o save the state."

Fabius knew that he must be very careful lest all be lost. His raw and
untrained men, the last available soldiers, were no match for Hannibal's
veterans. He refused to accept battle but forever he followed Hannibal,
destroyed everything eatable, destroyed the roads, attacked small
detachments and generally weakened the morale of the Carthaginian troops
by a most distressing and annoying form of guerilla warfare.

Such methods however did not satisfy the fearsome crowds who had found
safety behind the walls of Rome. They wanted "action." Something must be
done and must be done quickly. A popular hero by the name of Varro, the
sort of man who went about the city telling everybody how much better
he could do things than slow old Fabius, the "Delayer," was made
commander-in-chief by popular acclamation. At the battle of Cannae (216)
he suffered the most terrible defeat of Roman history. More than seventy
thousand men were killed. Hannibal was master of all Italy.

He marched from one end of the peninsula to the other, proclaiming
himself the "deliverer from the yoke of Rome" and asking the different
provinces to join him in warfare upon the mother city. Then once more
the wisdom of Rome bore noble fruit. With the exceptions of Capua and
Syracuse, all Roman cities remained loyal. Hannibal, the deliverer,
found himself opposed by the people whose friend he pretended to be.
He was far away from home and did not like the situation. He sent
messengers to Carthage to ask for fresh supplies and new men. Alas,
Carthage could not send him either.

The Romans with their boarding-bridges, were the masters of the sea.
Hannibal must help himself as best he could. He continued to defeat the
Roman armies that were sent out against him, but his own numbers
were decreasing rapidly and the Italian peasants held aloof from this
self-appointed "deliverer."

After many years of uninterrupted victories, Hannibal found himself
besieged in the country which he had just conquered. For a moment, the
luck seemed to turn. Hasdrubal, his brother, had defeated the Roman
armies in Spain. He had crossed the Alps to come to Hannibal's
assistance. He sent messengers to the south to tell of his arrival and
ask the other army to meet him in the plain of the Tiber. Unfortunately
the messengers fell into the hands of the Romans and Hannibal waited
in vain for further news until his brother's head, neatly packed in a
basket, came rolling