Battle of Ilipa
The battle of Ilipa is definitely the biggest event of the Second Punic War, it was the victory of the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio (later known as Scipio Africanus) over Carthaginian forces in Spain in Second Punic War. The battle signaled the end of Carthaginian power in Spain and marked a turning point in the war against the Carthaginian general Hannibal.
Scipio, who had campaigned in Spain since 210 BCE, met the combined force of Hasdrubal Gisco and Mago, Hannibal's brother near Ilipa. With 45,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalries, he was about 10,000 fewer than the enemy, but the training reforms initiated by Scipio, as well as the strategic acumen informed by years of facing the Carthaginians In the field, most have denied this numerical disadvantage. In the battle of Ilipa, the two armies spent several days of light, indecisive skirmishes, with both forces forming but retreating before full engagement. Once a template was established, Scipio dramatically changed the process. He ordered his troops to be fed and armed before dawn and sent horsemen and chariots (light infantry) to attack Carthaginian outposts at dawn. This forced the Carthaginians to rush to the battlefield without breakfast, a tactic that was used to great effect by Hannibal in the Battle of the Trebbia.
- Time: 206 BC
