Scipio uses Locri to outmaneuver Hannibal

The episode begins with local conspirators offering Scipio a route into Locri and develops into a contest of surprise and counter-surprise. Roman troops seize one citadel, but Hannibal moves to relieve the Carthaginian garrison and prepares a coordinated assault. Scipio sails from Messina, conceals reinforcements inside the town, and strikes Hannibal's force from the flank and rear as its ladders come forward. Hannibal withdraws once the Romans control the situation, leaving Locri in Scipio's hands without reducing the force intended for Africa. The reviewed argument emphasizes more than territorial gain: the success blooded Scipio's troops and weakened the aura of Hannibalic invincibility before the African campaign. Because Polybius's account for this period is lost, that interpretation depends partly on deduction from Scipio's earlier command style.