Battle of Ausculum (279 av. J. - C.)
See also: Battle of Ausculum
The battles of Ausculum or Asculum was held in 279 av. J.C, and saw to clash the troops of the Roman Republic, ordered by the consul Publius Decius Mus, with the united troops of Épire, Tarente, Osques, Samnites, under the command of the king d' Épire Pyrrhus Ier. This battle is revolving major in the Guerre of Pyrrhus in Italy and in the control of the Grande Greece
Context
Course of the battle
The victory returns to Pyrrhus who uses his elephants of war to frighten the Roman soldiers and horses, which are opposed to it for the first time in the Roman history. The battle lasts two days, the Roman historians present it like undecided, but the victory returns well to Pyrrhus: The Romans lose 6 000 men, Greeks close to 3 500.
Consequences
After the battle of Ausculum, Pyrrhus leaves for the Sicily where it is victorious Carthaginians. He drives out them of Sicily safe with Lilybée.
Anecdote
The memory of this battle is at the origin of the expression Pyrrhic victory , to indicate an extremely expensive victory for the winner.
Sources
Extracts
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Frontin, the stratagems, Delivers II, III, 21
Pyrrhus, combatant for Tarentins, close to Asculum, followed the precept of Homère, which puts at the center the worst soldiers: he placed at the right wing Samnites and Épirotes, with the left Bruttiens, Lucaniens and Sallentins, in the center Tarentins, and made cavalry and elephants his body of reserve. On their side, the consuls wisely distributed their cavalry to the two wings, and arranged the legions with the face of battle and the reserve, by mingling the auxiliaries with it. There was, the fact is constant, forty thousand men on both sides. Pyrrhus had half of his destroyed army, and on the side of the Romans the loss was only of five thousand men.
See too
Internal bonds
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