Battle of the Metaurus The Battle of the Metaurus was a pivotal battle in the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage , fought in 207 BC near the Metauro River in present - day Italy . The battle gets a chapter in the classic " The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World " ( 1851 ) by Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy . The Carthaginians were led by Hannibal ' s brother Hasdrubal Barca , who was supposed to bring the siege equipment and reinforcements needed in order for Hannibal to defeat Rome . The Roman armies were led by the consuls Marcus Livius , who would later be nicknamed the Salinator , and Gaius Claudius Nero . Claudius Nero had just fought Hannibal in Grumentum , some hundreds of kilometers south of the Metaurus river , and reached Marcus Livius with a forced march which went unnoticed by both Hannibal and Hasdrubal , so that the Carthaginians suddenly found themselves outnumbered . Prelude . Hasdrubal ' s campaign to come to his brother ' s aid in Italy had gone remarkably well up to that point . After adeptly escaping Publius Scipio in Hispania and making his way into Gaul in the winter of 208 , Hasdrubal waited until the spring of 207 to make his way through the Alps and into Northern Italy . Hasdrubal made much faster progress than his brother had during his crossing , partly due to the constructions left behind by Hannibal ' s army a decade earlier , but also due to the removal of the Gallic threat that had plagued Hannibal during that expedition . The Gauls now feared and respected the Carthaginians , and not only was Hasdrubal allowed to pass through the Alps unmolested , his ranks were swelled by many enthusiastic Gauls . Hasdrubal , in the same fashion as his brother , succeeded in bringing his war elephants , raised and trained in Hispania , over the Alps . Rome was still reeling from the series of devastating defeats Hannibal had put on it ten years earlier , and the Romans were terrified at the prospect of fighting two sons of " the Thunderbolt " ( a rough translation of Hamilcar Barca ' s surname ) at once . The hastily elected consuls Claudius Nero and Marcus Livius were dispatched to face Hannibal and Hasdrubal respectively . Neither consul engaged his intended target initially . Claudius Nero ' s force of over 40 , 000 men was too formidable for Hannibal to engage openly , and so the two played an unproductive game of cat and mouse in Bruttium ; meanwhile , Marcus Livius , despite the added bulwark of two of the many Roman armies scattered across Italy — yielded cautiously to Hasdrubal , allowed him to push beyond the Metaurus as far south as the town of Sena . It was not until Hasdrubal sent messengers to Hannibal that decisive measures were finally taken . Hasdrubal wished to meet with his brother in South Umbria . However , Hasdrubal ' s messengers were captured , and his plans fell into the hands of the consul Claudius Nero . Nero quickly marched to the North with 7 , 000 men , 1 , 000 of whom were cavalry , in order to join up with Marcus Livius . Nero , recognizing the urgency of the situation and the enormous threat that a merging of the Carthaginian brothers ' armies would present to Rome , circumvented the authority of the Senate , instead advising them to organize levies for their own protection . Union of the two consuls . Claudius Nero quickly reached Marcus Livius , who was camped at Sena along with the praetor Porcius . Hasdrubal was camped approximately a half - mile to the north . However , since Claudius Nero had conveniently arrived at night , his presence was not detected until the next day , when the Romans drew themselves up for battle . Hasdrubal drew his army up as well , but upon closer observation of the forces assembled before him , noticed that Marcus Livius ' army seemed to have grown considerably over the course of the night , and that he had a much larger contingent of cavalry . Hasdrubal remembered hearing a trumpet in the Roman camp heralding the arrival of an important figure the night before — a sound he had become familiar with during his entanglements with the Romans in Hispania — and correctly concluded that he was now facing two Roman armies . Fearing defeat , he retreated from the field . The rest of the day passed without event , for the Romans prudently did not advance on Hasdrubal ' s fortifications - rather , they used military strategy to plan an overwhelming defeat for Hasdrubal . When nightfall came , Hasdrubal quietly led his army out of his camp with the intent of retreating into