The Third Latin War - Part 1
95,000 Latin soldiers marched into the territory of Carthage's Italian allies. The larger force, composed of 60,000 men, besieged Bovianum, the capital of the Pentri, Samnium's dominant tribe. Meanwhile, the remaining 35,000 Latin troops besieged Capua, on the frontier of Roman territory. Capua was the most significant city in Capua, and one of the few in Italy that were now under direct Roman rule.
In Samnium, the situation seemed dire. The Pentri could only muster 10,000 men outside of the city walls, whilst the rest of the Samnite tribes could collectively muster 15,000 men. The majority of the Samnite tribes immediately mobilised their armies, notably the Caraceni, Caudini and Hirpini. The Frentani, however, largely due to the proximity of their lands to Roman territory (but also no doubt motivated by a feud between the Frentani prince Titus Egnatius and the Pentri king, who had refused to allow his daughter to marry Egnatius, due to Egnatius' drunkenness and occasional violent outbursts), kept their army in their own lands. By 184 BC, seeing the utter hopelessness of their situation and acknowledging the fact that Carthaginian reinforcements could not be counted on until the cessation of the Carthaginian civil war, the Pentri moved their army to the South-East, in order to meet up with the other armies of the Samnite Confederation. The Pentri themselves even managed to escape the city via escape tunnels built before 15 years earlier. Shortly after the flight of the Pentri monarchy, Bovianum surrendered. Having been exposed to 2 harsh winters in the mountains of Samnium, the Latin "Army of Samnium" had been reduced to 56,400 men.
The "Army of Samnium" moved South, as part of an initiative to take Beneventum, then move West to link up with the Latin forces besieging Capua. This was because the Latins expected a more rapid defeat of Carthaginian cities, and the siege of Capua was taking longer than expected. En route to Beneventum, the Samnite forces attacked the Latin army near Foglianise. The Latins numbered about 56,000, against a Samnite force of 25,000. The Samnites lured the Latins into a series of ambushes in the mountainous woodlands, winning a significant victory, against the odds. The Latins lost 17,000 men, to 4,000 Samnites. The Samnites utilised their light infantry in a way that prevented the Latins from being able to enter an even melee.
Despite the defeat, the Latins regrouped and moved to besiege Beneventum. The Latins built double walls around Beneventum, preventing the Samnite forces from coming to Beneventum's aid. After two unsuccessful attempts at breaking through the walls, the Samnites withdrew to the North, harassing supply caravans moving to Beneventum. At Capua, the siege finally ended in the Autumn of 182 BC. The "Army of Campania" however, was attacked as it continued to move further South. In a battle with roughly equal forces, the Campanians were defeated by the Latins, losing 12,000 men to 4,000 Latins, due to the Latins' defeat of the Campanian left flank. Whilst the situation in Southern Italy looked bad, the Carthaginians, Campanians and Samnites were saved by an event which was for many years attributed to divine intervention. In the Spring of 181 BC, a confederation of Gauls flooded into Northern Italy (on the advice of the Carthaginians in Massalia), laying waste to many Latin colonies in the North.
* The Romans have largely become referred to as "Latins" in this update. This is because that, whilst the Romans continue to call themselves the "Roman Republic", they have extended citizenship to all the Latin peoples in the Republic. This dilution of Roman authority, as well as the ascendancy of other towns and cities in the Republic, means that many modern historians (as well as the ancient Carthaginians) refer/red to the Roman Republic as the "Latin Confederation".