The First Punic War - OverSimplified (Part 1)

aggressive and now began to consider the possibility of conquering the entire island. But they also suffered heavy losses and it was clear that they could not sustain a campaign if they could not supply their troops. Here is the problem. Sicily was an island. The islands are surrounded by water. A strong navy would be vital to supplying troops and winning the war. Here was the army of Carthage and here that of Rome. (water splash) I think you can see the problem. Historians debate how much naval experience Rome had at the time. Presumably, they must have had something to defend the coast from it.

But whatever it was, it would have paled in comparison to the Carthaginian giant. And then Rome had to figure out exactly what to do with all this water. - Come on man! We're not going to let a little fresh water and thoughts get in the way of our glorious victory against Carthage! Carry! (The Roman general sputters) Tell my children I love them! - We will need a bigger boat. - What is a boat? - I don't know. - If the Romans wanted to win this war and obtain Sicily, there was only one thing left for them to do. - I guess we'll just have to go ahead and build a war fleet ourselves, right? - Right from the start? - Right from the start. - But we don't even know how, much less how to fight one. - Don't worry, Hank.

We are up to the challenge. Come on guys. We are Romans and Romans are not afraid of anything! (screams) - And so the Romans worked long and hard, trying to figure out how to build the latest style of warship. In the end, they had a little luck on their side. A Carthaginian quinquireme ended up accidentally running aground on Italian soil. The Romans found it and copied the design. While the new fleet was being built, the Romans trained rowers on land and, believe it or not, the Romans assembled an entire battle fleet of 120 warships in just two months, an amazing feat.

Now I know what you're thinking. "But simplified, if the Romans can build a war fleet from scratch in two months, why does it take you half a year to make a video?" Well, my valued subscriber, I think you should shut up. - What the hell? How did the Romans learn to build a war fleet? This shouldn't be happening! - From what I heard, they copied our design, sir. - Well, how did they get the plan, Carl? - I don't know, sir. But I'll tell you one thing. Are you worried about people stealing your data? - No. - And you want to protect yourself from external threats... - Don't you dare! - So you, my friend... - If you mention NordVPN, I'll scream! - You should use NordVPN! (Carthaginian general shouts) - Do you like corporations that know everything about you and then sell your data to advertisers who convince you to buy things you don't need in an endless cycle over and over again until you die?

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. And as always, you will support my channel. So thanks. Now where were we? Ah yes, the siege of Agrigentum, supply problems and building a war fleet. Now the Romans have a navy and it's time to put it to the test. But how is an ancient naval war fought? Easy! (bell sounds) All the ships had giant bronze battering rams on the front, so all you had to do was outmaneuver the enemy and give them the crowbars. Very easy. And so the aggressive Romans set out to get a good old-fashioned crowbar. The consul Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio set out for the city of Lipara, believing that the garrison there wanted to join the Romans.

However, upon entering the port he found himself trapped by a Carthaginian fleet and, in the following skirmish, he was completely outmatched. The Romans may have had a completely new fleet, but when it came to engaging in actual combat, their inexperience showed. There was simply something better about the Carthaginian ships. The Carthaginian rowers had prettier abs. The entire Carthaginian Empire had been built on the basis of expert seamanship. So when it came to water, the Carthaginians were better and the Romans were wetter. In their initial skirmish, the Romans were so defeated that the consul Scipio received the nickname Asina.

And if you're wondering what that means, just drop the -ina. (donkey hee-haws) So what were the Romans to do? How could they cope with this Carthaginian superpower? Well, there is something you should understand about the Romans. When they found that Carthaginian ship and copied her design, that was not something isolated. Copying their enemies was as Roman as punishing murderers by sewing them in a leather bag with a monkey, a snake and a rooster and then throwing them into a river, which was something they did. Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yes, copying his enemies. Many of the most famous Roman inventions were borrowed.

Aqueducts, chariot races, their gods. Even in war, the Romans would be impaled by a Sabine javelin and say, "Wow!" An Iberian sword would cut them into pieces and they would say, "Wow!" And they would copy the designs themselves. However, they wouldn't just copy it. They would advance it, finding ways to adapt it as perfectly as possible. And in the case of naval warfare, the Romans realized that if they wanted to beat the Carthaginians at their own game, they would have to adapt. The Romans excelled at combat on land, not in water. "But what if," they said, "we could somehow turn a naval battle into a land battle?" Sounds crazy, right?

Well, they made a couple of adjustments to their warship and... - Look, here they come again! They must love getting their butts kicked! - Hey, sir, almost that tall thing sticking out of your boats? - (laughs) They really are idiots! Look at that thing! That will make them fly! I mean, look... (laughs) Bob, get out your camera! (laughs) Take a photo of it. I mean, how stupid can you be? Let's add a large wooden tower to our ship that will weigh us down and make us fly in the wind! I mean, what does that thing do? (ship creaks) (men scream) - The Romans had built a large walkway with swinging spikes called the Corvus.

