Why did Rome attack Greece Battle of Cynoscephalae 197 BC (Part 2/2)

 

I'm very pleased to say that we've collaborated with Knowledgia on this mini series. Make sure to watch part 1 on their channel, if you haven't already. You can find it here!

 It provides all of the details that led up to the battle of Cynoscephalae.

 After the utter failure of the conference in 197 BC, peace was no longer an option between Philip of Macedon and the Roman Republic . The end of the Second Macedonian war… was yet to come… The king knew that he was at a disadvantage against the sheer force of the Romans and their allies. Unwilling to back down, he called upon the able bodied men, elderly veterans and young minors to join the growing campaign, extending his plea to allies and mercenaries from Thrace, Illyria, and Crete, building up his force to around 25,000.

 As the host converged on Larissa, Philip grew in confidence,

 now that he could match the Romans in the field.

 Meanwhile, Flamininus lost a part of his army when King Attalus suffered a stroke and had to withdraw from the campaign back to Pergamon. But the Roman general could count on reinforcements from Italy and the support of the Boeotian League, Aetolia, Apollonia, Athamania, and mercenaries from Crete, building up his coalition to around 26,000 troops and some 20 war elephants.

 By mid June,

 preparations for the campaign were complete.

 Aware that Philip departed from Larissa, Flamininus marched north

 into Thessaly to meet him…

 Gray skies glowered down over Thessaly, as the two armies closed in.

 The heavy rain created miserable conditions for the troops on the march, while the fog decreased visibility, making both commanders nervous.

 Sporadic clashes broke out

 between scouting parties, and the men in the columns were kept on high alert.

 Upon reaching the outskirts of the town of Pherae, Flamininus made camp, while Philip stopped a short distance away, settling in for the night.

 The inclement weather persisted, churning up the soil in the surrounding fields.

 Neither commander was pleased with the prospects of fighting in muddy conditions and poor visibility the next day, and both made preparations to break camp.

 At first light, the two armies left their camps in hopes of finding good fighting ground and replenishing their food stockpiles.

 Philip took a north-westerly route, looking to resupply his men at the town of Skotussa and outmaneuver the Romans. This took him through the Cynoscephalae Hills, where the numerous streams would serve as a reliable source of fresh water for the troops.

 Flamininus anticipated the move and marshalled his army west to intercept the Macedonians.

 He hoped that the more direct and easier route south of the ridge line would allow him to reach Skotussa first.

 But the visibility worsened still. A heavy fog enveloped the lowlands around Cynoscephalae, making it impossible to see anything beyond just a few meters.

 Separated by the chain of hills, the two commanders were unaware just how close they were to each other, as their respective scouting parties could not find their way through the fog to pin point enemy movements.

 With the day coming to a close, Flamininus came upon the temple of Thetis, where he learned that he still had some 10km to go before he reached Skotussa – quite a distance given the weather conditions and the fact that night time was fast approaching.

 Furthermore, a night time march would’ve been risky in case they stumbled upon the Macedonians.

 Realizing that it made little sense to continue marching blindly, the Roman general ordered the troops to make camp at sunset.

 With such poor visibility some of his troops became rather disoriented, and being in enemy territory under these conditions must’ve been unnerving, but Flamininus made sure to double the sentries around the camp perimeter, in case of an attack.

 Across the line of hills, Philip faced far fewer problems with orientation thanks to having Thessalians in his ranks, but the difficulty of not being able to see forced him to stop the column and encamp near the town of Melambium.

 Besides his concerns that the Romans could attack suddenly out from the mist, the priority for the Macedonian King were supplies for his troops.

 The small settlement could not provision his entire army, but the locals were able to provide the essentials to continue the journey towards Skotussa, the next day… At dawn, Philip ordered the men to array outside the camp, in preparation to continue the march.

 He sent out half of his troops to forage, with strict orders not to venture far from the camp, in case the enemy appeared.

 While the rain did finally stop, Philip was unsure about another day of marching in the thick fog.

 To avoid any surprises, he dispersed some of the light infantry to inspect the road ahead and attempt to locate the Romans from atop a ridge to the south.

 While the main army waited for scouting reports at the bottom of the slope, the Macedonian light infantry ascended towards the crest of the hill, above the fog, from where they hoped they would be able to spot the Romans.

 Little did they know that, just on the other side of the hill, Flamininus sent his own scouting contingent of velites towards the top of the ridge. He too struggled with poor visibility and was unsure about marching on with such poor visibility without knowing where the enemy was.

 The opposing contingents ran into each other and a spontaneous, chaotic clash erupted on the ridge.