Gaul , where he could safely establish communications with Hannibal . Early on in the march , however , Hasdrubal ' s guides betrayed him , and left him lost and confused along the banks of the Metaurus , searching futilely for a ford at which to cross . The night passed with no change in Hasdrubal ' s misfortunes , and the morning found his army disarrayed , trapped against the banks of the Metaurus , and a great many of his Gallic troops drunk . With the Roman cavalry fast approaching and the legions under the two consuls not far behind , Hasdrubal reluctantly prepared for battle . Troop deployment . The battle was fought at the bank of Metaurus River , the exact site of the battle is uncertain . Indeed sites both to the north and to the south of the river have been proposed . The exact numbers of troops on both sides are not known . The data given by the ancient sources are either insufficient or very contradictory . Appian for instance says that the Carthaginian force numbered 48 , 000 infantry , 8 , 000 cavalry and 15 elephants . Livy claims that there were more than 61 , 000 slain or captured Carthaginian soldiers at the end of the battle and there were still more who escaped the slaughter . These figures look inflated , especially when one compares them with the account left by Polybius . Modern estimates suggest Hasdrubal ' s army was about 30 , 000 in strength , and Marcus Livius ' army of roughly equal numbers . The propraetor L . Porcius Licinius commanded two legions — as many men as the consul . This means that Livius and Porcius had between them four legions — equal to 32 , 000 - 40 , 000 men , including their Allies . However , the numbers of the allied contingents could have been less than usual due to the refusal of some of the Roman clients to provide auxiliaries . The Roman force was probably further diminished by earlier fighting with Hasdrubal the evidence of which is the presence of several thousand prisoners in Hasdrubal ' s camp . About 7 , 000 troops accompanied Claudius Nero . Therefore , it is certain that Carthaginians were significantly outnumbered . The Carthaginians lacked cavalry , of which the Romans had a substantial number . Like most Carthaginian armies , Hasdrubal ' s was a mix of many different cultures and ethnicities , including Iberians , Ligures , Gauls and few were of African origins . Hasdrubal right flank was on the River Metaurus and left flank at an inaccessible hilly terrain . He placed his Cavalry at right wing to guard it against superior Roman cavalry that could out flank its right wing . Contrary to this Hasdrubal ' s left flank was well guarded by hills at left and ravines on front . Hasdrubal ' s best troops were Iberians , armed with shields and swords , made his right flank , along with the few African troops that he did have ( not much is known about these troops — they may have been spearmen drawn from some Carthaginian territory , or from another part of Africa ) . The center was composed of Ligures who were not as well - trained as the men on his right flank . Finally , on his left , he placed the disorderly Gauls , who he hoped would be shielded by the intraversable terrain ( a deep ravine ) in front of them . Hasdrubal also had ten elephants in his army . Marcus Livius Salinator , deployed the Roman army in front of the Carthaginian force . The Roman left wing was commanded by Marcus Livius , right wing was under Gaius Claudius Nero , facing the inaccessible Gauls and center was under the command of Porcius Licinus . The Roman Cavalry was placed on left wing in facing the Carthaginian cavalry . The battle . The battle started with the Roman left flank charging the Carthaginian right , followed a little later by the Roman center . The outnumbered Carthaginian cavalry tumbled against the Roman cavalry . The Carthaginian right wing and center held their ground and the war elephant s , before being overcome , initially succeeded in breaking the Roman lines and spreading mass confusion , making the initial combat favorable to Hasdrubal . Claudius Nero , on the Roman right flank , struggled to overcome the terrain that blocked his path to the unprepared Gauls on Hasdrubal ' s left . Seeing the futility in wasting further time attempting to reach them , he instead took half of his men and led them from behind the battling Roman lines to the extreme Roman left , swinging his troops around and crashing into the Carthaginian right flank with sudden force and intensity . The Carthaginian right wing , composed of Iberians , could not withstand this two pronged