Ad Astra - Scipio and Hannibal - Vol. 13 Ch. 77 - Battle of Zama: Tactical Maneuver

[MangaDex]

 

[zanonyn]

The critical value of intelligence and an army with a solid command structure that can rapidly adapt to counter enemy tactics. Just as true millennia later. Thanks so much for translating this so rapidly and getting us right into the final movements!

 

[ScipioAfricanus]

I'm so good

 

[EmperorBR]

Scipio's maneuver of opening his ranks to let the elephants pass through resembles the maneuver of the Macedonian Phalanx of Alexander the Great in the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 B.C., some 100 years before this battle. They opened ranks to let Darius's war charriots to pass through the ranks, slauthering them ass they passed through their openings, in a similar way to how Scipio dealt with the elephants.

 

[Ternekielkotto]

This is the kind of maneuver that sounds simple in hindsight but was absolutely outrageous on ancient battlefields focused in line combat and only possible for extremely trained troops.

 

[zanonyn]

@Ternekielkotto
Yes, particularly with such a short time to put it into action. I think Kagano did an alright job in this amount of space to try to emphasize how much it was a unique strength of the Roman organization and part of why they were considered fearsome long-term even if individuals didn't always match the strength/skill/ferocity of many opponents. But it's hard to really get across how incredible it was to pull off with thousands of troops in coordination on the active battlefield under the fog of war.

 

[Doomroar]

Man those poor babyphants never stood a chance.

 

[DarthSidious9876]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Purplelibraryguy]

@Doomroar If it makes you feel better, think of them as annoying-teenager-phants.

 

[laiseran]

@Purplelibraryguy once again your excellent taste in manga manifests itself

 

[jrandom42]

And this is why, as great as Hannibal was, Scipio is still regarded as perhaps the greatest Military Leader Rome ever had.

 

[smartz118]

@jrandom42 Hannibal had to learn the hard way that there will always be someone better than him.

 

[Purplelibraryguy]

Actually, if you think about it, this was not only a good tactic for winning the battle, but it actually went relatively easy on the elephants. The Roman army didn't try to kill the elephants--they let them run by, just giving them some sharp pointies in the butt so they didn't think about turning around. Compared to if they'd tried to hang tough and take them down, the elephants got off light.

 

[Ternekielkotto]

@zanonyn
The manga has been very satisfying in that regards even if it tends to overemphasis the upsides and downsides of different factions in the traditional manga style to make it more interesting.
One of the thing that is most often ignored in military manga that put emphasis on the quality of troops is their stamina and reserves, as most works simply focus on who has the strongest troops or the best gimmick in the setting of the series. After all rotating formations to move fresh or rested troops to the front line doesn't make for a very interesting trump card for your army even if it is absolutely crucial.