Cannae, Battle of

Cannae, Battle of
(216 BC) Major battle near the ancient village of Cannae, in Apulia, southeastern Italy, during the Second Punic War.

The Romans, with 80,000 men, met the 50,000 Carthaginian and allied African, Gallic, and Spanish troops under Hannibal's command and were crushed by them. Hannibal's troops gradually surrounded their foes and annihilated them in a classic example of the "double envelopment" maneuver. Roman losses exceeded 65,000 men, while the Carthaginians lost only about 6,000.

* * *

▪ Carthage-Rome
      (216 BC), major battle near the ancient village of Cannae, in Apulia (Puglia), southeastern Italy, between the forces of Rome and Carthage during the Second Punic War (Punic War, Second). The Romans were crushed by the troops of Hannibal, with the help of his allies—the Africans, Gauls, and Spaniards. The Roman consuls of 216 BC, Lucius Aemilius Paulus and Gaius Terentius Varro, prepared to meet Hannibal in a pitched battle and so advanced to Cannae with about 80,000 men. The Carthaginians had about 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. The Romans faced southwest, with their right wing resting on the Aufidus River and with the sea about three miles to their rear. They placed their cavalry (about 6,000) on their wings and massed their infantry in an exceptionally deep (and therefore narrow) formation in the centre in the hope of breaking the enemy centre by weight and push. To counter this, 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 he 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 had now become a circle: the African troops, past whom the Romans were now thrusting, turned inward against them, and the Carthaginian cavalry was in the rear. Pressed tightly together and hence unable to properly use their arms, the Romans were surrounded and cut to pieces. Only 14,000 Roman soldiers escaped, and 10,000 more were captured; the rest were killed. The Carthaginians lost about 6,000 men. Cannae is regarded by military historians as a classic example of a victorious double envelopment.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Battle of Ilipa — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Ilipa partof=the Second Punic War caption= date=206 BC place=Ilipa (or Silpia), ten miles north of modern Seville, Spain casus= territory= result=Decisive Roman victory; Carthaginian hold on Iberia… …   Wikipedia

  • battle — battle1 battler, n. /bat l/, n., v., battled, battling. n. 1. a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces: the battle of Waterloo. 2. participation in such hostile encounters or engagements: wounds received in battle. 3. a… …   Universalium

  • Cannae — is also a band from Boston, Massachusetts. Cannae (mod. Canne della Battaglia) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Barletta.GeographyIt is situated near the river Aufidus (mod. Ofanto) …   Wikipedia

  • battle of Cannae — Cannae Cannae n. the name of a battle in which Hannibal defeated the Romans in 216 b. c. Called also {battle of Cannae}. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Cannae — n. the name of a battle in which Hannibal defeated the Romans in 216 b. c. Called also {battle of Cannae}. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Battle of Kursk — Operation Citadel Part of the Eastern Front of World War II …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Carthage (c. 149 BC) — Battle of Carthage Part of the Third Punic War …   Wikipedia

  • Cannae — [kan′ē] ancient town in SE Italy: site of a battle (216 B.C. ) in which the Carthaginians under Hannibal defeated the Romans …   English World dictionary

  • Battle of Cannae — For the 11th century battle in the Byzantine conquest of the Mezzogiorno, see Battle of Cannae (1018). Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Cannae partof=the Second Punic War caption=Hannibal s route of invasion. date=August 2 216 BC… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Dertosa — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Dertosa partof=the Second Punic War date= Spring 215 BC place= Tortosa, present day Spain result=Roman victory combatant1=Carthage combatant2=Roman Republic commander1=Hasdrubal Barca commander2=Gnaeus …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”