THE BATTLE OF CANNAE, 216 BCE

The Battle of Cannae, 216 BCE



The Battle of Cannae, 216 BCE

Thesis Statement

According to Polybius the main advantage of the legions over the phalanx is the flexibility of the Roman army. It is described by Polybius that “phalanx requires one time and one type of ground only in order to produce its peculiar effect” and “to find a stretch of country of say two to three miles or more which contains no obstacles of this kind is exceedingly rare”. As it was explained before that the Roman army is really flexible. It can move easily and it can move under different situations because each rank doesn't need to support each other. “Each man makes his movements individually”.

The advantage allows the Legions to completely demolish the Phalanx. If the phalanx remains on the ground where it suits them, they can't help their allies and they can't assure their own safety. By leaving the favoured ground to fight, the phalanx will face a crise where they can't have a good formation. Which means they will be easily overthrown by the Roman Legions which has the main advantage of flexibility to move individually, retreat individually and attack with great flexibility by using different centuries and keep changing legions. It is described by Polybius “of it leaves the terrain which favours it and attempts an action elsewhere” “it is easy to forecast what will happen from the tactics which the Romans are now putting into practice”.

Introduction

Considered to be the worst defeat ever suffered by the Roman army, the battle of Cannae was fought on the plains of central Italy on August 2, 216 BC. Although a crushing defeat for the Romans, Cannae was Hannibal's finest hour. In fact, the tactics he employed there are still studied and used today. Due to the combination of Hannibal's tactical genius, the superior Carthaginian cavalry, and the poor leadership of the Roman army, the Carthaginians were able to completely defeat the Romans.

For the past fifty years, the Romans and Carthaginians had engaged in a series of struggles known as the Punic wars. The first Punic war was fought primarily over the island of Sicily and ended with a Roman victory in 241 BC. The humiliating surrender terms imposed on Carthage and the unwarranted Roman seizure of Corsica and Sardinia after the war enraged the Carthaginians. It was only a matter of time before another war would erupt.

In 218, the Carthaginian general Hannibal attacked one of Rome's allies in Spain and the Second Punic war had begun. After taking the city, Hannibal proceeded to cross the Alps with his army and surprise the Romans. Although he lost over half of his troops en route, Hannibal was able to achieve strategic surprise. After Hannibal won the battles of Trebia and Lake Trasimene against the numerically superior Romans, a temporary dictator was appointed to deal with the Carthaginian threat. Knowing he would lose in pitched battle, the new dictator, Fabius Maximus, refused to fight ...