Battle of Cannae

During the Second Punic War, the Romans suffered one of their worst defeats ever in the Battle of Cannae. Hannibal commanded the Carthaginians and their allies in the conflict, while Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro led the Romans. Even though they had already suffered significant casualties in the Battle of Trebia and the Battle of Lake Trasimene, the Romans chose to go up against Hannibal at Cannae.

The Romans had 86,000 men on the battlefield, while Hannibal had 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalries. To start the battle, the Roman allies gathered their strong infantry. The Aufidus River, the main supply of water, had already been blocked by Hannibal, forcing the Romans to face south. The Romans were able to temporarily push back the hostile army, nevertheless. Despite the Romans' strategy, they were unable to escape Hannibal's twofold envelopment strategy that surrounded them. Due to Hannibal's tactics, the Romans were decisively defeated and over 700,000 warriors were slaughtered.

Date: 2 August 216 BC

Location: Cannae, Italy
Combatants: the Roman Republic and Carthage
Result: Carthaginian victory