Bagradas 256 BC

[Monad]

Finished putting the finishing touches (legion organisation diagrams) to the battle of Bagradas 256 BC. It is part of the volume (some 120 pages), dealing with the Roman Fleet of the First Punic War, which I may upload to academia in the near future. Bagradas is a very interesting battle, because of the shrinking size of the legions involved.

Eutropius and Orosius give the Roman army that landed in Africa at 32,000 men, which allocates each consul 16,000 men. While at Aspis, Polybius gives Regulus and army of 15,000 infantry, 500 cavalry and 40 ships.

For the battle of Bagradas, Polybius numbers the Carthaginian army at 12,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and about 100 elephants. The 12,000 Carthaginian infantry represents Marcus Regulus' army, which includes both infantry and cavalry that sailed from Aspis to Tunis. The 4,000 Carthaginian cavalry represents the infantry and cavalry left at Aspis with Regulus' 40 ships. The figure of about 100 elephants represents the quinqueremes in Regulus' fleet that sailed from Aspis to Tunis. Regulus sailed from Aspis to Tunis with 12,000 men (16,000 minus 4,000 at Aspis = 12,000). In the following year, Orosius, and our only source for this, claims that the consuls for 255 BC, pitched camp near Aspis, and then engaged and defeated a Carthaginian army in a land battle, which resulted in the loss of 9,000 Carthaginian soldiers.

Following Roman military doctrine, as Regulus has left 4,000 men at Aspis, the number of men left to protect his fleet near Tunis would be smaller. Following Roman military doctrines, the number of men left to protect the fleet near Tunis is about 3,000 men, leaving exactly 9,000 men (infantry and cavalry) to march on Tunis. Orosius' 9,000 Carthaginians lost is Regulus actual army size.

When facing the Carthaginian army, Polybius has the Romans station the velites in the van, with the legions arrayed behind them "many maniples deep." By doing this, Polybius explains that the whole Roman line was shorter and deeper. Polybius has 2,000 Romans on the left wing, referred to by Polybius as maniples, after avoiding the charge of the elephants, were able to charge the mercenaries on the Carthaginian right wing. Those 2,000 Romans have been rounded, and belong to a legion. Polybius' reference to the legions being many maniples deep is correct. They are deeper than normal because Regulus' legions at Bagradas have an uneven number of centuries, and how the Romans deal with this, was to increase the size of a maniple. At Bagradas, each maniple has 3 centuries, so 180 infantry in total. When the Romans have smaller legions, they change to the centuries from a horizontal organisation to a vertical organisation. This is the organisation method the Romans had been doing for the period from 513 BC to 386 BC. At Bagradas, they revert back to it.

After the battle, Polybius cites the Carthaginians lost 800 mercenaries from the right wing, while the 2,000 men who pursued the fleeing Carthaginian mercenaries managed to escape to Aspis. This is crap, the legion actually routed at Bagradas. Regulus and 500 others were captured. The 800 Carthaginians has been converted from the 800 hastati in a legion (3,200 in total). The 500 captured with Regulus has been rounded from 540 infantry (3 maniples). Orosius has Regulus together with 50 of his men taken prisoner. The 50 captured has been rounded from 40 infantry, that belong to the 540 infantry. This I found is a common trait in the ancient sources, and Tacitus for Mons Graupius does the same thing by changing the 3,360 Roman cavalry into 3,000 Roman cavalry facing the Caledonians, and 360 Roman cavalry lost. It is also a common practice with Appian.