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It's the year 202BCE and two of history's greatest generals | 0:00:02 | 0:00:05 | |
are battling to dominate the ancient world. | 0:00:05 | 0:00:07 | |
Hannibal of Carthage | 0:00:09 | 0:00:11 | |
against Rome's Scipio. | 0:00:11 | 0:00:12 | |
Tonight, a team of wrestlers... | 0:00:14 | 0:00:16 | |
Get them to do a big swing round behind the Romans. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:19 | |
..take on a team of board game enthusiasts. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
We have them. We have them. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
You are getting surrounded! | 0:00:24 | 0:00:26 | |
They are going to fight each other in a virtual rerun of the historic | 0:00:28 | 0:00:31 | |
battle of Zama. | 0:00:31 | 0:00:33 | |
Rome takes on Carthage in an epic do or die struggle. | 0:00:33 | 0:00:37 | |
Can history be rewritten? | 0:00:37 | 0:00:39 | |
The fate of two great civilisations hangs in the balance. | 0:00:39 | 0:00:43 | |
Which one will emerge as the ruler of the Mediterranean world? | 0:00:43 | 0:00:47 | |
This is Time Commanders. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:49 | |
Hello and welcome to Time Commanders, | 0:00:56 | 0:00:58 | |
the show that brings military history to life, | 0:00:58 | 0:01:01 | |
resurrects the mightiest generals of all time | 0:01:01 | 0:01:03 | |
and reruns the greatest battles ever fought. | 0:01:03 | 0:01:07 | |
We've brought together a team of experts, | 0:01:07 | 0:01:10 | |
familiar with every ancient weapon known to man | 0:01:10 | 0:01:13 | |
and a military historian who brings years of experience - | 0:01:13 | 0:01:17 | |
advising governments and armies on strategy. | 0:01:17 | 0:01:20 | |
And at the heart of it all is the engine that brings our | 0:01:20 | 0:01:23 | |
ancient battles to life. | 0:01:23 | 0:01:24 | |
Based on detailed historical research | 0:01:24 | 0:01:26 | |
and factoring in everything from terrain to fitness and morale. | 0:01:26 | 0:01:31 | |
Tonight, from London, we have three historical board game enthusiasts, | 0:01:31 | 0:01:36 | |
-James, Dan and Peter, welcome. -Thank you. | 0:01:36 | 0:01:39 | |
So, you guys think you know about military history? | 0:01:39 | 0:01:42 | |
-Wouldn't want to presume anything. -I'd like to think we would. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:45 | |
I'm a history teacher, so if I don't know about the history, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:48 | |
I'm in trouble with my students when this airs. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:50 | |
And, from Glasgow, we have three guys who are no strangers to battle, | 0:01:50 | 0:01:54 | |
because all three of them are wrestlers. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
Ali, Ross, Gary, welcome to the show. | 0:01:57 | 0:02:01 | |
Wrestlers! So, no-one is going to want to face you in a fight. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
-Don't fancy their chances, no. -Wouldnae be a good idea. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:07 | |
If it does go wrong, will you be tempted to chuck | 0:02:07 | 0:02:09 | |
-someone on the floor? -That's always an option. | 0:02:09 | 0:02:12 | |
Do you seriously want to do battle with wrestlers? | 0:02:13 | 0:02:16 | |
Not physically! | 0:02:16 | 0:02:17 | |
Teams, tonight, you will be fighting the battle of Zama. | 0:02:20 | 0:02:24 | |
After decades of fighting, | 0:02:27 | 0:02:29 | |
this is the battle that will decide who rules the Mediterranean world | 0:02:29 | 0:02:33 | |
for centuries to come. | 0:02:33 | 0:02:35 | |
Rome takes on Carthage in one of THE most significant battles | 0:02:35 | 0:02:39 | |
of the classical period. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:41 | |
We've tossed a coin to decide which team | 0:02:41 | 0:02:43 | |
will embody the fighting spirit of which army. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:47 | |
Ali, Ross, Gary, you three will be Carthage. | 0:02:47 | 0:02:51 | |
A power on the rise, | 0:02:52 | 0:02:54 | |
a mercantile civilisation that has military aspirations. | 0:02:54 | 0:02:59 | |
That means James, Dan and Peter, you will be Rome. | 0:02:59 | 0:03:02 | |
You are used to being the alpha dog in the pack, | 0:03:02 | 0:03:05 | |
with no time for uppity pups. | 0:03:05 | 0:03:08 | |
You're Carthage and that means your general is a tactical genius. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:14 | |
Known to some as the father of strategy, Hannibal. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:18 | |
Having promised his father he'd spend his life fighting Rome, | 0:03:21 | 0:03:25 | |
by the battle of Zama, | 0:03:25 | 0:03:26 | |
Hannibal has created havoc all around the western Mediterranean. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:30 | |
Who has the strategic skills to step into this great general's sandals? | 0:03:32 | 0:03:37 | |
-That would be me. -You? | 0:03:37 | 0:03:39 | |
-Yeah. -Are you the best wrestler of the three? | 0:03:39 | 0:03:41 | |
-The most experienced. -The most experienced, yeah. | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
Right, OK. Is that how you have made this decision? | 0:03:46 | 0:03:48 | |
-It was kind of a team effort. -A group decision. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
Yeah, it was a group decision. We all spoke about it. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:53 | |
All right. If you are our Hannibal, | 0:03:53 | 0:03:56 | |
that means you're Hannibal's captains. | 0:03:56 | 0:03:57 | |
OK. Have you got it in you? | 0:03:57 | 0:03:59 | |
-Yeah. -Looking forward to it. -I tell you what, | 0:03:59 | 0:04:01 | |
there's a steely look in your eyes. | 0:04:01 | 0:04:03 | |
OK, Romans, that means that you are Hannibal's nemesis, | 0:04:03 | 0:04:07 | |
a general who stands proudly | 0:04:07 | 0:04:09 | |
in the pantheon of Rome's greatest ever generals - Scipio. | 0:04:09 | 0:04:14 | |
Scipio is famed as a gifted general and tactician, and this battle is | 0:04:15 | 0:04:20 | |
personal for him, too. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:22 | |
His father died in battle against Carthage a decade before Zama. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:26 | |
Who can take on the role of protecting Rome? | 0:04:27 | 0:04:31 | |
For the glory of my ancestors. | 0:04:31 | 0:04:33 | |
-You? -Yes. -Does he look like a leader to you? -He sounds like one. | 0:04:33 | 0:04:36 | |
He sounds like one certainly and he assumes he is one, so... | 0:04:36 | 0:04:40 | |
But, before anyone draws first blood, | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
we'll meet our two resident experts, | 0:04:46 | 0:04:48 | |
Doctor Lynette Nusbacher and Mike Loades. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
Greg, the Roman general Scipio has been fighting the Carthaginians all | 0:04:52 | 0:04:57 | |
over Europe and he is now ready to take the fight across | 0:04:57 | 0:05:02 | |
the Mediterranean to North Africa, | 0:05:02 | 0:05:04 | |
to fight the Carthaginians in their homeland | 0:05:04 | 0:05:07 | |
and destroy them as a threat to Rome. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:10 | |
Carthage has recalled Hannibal. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:14 | |
Hannibal is a hero in Carthage and he is the nemesis of Scipio. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:20 | |
He fought Scipio's father, he fought Scipio in Spain. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:24 | |
These two men have a shared destiny. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:28 | |
Now Hannibal has been brought back for a final stand-off | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
and a defeat at home, he will be finished. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:35 | |
With the city of Carthage itself under threat, | 0:05:36 | 0:05:39 | |
Hannibal has no choice but to hurry home from Italy. | 0:05:39 | 0:05:43 | |
We've got, then, Scipio coming from Rome to Sicily, | 0:05:46 | 0:05:51 | |
Sicily to Carthage itself and, guys, help me out here, | 0:05:51 | 0:05:55 | |
we expect the battle to be roughly there. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
Near modern-day Tunis. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
Yeah, OK. Fair enough. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
Got it? | 0:06:02 | 0:06:04 | |
Great. Now, before we send you headlong into battle, | 0:06:04 | 0:06:08 | |
each team gets to fight a skirmish, | 0:06:08 | 0:06:10 | |
a smaller engagement of the sort that might have taken place ahead | 0:06:10 | 0:06:14 | |
of the main battle. To help you with your skirmish, | 0:06:14 | 0:06:17 | |
we will visit our field team, who will show you some | 0:06:17 | 0:06:21 | |
of the weapons of the time and how they were used. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:24 | |
The outcome of this will not affect the battle, | 0:06:25 | 0:06:28 | |
but the skills our teams learn here should help. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:30 | |
Slings and javelins were the weapons of skirmishes, | 0:06:32 | 0:06:35 | |
light troops that engaged at the start of a battle. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:38 | |
The velites were young men, keen to win fame and glory. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:43 | |
They wore wolf skins to mark themselves out, | 0:06:43 | 0:06:46 | |
they were Rome's wolf cubs. | 0:06:46 | 0:06:47 | |
They carried a handful of javelins to hurl at the enemy. | 0:06:47 | 0:06:50 | |
You can't ignore this, you have to defend against it, | 0:06:51 | 0:06:54 | |
so if you're throwing at their face, | 0:06:54 | 0:06:55 | |
they've got to bring the shield up. When you bring the shield up, | 0:06:55 | 0:06:58 | |
one of my mates is going to throw low. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:00 | |
So, it's doing what all skirmishes do - it's keeping the enemy | 0:07:00 | 0:07:03 | |
pinned down, preventing them from forming up correctly. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:06 | |
Meanwhile, we're coming on apace. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:08 | |
It's a good idea not to throw away your last javelin, | 0:07:08 | 0:07:10 | |
-you may need it in the battle. -Indeed. Hand-to-hand. | 0:07:10 | 0:07:12 | |
That's why the velites carried this shield. | 0:07:12 | 0:07:14 | |
Surprisingly effective. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:17 | |
And on Hannibal's side, the skirmishers were slingers. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:22 | |
The best slingers came from the Balearic islands - Majorca, Minorca, | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
Ibiza, etc, and they were famous throughout the ancient world | 0:07:28 | 0:07:31 | |
for their prowess with a sling. | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
As weapons go, it's about as simple as it gets, | 0:07:37 | 0:07:40 | |
it is just a piece of rope. | 0:07:40 | 0:07:41 | |
It is, but it extends the leave of my arm, | 0:07:41 | 0:07:44 | |
making my throw much more powerful and the most important thing | 0:07:44 | 0:07:47 | |
