Battle of Adys

Battle of Adys
Part of the First Punic War
Date Late 256 BC Location Adys, Carthage (present-day Oudna, Tunisia) 36°36′25″N 10°10′25″E / 36.60694°N 10.17361°E / 36.60694; 10.17361 Result Roman victory
Belligerents
Rome	Carthage
Commanders and leaders
Marcus Atilius Regulus	Bostar Hamilcar Hasdrubal
Strength
15,000 infantry 500 cavalry	12,000 infantry 4,000 cavalry 100 war elephants
Casualties and losses
Few
class=notpageimage| Location within Tunisia

The battle of Adys (or Adis) took place in late 256 BC during the First Punic War between a Carthaginian army jointly commanded by Bostar, Hamilcar and Hasdrubal and a Roman army led by Marcus Atilius Regulus.^{[note 1]} Earlier in the year, the new Roman navy had established naval superiority and used this advantage to invade the Carthaginian homeland, which roughly aligned with modern Tunisia in North Africa. After landing on the Cape Bon Peninsula and conducting a successful campaign, the fleet returned to Sicily, leaving Regulus with 15,500 men to hold the lodgement in Africa over the winter.

Instead of holding his position, Regulus advanced towards the Carthaginian capital, Carthage. The Carthaginian army established itself on a rocky hill near Adys (modern Uthina) where Regulus was besieging the town. Regulus had his forces execute a night march to launch twin dawn assaults on the Carthaginians' fortified hilltop camp. One part of this force was repulsed and pursued down the hill. The other part then charged the pursuing Carthaginians in the rear and routed them in turn. At this the Carthaginians remaining in the camp panicked and fled.

The Romans advanced to and captured Tunis, only 16 kilometres (10 mi) from Carthage. Despairing, the Carthaginians sued for peace. The terms offered by Regulus were so harsh that Carthage resolved to fight on. A few months later, at the battle of the Bagradas River (battle of Tunis), Regulus was defeated and his army all but wiped out. The war continued for a further 14 years.

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