The Right Moment

The Second Punic War (218 BC – 201 BC) was a major conflict in Europe from 218 to 201 BC. It was fought between Carthage and the Roman Republic, the two superpowers of that time. At the beginning of the war, Carthage had the advantage because their general, Hannibal, was a military genius. It began when Hannibal surprised the enemy by crossing of the Alps and attacked the Romans where he was the least expected. He crushed the Roman armies in the Battle of the Trebia and the ambush at Trasimene. 

Terrified by Carthage’s progress, the Romans appointed Fabius Maximus (280 BC – 203 BC) as Dictator to deal with the threat. Fabius assessed the conditions and came to the following conclusion. Carthage had a brilliant general and fighting him directly in the battlefield is costly. However, the Carthaginian army was so far away from the homeland that their supply chain would be difficult to maintain. Therefore, given these conditions, Fabius believed that the best strategy was to avoid direct engagement, and at the same time, to cut off their supply and let them falter.

Objectively speaking, the strategy employed by Fabius was sound. However, a sound decision was not necessarily a popular one. The Romans thought he was a coward who, instead of doing something to stop the Carthaginians, preferred to sit back and do nothing. They thought Fabius was simply giving the Carthaginians a chance to regroup, and if the war was allowed to go on, their “weak” Roman image might cause their allies to defect.

Due to this unpopularity, when Fabius finished his term, the Senate did not review his power and gave the command to someone else. The Romans decided to crush Cannibal once and for all. They raised a large army with an unprecedented scale. Normally, they employed four legions of army each year, and only used two in one battle. This time, however, they feared that they would lose everything if they didn’t give it all, so they resolved to bring not only four but all eight legions they had got into the field.

The two armies met in Cannae, which is in today’s Southern Italy. The Romans enjoyed an enormous numerical advantage compared to their enemy, as historians estimated that there were eighty-six thousand Romans versus fifty thousand Carthaginians. In addition, the Romans also enjoyed the advantage of fighting in their homeland, where their soldiers were determined to defend their homeland. However, in spite of all these, Hannibal once again proved his military genius by decisively defeated the Romans.

The result was disastrous for the Romans. Not only many Roman allies went over to Carthage, but it also damaged the morale of their people. Finally, they realised that the strategy of Fabius was sound. They changed their strategy and focused on taking strong points, just as what Fabius had been suggesting before the Battle of Cannae. Finally, with a shortage of manpower, Hannibal was compelled to retreat and let the war end in Roman victory.

War, just like business or any other endeavour in life, is won by careful calculation instead of blind and impulsive actions. When the conditions are not right and patience is called for, doing more is actually doing less. To subdue one’s emotional behaviours and acquire the discipline to stick to what is sound, even if it is counterintuitive and unpopular, is the hallmark of a great leader.

REFERENCE: Plutarch (1965). Makers of Rome. London: Penguin Classics.