is the ammo, and the ammo was as big as this. | 0:07:47 | 0:07:49 | |
Would you like one of these in your face? | 0:07:49 | 0:07:51 | |
Not a great deal. That would hit you with some power, wouldn't it? | 0:07:51 | 0:07:54 | |
What about if you're attacked by enemy skirmishes? | 0:07:54 | 0:07:57 | |
Well, then they retreat, they're not designed for close combat, | 0:07:57 | 0:08:00 | |
they are strictly noncontact troops. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:03 | |
Your slingers will be really vital for you, Carthage, | 0:08:03 | 0:08:06 | |
but be careful not to squander them in close fighting. | 0:08:06 | 0:08:09 | |
Carthage, Mike's here to explain how your skirmish is going to work. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:16 | |
So, you are going to have to defend a little village. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:21 | |
You've got four units of Balearic slingers. | 0:08:21 | 0:08:24 | |
Just two cavalryman, | 0:08:25 | 0:08:27 | |
who can scout about and have a look, and you have some heavy infantry. | 0:08:27 | 0:08:32 | |
These are guys with a shield and a big, curved sword called a falcata. | 0:08:32 | 0:08:36 | |
It's a really good, crunching, | 0:08:36 | 0:08:38 | |
heavy, get in there and mix it up kind of weapon. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:41 | |
They're pretty tough guys. | 0:08:41 | 0:08:43 | |
Romans are coming towards this village. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:46 | |
It is going to be a surprise to find you there, but, if they do find you, | 0:08:46 | 0:08:51 | |
they've got superior forces. | 0:08:51 | 0:08:53 | |
You need to be a wee bit canny. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:55 | |
You can use the streets and hide and get around, | 0:08:55 | 0:08:59 | |
so stealth would be something to think about. | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
-Try and stay alive. -That's all you have to do. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:05 | |
You have to stay alive, is really the thing. | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
And kill as many of them as you can. | 0:09:08 | 0:09:11 | |
You can see the buildings here, can't you? | 0:09:12 | 0:09:14 | |
It's obvious, all right? | 0:09:14 | 0:09:17 | |
Here is, of course, where you are. | 0:09:17 | 0:09:19 | |
Right? That is you. | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
Over here are your enemy. | 0:09:23 | 0:09:27 | |
Those Romans! | 0:09:27 | 0:09:28 | |
All right. They are going to be heading towards you. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:33 | |
You've got to protect that town. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:36 | |
Hannibal, you're the general, so you need to set the strategy here. | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
OK? You'll be positioned here to do that. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:43 | |
'To ease Gary in as Hannibal, he'll only have one captain at a time to | 0:09:43 | 0:09:47 | |
'command, so Ross and Ali will take it in turns | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
'to control their troops.' | 0:09:49 | 0:09:51 | |
Captains, you'll be down in the field with the operators. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:56 | |
The operators will turn your commands into actions, | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
but there will be a lot going on, so good luck. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
Right, good. Let's bash the Romans. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
Take positions. 'First up, Captain Ross.' | 0:10:06 | 0:10:09 | |
-Ross? -Yeah. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:12 | |
They don't know we're here, so when they're coming down the middle, | 0:10:12 | 0:10:15 | |
I want to position our troops | 0:10:15 | 0:10:16 | |
at either side of this village of the houses. | 0:10:16 | 0:10:18 | |
-On the outside, even some on the waterfront here. -Yeah. | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
Do you know what I'm talking about? When they come in, | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
down the middle, we can then come around and flank them | 0:10:24 | 0:10:26 | |
and create a really, really tight container. | 0:10:26 | 0:10:29 | |
And then we savagely maul them. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:30 | |
'So, to savagely maul the Romans, | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
'General Gary is going to send his Carthagian troops | 0:10:33 | 0:10:36 | |
'to hide among the buildings, hoping to ambush the enemy | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
'once they're in the centre of the town. Of course, | 0:10:39 | 0:10:42 | |
'that relies on the Romans walking straight down the main street.' | 0:10:42 | 0:10:46 | |
They're coming. | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
I can see them coming. Can you? | 0:10:49 | 0:10:51 | |
Ross, can we get those troops moved? | 0:10:51 | 0:10:53 | |
As they come into this village, the slingers are going to attack. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
-MIKE: -Gary is making a very sensible plan. | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
He's straight there with decision making. | 0:10:58 | 0:11:00 | |
Don't give them any form of escape. | 0:11:00 | 0:11:02 | |
-At all. -If it works, he's got it. | 0:11:02 | 0:11:04 | |
What happens if the Romans don't do what you think they're going to do | 0:11:05 | 0:11:08 | |
and walk straight down the middle of the high street? | 0:11:08 | 0:11:10 | |
-Look about a plan B. -Plan B? | 0:11:10 | 0:11:13 | |
-Right. -What if you hide behind that building there and go diagonally and | 0:11:13 | 0:11:17 | |
attack them that way. Do you know what I mean? | 0:11:17 | 0:11:19 | |
-Is this an ancient game of hide and seek? -Pretty much. | 0:11:19 | 0:11:22 | |
Ali is a real presence down there. | 0:11:22 | 0:11:24 | |
He's getting involved with his general. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:27 | |
That will be great, as long as Gary is prepared to exercise | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
his command and control over what actually happens. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:33 | |
-GARY: -Is this just my scout up here, Ross? | 0:11:34 | 0:11:36 | |
That's just a scout? Right. | 0:11:36 | 0:11:39 | |
-LYNETTE: -Ah, that is clever. Look at that. -Scouts up on the hill. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:42 | |
That's good. They're away from the village. | 0:11:42 | 0:11:44 | |
They're not saying there's any presence in the village. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:47 | |
-GARY: -So, when they come in, we can attack. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:48 | |
You realise the Romans aren't going to wait for you to reposition, | 0:11:48 | 0:11:51 | |
-don't you? -No, no. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:53 | |
Right captains, swap over. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:54 | |
'Next up, Captain Ali.' | 0:11:54 | 0:11:56 | |
The only thing I would maybe say is these slingers here on the left | 0:11:56 | 0:11:59 | |
near the coast, right next to the water, | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
they look as if they could be easily seen as they are approaching. | 0:12:01 | 0:12:04 | |
I mean, I would see that. | 0:12:04 | 0:12:06 | |
They're already slinging. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:10 | |
-We're already slinging. -They're already slinging. | 0:12:10 | 0:12:12 | |
-They're already doing it. -They are slinging. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:15 | |
They announced their presence too early. | 0:12:18 | 0:12:20 | |
They gave the game away. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:22 | |
They ran out of patience. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:24 | |
It's safe to say the Romans now know you are there. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:27 | |
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're not going to walk straight into this. -No. | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
Let them think that that's who they're only fighting, right now. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:34 | |
They don't know about these ones on the right. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:37 | |
The slingers on the shoreline have blown their cover, | 0:12:37 | 0:12:40 | |
but Gary still hopes he can use the rest of the troops he has hidden | 0:12:40 | 0:12:43 | |
around town to spring his trap. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:45 | |
Can I have the infantry, Ali? | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
Ali, see the infantry at five o'clock position? | 0:12:49 | 0:12:51 | |
Get them to do a big swing around behind the Romans. | 0:12:51 | 0:12:55 | |
We need to bring the slingers around. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
-Back here? -Yes. Infantry. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:01 | |
'Things are heating up. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:02 | |
'We've got battles on both sides of the main street now | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
'and the team is being forced to react quickly.' | 0:13:05 | 0:13:07 | |
-OK, we have two little battles going on here. -Yeah, yeah. | 0:13:09 | 0:13:11 | |
You have slingers on the left, what is that on the right? | 0:13:11 | 0:13:14 | |
Slingers on the right as well. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:16 | |
Bring this infantry around. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:18 | |
That's it. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
Despite giving their position away earlier than planned, | 0:13:20 | 0:13:22 | |
those slingers on the left-hand waterfront are proving exactly | 0:13:22 | 0:13:26 | |
why they were a feared force all around the Mediterranean. | 0:13:26 | 0:13:29 | |
ALARM BLARES | 0:13:29 | 0:13:31 | |
Captains, swap! | 0:13:31 | 0:13:34 | |
On the left-hand side there, you have routed the Romans. | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
-You've now got slingers with nothing to do. -That's it. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:39 | |
Yeah, bring them around and flank the ones | 0:13:39 | 0:13:41 | |
that are chasing my infantry. | 0:13:41 | 0:13:44 | |
Right? It will surprise them. | 0:13:44 | 0:13:46 | |
Gary's quick to reinforce his infantry, | 0:13:46 | 0:13:48 | |
who are taking a pounding from the Romans in the square. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
-That's it right there. Yeah, that's good. -Smart decision. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
-LYNETTE: -Look at that flexibility. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:57 | |
Yes. What the slingers have got, they have got mobility, | 0:13:57 | 0:14:01 | |
-they can whip around that other side very quickly. -That's right. | 0:14:01 | 0:14:03 | |
Much more mobile than the Romans. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:05 | |
