Battle of Cannae
Cannae, Italy
What happened
The Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca faced a Roman army led by the two consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. Hannibal set the middle of his army in a curved line that slowly stepped back as the Roman soldiers pushed forward. While the Romans pressed into the middle, Hannibal's horsemen drove off the Roman cavalry. Then the ends of Hannibal's line and his horsemen closed in from the sides and behind, and the Roman army was surrounded and defeated.
Why it matters
Result: Carthaginian victory. Leaders: Gaius Terentius Varro / Lucius Aemilius Paullus against Hannibal / Mago Barca. Why it matters: It was one of the worst defeats in Roman history. Hannibal's plan of letting his center give way and then closing in from the sides has been studied by generals ever since.
What came next
Years later, the Roman general Scipio Africanus used Hannibal's own tactics to defeat him at Zama in 202 BCE and win the war.
Did you know?
For centuries afterward, Roman mothers would warn misbehaving children that Hannibal would come for them.
Timeline
- 218 BCEHannibal takes the Spanish city of Saguntum, starting the Second Punic War, and marches over the Alps into Italy.
- 217 BCEHannibal defeats a Roman army at Lake Trasimene.
- Early 216 BCEHannibal captures the Roman supply depot at Cannae.
- 2 August 216 BCEHannibal defeats the Roman army at Cannae.
- 202 BCEScipio Africanus defeats Hannibal at Zama in North Africa.