attack of Marcus Livius from the front and Claudius Nero on their flank . They soon panicked and fled , collapsing onto the Carthaginian center and creating mass confusion . The disordered Carthaginian center now faced a three pronged attack : Porcius from the front , Marcus Livius from their right flank , and Claudius Nero from the rear . By now the Roman cavalry had completely defeated the Carthaginian cavalry and with the retreat of the Carthaginian center a general retreat of Hasdrubal ' s army started . The Romans chased the retreating Carthaginians and met almost no resistance from the unfit Gauls . Most of the Carthaginian casualties occurred during this disordered retreat . The Carthaginian general , seeing that there was nothing more he could do , and presumably doubtful of his own prospects of escape or simply unwilling to be taken captive , charged into the thick of the nearly concluded battle and met a glorious , if pointless , death . Aftermath . Claudius Nero showed no respect for his fallen adversary . He had Hasdrubal ' s head severed from his body , taken south , and thrown into Hannibal ' s camp as a token of the brother ' s defeat . Lord Byron wrote of the battle : Though history may not well remember Nero the Consul , the consequences of the battle he won and the Empire which it safeguarded are certainly well - known . With his brother dead and his soldiers routed or killed , and no hope of help from Carthage — which was too preoccupied with its own political infighting to send him aid — Hannibal ' s hopes of mustering a force sufficient in size and strength for the achievement of his war aims were utterly dashed . He remained in Italy for several more years , unmolested by Rome , and attempted to maintain the loyalty of the Italian allies whom he had won early on in his campaign . It was not until Scipio Africanus led a campaign directly against Carthage that Hannibal left Italy . The two generals faced one another at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC , where Hannibal faced a smaller Roman force and was nonetheless defeated . Had Hasdrubal succeeded in linking up with his brother , the outcome of the Second Punic War might have been very different . The addition of Hasdrubal ' s men to his ranks would have swelled Hannibal ' s army to a number great enough for him to lead a direct advance on Rome itself , and in the event of such a siege , it is quite possible that Hannibal ' s forces would have succeeded in taking the city . Even if Rome did not fall to Hannibal , the presence of the brothers ' combined armies in Italy would only add to the political strife that already existed there , not to mention the anxiety that lingered throughout Rome . History is too unpredictable to say what might have happened had the Battle of the Metaurus not occurred ; however , the fact that it did was clearly in the best interests of Rome . The significance of the Battle of the Metaurus is recognized amongst historians . It is included in Edward Creasy ' s " The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World " ( 1851 ) , the rationale being that it effectively removed the Carthaginian threat from Rome ' s ascendancy to global dominion by leaving Hannibal stranded in Italy . Paul K . Davis sees its importance as the " Carthaginian defeat ended the attempt to reinforce Hannibal , dooming his effort in Italy , and Rome was able to establish dominance over Spain . " The Battle of the Metaurus is overshadowed by other battles of the Second Punic War , such as Hannibal ' s great victory at the Battle of Cannae or his ultimate defeat at the Battle of Zama . Nonetheless , the effects of Claudius Nero and Marcus Livius ' victory at the Metaurus have earned it a significant standing amongst historians ; not only of the history of Rome , but in that of the entire world . In literature . F . L . Lucas ' s short story " The Fortune of Carthage " ( " Athenaeum " , 28 January 1921 ) is about the battle ' s prelude , the narrative being slanted from Claudius Nero ' s viewpoint . It focuses on the dilemma the Roman consul faced in Apulia on intercepting Hasdrubal ' s letter to Hannibal . The closing section gives Hannibal ' s perspective in the aftermath of the battle . The story was admired by T . E . Lawrence . Polybios : The Histories , Book 11 Sources . P . 235 , Text N . 3 ( 3 . ) " Not fewer than ten thousand Carthaginians and Gauls fell in the battle , while the Roman loss amounted to two thousand . Some of the Carthaginians of distinction were captured and the rest were slain . "