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Battle of Lake Trasimene was Hannibal’s second victory over the Romans in the Second Punic War. The ambush led to the massive slaughter of the Romans. Apparently, a nearby stream supplying water to the lake, due to the mixing of a large amount of blood, was called Sanguineto, or “Blood River”.
Background of events
The defeat of the Romans at the Battle of the River Ticinius (November 218 BCE) was the first defeat of the Romans in the Second Punic War in Italy. The concerned Senate decided to summon consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus, who had previously been sent to Africa along with 160 ships (quinquereme) to obtain a replenishment of troops and supplies. During this trip, Sempronius captured Malta by defeating Carthaginians. Longus, returning to his homeland, against the advice of Cornelius Scipio (father of Scipio Africanus) attacked Hannibal’s army over the Trebia River in December this year and suffered a devastating defeat. In January 217 BCE, defeated Sempronius with 10,000 soldiers returned to Rome.
The victory of Hannibal in the battle over Trebia concerned the Romans. New plans for counteracting the threat from the north began to be prepared. The Roman Senate decided to appoint new consuls for 217 BCE. They were Gnaeus Servilius Geminus and Gaius Flaminius. Consul Servilius Geminus took command of the army of Cornelius Scipio, while Flaminius was to take over the remainder of the Roman army from the river Ticinius. As the Roman legions were clearly depleted as a result of the defeat over Trebia, it was decided to announce the recruitment for four more legions. These new units, along with the remains commanded by Flaminius, were divided between two consuls. After the battle of Trebia, Flaminius’s army headed south to prepare for the defence of Rome. Hannibal followed the consul’s forces, which at some point he even managed to outrun. Flaminius was forced to speed up his march and fight the battle with Hannibal before he reached the capital of the Roman state. In turn, Consul Servilius and his legions were to join the army of Flaminius and support him in the battle.
Hannibal tried to lure Flaminius’s army into a place he liked. Hannibal deliberately devastated the land, forcing Flaminius to protect the area and causing his legions to move after the Carthaginians. At the same time, Hannibal tried to discourage Rome’s allies from supporting the Eternal City, arguing that the Romans were unable to protect cities on the Apennine Peninsula. Eventually, Flaminius decided to set up camp in Arretium. Despite the devastating actions of the Carthaginian army in the Italian land, the consul remained passive and attentive. Hannibal decided to encircle the Roman army from the left flank, thus cutting it off from Rome. However, the consular army still remained in the Arretium camp. Hannibal decided to force his rival to confront. The Carthaginian commander began his march towards Puglia, hoping that Flaminius would follow him and that there would be a battle in the area chosen by Hannibal. Flaminius, desiring revenge for the destruction of the village and wanting to cope with growing criticism in Rome, finally set off against Hannibal. As Sempronius points out, Flaminius was impetuous, too self-confident and lacked self-control. Consul Flaminius was not a brilliant leader. He knew much more about politics. His advisers suggested that he send troops and press Hannibal to stop looting in the provinces. During this time the meals of the second consul, Servilius, were to come.
When Hannibal passed Lake Trasimeno, he found himself in an area that made it possible to pre