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Battle of Cannae
Battle of Cannae
Overview
The Battle of Cannae (216 BCE) was Hannibal Barca's masterpiece — a devastating double envelopment of a much larger Roman army during the Second Punic War. It remains one of the most studied tactical victories in military history.
Key Facts
- Date: 2 August 216 BCE
- Location: Cannae, Apulia (southeastern Italy)
- Belligerents: Carthage vs. Roman Republic
- Commanders: Hannibal Barca (Carthage), Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro (Rome)
- Result: Decisive Carthaginian victory 1
The Battle
- Romans: ~86,000; Carthaginians: ~50,000
- Hannibal placed his weakest troops in a convex center, with veteran infantry and cavalry on the flanks
- Roman advance pushed the center back into a concave shape, drawing them in
- Carthaginian flanks and cavalry closed the trap in a complete double envelopment
- Roman losses: ~50,000–70,000 killed — the worst single-day defeat in Roman history 2
Legacy
- Hannibal's double envelopment became the gold standard of tactical warfare
- Despite the victory, Hannibal could not take Rome itself
- Rome eventually adopted Fabian attrition strategy and won the war
Review Queue
@q[temporal]Line 10: "Date: 2 August 216 BCE" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. Battle occurred 2 August 216 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 11: "Location: Cannae, Apulia (southeastern Italy)" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 12: "Belligerents: Carthage vs. Roman Republic" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 13: "Commanders: Hannibal Barca (Carthage), Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Tere..." - when was this true?
Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 14: "Result: Decisive Carthaginian victory 1 " - when was this true?
Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 17: "Romans: ~86,000; Carthaginians: ~50,000" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. Troop estimates for the battle. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 18: "Hannibal placed his weakest troops in a convex center, with veteran infantry ..." - when was this true?
Static historical fact. Tactical description of the battle. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 19: "Roman advance pushed the center back into a concave shape, drawing them in" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 20: "Carthaginian flanks and cavalry closed the trap in a complete double envelopment" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 21: "Roman losses: ~50,000–70,000 killed — the worst single-day defeat in Roma..." - when was this true?
Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 24: "Hannibal's double envelopment became the gold standard of tactical warfare" - when was this true?
Static historical fact / enduring scholarly assessment. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 25: "Despite the victory, Hannibal could not take Rome itself" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 26: "Rome eventually adopted Fabian attrition strategy and won the war" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. Rome won the Second Punic War in 201 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[missing]Line 10: "Date: 2 August 216 BCE" - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.107-117 1 . Primary source.
@q[missing]Line 11: "Location: Cannae, Apulia (southeastern Italy)" - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.107 1 .
@q[missing]Line 12: "Belligerents: Carthage vs. Roman Republic" - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.107 1 .
@q[missing]Line 13: "Commanders: Hannibal Barca (Carthage), Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Tere..." - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.107 1 ; Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 22.44-49.
@q[missing]Line 17: "Romans: ~86,000; Carthaginians: ~50,000" - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.107 1 ; Goldsworthy (2001) 2 . Ancient estimates vary.
@q[missing]Line 18: "Hannibal placed his weakest troops in a convex center, with veteran infantry ..." - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.113-115 1 .
@q[missing]Line 19: "Roman advance pushed the center back into a concave shape, drawing them in" - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.115 1 .
@q[missing]Line 20: "Carthaginian flanks and cavalry closed the trap in a complete double envelopment" - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.116 1 .
@q[missing]Line 24: "Hannibal's double envelopment became the gold standard of tactical warfare" - what is the source?
Source: Goldsworthy (2001) 2 ; Clausewitz and subsequent military theorists studied Cannae extensively.
@q[missing]Line 25: "Despite the victory, Hannibal could not take Rome itself" - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.117 1 ; Livy 22.51.
@q[missing]Line 26: "Rome eventually adopted Fabian attrition strategy and won the war" - what is the source?
Source: Polybius, Histories 3.89-90 1 ; Livy 22.8-12 (Fabius Maximus' strategy).
@q[stale]Line 21: "Roman losses: ~50,000–70,000 killed — the worst single-day defeat in Roma..." - Goldsworthy source from 2001 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
Goldsworthy (2001) remains a standard reference on Cannae. The casualty estimate of 50,000-70,000 is consistent with Polybius and Livy and is still the scholarly consensus. Still accurate.