Читать книгу The Secrets of Spies - Weldon Owen - Страница 21

CHAPTER 1  THE FIRST SPIES

22

THE ROMAN WAY

The Ancient Romans took enormous pride in their

army, which established itself as one of the most

deadly fighting machines in history. The Romans

valued military virtue, and this tended to lead them

to disparage deception or other forms of trickery.

There were exceptions, however, and those who

embraced spying proved to be Rome’s most

gifted commanders.

The Roman state faced possibly its sternest test in the Second Punic War

(218–201

bce). Their enemies the Carthaginians were led by the brilliant

general Hannibal, who, in contrast to most Romans, understood the value of

good intelligence. In 218

bce, Hannibal secretly led his forces—complete with

elephants—from Carthage in North Africa through Spain and France and

over the Alps into northern Italy. The Romans were completely taken by

surprise at this audacious move, and Hannibal capitalized on their confusion

by winning a series of victories that almost destroyed Rome.

DEFEATING HANNIBAL

Suffering from shortages of men and material, Hannibal’s forces were eventually

forced back to Carthage, which was later invaded in 204

bce by a Roman army

under Scipio Africanus. Possibly influenced by Hannibal, Scipio did make good

use of spies to gather information. After his intelligence-led victory over

Carthage’s ally, King Syphax, Scipio decisively defeated Hannibal at the Battle

of Zama in 202

bce, bringing the war to a successful conclusion.

SLAVISH DECEPTION

After his arrival in Carthage, Scipio faced King Syphax’s

powerful Numidian-Carthaginian army, defending a

well-prepared camp. Scipio sent envoys to the camp

to negotiate peace. Each envoy was accompanied by a

number of slaves, who were, in fact, Roman centurions

in disguise. While the negotiations were ongoing,

the centurions reconnoitered the camp, noting the

deployment of enemy troops and any possible weak

points. Armed with this information, Scipio decided on

a night attack. Just before the attack order was given,

an advance guard infiltrated the camp, setting alight

wooden barrack huts. The Carthaginians rushed out

unarmed to extinguish the flames, only to be massacred

by the Romans hiding nearby.

Above left: Hannibal portrayed counting

the rings of fallen Romans.

Above right: This statue of Julius Caesar stands

next to Hannibal at The Louvre in Paris.