Battle of Ager Falernus

Overview

The Battle of Ager Falernus was a skirmish during the Second Punic War between the armies of Rome and Carthage. After winning the Battle of Lake Trasimene in Italy in 217 BC, the army commanded by Hannibal marched south and reached Campania. The Carthaginians ultimately moved into the district of Falernum, a fertile river valley surrounded by mountains.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The skirmish at Ager Falernus took place in the aftermath of Hannibal's victory at Lake Trasimene in 217 BCE, during the Carthaginian army's southward march into Campania. Having entered the district of Falernum, a fertile river valley enclosed by mountains, Hannibal's forces engaged a Roman contingent under Fabius Verrucosus. Roman casualties amounted to roughly one quarter of the Roman force engaged, with approximately 1,000 killed from a strength of 4,000 against a Carthaginian force of 2,000. The engagement occurred within the strategic context of Fabius's cautious, attritional approach to containing Hannibal following the catastrophic Roman defeat at Trasimene, and reflects the ongoing effort by Roman commanders to harass or check Carthaginian movement through the Italian interior without committing to a pitched battle.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)