Ross, can you see the big screen? | 0:14:06 | 0:14:09 | |
-Yeah. -That's what I want attacked. | 0:14:09 | 0:14:10 | |
They're getting attacked from both sides here. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:15 | |
There is a serious fight going on there and it looks like | 0:14:15 | 0:14:18 | |
the Romans are about to run away. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:19 | |
You've now got another fight going on further up the hill. | 0:14:19 | 0:14:22 | |
-Yeah, definitely. -Fine. | 0:14:22 | 0:14:24 | |
Bring the slingers in as much as you can. | 0:14:24 | 0:14:27 | |
The ones that were just moving. | 0:14:27 | 0:14:29 | |
Bring them in. Let's compress them. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:31 | |
OK, OK, the Romans are routing, the Romans are routing | 0:14:31 | 0:14:34 | |
-all over the field. -Rome is on the run. | 0:14:34 | 0:14:37 | |
That doesn't often happen. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:39 | |
They have taken some heavy losses, | 0:14:39 | 0:14:41 | |
but Hannibal and his Carthaginians have won the battle in the town. | 0:14:41 | 0:14:45 | |
But his men in the field to the north are in serious trouble. | 0:14:45 | 0:14:49 | |
Your troops are getting annihilated. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:51 | |
We need to get over there. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:52 | |
They're trying to bring their forces together, guys. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
They're trying to regroup. I want to split the troops around either side | 0:14:54 | 0:14:58 | |
of the set of houses, so I want one coming from the left | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
and one coming in from the right. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:03 | |
This might be Gary's final roll of the dice. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:06 | |
Can his men encircle the remaining Romans | 0:15:06 | 0:15:09 | |
before they have a chance to rally? | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
Just got to fight it out, guys, now. | 0:15:12 | 0:15:15 | |
Bring the scout back. | 0:15:15 | 0:15:16 | |
You might do this. You might do this! | 0:15:16 | 0:15:18 | |
-Keep fighting, guys. -You might actually do this! | 0:15:18 | 0:15:20 | |
Come on! | 0:15:20 | 0:15:22 | |
BATTLE CRIES | 0:15:22 | 0:15:25 | |
Your scout's having a go as well. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
GREG CHEERS | 0:15:29 | 0:15:30 | |
You've done it. The Romans are routing. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:34 | |
Very well done. It's not the most skilful battle I've ever seen, | 0:15:36 | 0:15:39 | |
-but it might be the bravest. -Good job, guys. -Nice one. | 0:15:39 | 0:15:41 | |
What a performance from our wrestlers. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:43 | |
They took on and beat a larger force of Romans. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:47 | |
A good result for them to take into the main battle later. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:50 | |
What I thought was really interesting | 0:15:55 | 0:15:57 | |
was the way you guys grew as a team in only a very few minutes. | 0:15:57 | 0:16:00 | |
At the beginning, Ali, you were right here beside Gary, | 0:16:00 | 0:16:03 | |
your general. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:04 | |
You were almost competing with him for who was going to run the show. | 0:16:04 | 0:16:09 | |
I didn't actually mean that. If that's the way it came across, | 0:16:09 | 0:16:11 | |
-sorry. -Once you've figured out a role for yourself, | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
you did it brilliantly. Absolutely brilliantly. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:16 | |
The thing that irritated me the most was starting | 0:16:16 | 0:16:18 | |
to sling a little bit early. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:20 | |
You announced where you were earlier than you needed to. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:23 | |
I was wanting them to come in more and then, all of a sudden, | 0:16:23 | 0:16:26 | |
we started firing, which, you know, is a bit of let down. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:30 | |
I sent them out and I might have messed that one up. | 0:16:30 | 0:16:32 | |
So, it's interesting, because what I'm getting from you is, it was | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
nobody's decision to start shooting and, as a result, | 0:16:35 | 0:16:39 | |
they had a fighting chance, and because the Romans are the Romans, | 0:16:39 | 0:16:43 | |
they took their fighting chance. | 0:16:43 | 0:16:45 | |
However, you took on the might of Rome and give them | 0:16:45 | 0:16:49 | |
-a good wrestling-kicking. -Yeah. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:51 | |
More from our field team now. | 0:16:54 | 0:16:56 | |
This one involves weapons and techniques that will feature | 0:16:57 | 0:17:01 | |
in the Roman skirmish, so don't blink. | 0:17:01 | 0:17:03 | |
Every legionary soldier was armed with a gladius, | 0:17:08 | 0:17:10 | |
the famed Roman short sword. | 0:17:10 | 0:17:13 | |
Combat training was a daily practice. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:16 | |
You see how they're moving around it. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:18 | |
They're developing their footwork. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:19 | |
They're using the shield as an offensive weapon | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
and that was key to the Roman legionary fighting system. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
Legionaries used both the shield and the gladius - | 0:17:26 | 0:17:29 | |
the twin pistons of the Roman war machine. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:32 | |
The Roman army was famous for its discipline formation. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:35 | |
Shield walls crunching across Europe and north Africa. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:39 | |
You didn't want some young have-a-go jumping out of line, | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
breaking it all up, just for a bit of individual glory. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:45 | |
Hold the line. Discipline was everything. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:47 | |
-THEY CHANT: -One, two. One, two. One, two. | 0:17:47 | 0:17:50 | |
In order to hold formation, the Roman legionary only used short | 0:17:50 | 0:17:54 | |
thrusts. Wilder blows would risk breaking the line. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:57 | |
A short trust was enough to take a man out of action. | 0:17:57 | 0:18:00 | |
They were also pushed back with powerful shield strikes. | 0:18:00 | 0:18:03 | |
This is the Roman war machine in action. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:07 | |
A relentless meat grinder. | 0:18:07 | 0:18:10 | |
No matter how disciplined, all formations break up eventually. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:14 | |
It was then that the gladius could be used more freely, | 0:18:14 | 0:18:17 | |
adapted to the demands of individual combat. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:20 | |
Even against a spear, which has got, obviously, | 0:18:20 | 0:18:23 | |
advantage over me in terms of reach, I'm going to get out the way. | 0:18:23 | 0:18:26 | |
But, if I can close his line, then it's not a bad little tool. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:32 | |
To hold a gladius, to feel its weight and balance, | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
is to realise that this is an all-purpose slash, | 0:18:36 | 0:18:39 | |
thrust and punch weapon. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:40 | |
As versatile in a tight spot | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
as it was as the teeth of the Roman front line. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:46 | |
So, here we are on the Roman side of the battlefield. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:52 | |
Mike, from gladius we get gladiator, don't we? | 0:18:52 | 0:18:56 | |
We do. "Gladiator," simply means "swordsman." | 0:18:56 | 0:18:58 | |
Here's Lynette with the details of your skirmish. | 0:18:58 | 0:19:01 | |
Gentleman, you're coming into an enemy-held village in North Africa. | 0:19:02 | 0:19:09 | |
It's held by a reasonably chunky force of Carthaginians and you're | 0:19:09 | 0:19:16 | |
bringing into it a reasonably chunky force of Roman infantry. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:21 | |
The force you're taking into that town is going to be part triarii. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:26 | |
That is the grizzled old veterans of the Roman army, | 0:19:26 | 0:19:30 | |
the hard men at the back. | 0:19:30 | 0:19:32 | |
And, in front of them, you're going in with the principes. | 0:19:32 | 0:19:34 | |
That is the main line of Roman infantry. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:37 | |
The slightly younger guys, | 0:19:37 | 0:19:39 | |
the slightly hungrier guys and the guys who are a little bit quicker on | 0:19:39 | 0:19:42 | |
their feet. You haven't got cavalry support. | 0:19:42 | 0:19:46 | |
You haven't got your light forces to go and skirmish in front of you. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:50 | |
It's already been stripped away from you. | 0:19:50 | 0:19:52 | |
You need to go into this town and make it your own. | 0:19:52 | 0:19:56 | |
So, this is just a full-on infantry against infantry, big, meaty fight? | 0:19:58 | 0:20:03 | |
Well, this is a full-on infantry against somebody | 0:20:03 | 0:20:06 | |
-in that town meaty fight. -Fine. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:08 | |
Time Commanders, to your positions, please. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
Let's do battle. Come on! | 0:20:12 | 0:20:14 | |
'Taking on the captain's role first is Peter.' | 0:20:14 | 0:20:17 | |
Moving both units forward. Keep the triarii just slightly behind. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:21 | |
Engage them and watch the flanks. | 0:20:21 | 0:20:23 | |
James is going straight for it with a full frontal assault, | 0:20:23 | 0:20:27 | |
although he is worried the town's defenders might try | 0:20:27 | 0:20:29 | |
and attack him from the sides. | 0:20:29 | 0:20:31 | |
Shall we run into them or do you think the stamina? | 0:20:31 | 0:20:34 | |
-Wait for their charge. -OK, then. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
They're getting into a committee now. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
It's like, "I can't make the decision, what do you think?" | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
So, that's always a little bit dangerous | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
in this sort of operation, because once things start happening, | 0:20:44 | 0:20:48 | |
there's no time for that sort of chat. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:50 | |
Peter, you're being given quite a bit of responsibility here. | 0:20:50 | 0:20:54 | |
