Rome's ultimate victory in the war against Carthage was to be borne from a change in attitude following a series of devastating defeats. The battles of Lake Trasimene, Trebia and the slaughter at Cannae forced the state to alter its tactics to outsmart Hannibal, such was his ingenuity on the battlefield. The Roman general Scipio first took Hannibal's own tactical style and appropriated it to counter Hannibal's brother Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco in Iberia. At Ilipa, Scipio reversed the crescent manoeuvre used against Rome at Cannae to devastating effect, having tricked the Carthaginians into the wrong formation. Although bad weather allowed a temporary reprieve, their attempt to retreat led to an all-out massacre which shattered Barcid power in Iberia. Later, Scipio confounded Hannibal at Zama, just outside Carthage itself, with his advanced tactics, in what turned out to be the conclusive battle of the conflict. A clever manoeuvre meant that some of the Hannibal's elephants were channelled away and others forced back through the Carthaginian lines before Scipio's superior Roman infantry advanced against them, causing a rout.
