“Charge!” cried Hannibal.
“Charge!” re-echoed Maharbal.
“Charge!” repeated every one of the captains.
With a roar like the roar of the sea did the gallant remnant of the army of Italy advance and throw themselves upon the Romans with a fury that was terrible to behold. For the Romans, man for man, were no better, nay, not so good as their antagonists, and soon they began to fall back, slowly at first, then faster and faster, until at length they were falling backwards over the heaps of corpses they had, while advancing, just passed, the Carthaginians following, cutting down and slaying them with triumphant shouts of victory. It seemed as if the day were indeed lost for Scipio, and as if, despite the double misfortune of the stampede of the elephants and the cowardice of the Carthaginian levies, Hannibal would once more prove the victor, upon Carthaginian even as on Roman soil.
But alas! what is this? From the left rear comes a thundering sound! it is the Numidian Massinissa returning from the pursuit of Tychæus and falling with his horsemen in a solid body upon the Carthaginian left flank and rear. And alas! what again is this? From the right rear also there comes a thundering sound as Caius Lælius, with his five thousand Roman cavalry, returning from the pursuit of the Carthaginian horse, falls upon the right flank and rear in turn.
Fight hard now and invoke the gods, ye soldiers of Hannibal! fight hard and strike home, for never again shall ye fight under your beloved leader!
Strike now, Maharbal! strike, Bostar! strike, Hanno! Hamilcar! Adherbal! Strike, all ye captains, for the dying lion’s sake, and if ye must die, see that ye die as becometh your leader’s reputation. A life for a life! die but yield not!
And so for want of cavalry, hemmed in upon all sides, even as Hannibal himself had hemmed the Romans in at Cannæ, did the army of Italy fall. Seeing at last that all was lost, hopelessly, irretrievably lost, Hannibal called together Maharbal and such of the other mounted officers as still lived, and forming them up into a little group, boldly charged, sword in hand, the surrounding cavalry on the right flank.
And as many of these were Roman soldiers, who had seen Hannibal and Maharbal at Cannæ and in many other encounters, they were filled with alarm at the sight of these two well-known warriors falling upon them. Therefore even in this, their very moment of victory, they fell back, terror-stricken, before the defeated lion and his giant companion. Thus they cut their way through, themselves unharmed, and riding off the battle-field, continued to retreat at full gallop for several miles before drawing rein, taking the route to Adrumentum, which had been left garrisoned. Thus ended the battle of Zama, which decided the fate of the world; and thus, for the first and the last time in his life, was Hannibal, the great, the hitherto invincible Hannibal, forced to fly before the face of an enemy.