Lame Cherry: The First Patton

A great deal is made of Alexander the Great in his God ordained conquering of the world, but in many cases some of the most effective generals to ever be are lost among the names of Napoleon and Cyrus.

In the year 207 BC, the world was held in the balance. The Assryrian conquest of the 10 Tribes of Israel in their exile, also sent to see besides the Tribe of Dan to Ireland, the Phonetician allies of Israel who prowled and traded the Mediterranean, and beyond to the coasts of Atlantic Europe and Spain, with contacts in North America, as proven by their inscriptions found in America.

These Phoneticians were capitalists, imperialists and colonists.

One of their chief city states was Carthage in Libya. The Carthaginians were at odds against Athens and Rome for centuries for supremacy of the great sea. The Carthaginians had a patrician base of political power, a interbred Libyan Phonetician "settler and trading" group, which did come to America and found the "eastern civilized tribes of the United States", while making attempts on Sicily and bringing to the forefront the "sons of the Thunderbolt", a group of three generals who would bring the world to the brink of African rule.

History knows the preeminent general as Hannibal. This military genius savaged Europe, before settling into protracted and horrific campaign in southern Italy, meant to make the contender Rome buckle due to his scorched earth policies.

It was in that ear 200 years before Christ, that Hannibal's brother, Hasdrubal, gained victory in Spain over the Roman General Scipio. Scipio was under orders to keep Hasdrubal contained, but Hasdrubal seeing the opening to come to his brothers assistance and a certain victory in Rome, marched his army into the French interior, picked up French recruits in the winter, and started the march over the mountains to Rome, following in his brother's footsteps in that epic march.

The Romans knew the brother was coming, but not when and great concern filled Rome, as the entire population had been conscripted out or lay dead in the long Punic Wars. It was then that the Roman Senate cast it's eyes upon Marcus Livius

Livius was a former general of victory, but had not divided up the spoils equally so was convicted of this petty crime, considering he had just won a major victory for Rome.
He sulked at home for years, was prodded back into the Senate, but would sit in back and ever speak.........until the time a family member was accused of murder, and then he unsheathed his tongue and sliced into his fellow Senators with vehemence.

The Senate rose and asked Livius to lead the action against Hasdrubal. He declined.

They begged him to lead. He retorted, "If I am to lead now, then why did you convict me of crimes before?"

The pleaded and cajoled and finally in being asked to rise above all as other Romans accused wrongly had done, the old general agreed.

Livius was to have an equal for a second expedition to the south against Hannibal, and this general was Gaius Claudius Nero, an ample soldier of other battles and one who would prove the salvation of the western world.
The one problem was Livius hated Nero and Nero hated Livius. After much fence mending, Livius finally rejected it all and stated, "No I think it is better we hate each other, as we will keep watch upon each other better and that will serve Rome best".

With that Nero marched south to meet Hannibal and Livius marched north to meet Hasdrubal.

Hannibal's forces had degraded through the effects of his savage war, but Nero would not be drawn into engaging them no matter what the African tried. Both were too adept at this tactical warfare to make a mistake.

It was at this moment that Hasdrubal appeared in north Italy and promptly assessed the situation correctly and sent dispatches to his brother with the following offer of Hannibal was to march north and the combined forces would then march against Rome to her ruin.

God though had other plans in this, as the messenger was captured and the entire Carthaginian battle plan was uncovered.

Nero knew the fall of Rome would take place if he did not act immediately, and sent the plans to the Senate and informed them, he was violating orders and marching north, even if he was not given authority to do so, and he would join Livius and destroy Hasdrubal in a battle there.

Nero next performed one of the greatest feats of generalship in world history. He sent out as small detachment of cavalry to distract Hannibal. left his camp in tact with a small guard, and then marched north.

He sent runners ahead to gain food and water for his legions, and the people responded as did his troops with great zeal. The legions actually ate on the march as they were so inspired and in opening communications with Livius, the latter directed Nero when to arrive in the darkness so the enemy would have no clue they were facing two armies.

The subterfuge was so complete that the Romans marched into camp quietly and entered the tents of Livius' legions so no trace of this new army was witnessed.

Discussions in the night were to attack or delay, but Nero in council simply stated, "Hannibal is in the south and will discover my men and kill them. We are in the north and now is the time to attack or Hasdrubal will escape in finding we are here".

The following dawn, the Roman red standard was raised and Hasdrubal was awakened he had a Roman army preparing to battle him.

Hasdrubal was not a fool, and started upon horse to assess the situation, and while the Roman camps did not appear larger, he knew he was witnessing more men, and groups of horses which looked like they had covered distance in cavalry along with shields which were dull from the march.
Having warred in Spain against the Romans, he knew their trumpet calls, and on that morning, he heard one more call which convinced him that one more army had entered the field.

Hasdrubal, retired his troops to camp to not engage, and prepared in the night to make his escape back into France until the situation could be discussed with his brother, Hannibal.

As troops of Carthage silently retreated north in that night, the guides leading them deliberately led them to the Metarus River which Hasdrubal south to cross to put a river between him and the Romans, but the guides abandoned him not at the fords, but at a place of sheer walls.

When morning arose, the Gauls were drunk, the army was in disarray, and at that moment the Roman legions appeared and made ready the battle.

Hasdrubal had one chance and that was to sound for battle to try to get his forces in line to fight, and his battle lines formed with the Gauls on the right and the Spanish mercenary infantry on the left.

Livius would attack on the left and Nero on the right. The right was unfavorable ground and Nero could not gain any ground to engage the French, and it was at that moment as Livius was in battle with the Spaniards that Nero swung a contingent of his forces hard left into the Spanish flanks and began to roll up the entire line.

The route had started with severe affliction and the Spaniards were killed. The naked Gauls were no match and they were slaughtered on spot.

Hasdrubal seeing his entire army destroyed, mounted a horse, not desiring to be made prisoner, and rode with sword in hand into the midst of the legions and was slain.

Rome received reports of the victory, but could not believe it was so immense. It was not until both generals gave confirmation that it was believed that Rome truly was saved from the African invasion.

To add insult to the slaughter, Nero promptly marched south again, and Hannibal, the great general, had not discovered in Nero's absence he had left the entire front open.
Nero presented Hannibal's camp the gift of the head of his brother thrown into it.

This was the check of Carthage. In the process of years, the training Rome received would build for them an empire of Carthage, Europe and Asia.
Hannibal would wound Rome time and again, and finally die by his own hand as Rome hunted him down, but the winning general in this was Claudius Nero, literally lost to history due to Emperor Nero's name, but it was this general who saved Rome in a lightning march of warfare which struck down the thunderbolts of Carthage.

The most brilliant of tactical battle plans which Americans from Washington to Patton repeated for victory.