The Battle of Cannes was the largest battle of the Second Punic War, which lasted from 218 to 201 BC. This battle literally put the Roman Republic on the brink of collapse. The world might not recognize such a magnificent empire, which it became a little later. But first things first.
The background of the battle
At the first stage of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian commander Hannibal managed to gain a number of victories: under Titsin, Trebbia. These were not the greatest battles of antiquity. Rome knew and lost and more magnificent battles. However, now the republic was literally on the verge of collapse. This has greatly improved
position of Carthage and provided him with strategic initiative in this conflict. In the spring of 217 BC the troops of this North African state entered Italy and in the next battle on Lake Trasimen defeated the 40,000th formation of
Roman legionnaires. However, Hannibal did not dare to attack Rome, since he risked losing his own army under the walls of a well-defended city. It was decided to isolate Rome from the north (which has already been done) and from the south. The commander rushed to the southern coast of Italy.
General battle
Here the Carthaginians occupied a small fortress in Apulia. Actually, here it happened on August 2, 216 BC. Battle of Cannes. Hannibal located his army in the fortress of the same name, when the Roman armies recovered from previous attacks came under the command of Consul Varron. The numerical ratio on the day of the battle was clearly on the side of the latter. Against 80 thousand well-armed Roman soldiers, Hannibal could put up only 50 thousand soldiers under his command. The battle of Cannes threatened the Carthaginians with a complete defeat, which would mean for them a defeat in the war. Hannibal built his troops before the battle in a very original way. He refused
from the strong saturation of the central part of his buildings, however, he placed impressive forces on the flanks of his army. When the battle ensued, the central forces attracted the attention of the main Roman order for a certain time. This made it possible for the powerful wings of the Hannibal army to overturn the flanks of the Romans, consisting of light cavalry. After this first stage of the battle, the Carthaginians actually surrounded the Roman infantry, striking her from the flanks and from the rear. The Battle of Cannes developed according to a scenario conceived by Hannibal. The army, originally built with a crescent, was able to enter the rear of the Italian legionnaires in smaller numbers, after which the latter were defeated.
Battle results
The battle of Cannes ended in the utter defeat of the large Roman army. According to some ancient evidence, Italians lost about 50 thousand killed, and
several thousand more were captured by the Carthaginians. Only a few managed to escape. Hannibal’s troops, on the contrary, had relatively small losses: about 8 thousand killed. However, according to a significant number of modern historians, Hannibal did not manage to take advantage of the fruits of this grand victory in the future. Although he was able to defeat the Roman army in an open battle, he still did not have the strength to take the defended city. For several years, the republic managed to recover from a crushing defeat and gradually tilt the scales of this war to its side.