So when the Carthaginian ships came up to ram them, the Romans simply hit them. The Carthaginians tried to turn around. No problem. The Corvus could turn. Try to go behind, the Romans would crowd on the coast. It was infallible. (The Romans applaud) Those big, sexy Carthaginian rowing muscles could flex all they wanted, but they were no match for the Roman mind. So ladies, see? What really matters is what's inside. Please go out with me. And with that, the Romans, who had recently begun to dabble in the art of naval combat, thanks to their ingenious Corvus, had just managed to surpass the maritime superpower of the Mediterranean.

The Carthaginians were stunned. And the general in command of the defeated Carthaginian fleet? Well, you better believe that's a crucifixion. (children applaud) With their new control of the seas, the Romans could now more easily blockade coastal cities and supply their legions on land. Surely the Romans were now free to unleash their aggression throughout the island. - Ha ha! Hello Carthaginians! What are you going to do now that we're free to raze the island? - We will enter inside these walls and close this door. - Oh, come on guys. Stop fooling around. Come out so we can kill you! - No. - Oh, come on! - No. - Oh, no! - To counter the new Roman supremacy, the Carthaginians decided to engage in a defensive war of attrition, forcing the Romans to undertake a siege after a long siege.

The war in Sicily became a long and hard back-and-forth confrontation. One by one, the cities slowly fell as the Romans gained ground. From time to time, the Carthaginians would counterattack and even drive them back, only for the Romans to rally again. And whenever a city finally fell, the Romans could delight in massacring the entire population and selling the survivors into slavery, which was pretty standard procedure at the time. Overall, the land campaign was progressing much more slowly than the Romans expected. And, frankly, they were getting tired of it. Then, in the year 256 BC, they decided that something had to change. -Hello everyone, my name is Marcus Atilius Regulus and I will be one of his consuls this year.

Look, as I'm sure you all know, Sicily is being a bit of a pain. Sure, I could go and spend my entire year as Consul besieging a single city, but they'll never make me a naked statue for that. So here's the new plan. I'll skip Sicily entirely, take my army, and go straight to the heart of Carthage. I will kill the men, I will enslave all the women and children, and when I return, you will all build 1,000 naked statues of me. (crowd applauds) - Marcus, those things about women and children. That seems pretty evil and barbaric. - No, Jim, it's perfectly normal in the ancient world.

Sometimes we even cut their pets in half. (crowd applauds) - Okay guys, it looks like the Romans are coming straight at us this time. And what will they do when they get here? They will kill us all. (crowd gasps) They will slaughter each and every one of us. They can even cut our pets in half. - That's awesome! - No, Rob, it's actually pretty normal right now. We would do the same to them. - Who will protect us? - It's funny you ask, Mary. That's why I called this meeting. Who will protect us? Protect our families, our homes, our children?

You? Ha, don't make me laugh. Wow, they're just a bunch of stupid, weak farmers. Naive, cowardly, foolish buffoons. Here Rob believes that enslaving women and children is barbaric. You're a snowflake, Rob. Yes you are. The fact is that if the Romans manage to land on African soil, we will all die a terrifying, gruesome and indescribably painful death. - Is that the end of that speech? - Yes. (crowd shouts) - The Carthaginians had to prevent the Romans from landing in Africa because they believed that would be the end. So while the Romans were building an invasion fleet of a size the world had never seen before, the Carthaginians were preparing an even larger one to stop them.

And in 256 BC. C., as the Roman invasion fleet advanced south, the stage was set for a huge battle in which 680 warships, around 300,000 men, fought to decide the course of the war. To this day, the Battle of Cape Ecnomus remains possibly the largest naval battle in human history, dating back to ancient times. So the next time your grandfather tells you about the time he sank a Japanese aircraft carrier, kick him in the balls. The Romans had a lot at stake in this battle. They sent not only their warships, but also transports full of supplies and horses for their invasion of Africa.

Therefore, they formed a wedge-shaped protective formation to break through the long, thin Carthaginian line. The Carthaginian generals, however, desperate to prevent the Romans from reaching Africa, had their own plan. As the Roman fleet approached, the Carthaginian center feigned a retreat by drawing in the Romans so that their extended flanks could envelop them and surround the Roman Corvus, a clever plan. But with such a large battle and so many ships crowded together, the Carthaginians struggled to maneuver as they expected and in the chaos, three separate battles emerged in the huge battle space. Since the number of ships limited their ability to maneuver, the Carthaginians became easy targets and all the Romans had to do was start rocking.

The Roman center was victorious and was then able to turn around and rescue its immobilized flanks. The Battle of Cape Ecnomus was a Roman victory. (Epic music)