Battle of Ilipa

Date	206 BC
Location	East of Ilipa (or Silpia), modern Alcalá del Rio, Seville, Spain
Result	Decisive Roman victory; Carthaginian hold on Iberia forever broken

Belligerents

Carthage

Roman Republic

Commanders and leaders

Mago Barca
Hasdrubal Gisco

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

Strength

54,500 men (50,000 infantry and 4,500 cavalry)+ 32 war Elephants

48,000 men (45,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry)

Casualties and losses

48,500 killed or captured (6,000 soldiers escaped)

approx. 7,000 killed

The Battle of Ilipa (/ˈɪlɪpə/) in 206 BC is considered by many as Scipio Africanus’s most brilliant victory in his military career during the Second Punic War.

It took place on a plain east of Alcalá del Rio, Seville, Spain, near the village of Esquivel, the site of the Carthaginian camp.

Though it may not seem to be as original as Hannibal’s tactic at Cannae, Scipio’s pre-battle maneuver and his reverse Cannae formation stands as the acme of his tactical ability, in which he forever broke the Carthaginian hold in Iberia, thus denying any further land invasion into Italy and cutting off a rich base for the Barca dynasty both in silver and manpower.

After the Battle of Baecula and Hasdrubal Barca’s departure, further Carthaginian reinforcements were landed in Iberia in early 207 BC under Hanno, who soon joined Mago Barca. Together they were raising a powerful army by the heavy recruitment of Celtiberians. Meanwhile, Hasdrubal Gisco also advanced his army from Gades into Andalusia. Thus Scipio was facing two concentrated enemy forces, one of which would no doubt fall on his rear if he tried to attack the other.

After careful planning, Scipio decided to send a detachment under Silanus to strike Mago first. Marching with great speed, Silanus was able to achieve complete surprise when he fell on the Carthaginian camps, which resulted in the dispersion of Mago’s Celtiberians and Hanno's capture.

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Wikipedia