-How do you feel about that? -Fairly well about it. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:58 | |
I'm just concerned about the flanks coming in, | 0:20:58 | 0:21:01 | |
but if I can just get them to march in a straight line towards the enemy | 0:21:01 | 0:21:04 | |
and hit them with swords, that'll probably work. | 0:21:04 | 0:21:07 | |
Get the principes running forward, please. Triarii behind. | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
OK. Principes start running. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:11 | |
Do we want the triarii running? | 0:21:13 | 0:21:15 | |
Erm, n... | 0:21:15 | 0:21:17 | |
-Yes. -Too much thinking time there. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
'James and his team are steaming in, | 0:21:21 | 0:21:23 | |
'but they've not got the full picture.' | 0:21:23 | 0:21:26 | |
The Carthaginian are set up here with a big killing box | 0:21:26 | 0:21:29 | |
and the force of infantry ready to tempt the Romans in. | 0:21:29 | 0:21:34 | |
The Carthaginians are now moving back further into the town. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:40 | |
They're going to try to suck the Romans deeper into that town | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
and tear them to pieces. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:44 | |
-You're going to engage them? -Absolutely. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:48 | |
Halt when in javelin range, give me a volley and then close. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:51 | |
Finally, the Romans launch their attack. | 0:21:52 | 0:21:55 | |
They've taken the bait, | 0:21:55 | 0:21:57 | |
given the Carthaginians the chance to attack the Roman rear, | 0:21:57 | 0:22:00 | |
slamming their trap shut. | 0:22:00 | 0:22:03 | |
You're getting surrounded! You are getting surrounded! | 0:22:03 | 0:22:06 | |
Look, right, hang on! These guys in there. | 0:22:06 | 0:22:07 | |
Principes have pulled out and engaging on the right flank, | 0:22:07 | 0:22:10 | |
if you please. | 0:22:10 | 0:22:11 | |
-Thank you. -You're getting mullered in the middle there. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:15 | |
You are getting mullered in the middle! | 0:22:18 | 0:22:20 | |
Change captains. Change captains! | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
'Next up, Daniel.' | 0:22:22 | 0:22:25 | |
They're changing captains. | 0:22:25 | 0:22:26 | |
I think they'd do better to change generals. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
-Is this going how you planned? -This is exactly how it works. | 0:22:30 | 0:22:33 | |
You planned on being surrounded? | 0:22:33 | 0:22:34 | |
Absolutely. We've got them right where we want them. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
Principes in the town. Three units. | 0:22:39 | 0:22:41 | |
How are we looking? All of them engaged? | 0:22:41 | 0:22:42 | |
We're getting surrounded pretty badly, actually. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:45 | |
-Surrounded badly?! -And encircled. OK. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:48 | |
And it's not just in the main square that the Romans are in trouble - | 0:22:48 | 0:22:52 | |
James has left his triarii outside the town | 0:22:52 | 0:22:54 | |
and they're under attack, too. | 0:22:54 | 0:22:56 | |
You've got two fights going on here. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:00 | |
I'm not sure you're winning the fight outside the town. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:03 | |
-What's my priorities, cos...? -Both! | 0:23:03 | 0:23:05 | |
Two units of principes engage in that combat. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:08 | |
Take one out, tell it to engage in cavalry, please. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:10 | |
Bit late, bit late. Bit late to engage. | 0:23:10 | 0:23:12 | |
Oh! I think it's engaged you, mate! | 0:23:12 | 0:23:15 | |
-That's going to hurt. -It's engaged you. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:17 | |
The triarii have held their ground, which triarii do. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:20 | |
The old Roman expression, "The last hope is in the triarii." | 0:23:20 | 0:23:24 | |
If they're told to hold, they'll hold. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:26 | |
-That's right. -Your troops are doing quite well outside the town. | 0:23:26 | 0:23:29 | |
Absolutely. They're triarii. They know what they're doing. | 0:23:29 | 0:23:32 | |
-Now, those Carthaginian units are about to rout. -I'm aware. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:35 | |
Thank you. Thank you very much. You're incredibly helpful, sir, | 0:23:35 | 0:23:38 | |
and I'm incredibly appreciative of it. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:40 | |
Is this what you expected? | 0:23:40 | 0:23:42 | |
What, James yelling at me? Yeah, that's about right, yeah. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:45 | |
And all three units of triarii, let's march together. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:48 | |
Bring the three at the back of the middle there? | 0:23:48 | 0:23:50 | |
-Throw them into the centre. -Your best troops are coming into the | 0:23:50 | 0:23:53 | |
-town. -Everything in, now. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:54 | |
The triarii have survived the Carthaginians' cavalry attacks. | 0:23:54 | 0:23:57 | |
Now, James is committing everything he has to the fight in the town. | 0:23:57 | 0:24:01 | |
The Romans will finally have all of their combat power together, | 0:24:01 | 0:24:05 | |
-which they should had all along. -Yes. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:08 | |
-This is the pivotal moment for you, isn't it? -Absolutely. | 0:24:08 | 0:24:11 | |
Change captains! Swap over. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:13 | |
Swap them over. Thank you very much. | 0:24:13 | 0:24:15 | |
If you don't finish the Carthaginians in front of you, | 0:24:15 | 0:24:17 | |
-they're going to finish you from behind, aren't they? -Absolutely, | 0:24:17 | 0:24:20 | |
-yes. -There's an elephant! -An Elephant?! | 0:24:20 | 0:24:22 | |
-Oh, my God! -Nobody told me about elephants! | 0:24:22 | 0:24:24 | |
There's an elephant! | 0:24:24 | 0:24:26 | |
That elephant has just built a motorway through your unit. | 0:24:26 | 0:24:29 | |
That it has, but it's only one elephant. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:31 | |
Only one elephant, they cry, but look what it's doing. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:35 | |
It's coming back! | 0:24:35 | 0:24:36 | |
Look out! Jumbo! | 0:24:36 | 0:24:38 | |
Can we do anything about the elephant? | 0:24:38 | 0:24:40 | |
-We can't. -Right, now you've got more Carthaginian units. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
What do you want me to do with these? | 0:24:42 | 0:24:45 | |
OK, the unit in the middle, if it can be turned around... | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
It's too late. They've just been charged. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:50 | |
And the right are getting charged as well. | 0:24:50 | 0:24:52 | |
The triarii have routed. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:54 | |
The triarii have routed. You are now surrounded. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:57 | |
Triarii have gone, so where's the hope now? | 0:24:58 | 0:25:01 | |
Oh, cavalry now! | 0:25:01 | 0:25:03 | |
Ah, well, you know, I didn't see that coming. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:06 | |
In retrospect, maybe I should've remembered the cavalry, | 0:25:08 | 0:25:10 | |
but let's take the positives from this. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:12 | |
Is that another Roman unit routing? | 0:25:12 | 0:25:14 | |
-Yeah, it is. -What can I do? | 0:25:14 | 0:25:16 | |
Give me orders, give me instructions. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:17 | |
-Peter, how are you feeling? -Erm...defeated. | 0:25:17 | 0:25:20 | |
Everybody's gone! | 0:25:20 | 0:25:21 | |
And so it ends with a whimper. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:24 | |
-Oh, dear. -Hm. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:25 | |
Oh, dear. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
Oh, well. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:29 | |
It's all a bit quiet, isn't it? | 0:25:31 | 0:25:33 | |
'Not the result the Romans were after. | 0:25:35 | 0:25:37 | |
'They fell into the Carthaginian trap and just could not deal with | 0:25:37 | 0:25:41 | |
'that elephant. That has got to worry them | 0:25:41 | 0:25:43 | |
'as they approach the main battle.' | 0:25:43 | 0:25:45 | |
Ooh! | 0:25:49 | 0:25:51 | |
Three generations of Scipios are looking down at the people | 0:25:51 | 0:25:56 | |
who wrote off a Roman legion, and they're not impressed. | 0:25:56 | 0:26:01 | |
-Harsh. -When Peter asked you, "What shall I do?" | 0:26:01 | 0:26:06 | |
you said, "How are you feeling?" | 0:26:06 | 0:26:08 | |
-Yes, I did. -Wonderful compassion, but not terribly military. | 0:26:08 | 0:26:12 | |
Well, morale is important. | 0:26:12 | 0:26:14 | |
Well, it is. So you're assuming that you're going to live to fight | 0:26:16 | 0:26:19 | |
another day? You're assuming that that wasn't annihilation? | 0:26:19 | 0:26:21 | |
Exactly, sir. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:23 | |
-The elephant rather surprised you. -Yeah. | 0:26:23 | 0:26:26 | |
Well, how would you recommend one deals with an elephant? | 0:26:26 | 0:26:28 | |
You stick spears into them. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:30 | |
And it then runs rampaging and angry into its own men, | 0:26:30 | 0:26:34 | |
so it is something you can turn against the other side. | 0:26:34 | 0:26:37 | |
We are at Zama, be aware of the elephant in the room. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:41 | |
Did Scipio let you down a little bit there? | 0:26:41 | 0:26:45 | |
I think we could probably have made a unit from the back up to the | 0:26:45 | 0:26:48 | |
front, but hindsight is 20-20, so... | 0:26:48 | 0:26:49 | |
Yeah, but it's kind of your job though, wasn't it, to report that? | 0:26:49 | 0:26:52 | |
It was. So, I learned that as well. | 0:26:52 | 0:26:54 | |
I was innocent in all of this. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:57 | |
I made the error there and these guys did an excellent job. | 0:26:57 | 0:27:00 | |
Well, that's a very honourable admission. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:02 | |
You all worked very hard and it still could've gone either way. | 0:27:02 | 0:27:05 | |
Teams, you've now seen each other in action. | 0:27:09 | 0:27:13 | |
I wonder, does this now make the Carthaginians favourites, or...? | 0:27:13 | 0:27:18 | |
Well, they have got Hannibal on their side. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:20 | |
Oh, yes. Powerful card. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:21 | |
Anything you particularly admire, or...? | 0:27:21 | 0:27:24 | |
The fact that they were able to win. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:26 | |
