Originally Posted by
Jack
The focus of interest had shifted away from the East, where the battle of Ancrya had decided the fate of the region at least until Rome had a unambiguous ruler. Numerius had extended the hand of friendship to Manius and an agreement had been reached. The survivors of the Consular army, based around Legio II, were paroled from the war - they would fight only against Rome’s external enemies, the Seleucids and the Ptolemies, under the command of Appius Barbatus. Other local commanders still loyal to the Consul - Manius the Mad and Titus Vatinus, had also agreed to help defend the east. But Numerius still took the long way home, crossing the straits at Byzantion, in order to avoid potential interference and delay. In his tow, Numerius brought Manius Coruncanius, no longer a combatant in the war but still a man of violence, driven by a desire to avenge those who had so egregiously wronged his family.
In Thrace, Lucius Aemilius, Galeris Vatinus and Secundus Salvidendus struggled to muster local forces loyal to the Senate. But like Numerius, there were perhaps too far from Italy to have a decisive influence on the outcome of the war. Likewise, Flavius Pacuvius stood, stranded at Carthage with 1700 men. And Qintus Libo laid siege to Alesia, enduring a fierce relief effort by the Iberians that cost him nearly one third of his army. As of Winter 250 BC, all these generals at the periphery were of secondary importance. What mattered was Rome and the armies that marched on her.
Servius had landed west of Arretium, a city Luca Mamillus had abandoned in haste to looters and rioters. Luca had planned to make a preemptive move against his son-in-law, Appius Egnatius, a Consular general in Arminium. But in the end, Luca had turned south to link up with Decius Laevinus. Together, the two had gathered what loyal Roman and Italian soldiers they could to create a force almost worthy of the designation Field Army III that Publius Laevinus had so mockingly used before. This army was deployed on the road just north of Rome, supported by a mass of Gauls; but after their poor showing at Ancrya, no Roman commander was likely to put them in the front line.
Two fleets from Africa were racing for Italy. Admiral Appius was bringing Marcellus Aemilius and would make landfall in the Spring. Admiral Cassisus was transporting Oppius Aemilius and would probably arrive a season later. Oppius’s trip was disturbed by its passage around Caralis - they could see the town in flames, having been seized by the Carthaginians. Evidently, Carthage was exploiting the divisions created by the Roman Civil War to reclaim some of its territories. Both Caralis and Melite had been seized and put to the sword in retribution for their prolonged and stubborn failure to resist the superior Carthaginian forces. A Consular sized Carthaginian army was marching on Aleria, under the command of a general Muttines of Cordoba.
To the north of Italy, Quintus Naevius was approaching Bononia. He seemed certain to win the race for the river Po with both Tiberius Corucanius and Cnaeus Caprarius, who were making unexpectedly slow progress in their advance on Rome.
The fate of Rome was in the balance. Servius and Luca were within striking distance of each other, but both could well prefer to await reinforcement. It was likely, however, that the end of Winter would bring a climactic struggle that would make the bloodbath at Ancrya look like a minor skirmish.
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