of question and answer one, a test your knowledge kind of a thing. The question that has remained with me to this day was:  How many elephants did Hannibal have when he crossed the Alps?

Since then life has kept me busy but the fascination for the Punic Wars remained throughout eventually leading to a 200 plus book collection as well as hundreds if not thousands of scholarly articles. I have travelled to Italy, including Sicily, and Spain to which I will return this year for some additional trips to Phoenician/Carthaginian sites.

Campaign 400 The Second Punic War in Iberia 219–206 BC came out of several failed book proposals. Seemingly, the market did not want yet another book on Hannibal – what’s wrong with editors? Fortunately, I pitched my long time editor Nikolai Bogdanovic, who also had commissioned Campaign 299 on the battle of Zama, a smaller aspect of the incredible Punic Wars and he accepted the proposal. Spain it was and I was delighted.

The exciting thing for me was to trace the first Carthaginian encroachment before the Second Punic War in Spain. Phoenicians had been there of course, as had Carthaginians and many others. I was also excited about the non-Hannibal actors in the theater such as Hamilcar, the Hasdrubals, Mago and Numidian leaders who proved crucial for and against Carthage throughout the campaigns. And then, of course, there was Hannibal as a young commander having learned the art of war and winning his first battles in Iberia. Examining sieges, focusing on Saguntum mostly, it is easy to understand the challenges Hannibal would have had to have faced had he laid siege to Rome after his mass-slaughter victory over the Romans at Cannae years later in mainland Italy. The Second Punic War in Iberia 219–206 BC spends considerable time in the early years of the re-conquest of the peninsula by Carthage. It traces its slow but methodical expansion along the south-eastern seaboard and the founding of several bases including that of New Carthage. It details the competition with Greek colonies and alliances that led to Roman interference and eventual war.

Spain with its diverse cultures and tribes and with its varying environments from coasts to plains to  mountain ranges are fully featured in the Iberian campaigns. Who can forget Scipio’s audacious attack on New Carthage? Or Hannibal’s march through Spain to lay siege to several native cities east of modern Madrid or the battle he fought outnumbered four to one while returning to his base at New Carthage? The other fascinating events were the ever-shifting alliances for and against the Carthaginian and Roman invaders resulting in the assassinations of Hamilcar and Hasdrubal the Fair, and the abandonment, at times, of Roman forces leading to disastrous results. Two Scipios died in Spain. For Hannibal, Spain was the proving ground as a highly-skilled commander but the fight for the peninsula was by and large waged by his brothers Hasdrubal and Mago. 

The campaign in Spain was crucial to the overall conduct of the second of the Punic Wars, and Carthage, often accused of not supporting the war effort, did spend fortunes on reinforcements despite its naval inferiority to the Romans. Ultimately, Spain was conquered by the Romans, the logistical support for Hannibal in Italy was cut off, Numidian alliances shifted favoring Rome, finally leading to Carthage’s defeat in the Second Punic War. Often the Numidian and Iberian warriors are left with a poor image by many scholars. In this book I hope to demonstrate their value and contributions to the overall campaigns.

My last book featured the wonderful artwork of the great Peter Dennis who recently retired. I have seen the work of the Italian artist Marco Capparoni for the new book and I am rather pleased. Hopefully,  you too will enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it – well, I actually had a blast. 

The Second Punic War in Iberia 219–206 BC is an excellent primer for anyone interested in general military history in this theater of war. Its release date is 23 April, 2024.