The defeat in the First Punic War with Rome, which lasted from 264 to 241 BC, did not discourage the Carthaginians from making up for the territorial losses they had suffered in Sicily and Sardinia. They directed their actions towards Spain. A major role in this was played by the Barca family, especially Hamilcar, a young general from the time of the First Punic War, and his son Hannibal. During their reign, Spain was heavily exploited, both in terms of natural and human resources. The Romans kept a close eye on the Carthaginians’ activities, which resulted in the signing of a treaty in 226 BC, in which Spain south of the Ebro River was recognized as Carthaginian sphere of influence, and north of it as Roman sphere of rule. However, this treaty did not last very long. Over the next few years, Carthage became wealthy, rebuilding its army, consisting mainly of Libyan subjects, Numidian mercenaries and mercenaries from Spain. At the end of 219 BC, the city of Sagunto, located south of the Ebro River, was besieged and captured by the commander Hannibal. After these events, the Romans demanded that the Carthaginians hand Hannibal over to them. The latter’s indignation led to the outbreak of the Second Punic War. Hannibal, without waiting, with an army of almost 60,000, including 9,000 cavalry, set off to conquer Italy. The advance of the Carthaginian troops was extremely dynamic despite attempts to cut them off in Gaul. However, this had serious consequences, because a significant part of Hannibal’s army did not cope with the hardships of the expedition and when crossing the Alps, the Carthaginian leader had a total of 26,000 warriors under his command.
Already in Italy, Hannibal defeated the Roman legions in a surprisingly quick manner, first at the Ticinus River and later at the Trebia (December 18, 218 BC), using the advantage of his cavalry with hidden units ready to attack the Roman flanks and rear. It was a devastating defeat for Rome, which lost 3/4 of its soldiers, including those who fell or were taken prisoner. Thus, Hannibal managed to control the situation in northern Italy the following year. Encouraged by his victories, he moved south into central Italy, outsmarting the Roman army trying to stop him. In June 217 BC, at Lake Trasimeno, Hannibal managed to lure the Roman troops into an ambush. As a result, the legions suffered heavy losses, probably numbering 15,000 men. After these devastating defeats, the Romans decided to suspend the laws that ruled the state and the army until then by two annually elected consuls. This time, a dictator was elected, Quintus Fabius Maximus, who developed a strategy of avoiding open battles with Hannibal while simultaneously marching behind the Carthaginians. This made it much more difficult for Hannibal to disperse his troops during the winter and spend the winter in cities that were mostly controlled by the Romans. The Carthaginian leader had hoped that Rome’s previous allies would come over to his side, but this did not happen. Time was working in Rome’s favor, which had a huge force at its disposal, but Fabius’s strategy itself did not quite work. After Maximus’ term ended, two consuls took over the command: Lucius Aemilius Paulus and Gaius Terentius Varro. Spring 2016 BC. took place at a meeting of additional units, which in the middle of the year joined the Roman army, which was constantly observing the actions of the Carthaginians in Apulia.
The Roman army was impressive, together with the allied forces it numbered over 86 thousand soldiers. At least half of the troops had combat experience, while the rest were greenhorns, never having taken part in wars before. Hannibal spent the winter in the city of Geronium, and then moved to the vicinity of the Roman supply point, Cannae. This location allowed him to control Apulia. At that time, Hannibal had 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. A large part of the army was seasoned in battle, and a significant force was also constituted by the Celts recruited in northern Italy. Hannibal’s cavalry consisted of heavy Spanish and Celtic cavalry and light Numidian cavalry. July 31, 2016 BC The Roman army set up camp near the Carthaginian positions. The next day Hannibal deployed his troops north of the Aufidius River and gave battle. On the Roman side that day, Paulus was consul, but he did not accept the battle, seeing that his opponent had better used the terrain to fight. The next day, the second consul, Varro deployed his troops, at the same time securing the Roman camp, and gave battle to Hannibal, who accepted the challenge.
The Romans lined up in their usual battle formation. The light infantry was positioned in front of the main line of troops. Further behind them stood the legions and allies, in three supporting ranks, called triplex acies. This allowed the rear lines to come to their aid and gave the formation itself the appearance of a checkerboard. The Romans aimed to ensure that the legions had sufficient depth to break through the Carthaginian heavy infantry. The main infantry lines were defended on the wings by the cavalry, on the right by the Roman cavalry, and on the left by the allies. Paulus supervised the Romans and Varro commanded the allies. Hannibal arranged his troops so as to make the most of their advantages, emphasizing the numbers and quality of the cavalry. In front of the main line he positioned the light infantry. The center of his line consisted of alternating units of Spanish and Celtic infantry. These troops were arranged in a convex formation, so that the center of the line was closer to the enemy than the wings. On both sides of the Spaniards and Celts stood Libyan veterans. On the left flank stood the heavy cavalry of the Celts and Spaniards, protecting the infantry. On the right flank, the agile Numidian light cavalry provided cover. Hannibal himself took up a position in the center of the battle line. His subordinates kept watch over the wings. The battle began with a clash of infantrymen standing opposite each other, who used, among other things, slings and javelins. At this stage, neither side achieved a significant advantage. Shortly afterwards, the wings of the Spanish and Celtic heavy cavalry moved to fight the Roman cavalry. Here, the Carthaginian troops gained the advantage, being better armed and armored. Paulus himself was wounded, thrown from his horse, and killed. On the other flank, the Numidian troops fought with the allies of the Romans. The Celtic and Spanish horsemen made a maneuver, passing behind the rear of the Roman army and attacking from the flank, they hit the Italian cavalry still fighting with the Numidians. The Italian formation quickly broke down and the soldiers fled in panic. The Numidians chased them, reducing the weakened and fleeing enemy troops even more. While the cavalry of both sides fought, the infantry battle lines also clashed. This was the moment when the Romans gained the advantage, because the Celtic-Spanish center was exposed. Despite the pressure of the Carthaginian infantry, they did not surrender, and at the same time the pressure of the experienced Libyan formations on the Roman legions caused them to find themselves in a double encirclement. The Libyans attacked the wings and the Roman legions tried unsuccessfully to throw back the Celtic and Spanish infantry units. Eventually, the heavy cavalry of the Carthaginian army struck from the rear, crushing the Roman army. The losses on the Roman side were enormous, about 50 thousand soldiers died and several thousand were taken prisoner. The Carthaginians, as victors, lost about 7-8 thousand of their troops. Rome’s defeat at Cannae became one of the most painful in the history of this empire, especially since these losses were caused by a one-day battle.
After the battle, Hannibal did not decide to attack Rome. One of the reasons was the naive belief that he had gained support among the inhabitants of southern Italy. He also realized that without siege machines, it would be impossible to capture the fortified city. Rome took a long time to shake off the defeat and for the next few years focused on the offensive in Spain. The Battle of Cannae showed the effectiveness of the maneuver to encircle the enemy, despite the fact that Rome had an army twice as large, it was practically annihilated. The “Canaean Maneuver” served as an example of its use on battlefields in the following centuries.