That was quite impressive. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:28 | |
Are you sure, both teams, | 0:27:29 | 0:27:30 | |
that you've got the command structure right? | 0:27:30 | 0:27:32 | |
Yeah, definitely. | 0:27:32 | 0:27:34 | |
I think learning from the skirmish, | 0:27:34 | 0:27:36 | |
things like communication and stuff and commands, you know, | 0:27:36 | 0:27:39 | |
-I think we've got our own wee system now. -Do you have the right Scipio? | 0:27:39 | 0:27:42 | |
I think we might, but he might need to work on his communication | 0:27:42 | 0:27:45 | |
-and some of his tactics. -Absolutely. -Your general, | 0:27:45 | 0:27:47 | |
you'd think he needs work on his communication and his tactics, | 0:27:47 | 0:27:50 | |
-so what is it that he's got? A nice shirt? -Certainly. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:54 | |
He's got a loud voice as well, which helps in general-ships. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:58 | |
We can fill in the communication problem. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:00 | |
We can assist with the tactics by just sharing ideas. | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
Would you mind stepping down if one of them took over? | 0:28:03 | 0:28:06 | |
I'd rather like another crack to redeem myself. | 0:28:06 | 0:28:08 | |
Right, OK. So you're going to stay with the Scipio you've got? | 0:28:08 | 0:28:12 | |
He'll never let us hear the end of it otherwise. | 0:28:12 | 0:28:15 | |
Fair dues, fair dues. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:17 | |
Let's go to our field team one more time | 0:28:17 | 0:28:19 | |
to have a look at a staple of Roman warfare. | 0:28:19 | 0:28:23 | |
This is the pilum - the specialised spear of the Roman legionary. | 0:28:28 | 0:28:32 | |
They carried two - one for medium-to-short range | 0:28:32 | 0:28:36 | |
and a heavier one for very short range. | 0:28:36 | 0:28:38 | |
It's actually quite awkward to throw. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:41 | |
I mean, compared to a sports javelin, it doesn't go very far. | 0:28:41 | 0:28:44 | |
No, it's not a range weapon, it's a shock weapon. | 0:28:44 | 0:28:46 | |
And, of course, it could be used as a pike. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:48 | |
There were many instances ambushed by cavalry, | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
a small detachment of legionaries suddenly make a tight formation. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:54 | |
Out goes the pilum. | 0:28:54 | 0:28:56 | |
It must've looked like an angry, spiky hedgehog. | 0:28:56 | 0:28:59 | |
But, I mean, principally, it's a throwing weapon, | 0:28:59 | 0:29:01 | |
either to break an enemy's charge, or, for us, | 0:29:01 | 0:29:03 | |
just before the legionaries close. | 0:29:03 | 0:29:06 | |
This shield represents a barbarian hoard. | 0:29:06 | 0:29:09 | |
-Right. -Andrew, would you do the honours? -Really? | 0:29:09 | 0:29:13 | |
-Always a pleasure. -Thank you. You might want to back off. | 0:29:13 | 0:29:16 | |
Argh! | 0:29:18 | 0:29:20 | |
Wow. You can see here that it's broken on impact | 0:29:22 | 0:29:24 | |
and it was designed that way so it couldn't be reused by your enemy. | 0:29:24 | 0:29:27 | |
And another thing, it's gone straight through the shield, | 0:29:27 | 0:29:30 | |
so the shield's now completely useless. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:32 | |
It's jammed into the ground. | 0:29:32 | 0:29:33 | |
The guy behind here's going to have to drop it, if he's still alive. | 0:29:33 | 0:29:36 | |
He's used the enemy's momentum against it, because the harder they | 0:29:36 | 0:29:39 | |
run at us, the harder that that pilum's going to strike. | 0:29:39 | 0:29:43 | |
The most important thing for a Roman army was to maintain formation. | 0:29:43 | 0:29:46 | |
The pilum was an essential weapon to prevent the tide of an enemy army | 0:29:46 | 0:29:50 | |
from breaking its walls. | 0:29:50 | 0:29:52 | |
Now, the time for training is over. | 0:29:54 | 0:29:56 | |
Soon, our teams will take to the battlefield, | 0:29:56 | 0:29:59 | |
going head-to-head against each other in the battle of Zama itself. | 0:29:59 | 0:30:04 | |
So, before we get to the fight, Mike and Lynette, | 0:30:05 | 0:30:09 | |
can you set the scene for us, please? | 0:30:09 | 0:30:11 | |
What do we know about the battlefield? | 0:30:11 | 0:30:12 | |
Well, as you can see, it's on a flat desert plain. | 0:30:12 | 0:30:16 | |
There's no real topographical features to worry about. | 0:30:16 | 0:30:19 | |
A few stands of scrubby trees, but nothing there. | 0:30:19 | 0:30:22 | |
Perfect battlefield. | 0:30:22 | 0:30:24 | |
Perfect battlefield for cavalry. | 0:30:24 | 0:30:26 | |
Cavalry can move very fast on a plain. | 0:30:26 | 0:30:29 | |
They can get round your flanks, get behind you. The Numidian cavalry, | 0:30:29 | 0:30:33 | |
who are the elite cavalry at this time, | 0:30:33 | 0:30:36 | |
who have been fighting with Hannibal throughout his Italian campaign, | 0:30:36 | 0:30:40 | |
they have defected, largely, over to Scipio. | 0:30:40 | 0:30:45 | |
Scipio has made Masinissa king of Numida and, in exchange, | 0:30:45 | 0:30:50 | |
Masinissa has brought his wonderful cavalry in support of Scipio. | 0:30:50 | 0:30:54 | |
Hannibal has a few remnants, | 0:30:54 | 0:30:56 | |
but the cavalry advantage lies with the Romans. | 0:30:56 | 0:31:00 | |
The Carthaginians, as a pan-Mediterranean empire, | 0:31:00 | 0:31:05 | |
draw skills in from all over the known world, | 0:31:05 | 0:31:09 | |
so they've got people who are very good at fighting on a broad, | 0:31:09 | 0:31:13 | |
open space - just like those cavalry. | 0:31:13 | 0:31:16 | |
That's going to make this a real contest. | 0:31:16 | 0:31:18 | |
And the Carthaginians have also got Gauls from France, | 0:31:18 | 0:31:23 | |
they've got Celto-Iberians from Spain, | 0:31:23 | 0:31:25 | |
but it means that they've got solid infantry, just like the Romans. | 0:31:25 | 0:31:31 | |
And when you're talking about Roman infantry, | 0:31:31 | 0:31:33 | |
you've got to keep in mind that the Romans had a very special way of | 0:31:33 | 0:31:38 | |
deploying them. So, let me have somebody young and good-looking. | 0:31:38 | 0:31:42 | |
You come along with me. | 0:31:42 | 0:31:43 | |
And you can join with Peter. | 0:31:43 | 0:31:45 | |
And you two are here, and you are the hastati. | 0:31:45 | 0:31:50 | |
You are the youngest of the Romans, | 0:31:50 | 0:31:54 | |
full of verve and eagerness, but not very experienced. | 0:31:54 | 0:31:57 | |
OK, you are in the front line, | 0:31:57 | 0:31:59 | |
armed with a shield, and a sword, and a pilum. | 0:31:59 | 0:32:02 | |
You are the principes, OK? | 0:32:02 | 0:32:05 | |
So, you are senior to them. | 0:32:05 | 0:32:06 | |
You are more experienced, more virile, you are tougher. | 0:32:06 | 0:32:10 | |
You are armed in the same way, and you are principes prior, | 0:32:10 | 0:32:15 | |
and I'm afraid you are the posterior. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:17 | |
You - tough, grizzled, hard boys - the triarii. | 0:32:17 | 0:32:21 | |
The last hope is with the triarii, so you are armed with a long hasta, | 0:32:21 | 0:32:27 | |
a long spear. You can stand and take anything. | 0:32:27 | 0:32:30 | |
Everything relies on you, if it gets tough. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:33 | |
Now, what you can notice is we can move between them. | 0:32:33 | 0:32:36 | |
So, you can move to the front, and you two can move back, | 0:32:36 | 0:32:40 | |
and you get a breather. So, you get all this interchange. | 0:32:40 | 0:32:43 | |
You can move over to the side, you can move here, | 0:32:43 | 0:32:45 | |
so you have this ability. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:47 | |
That's called a maniple. | 0:32:47 | 0:32:49 | |
Every handful of men can move around in blocks. | 0:32:49 | 0:32:51 | |
Very important that you hold formation as Romans. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:55 | |
So, we've got a flat, featureless plain | 0:32:57 | 0:33:00 | |
just outside the city of Carthage. | 0:33:00 | 0:33:02 | |
Rome's Scipio wants to use his legendary infantry | 0:33:02 | 0:33:05 | |
formations and his cavalry superiority to take the city. | 0:33:05 | 0:33:09 | |
On the opposite side of the field, standing in the way, | 0:33:09 | 0:33:12 | |
is Hannibal with his multinational force of infantry, | 0:33:12 | 0:33:16 | |
slingers and war elephants. | 0:33:16 | 0:33:18 | |
Now, you need to get to know the troops at your disposal. | 0:33:18 | 0:33:22 | |
Have a good look at what forces you have | 0:33:22 | 0:33:24 | |
and how they are arranged, please. | 0:33:24 | 0:33:26 | |
-What have we got? -Right, so, we've got two Numidian cavalry. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:32 | |
-We've got the four elephants. -Do you think we could use some of these | 0:33:32 | 0:33:35 | |
-trees as an advantage? -I think we can definitely rush them. | 0:33:35 | 0:33:38 | |
-LYNETTE: -There were two competing aggressive powers | 0:33:38 | 0:33:41 | |
in the Mediterranean basin - | 0:33:41 | 0:33:42 | |
Rome and Carthage, | 0:33:42 | 0:33:45 | |
but only one was going to go on to formidable greatness. | 0:33:45 | 0:33:49 | |
-Horse archers or heavy cav? -Horse skirmishes. | 0:33:49 | 0:33:53 | |
The Mediterranean basin was the Roman world. | 0:33:53 | 0:33:56 | |
Africa starts at the Sahara. | 0:33:56 | 0:33:59 | |
Above the Sahara is part of the European world. | 0:33:59 | 0:34:03 | |
The Mediterranean is a uniter of that world, | 0:34:03 | 0:34:07 | |
and it was bustling with trade. | 0:34:07 | 0:34:09 | |
And that economic prosperity is what they were all playing for. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:12 | |
Have you got a fair idea of what you've got there? | 0:34:14 | 0:34:16 | |
Yeah, we have elephants, we have cavalry, infantry, | 0:34:16 | 0:34:21 | |
we have slingers and we have scouts. | 0:34:21 | 0:34:24 | |
Hannibal fought the Romans for 16 long years, | 0:34:24 | 0:34:27 | |
and he had a lot of success. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:30 | |
He brought elephants over the Alps to attack the Romans in Italy, | 0:34:30 | 0:34:35 | |
and that really scared the Romans. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:39 | |
Do you know what it is you've got, Scipio? | 0:34:39 | 0:34:41 | |
Three lines of infantry - hastati, then principes, then triarii. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:44 | |
-All in the middle? -All in the middle. -Numidian cavalry? | 0:34:44 | 0:34:47 | |
Absolutely. They're the game-winner. | 0:34:47 | 0:34:50 | |
Scipio's father was one of the generals in charge | 0:34:50 | 0:34:53 | |
of stopping Hannibal as soon as he came over the Alps. | 0:34:53 | 0:34:57 | |
He then saw defeat at battles like the Trebia and Cannae. | 0:34:57 | 0:35:01 | |
Scipio, as a youngster, saw these defeats. | 0:35:01 | 0:35:04 | |
This was a personal grudge match that had gone on for 16 years. | 0:35:04 | 0:35:08 | |
Now, Scipio was determined to take it to the homeland. | 0:35:08 | 0:35:12 | |
It was do or die. | 0:35:12 | 0:35:14 | |
So, the Romans, led by James, have six units each of hastati, | 0:35:16 | 0:35:20 | |
