On 2 August 216 BCE, the Battle of Cannae was fought in Italy between the Carthaginians under Hannibal Barca against the Romans under Gaius Terentius Varro during the Second Punic War.
Why did it happen & Who was involved?
After crossing the Alps in 218 BCE, Hannibal entered Italy and defeated two Roman armies at the battles of Trebia and Lake Trasimene. After these victories, the Roman commander Quintus Fabius Maximus pursued a scorched earth policy by harassing Hannibal’s army and avoiding direct battle. But in July 216 BCE, when Hannibal captured a Roman supply depot at Cannae in southern Italy, a massive Roman army consisting of 80,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry was sent to destroy Hannibal’s army in battle. When the armies confronted each other on 2 August, Hannibal arranged his Spanish and Gallic infantry in a crescent formation in the centre, flanked by African infantry and his cavalry on the extreme flanks. In all, Hannibal’s army consisted of 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. The Romans arranged their infantry in three deep lines with cavalry on the wings.
What happened?
Hannibal opened the battle by sending his cavalry under Hasdrubal to charge the Roman right wing. Once engaged, both sides dismounted to fight on foot seeing as there was little room to manoeuvre. After routing the Roman right wing, Hasdrubal swept around the Roman rear to attack the Roman left wing in conjunction with Hanno on the Carthaginian right wing. Surrounded on both sides, the Roman left wing disintegrated. At the same time, the Roman legionaries, who outnumbered the Carthaginians two to one, advanced against the Carthaginian centre. As Hannibal intended, the Carthaginian line bent rather than broke, enveloping the Roman forces. Hannibal then ordered his African infantry to turn inwards onto the Roman flanks. The battle was decided when the Carthaginian cavalry under Hasdrubal and Hanno charged into the Roman rear. Surrounded and with no room to manoeuvre, the Roman army was slaughtered, with losses reaching 70,000 killed. The Carthaginians losses numbered less than 6,000 killed.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Cannae was a Carthaginian victory. If Hannibal had marched on Rome, it probably would have surrendered. However, Hannibal was reluctant to march on the city, probably because he lacked siege equipment. This refusal to gain the strategic initiative meant that the war dragged on for another fourteen years. By that time, the Romans had regained the initiative under its talented commander, Scipio Africanus. Scipio copied Hannibal’s own tactics to great effect in Spain, particularly at the Battle of Ilipa in 206 BCE. In that battle, he defeated a larger Carthaginian army by refusing his centre and enveloping the weak Carthaginian flanks with his legionaries. Scipio and Hannibal would face each other in 202 BCE during the climactic battle of the Second Punic War. At the Battle of Zama, Hannibal was defeated and subsequently went into exile. He took poison and died in 183 BCE to avoid capture by the Romans.
Bibliography:
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Montgomery, Bernard. A History of Warfare. London, Collins, 1968.
Rodgers, Nigel. The History and Conquests of Ancient Rome. London, Hermes House, 2007.
Snow, Peter. Battles Map by Map. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2021.