 Both parties quickly sent

 word back to their commanders, informing them of the situation atop the hill.

 Flamininus was impressively

 prepared for such a surprise and promptly sent out the Aetolian cavalry and more light infantry to reinforce the hill, while preparing the rest of the column for battle.

 In contrast, Philip was not quite as ready, and with some delay he scrambled together a contingent of mercenaries and the Thessalian cavalry to join the melee, ordering his phalanx to array for battle.

 Meanwhile on the ridge, losses mounted for both sides in the disorganized skirmish, but the Macedonian light infantry were getting the better of the Romans, driving them back down the slope.

 However, with support arriving, Flamininus’s advance force began to regain lost ground, and the fighting moved back towards the top. By now, the main Roman army was almost in full battle order, with cavalry, elephants and 2 legions on the right, while Flamininus took command of the two legions and the remaining forces on the left.

 Back on the ridge, Philip’s men suffered badly, but were themselves reinforced not long after.

 The bloody skirmish was fast turning into an intense battle, and the Romans were again pushed down, this time almost to the bottom of the hillside, taking heavy casualties in the process.

 With half of his phalanx

 units, around 8000-strong,

 Philip ordered an assault, compelled to reinforce the men at the top.

 The remaining 8000 phalanxes lagged behind and were yet to form in battle order, but were nonetheless tasked with joining the attack, still lacking cohesion.

 Despite at first being reluctant to commit his phalangites into the broken, hilly terrain, Philip was encouraged by the success of his troops on the ridge and felt he had to press the advantage.

 Word reached Flamininus that the Macedonian assault had begun… He orders the legionaries forward, to aid the embattled Romans on the left.

 The right flank is ordered to stay behind, in anticipation of more enemy troops coming across the hill.

 With the full force of the legions, the advance party of the Macedonians is quickly thrown back. The moderately armored peltasts were no match against the Roman heavy infantry.

 As Philip crested the ridge, he saw Flamininus advancing up the slope and attacked straight away.

 The downward momentum and the weight of the deep phalanx formation drove back the Romans.

 The wall of sarissas cracked open the frontal rows of the maniples, with many of the fallen trampled to death by the advancing block of phalangites.

 By this time, the sun had started to beam through the fog and the mist was beginning to dissipate.

 Flamininus could now see that his men were losing the fight. The Roman coalition was in trouble… Worse, as the Macedonian push continued, Philip’s remaining phalanx formations started coming over the ridge, commanded by Nicanor.

 Flamininus reacted quickly, ordering the Roman right to advance towards the incoming enemy. He personally joined the attack, wanting to strike the phalanx on Philip’s left while they were still disorganized and in marching formation.

 The ground shook as the

 elephants led the Roman assault, with the legions and cavalry following close behind.

 Having rushed to join the battle, the Macedonian phalanx sacrificed its cohesion and now they didn’t have enough time to form their strong formation.

 The force of the elephant charge ripped right through their lines, causing absolute mayhem,

 shattering their communications.

 As the maniples and cavalry closed in, most of the Macedonian phalanx were caught with their spears raised and they soon fell apart, unable to stop the onslaught of the legions.

 During the counterattack, an unnamed Roman tribune turned towards the left and realized that the Macedonians were winning the fight there.

 He used his authority to gather some 20 maniples and fall back to assist the left.

 The initiative of the unnamed tribune was the deciding moment in the battle.

 The agile maniples were able to reform and charge Philip’s center from the flank and rear.

 The rigid forward facing phalanx formation was caught completely by surprise and were now trapped.

 The morale of those Macedonians who survived the sudden onslaught was crushed and they quickly raised their sarissas to signal to the enemy that they were surrendering.

 The Romans however, proceeded to hack them to pieces, either unfamiliar that the raised sarissa meant surrender or they simply wanted to annihilate the enemy.

 Philip gathered the rest of the Macedonian right and fled the field.

 The Romans reportedly had only 700 dead, though this figure was quite likely higher due to the severity of the fighting.

 The Macedonians meanwhile suffered heavy casualties. Some 8000 perished and 5000 were taken prisoner.

 King Philip escaped, but the defeat would put him in a humiliating position.

 After their total victory, Rome had a commanding position during peace negotiations to end the Second Macedonian War.

 The treaty allowed King Philip of Macedon to keep his kingdom, but he had to give up all other possessions in Greece and Asia, pay 1,000 silver talents to the Roman Republic, and had to send his son to Rome as a hostage.

 Macedon effectively became a Roman puppet.

 Big shout to Knowledgia for

 collaborating with us on this article.

 He’s one of the best historytubers out there, so make sure to check out his channel and subscribe.