Battle of Tunis

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The Battle of Tunis between the Roman Republic and Carthage occurred in the spring of 255 BC during the First Punic War. The battle ended in a decisive Carthaginian victory. The battle is also referred to as the first Battle of Bagradas River.

The Mercenary General Xanthippus was hired by the city of Carthage following heavy-handed negotiations by Rome. He made the Romans fight on open ground, thus allowing him to maximize the excellent Carthaginian cavalry and Nubian elephant resources.

The Roman army under Marcus Atilius Regulus was based at Tunis. Faced by the resurgent Carthaginian army Regulus was keen to gain another victory rather than risk the chance that someone else would get the glory of eventual victory. Xanthippus is credited with the Carthaginian formation, with a hastily raised phalanx of civilians in the centre, mercenary infantry on their right and a line of elephants in front of the infantry, with the elite Carthaginian cavalry split between the two wings. The Romans were formed in their normal formation, with the legionary infantry in the centre and the outnumbered cavalry on the wings.

The Carthaginians started the battle with an attack by the elephants. This tied up the main force of Roman infantry. The Roman cavalry, outnumbered four to one, was quickly defeated. Only on their left did the Romans have any success, where 2,000 troops, possibly allied troops, defeated the mercenaries facing them, and chased them back past to their camp. Meanwhile, in the centre the elephant attack had been withstood, but only a few isolated units of Roman infantry managed to get past them to attempt to attack the Carthaginian phalanx, and they were quickly defeated. Finally, the Carthaginian cavalry charged the already shaken Romans from both sides, destroying what cohesion was left. Only the 2,000 troops successful earlier in the battle escaped, to be rescued by the Roman fleet. Regulus himself was taken prisoner; according to Diodorus, his eyelids were cut off and he was trampled to death by an enraged elephant^[1]. The defeat, and serious disasters in storms at sea, ended any chance that Rome would defeat Carthage in Africa, and made sure that the rest of the war was fought on Sicily and at sea.

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