Battle of Cannae
Battle of Cannae, (August 216 bce), battle fought near the ancient village of Cannae, in southern Apulia (modern Puglia), southeastern Italy, between the forces of Rome and Carthage during the Second Punic War. The Romans were crushed by the African, Gallic, and Celtiberian troops of Hannibal, with recorded Roman losses ranging from 55,000 (according to Roman historian Livy) to 70,000 (according to Greek historian Polybius). One of the most significant battles in history, it is regarded by military historians as a classic example of a victorious double envelopment.
Hannibal was the first to arrive at the battle site, with a force of about 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. His army took command of the Aufidus (now Ofanto) River, the main source of water in the area. That added to the strain on the Romans, who would struggle to satisfy the thirst of their greater number of soldiers in the early August heat. Hannibal positioned his lines facing north, compelling the Romans to face mostly to the south, where the hot libeccio wind blew dust and grit into their eyes, an irritant and disadvantage that, according to ancient authorities, cannot be ignored. In addition, Hannibal confined the eight Roman legions in a narrow valley, hemmed in by the river. In one stroke, Hannibal thus restricted the mobility of the Roman cavalry and forced the Roman infantry to adopt a formation that was deeper than it was wide, two factors that would prove critical in the outcome of the battle.
Breaking from the Fabian strategy of nonengagement, the Roman consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro brought to Cannae roughly 80,000 men, about half of whom lacked significant battle experience. They sought to meet Hannibal, who had just taken a highly coveted grain depot at Canusium, in the hope of delivering a knockout blow and ending the destructive Carthaginian invasion of Italy. Terentius Varro had been popularly elected as a plebeian consular political appointee, and ancient sources describe his character as overconfident and rash, ascribing to him the hope that he could overwhelm Hannibal with sheer numbers. Aemilius Paullus, however, was both a veteran and patrician from an established military family, and he was justifiably cautious about facing Hannibal on his enemy’s terms.
The Romans faced southwest, with their right wing resting on the Aufidus and with the sea about three miles (five kilometres) to their rear. They placed their cavalry (about 6,000) on their wings and massed their infantry in an exceptionally deep and narrow formation in the centre in the hope of breaking the enemy centre by weight and push. To counter that, Hannibal relied on the elasticity of his formation. He stationed his Gallic and Spanish infantry in the centre, two groups of his African troops on their flanks, and the cavalry on the wings. But before engaging the enemy, his line adopted a crescent shape, the centre advancing with the African troops on their flanks en échelon. As Hannibal had anticipated, his cavalry won the struggle on the wings, and some then swept around behind the enemy.
Meanwhile, the Roman infantry gradually forced back Hannibal’s centre, and victory or defeat turned upon whether the latter held. It did: although it fell back, it did not break, and the Roman centre was gradually drawn forward into a trap. Hannibal’s crescent became a circle, with Hannibal’s African and Spanish troops on the wings pressing inward on the Romans and the Carthaginian cavalry attacking from the rear. Some of the equipment used by troops engaging the Roman flanks—especially shields and other armour—had been taken from dead Romans after the Carthaginian victory at Trasimene. That may have further confused the Romans, who were already fighting through a steady torrent of dust. Pressed tightly together and hence unable to properly use their arms, the Romans were surrounded and cut to pieces. It is possible that the falcata, a brutally effective curved short sword employed by Celtiberian troops, played some role in the dismemberment of the Roman ranks.
Terentius Varro fled the field of battle with the remnants of the Roman and allied cavalry. Aemilius Paullus was killed along with many other high-ranking commanders, including Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, Marcus Minucius Rufus, and other veteran patricians. Among the Roman dead were 28 of 40 tribunes, up to 80 Romans of Senatorial or high magistrate rank, and at least 200 knights (Romans of equestrian rank). It was estimated that 20 percent of Roman fighting men between the ages of 18 and 50 died at Cannae. Only 14,000 Roman soldiers escaped, and 10,000 more were captured; the rest were killed. The Carthaginians lost about 6,000 men.
When word of the defeat reached Rome, panic gripped the city, and women flocked to temples to weep for their lost husbands, sons, and brothers. Hannibal was exhorted to march on Rome by Maharbal, one of his commanders, but Hannibal did not do so. Livy reports that Maharbal then told Hannibal that he knew how to win battles but not how to take advantage of them. For his part, Hannibal had hoped that many South Italians would desert Rome and ally with him after his crushing victory. In spite of the massive blow to Rome’s morale and its manpower in the short term, Cannae ultimately steeled Roman resistance for the long fight ahead. Rome resumed the Fabian strategy, denying Hannibal the opportunity to achieve a second victory of Cannae’s scale, and Hannibal saw the strength of his armies and his allies whittled away through slow attrition.