How did the Carthaginians react to the losing of Spain in the Second Punic War?
The decisive battle soon followed. Unlike most battles of the Second Punic War, the Romans had superiority in cavalry and the Carthaginians had superiority in infantry. The Roman army was generally better armed and a head taller than the Carthaginian. Hannibal had refused to lead this army into battle because he did not expect them to be able to stand their ground. There had been very bitter arguments between him and the oligarchy. His co-general Hasdrubal Gisco was forced to commit suicide by a violent mob after he spoke in support of Hannibal’s view that such troops should not be led into battle. Before the battle Hannibal gave no speech to his new troops, only to his veterans. Scipio countered an expected Carthaginian elephant charge, which caused some of Hannibal’s elephants to turn back into his own ranks, throwing his calvary into disarray, the Roman cavalry was able to capitalize on this and drive the Carthaginian calvary from the field. However, the battle remained closely foug
