The result was that thenceforth the Carthaginians were
somewhat less forward in making such attacks, and the Romans
more cautious in foraging.
Finding that the Carthaginians would not come out to
The Romans form two strongly-entrenched camps. |
meet them at close quarters any more, the
Roman generals divided their forces: with one
division they occupied the ground round the
temple of Asclepius outside the town; with the
other they encamped in the outskirts of the city on the side
which looks towards Heracleia. The space between the
camps on either side of the city they secured by two trenches,
—the inner one to protect themselves against sallies from the
city, the outer as a precaution against attacks from without,
and to intercept those persons or supplies which always
make their way surreptitiously into cities that are sustaining
a siege. The spaces between the trenches uniting the camps
they secured by pickets, taking care in their disposition to
strengthen the several accessible points. As for food and other
war material, the other allied cities all joined in collecting and
bringing these to Herbesus for them: and thus they supplied
themselves in abundance with necessaries, by continually
getting provisions living and dead from this town, which was
conveniently near. For about five months then they remained in the same position, without being able to obtain
any decided advantage over each other beyond the casualties
which occurred in the skirmishes. But the Carthaginians
were beginning to be hard pressed by hunger, owing to the
number of men shut up in the city, who amounted to no less
than fifty thousand: and Hannibal, who had been appointed
commander of the besieged forces, beginning by this time to
be seriously alarmed at the state of things, kept perpetually
sending messages to
Carthage explaining their critical state,
and begging for assistance.
Thereupon the
Carthaginian government put on board ship the
fresh troops and elephants which they had collected,
and despatched them to
Sicily, with orders to join the
other commander Hanno.
This officer collected all his war
material and forces into Heracleia, and as a first
step possessed himself by a stratagem of Herbesus, thus depriving the enemy of their provisions and supply of necessaries. The result of this was
that the Romans found themselves in the position of besieged
as much as in that of besiegers; for they were reduced by
short supplies of food and scarcity of necessaries to such a
condition that they more than once contemplated raising the
siege. And they would have done so at last
had not Hiero, by using every effort and contrivance imaginable, succeeded in keeping them
supplied with what satisfied, to a tolerable extent, their most
pressing wants. This was Hanno's first step. His next was
as follows.
The Romans faithfully supported by Hiero. |