principes and triarii, and twice as many cavalry units as Carthage, | 0:35:20 | 0:35:25 | |
led by Gary. | 0:35:25 | 0:35:27 | |
But they have four units each of war elephants and cavalry, | 0:35:27 | 0:35:31 | |
and a strong force of mixed infantry, including slingers. | 0:35:31 | 0:35:36 | |
-GARY: -Cool, thank you. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:38 | |
Right, teams, you have now got a chance to recce the enemy's | 0:35:38 | 0:35:41 | |
position, OK? Off you go scouting, but, remember, | 0:35:41 | 0:35:44 | |
if you do come into contact, you may well be fired on. | 0:35:44 | 0:35:47 | |
They've got four units of elephants at the front. | 0:35:48 | 0:35:51 | |
Slingers. | 0:35:52 | 0:35:54 | |
-Have a sneak peek? -My guy's here just now. | 0:35:55 | 0:35:58 | |
-Seen many slingers? -Slingers... | 0:35:58 | 0:36:00 | |
I see slingers on the flanks. | 0:36:00 | 0:36:01 | |
At the front, they've got two units of them. | 0:36:01 | 0:36:05 | |
I haven't yet heard these captains report back to their general | 0:36:05 | 0:36:09 | |
about what they can see. They're chatting to their operators about | 0:36:09 | 0:36:13 | |
what they're seeing, but no-one's reported back. | 0:36:13 | 0:36:15 | |
He can't be forming a plan. | 0:36:15 | 0:36:17 | |
-And Gary's not demanding anything from them yet, is he? -No. | 0:36:18 | 0:36:23 | |
Oh, their scout's just gone straight past us. | 0:36:23 | 0:36:24 | |
-Excellent, I can see him. -'Now that both sides have seen | 0:36:24 | 0:36:27 | |
'what they have to fight with, and what they're up against, | 0:36:27 | 0:36:30 | |
'can hometown boy Hannibal stop Scipio | 0:36:30 | 0:36:33 | |
'reaching the city of Carthage? | 0:36:33 | 0:36:35 | |
'Or can Scipio come back from that disastrous skirmish | 0:36:35 | 0:36:38 | |
'and lead his Romans to victory?' | 0:36:38 | 0:36:41 | |
Right, stop! Stop! | 0:36:43 | 0:36:45 | |
So, teams, this is it. | 0:36:48 | 0:36:50 | |
And Hannibal, Scipio, my generals, it's getting real now. | 0:36:50 | 0:36:54 | |
You need to command not one, but two captains at once now. | 0:36:54 | 0:36:59 | |
But, if it all gets too much, each of you can call a time-out, | 0:36:59 | 0:37:04 | |
all right? | 0:37:04 | 0:37:05 | |
That's a chance for the generals to get their captains and the experts | 0:37:05 | 0:37:09 | |
around the table to discuss the battle's progress. | 0:37:09 | 0:37:13 | |
But when it's gone, it's gone, so use that time-out well. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:18 | |
So, it's finally time for the main event. | 0:37:19 | 0:37:22 | |
It's the year 202BCE all over again. | 0:37:22 | 0:37:26 | |
Rome and Carthage are competing for dominance in the Mediterranean | 0:37:26 | 0:37:30 | |
world, and they've been tussling for years. | 0:37:30 | 0:37:33 | |
It's time to settle the dispute with a right good barney. | 0:37:33 | 0:37:37 | |
Let the battle commence. | 0:37:37 | 0:37:40 | |
Go! Let's fight! | 0:37:40 | 0:37:42 | |
-Two sets of spears. -Yeah. -Hannibal, talk to me. | 0:37:44 | 0:37:49 | |
-What's your plan? -The plan, all it is, | 0:37:51 | 0:37:53 | |
is to try and maybe let them come at us a little bit. | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
-OK. -Because they seemed, from the skirmish, that they like to do it. | 0:37:56 | 0:38:00 | |
I quite like these trees over here. | 0:38:00 | 0:38:01 | |
-I know it's flat. -You love your ambush, don't you, mate? | 0:38:01 | 0:38:04 | |
-You're a real sneaky fighter. -I might try... | 0:38:04 | 0:38:06 | |
-Try and envelop them again? -Yeah. | 0:38:06 | 0:38:09 | |
'Leading the Carthaginian forces as Hannibal is Gary. | 0:38:09 | 0:38:12 | |
'He's going to try and pull the same trick as in his successful skirmish | 0:38:12 | 0:38:17 | |
'by hiding his cavalry in the trees and waiting to ambush the Romans.' | 0:38:17 | 0:38:21 | |
-They're untying themselves. -What are you doing? | 0:38:21 | 0:38:23 | |
-Waiting for them. -Really? | 0:38:23 | 0:38:25 | |
You're waiting for them? | 0:38:25 | 0:38:27 | |
'Leading the Roman forces as Scipio, | 0:38:27 | 0:38:29 | |
'James has decided to go on the defensive, | 0:38:29 | 0:38:32 | |
'waiting for an attack from Carthage, | 0:38:32 | 0:38:34 | |
'one that might not be coming any time soon.' | 0:38:34 | 0:38:37 | |
The Romans might be forgetting that what they need to do | 0:38:39 | 0:38:42 | |
is defeat this Carthaginian army and crack on to Carthage. | 0:38:42 | 0:38:47 | |
And the Carthaginians might be forgetting | 0:38:47 | 0:38:50 | |
that they need to wipe out this threat to their home city | 0:38:50 | 0:38:53 | |
as fast as possible. They're both sitting there, | 0:38:53 | 0:38:56 | |
forgetting they are here with a job to do. | 0:38:56 | 0:38:58 | |
For the Carthaginians, Ali is in charge of the infantry forces, | 0:38:58 | 0:39:02 | |
while Ross looks after the mounted forces | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
and the all-important slingers. | 0:39:05 | 0:39:07 | |
For the Romans, Peter is in charge of all of Scipio's infantry, | 0:39:08 | 0:39:12 | |
while Daniel is commanding all of the cavalry. | 0:39:12 | 0:39:16 | |
Dan, take one unit of range cav, | 0:39:16 | 0:39:17 | |
-one unit of heavy cav from the right flank... -Yeah. | 0:39:17 | 0:39:20 | |
..bring it over to the left, reinforce. | 0:39:20 | 0:39:21 | |
I want a superiority there. Have them ready to kill that unit. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:24 | |
You've moved all your cavalry to the left | 0:39:24 | 0:39:26 | |
-to face all their cavalry on the right. -Yes. -So, at some point... | 0:39:26 | 0:39:29 | |
We outnumber their cavalry. | 0:39:29 | 0:39:30 | |
-At some point, there's going to be a massive cavalry clash? -Absolutely. | 0:39:30 | 0:39:33 | |
Both generals are rearranging their cavalry in preparation for | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
the battle, so they're facing each other out on the Roman left | 0:39:36 | 0:39:41 | |
and that's as exciting as it's going to get for now. | 0:39:41 | 0:39:44 | |
Both teams want to fight a defensive battle. | 0:39:44 | 0:39:47 | |
-Yeah. -So they're going to stand across that desert plain | 0:39:47 | 0:39:49 | |
-looking at each other? -Yeah. They don't know what to do, | 0:39:49 | 0:39:52 | |
so they're waiting for the other person to do something | 0:39:52 | 0:39:55 | |
so they can react. | 0:39:55 | 0:39:56 | |
They're coming down, though. If they want to attack first... | 0:39:56 | 0:40:00 | |
-James, am I bringing these guys back? -Not yet. Daniel? | 0:40:00 | 0:40:03 | |
-Yes? -Cavalry on the left flank, all of it. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:05 | |
Yeah, advance with the...? | 0:40:06 | 0:40:08 | |
Very slowly to the left. | 0:40:08 | 0:40:10 | |
Yes, that's more like it! | 0:40:10 | 0:40:12 | |
That's more like it. | 0:40:12 | 0:40:13 | |
That sounds like Scipio. | 0:40:13 | 0:40:16 | |
At last, the Romans are advancing! | 0:40:16 | 0:40:19 | |
And the Carthaginians are sending in the heavies, their war elephants. | 0:40:20 | 0:40:24 | |
TRUMPETING | 0:40:24 | 0:40:27 | |
Let's see the elephants? | 0:40:27 | 0:40:29 | |
Go with the elephants. | 0:40:29 | 0:40:30 | |
-The elephants are going. -Yeah, yeah, go for it. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:33 | |
-You're just going to run at them. -Take your elephants and run at them. | 0:40:33 | 0:40:36 | |
Elephants coming up in front of you, Daniel. Be aware. | 0:40:36 | 0:40:39 | |
Ali, you see those elephants? See those elephants? | 0:40:39 | 0:40:42 | |
Support them. Support them. | 0:40:42 | 0:40:44 | |
-The elephants are going straight at them. -Elephants on the right. | 0:40:44 | 0:40:46 | |
We need support. We can't just have them running in. | 0:40:46 | 0:40:49 | |
-We need infantry behind them. -Do you? -Yes. | 0:40:49 | 0:40:51 | |
Behind the elephants? Who's controlling your infantry? | 0:40:51 | 0:40:55 | |
-Ali. -Does he know what he's doing? | 0:40:55 | 0:40:57 | |
He's a distance away from me but I'm going to go and get them now. | 0:40:57 | 0:41:00 | |
If the Carthaginian elephants go in | 0:41:00 | 0:41:02 | |
without the support of Carthaginian foot soldiers, | 0:41:02 | 0:41:06 | |
they are going to get cut to pieces. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:09 | |
They might cause some disorder among the Roman army, | 0:41:09 | 0:41:11 | |
but elephants aren't magic, they can't defend themselves. | 0:41:11 | 0:41:16 | |
But Ali hasn't managed to get his infantry | 0:41:16 | 0:41:18 | |
moving fast enough to support the elephants. | 0:41:18 | 0:41:21 | |
They're going in on their own and Scipio's front line | 0:41:21 | 0:41:24 | |
is doing a very decent job of defending itself. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:28 | |
Those elephants are going berserk. | 0:41:28 | 0:41:30 | |
-Yes, they are, and they are dying. -They are, you've seen them off. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:33 | |
-Absolutely. -Oh, that's got to hurt. | 0:41:33 | 0:41:35 | |
Those elephants have just not had the impact Gary | 0:41:35 | 0:41:38 | |
and his Carthaginians would have wanted. | 0:41:38 | 0:41:40 | |
Did those elephants work? | 0:41:40 | 0:41:42 | |
-Hmm. -I think they have done some damage, but not as much as we... | 0:41:42 | 0:41:44 | |
The infantry wasn't as quick as I wanted behind the elephants. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:47 | |
And, over on the right, their planned ambush hasn't worked either. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:50 | |
That Numidian cavalry is heading straight for them. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:54 | |
-Daniel? -Yeah? -Missile cavalry to slaughter their missile cavalry. | 0:41:54 | 0:41:57 | |
Melee cavalry, form into line, | 0:41:57 | 0:41:59 | |
be ready to take the enemy infantry in the flank. We have them. | 0:41:59 | 0:42:03 | |
This cavalry clash has been coming ever since the opening moves | 0:42:03 | 0:42:06 | |
of this battle and with the Romans having the advantage in numbers, | 0:42:06 | 0:42:10 | |
it could be another blow to Carthage. | 0:42:10 | 0:42:12 | |
There's only one place on this battlefield | 0:42:13 | 0:42:15 | |
where I wouldn't want to have a cavalry engagement | 0:42:15 | 0:42:17 | |
-and it's in those trees. -Exactly. -And you know what? | 0:42:17 | 0:42:19 | |
They're going to have a cavalry engagement in those trees. | 0:42:19 | 0:42:22 | |
Attack. Cavalry attack, come on. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:25 | |
-See these guys here. -There's a big clash. | 0:42:25 | 0:42:28 | |
Here it comes! Here it comes. | 0:42:28 | 0:42:30 | |
Right, that's it. Come over, Ross. | 0:42:30 | 0:42:32 | |
Have them heading up... | 0:42:32 | 0:42:34 | |
Big cavalry battle! | 0:42:38 | 0:42:39 | |
YELLING | 0:42:39 | 0:42:41 | |
You've got a cavalry battle over here. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:48 | |
-I know, and we're winning it. -And you're winning it. Here we go. | 0:42:48 | 0:42:52 | |
Daniel, are they routed except for their melee cav? | 0:42:52 | 0:42:56 | |
-Yes. -Daniel, run back into the centre if you please. | 0:42:56 | 0:42:59 | |
