4 – Battle of Panormus (251 BC)
The Romans returned to Sicily and captured Panormus (modern day Palermo) in 254 BC. The population of 70,000 was offered the chance to buy its freedom for 200 drachmas; those who couldn’t pay were sold into slavery. After yet another raid in North Africa, disaster hit Rome when storms ravaged one of its fleets and resulted in the sinking of 150 ships. Ironically, the much-vaunted Corvus was possibly to blame for its added weight was a factor in the disaster. Interestingly, there are no further mentions of the device after the calamity.
As many as 90,000 men died in the storms and Carthage used the opportunity to attack Agrigentum. Since they didn’t think they could hold on to the city, they burned it instead. Rome created another 140 ships and once again, began picking off enemy locations on the coast of Sicily. It attacked Lilybaeum in Sicily and raided North Africa but once again, a storm ravaged the Roman fleet and destroyed some ships. Despite this setback, the Romans continued with their forward momentum and captured Thermae in 252 BC. The following year, they took Kephalodon and advanced towards Panormus.
The Carthaginian commander, Hasdrubal, sensed an opportunity as the year 251 BC came to a close. He knew that the Romans changed consuls every year which meant a changeover period before new consuls arrived at Sicily. Hasdrubal was correct in his assertion as one of the Roman consuls returned home with half the troops, leaving Metellus with a reduced army at Panormus. Hasdrubal advanced on the city, so Metellus planned to use the city’s defenses to hold the enemy at bay. The defenses included large walls surrounded by a ditch and a river close to the city.
Metellus cleverly lured Hasdrubal into a trap, and as his enemy approached after crossing the river, the Romans harassed them with light infantry while other light troops went in front of the city’s defensive trench. Hasdrubal sent his elephants after these men, but it was part of Metellus’ plan. He knew the men would be forced into the ditch but used the opportunity to send his troops on the wall into the fray against the now vulnerable animals. The combined attack from the men on the wall and those in the ditch caused the elephants to panic, and they fled. Metellus ordered his heavy troops to attack the enemy left wing and, with the Carthaginians already in a state of confusion, the Romans won a decisive victory as Hasdrubal’s army was almost destroyed. As well as capturing 60 elephants, the Romans killed 11,000 Carthaginians at Panormus.
It was probably a turning point in the First Punic War because the Romans lost much of their fear of elephants. Before this battle, many soldiers refused to face the animals in open combat. Carthage made a peace offer which was rejected by the Romans. As was the tradition, Hasdrubal was executed for his failure. Buoyed by their success, the Romans attacked Lilybaeum once again but were unable to take the city after a lengthy siege. There was still plenty of work for them to do.