-Oh! -By Jupiter, we have them. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:02 | |
Those Numidians are deadly and the Carthaginians are feeling it. | 0:43:03 | 0:43:09 | |
-Yeah, time out. -Time out, time out over here. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:13 | |
Time out. | 0:43:13 | 0:43:14 | |
-How do you feel? -Like I needed a time out. | 0:43:19 | 0:43:23 | |
'Carthage need to sort themselves out. | 0:43:23 | 0:43:25 | |
'Their elephants have all been killed | 0:43:25 | 0:43:27 | |
'without inflicting any real damage | 0:43:27 | 0:43:29 | |
'and now they are in danger of losing all their cavalry | 0:43:29 | 0:43:31 | |
'to the Roman charges on their right. | 0:43:31 | 0:43:33 | |
'Hannibal's troops are in disarray. | 0:43:33 | 0:43:35 | |
'Maybe that masterful skirmish was just a flash in the pan.' | 0:43:35 | 0:43:38 | |
I think we need to regroup. | 0:43:39 | 0:43:41 | |
Pull... The guys in the middle, | 0:43:41 | 0:43:44 | |
we need to get them back into some sort of orderly group. | 0:43:44 | 0:43:47 | |
-MIKE LOADES: -You're sort of right. You can see you're scattered. | 0:43:47 | 0:43:50 | |
You can see they're together. | 0:43:50 | 0:43:51 | |
I think it's really important for you guys | 0:43:51 | 0:43:53 | |
to concentrate your infantry because you are about to be hit | 0:43:53 | 0:43:57 | |
by a freight train of Roman infantry | 0:43:57 | 0:44:00 | |
and you've got to get your cavalry together | 0:44:00 | 0:44:02 | |
because it has got to screen you | 0:44:02 | 0:44:05 | |
from that big North African cavalry force | 0:44:05 | 0:44:08 | |
that is capable of causing havoc for you guys. | 0:44:08 | 0:44:11 | |
So you really need to stop using your cavalry to attack. | 0:44:11 | 0:44:14 | |
You haven't got that many left. | 0:44:14 | 0:44:16 | |
They're telling you to completely regroup again | 0:44:16 | 0:44:18 | |
as a unified force with cavalry on the outside of your infantry units. | 0:44:18 | 0:44:23 | |
OK? And wait for what is obviously going to hit now | 0:44:23 | 0:44:26 | |
because they now have a vast superiority. | 0:44:26 | 0:44:28 | |
'So, the new plan is attempt to regroup and protect those flanks. | 0:44:28 | 0:44:32 | |
'But having had the initiative before the time out, | 0:44:32 | 0:44:35 | |
'the question is will the Romans | 0:44:35 | 0:44:37 | |
'give them the time they need to do it?' | 0:44:37 | 0:44:39 | |
-I'll get the cavalry back. -Let's regroup. | 0:44:39 | 0:44:41 | |
We need to get infantry back in the middle. | 0:44:41 | 0:44:43 | |
Right, captains, back in positions. | 0:44:43 | 0:44:44 | |
General, have you got a plan? | 0:44:44 | 0:44:46 | |
-Let's go. -That's it, pull back, regroup. | 0:44:46 | 0:44:50 | |
-Well done. -Yeah, yeah, pull back. | 0:44:50 | 0:44:52 | |
What about this one on the left-hand side here? | 0:44:52 | 0:44:54 | |
-Bringing it back as well. -Good, good, good, that's it. | 0:44:54 | 0:44:56 | |
Bring it in. I want my cavalry on the outside. | 0:44:56 | 0:44:59 | |
-LYNETTE: -The Carthaginians were in a mess. | 0:44:59 | 0:45:01 | |
They're struggling to reform their cohesion. | 0:45:01 | 0:45:05 | |
Now is the time for the Romans to attack. | 0:45:05 | 0:45:07 | |
But you know what they're doing instead? | 0:45:07 | 0:45:09 | |
The Romans are titivating instead of attacking. | 0:45:09 | 0:45:12 | |
Mate, why don't you go take it at them now? | 0:45:14 | 0:45:16 | |
Because then more young men of Rome will die. | 0:45:16 | 0:45:19 | |
-Then I have to write the letters to their mothers, do I not? -Right. | 0:45:20 | 0:45:24 | |
A terrible mistake from the Romans. | 0:45:24 | 0:45:26 | |
He's got to sacrifice the lives of Roman soldiers now | 0:45:26 | 0:45:29 | |
rather than let them live and lose the battle. | 0:45:29 | 0:45:34 | |
I thought you were going to follow on your attack. | 0:45:34 | 0:45:36 | |
They're withdrawing. Let's form our infantry perfectly. | 0:45:36 | 0:45:39 | |
While Scipio has been tidying his lines, | 0:45:39 | 0:45:42 | |
Hannibal's Carthaginians have been getting | 0:45:42 | 0:45:44 | |
into a solid square formation | 0:45:44 | 0:45:46 | |
with cavalry and slingers on their flanks. | 0:45:46 | 0:45:49 | |
It's going to be hard to crack. | 0:45:49 | 0:45:51 | |
Has James missed his chance? | 0:45:51 | 0:45:53 | |
OK, form up your whole army and once it's ready and deployed we'll start | 0:45:53 | 0:45:56 | |
inching forward and we'll kill them by degrees. | 0:45:56 | 0:45:58 | |
Cavalry moving in concert with infantry, if you please. | 0:45:58 | 0:46:00 | |
Let's move this flank up with these guys. | 0:46:00 | 0:46:02 | |
I want it all on the left, we're going to smash them on the left. | 0:46:02 | 0:46:05 | |
That is where the battle will be won. | 0:46:05 | 0:46:06 | |
James is finally going for it. | 0:46:06 | 0:46:08 | |
He is sending his cavalry in for another attack on his left | 0:46:08 | 0:46:12 | |
and attempting a massive outflanking move to hit the enemy in the rear. | 0:46:12 | 0:46:17 | |
This is all about those Numidian horsemen. | 0:46:17 | 0:46:20 | |
Cavalry! | 0:46:20 | 0:46:22 | |
This is your moment. | 0:46:22 | 0:46:23 | |
-Always is! -Continue moving forwards? -Just 50 yards at a time. | 0:46:23 | 0:46:27 | |
-Ali, Ali, you've got two units of spearmen here near the back. -Ooh! | 0:46:27 | 0:46:31 | |
I want them to move over to the right, | 0:46:31 | 0:46:33 | |
right now because we've got an attack coming in from the right. | 0:46:33 | 0:46:38 | |
-They're coming, they're coming. -Yep. | 0:46:38 | 0:46:41 | |
Your right side, en masse. | 0:46:41 | 0:46:43 | |
-Look at that. -Yeah, I see it. -Look at that. | 0:46:43 | 0:46:46 | |
This could be very messy | 0:46:47 | 0:46:49 | |
as Scipio's superior Numidian cavalry | 0:46:49 | 0:46:52 | |
attacks the Carthaginian right flank again. | 0:46:52 | 0:46:55 | |
But, this time, those deadly Balearic slingers are in position. | 0:46:55 | 0:46:59 | |
Daniel, withdraw missile cavalry if you're taking too much fire. | 0:47:00 | 0:47:03 | |
-No, we're not, we're not, we're not, we're fine. -Keep it up. | 0:47:03 | 0:47:06 | |
How much damage are we taking? We're taking slinger damage. | 0:47:06 | 0:47:08 | |
Oh, shit. Can we bring them back? | 0:47:08 | 0:47:10 | |
-James, we've got two of our missile cav... -Withdraw them. | 0:47:10 | 0:47:14 | |
-Time out! -Time out. -OK. | 0:47:17 | 0:47:19 | |
Half of James' cavalry has been wiped out by those slingers | 0:47:22 | 0:47:26 | |
while the other half has got round the back of the Carthaginians | 0:47:26 | 0:47:28 | |
but isn't actually doing anything. | 0:47:28 | 0:47:30 | |
The battle is turning and the Romans really need to get their troops | 0:47:30 | 0:47:34 | |
and their heads together. | 0:47:34 | 0:47:35 | |
Why did you call the time out? | 0:47:36 | 0:47:38 | |
Because I think this is the crucial moment. | 0:47:38 | 0:47:40 | |
I think I may have blundered on the left flank | 0:47:40 | 0:47:42 | |
with my missile cavalry and I wanted advice on how to crack | 0:47:42 | 0:47:45 | |
a quite formidable Carthaginian fighting square. | 0:47:45 | 0:47:49 | |
Did you see the size of the sling stones of the Balearic slingers? | 0:47:49 | 0:47:53 | |
-Yes. -Stones like that striking horses is going to cause mayhem. | 0:47:53 | 0:47:57 | |
-Absolutely. -The horses are your strongest point. | 0:47:57 | 0:48:00 | |
What are cavalry best at? | 0:48:00 | 0:48:02 | |
-Surprise! -And where are my cavalry right now? | 0:48:02 | 0:48:05 | |
Do you have a surprise? You sit there. | 0:48:05 | 0:48:07 | |
You've got to use your cavalry with more force and more suddenness. | 0:48:07 | 0:48:10 | |
Where were all these cavalry going? | 0:48:10 | 0:48:12 | |
They're going to come around the back. | 0:48:12 | 0:48:13 | |
Daniel makes a really good point. | 0:48:13 | 0:48:16 | |
If the Roman infantry with those formidable grim, gritty, | 0:48:16 | 0:48:21 | |
buzz-saw tactics start grinding away at the Carthaginian front, | 0:48:21 | 0:48:27 | |
-at the same time as those cavalry hit from the rear... -Are you sure? | 0:48:27 | 0:48:31 | |
..it could be really effective at disrupting the Carthaginians. | 0:48:31 | 0:48:34 | |
That's what you've got to do. | 0:48:34 | 0:48:36 | |
We thought you were doing the right thing | 0:48:36 | 0:48:37 | |
because it looked like you were getting a pincer movement | 0:48:37 | 0:48:40 | |
with your cavalry and you were coming in at the side and the rear, | 0:48:40 | 0:48:42 | |
which is exactly right. But you just didn't coordinate in time. | 0:48:42 | 0:48:46 | |
This lot sat there and got decimated. | 0:48:46 | 0:48:48 | |
-The ferocity of those slingers surprised your cavalry. -Absolutely. | 0:48:48 | 0:48:51 | |
'So, a coordinated attack is what James | 0:48:51 | 0:48:53 | |
'and his Romans need to concentrate on. | 0:48:53 | 0:48:55 | |
'Can they get their timing right?' | 0:48:55 | 0:48:58 | |
Right, now! Right, go, go, go. The battle's back on. | 0:48:58 | 0:49:02 | |
Come on. This is your time to cover yourself in glory. | 0:49:02 | 0:49:06 | |
Missile cavalry along to link up, if you please. | 0:49:06 | 0:49:09 | |
Here we go, here we go. | 0:49:09 | 0:49:11 | |
Those wonderful young men of Rome to charge, charge, charge. | 0:49:11 | 0:49:14 | |
-Peter... -You can you see what's coming, can't you? | 0:49:14 | 0:49:16 | |
-You can see what's coming? -Yeah, but look at this. | 0:49:16 | 0:49:19 | |
At last, those two infantry lines are crunching | 0:49:23 | 0:49:26 | |
into each other. This is brutal. | 0:49:26 | 0:49:28 | |
-Wow. -Whoa. | 0:49:30 | 0:49:31 | |
-Whoa. -They're coming in from the side, guys. | 0:49:31 | 0:49:34 | |
Now they're bringing in the units from the back. | 0:49:34 | 0:49:38 | |
The left flank is a worry for Carthage, but over on the right... | 0:49:38 | 0:49:42 | |
Ali, see these two infantry here, doing nothing? | 0:49:42 | 0:49:44 | |
Look, look, look, look! What are you going to do with these, | 0:49:44 | 0:49:46 | |
-what are you going to do? -Yeah, bring it in, bring it in. | 0:49:46 | 0:49:49 | |
-What are you going to do with them? -Engage in the battle. -Go! | 0:49:49 | 0:49:51 | |
-Yes, go, engage. -Go, go, go! -That's it, bring it in. | 0:49:51 | 0:49:54 | |
Go! Well done, good use of the infantry. | 0:49:54 | 0:49:57 | |
Good boy, well done, good job. | 0:49:57 | 0:49:59 | |
Good lad. Good lad. | 0:49:59 | 0:50:01 | |
-Absolutely brilliant. -Yes. | 0:50:01 | 0:50:03 | |
Look at that, there are Carthaginians | 0:50:03 | 0:50:05 | |
outflanking the Roman line. | 0:50:05 | 0:50:08 | |
How could the Romans let themselves be outflanked like that? | 0:50:08 | 0:50:11 | |
I can tell you how - they've let all of their cavalry go | 0:50:11 | 0:50:14 | |
and they've left their flanks unprotected. | 0:50:14 | 0:50:16 | |
The cavalry are over there. | 0:50:16 | 0:50:17 | |
That is masterful from Ali, and it's made a real impact. | 0:50:17 | 0:50:20 | |
The Carthaginians are winning on their right flank, | 0:50:20 | 0:50:23 | |
but it's looking worrying on the left. | 0:50:23 | 0:50:26 | |
Right, watch these horses coming round. | 0:50:26 | 0:50:28 | |
They're coming round into this left. | 0:50:28 | 0:50:30 | |
-Ross? -We're shadowing them. | 0:50:30 | 0:50:32 | |
-Are you shadowing them? -Don't move too much. | 0:50:32 | 0:50:35 | |
-Here they go. Here you go. -Can you bring...? | 0:50:35 | 0:50:37 | |
-Whoa! -Ali! | 0:50:37 | 0:50:38 | |
Finally, that heavy cavalry has smacked | 0:50:38 | 0:50:41 | |
into the back of the Carthaginians on the left flank, | 0:50:41 | 0:50:45 | |
and that could be decisive. | 0:50:45 | 0:50:48 | |
The hammer and the anvil, we have them. | 0:50:48 | 0:50:50 | |
-We have them. -So you finally engaged, did you? | 0:50:50 | 0:50:52 | |
-Yeah. -You finally engaged. | 0:50:52 | 0:50:54 | |
Peter, your infantry on the right flank, throw it in. | 0:50:54 | 0:50:57 | |
Daniel, cavalry, melee cavalry, bring them out. | 0:50:57 | 0:50:59 | |
The Carthaginians are committing every last man, | 0:50:59 | 0:51:03 | |
but that cavalry attack has destroyed their left flank, | 0:51:03 | 0:51:06 | |
so each side is now winning on its own right flank, | 0:51:06 | 0:51:09 | |
which means they're both losing on their left. | 0:51:09 | 0:51:12 | |
This is incredibly close. | 0:51:12 | 0:51:14 | |
Has your general got it together? | 0:51:15 | 0:51:17 | |
I think he's definitely got it together at this point. | 0:51:17 | 0:51:20 | |
We need to start attacking. | 0:51:20 | 0:51:22 | |
What are these units here? | 0:51:22 | 0:51:24 | |
-That's the slingers. -Get those slingers involved in the battle. | 0:51:24 | 0:51:27 | |
-Are they in? -Yeah, get involved. | 0:51:27 | 0:51:28 | |
They are? They are, they are, they are involved. | 0:51:28 | 0:51:31 | |
They don't like the slingers, come on. | 0:51:31 | 0:51:34 | |
The slingers are still doing a great job against the cavalry. | 0:51:34 | 0:51:37 | |
Those slingers have been invaluable for Carthage, | 0:51:39 | 0:51:41 | |
but they will run out of ammunition eventually. | 0:51:41 | 0:51:44 | |
Can they achieve enough before they do? | 0:51:44 | 0:51:47 | |
They're fighting divided, we have them, | 0:51:48 | 0:51:50 | |
but it's a little bit closer | 0:51:50 | 0:51:51 | |
-than I thought it would be. -It is very close. | 0:51:51 | 0:51:53 | |
Peter, you've got it. | 0:51:53 | 0:51:54 | |
I'm not sure I do, because we've got slingers on the right. | 0:51:54 | 0:51:57 | |
This is just a number of different melees, isn't it? | 0:51:57 | 0:51:59 | |
See these slingers up here, Roscoe? | 0:51:59 | 0:52:01 | |
When they run out of ammo, | 0:52:01 | 0:52:02 | |
I just want you to bring them in and attack. | 0:52:02 | 0:52:05 | |
Have they still got...? Yeah, they're still firing. | 0:52:05 | 0:52:08 | |
-OK, that's better. -The Carthaginians are routing on this side. | 0:52:08 | 0:52:11 | |
We need to get some of these guys around, | 0:52:11 | 0:52:13 | |
we need to try and get them back in involved, | 0:52:13 | 0:52:15 | |
even bring them over the right here. | 0:52:15 | 0:52:17 | |
This battle is now a series of small, bitterly-fought engagements, | 0:52:17 | 0:52:20 | |
and with Rome's attack starting to wear the Carthaginians down, | 0:52:20 | 0:52:24 | |
Hannibal is making it personal. | 0:52:24 | 0:52:26 | |
He's taking on Scipio man-to-man. | 0:52:26 | 0:52:29 | |
Hannibal and Scipio have met in the middle of the field, | 0:52:29 | 0:52:32 | |
they're having a tear-up. | 0:52:32 | 0:52:35 | |
These two generals are one-on-one, and, I have to say, | 0:52:35 | 0:52:38 | |
if it comes down to an arm wrestle, my money's on Gary! | 0:52:38 | 0:52:41 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:52:41 | 0:52:42 | |
Two of the ancient world's greatest generals are in mortal peril here. | 0:52:42 | 0:52:48 | |
Hannibal's just getting a pasting. | 0:52:48 | 0:52:49 | |
Just go full attack. | 0:52:49 | 0:52:51 | |
Full attack with what?! With whom?! | 0:52:51 | 0:52:54 | |
The whole field's just littered with dead bodies. | 0:52:54 | 0:52:57 | |
The Romans are reforming. | 0:52:57 | 0:52:58 | |
-Ali, look at me. -The Romans are reforming. | 0:52:58 | 0:53:00 | |
-They're reforming. -This infantry, attack this, this here. Here, here. | 0:53:00 | 0:53:05 | |
Well, we're always banging on about how important it is | 0:53:05 | 0:53:08 | |
for the Romans to keep cohesion, keep formation, and, to be fair, | 0:53:08 | 0:53:12 | |
this is what they're doing all the time. | 0:53:12 | 0:53:13 | |
Every time they lose it, they do reform. | 0:53:13 | 0:53:16 | |
As you win combats on the right, | 0:53:16 | 0:53:17 | |
roll the infantry round into the left. | 0:53:17 | 0:53:19 | |
This may be the last clash of the battle. | 0:53:19 | 0:53:22 | |
And give me a reserve, do not commit everything, keep one unit back. | 0:53:22 | 0:53:25 | |
Hannibal! | 0:53:25 | 0:53:27 | |
Have you got anything left to control? | 0:53:28 | 0:53:30 | |
Pretty much just doing the old sending off, it's only Ali left. | 0:53:30 | 0:53:34 | |
Sending, kill that general, get that general. | 0:53:34 | 0:53:37 | |
-Go! -Go on! | 0:53:37 | 0:53:38 | |
Go, get him, get him, get him. | 0:53:40 | 0:53:41 | |
Bring me back Scipio's head! | 0:53:41 | 0:53:43 | |
-Come on! -Come on! | 0:53:43 | 0:53:45 | |
Ali, you've got the only Carthaginians left standing. | 0:53:45 | 0:53:49 | |
Aye, get him, stab him, that's it. Cut his throat. | 0:53:49 | 0:53:52 | |
This is actually quite close. This is actually quite close. | 0:53:52 | 0:53:55 | |
-Scipio's down! -I killed their general. | 0:53:55 | 0:53:58 | |
Scipio's gone! | 0:53:58 | 0:53:59 | |
-Scipio? -Yes? | 0:54:00 | 0:54:01 | |
-You're dead! -I am. | 0:54:03 | 0:54:05 | |
But, in the afterlife, my men are avenging me. | 0:54:05 | 0:54:07 | |
I am woken in Elysium! | 0:54:07 | 0:54:08 | |
Well, history has been rewritten. | 0:54:08 | 0:54:10 | |
And one of Rome's greatest ever generals lies dead in the field. | 0:54:10 | 0:54:14 | |
Can Rome recover from this loss? | 0:54:14 | 0:54:17 | |
-Peter? -Yes. -Report on these three combats? | 0:54:17 | 0:54:20 | |
-Bottom left, we are... -Struggling. -Possibly struggling. | 0:54:20 | 0:54:23 | |
Top middle we have three, four units against two. | 0:54:23 | 0:54:26 | |
Top right is doing fine. | 0:54:26 | 0:54:27 | |
All of the right into the left, if you please. | 0:54:27 | 0:54:30 | |
OK, everyone, crush them. | 0:54:30 | 0:54:32 | |
The Carthaginians have fought valiantly, | 0:54:33 | 0:54:36 | |
but the relentless melee has reduced their army to a fragment, | 0:54:36 | 0:54:39 | |
and Hannibal pays the ultimate price. | 0:54:39 | 0:54:42 | |
Hannibal's dead! Scipio's dead! | 0:54:44 | 0:54:47 | |
-Rome is victorious! -All that's left is three blokes walking a dog. | 0:54:47 | 0:54:51 | |
That's it, Rome has the field. | 0:54:52 | 0:54:56 | |
-Well done. -Fantastic work, General. | 0:54:56 | 0:54:58 | |
Well done. | 0:54:58 | 0:54:59 | |
Well, congratulations, London Gameplayers. | 0:55:02 | 0:55:05 | |
The Romans. Commiserations, Hannibal, Wrestlers, Carthaginians. | 0:55:05 | 0:55:10 | |
Very, very close indeed. | 0:55:10 | 0:55:11 | |
You gave them a real bloody nose, I think, there. | 0:55:11 | 0:55:14 | |
What's your expert analysis of this battle? | 0:55:14 | 0:55:16 | |
When the Carthaginians realised they were losing cohesion, | 0:55:16 | 0:55:20 | |
they did what they needed to do, they got back together, | 0:55:20 | 0:55:23 | |
and they gave the Romans a real run for their money. | 0:55:23 | 0:55:26 | |
Because you thought you had it much earlier than you did, didn't you? | 0:55:26 | 0:55:29 | |
It was ours to lose. And we very nearly engineered a loss. | 0:55:29 | 0:55:32 | |
I think what proved decisive was the fantastic Roman infantry... | 0:55:32 | 0:55:36 | |
-The machine here. -Well, I've got to say thanks to Mike, | 0:55:36 | 0:55:39 | |
that idea of the meat grinder, to just go straight at them, | 0:55:39 | 0:55:42 | |
hit them with that kind of staggered formation. | 0:55:42 | 0:55:44 | |
Did they perform well under pressure, these Romans? | 0:55:44 | 0:55:47 | |
Well, they won, which is one indicator! | 0:55:47 | 0:55:50 | |
-I'll take that! -Could you feel that you were fighting other people? | 0:55:50 | 0:55:54 | |
If you're playing a computer, | 0:55:54 | 0:55:55 | |
it doesn't seem like it's thinking that many moves ahead, | 0:55:55 | 0:55:58 | |
whereas if you're playing people, for one thing, | 0:55:58 | 0:56:00 | |
playing three people, you've got layers of strategy, | 0:56:00 | 0:56:02 | |
as well as different people commanding different parts, | 0:56:02 | 0:56:04 | |
-rather than it being one central unit. -Absolutely. -Well, I loved it. | 0:56:04 | 0:56:07 | |
I hope both teams have got your breath back. | 0:56:07 | 0:56:09 | |
Lynette, Mike, what really did happen at the Battle of Zama? | 0:56:09 | 0:56:13 | |
They sent their elephants down the middle, | 0:56:13 | 0:56:16 | |
and what the Romans did was they split apart. | 0:56:16 | 0:56:21 | |
They used those formations, | 0:56:21 | 0:56:23 | |
those maniples to split apart and make corridors. | 0:56:23 | 0:56:26 | |
But the elephants needed to be guided up those corridors, | 0:56:27 | 0:56:30 | |
so throwing the javelins and there was also lots of shouts and screams, | 0:56:30 | 0:56:34 | |
and the rampaging, charging elephants went right through them | 0:56:34 | 0:56:37 | |
and off the battlefield. | 0:56:37 | 0:56:39 | |
Once the Carthaginian elephants were gone, | 0:56:39 | 0:56:42 | |
the much stronger Roman cavalry arm were able to engage | 0:56:42 | 0:56:47 | |
and drive off the Carthaginian cavalry from off their flanks. | 0:56:47 | 0:56:53 | |
Then they engaged. | 0:56:53 | 0:56:54 | |
And the Romans, under Scipio, | 0:56:55 | 0:56:58 | |
did exactly what you guys did under James. | 0:56:58 | 0:57:03 | |
You started to move your second line, | 0:57:03 | 0:57:05 | |
and Scipio even his third line, | 0:57:05 | 0:57:07 | |
out on the flanks to widen the Roman line against the Carthaginians, | 0:57:07 | 0:57:12 | |
and the Carthaginian formation collapsed in on itself | 0:57:12 | 0:57:15 | |
and the Romans just ground through them for a while. | 0:57:15 | 0:57:19 | |
But, then, | 0:57:19 | 0:57:20 | |
at just the right moment, | 0:57:20 | 0:57:23 | |
all of that excellent Numidian cavalry that the Romans had | 0:57:23 | 0:57:28 | |
swung in and attacked the Carthaginians from behind, | 0:57:28 | 0:57:33 | |
and the Romans slaughtered the Carthaginians, | 0:57:33 | 0:57:37 | |
and 20,000 Carthaginians were killed on the field. | 0:57:37 | 0:57:41 | |
20,000 were taken prisoner, | 0:57:41 | 0:57:44 | |
and only 1,500 Romans were killed in the Battle of Zama. | 0:57:44 | 0:57:49 | |
This battle sealed the fate of Carthage as a world power. | 0:57:49 | 0:57:52 | |
Rome sacked the city and took over the western Mediterranean, | 0:57:52 | 0:57:56 | |
which it would rule for 600 years to come. | 0:57:56 | 0:57:59 | |
But, unlike your battle, both leaders survived! | 0:57:59 | 0:58:03 | |
-THEY LAUGH -Yes! | 0:58:03 | 0:58:05 | |
There you have it, the battle | 0:58:05 | 0:58:07 | |
that decided the fate of the ancient world, | 0:58:07 | 0:58:10 | |
and the fate of our two teams of Time Commanders. | 0:58:10 | 0:58:13 | |
Hannibal is finally bested. | 0:58:13 | 0:58:15 | |
Thanks to our two teams for joining us today. | 0:58:15 | 0:58:18 | |
It was, I think, a fantastic battle. | 0:58:18 | 0:58:20 | |
Join us again when we see if we can rewrite history on Time Commanders. | 0:58:20 | 0:58:26 |