The Battle of Cannae

Battle of Cannae – Essay

This piece of writing was based on the Roman Republic which was a topic that was recommended that I write about by a friend for something to draw and write about. This post is an analysis of the Punic War, - Rome vs. Carthage, and how the different generals fought the Punic War battles. The Second Punic War was a make-or-break moment for the Roman Republic, which was one of the most stressful times for Rome. The Carthaginian General Hannibal outmaneuvered the Roman Army- even with a number disadvantage and left the Republic with a major defeat.

The Battle of Cannae was an all-time great, important and highly studied battle: loved by school kids and generals. The battle was won by the Carthaginians who had a strong strategy! Generals even 2,300 years later still study the battle of Cannae because the Roman’s had over twice the number of men and were almost completely destroyed. Romans lost the Battle of Cannae due to inexperienced men, dirt and wind blowing into the Roman’s eyes and finally Hannibal putting his men’s backs to the mountain.

The Romans at the battle of Cannae had 90,000 troops and the Carthaginians had 50,000 but the Carthaginians entrapped the Roman army and destroyed it. The Romans fielded a fresh army of new troops that comprised 8 complete legions in the battle of Cannae. They were new troops that were fielded in the largest battle that the Roman’s had fielded up to that point. “It was the largest Rome had ever fielded, but it had several shortcomings. It lacked experienced men, so many having been killed or fallen into captivity in the past 18 months.” (Cambell 44.) The Roman’s newly recruited troops were no match for the hardened -African- veteran troops.

Dirt and wind blew into the Roman’s eyes during the Battle of Cannae which gave the Carthaginians a significant advantage. Dirt and wind blowing into the Roman’s eyes made it easier for the Carthaginians to conceal their movements, blinded the Roman’s and finally upset the Roman horses. Concealing the Carthaginian movements – slightly -allowed the Carthaginians to move there troops around and destroy the Romans in a double encirclement. The dirt blowing into the Roman troops combined with the Carthaginians back to the mountains gave the Carthaginians a major advantage.

The Carthaginians back were against the mountain’s during the Battle of Cannae: which prevented the Roman’s from using there cavalry effectively and prevented the Roman infantry from using their greater number of troops. The Roman cavalry couldn’t encircle the Carthaginian troops. The Roman infantry couldn’t use their superior numbers due to the Carthaginians back being against a mountain which allowed the Carthaginians to grind out and eventually encircle the Roman army- destroying it.

The greater number of fresh Roman troops were destroyed by Hannibal’s genius tactics by using the double encirclement method. The Romans were disadvantaged by the direction of the wind and the terrain which gave the smaller Carthaginian army a significantly greater chance of winning. The Carthaginians won the Battle of Cannae- even with half the number of troops- due to more experienced men, planning where the army would be in comparison to the direction of the wind and putting his back to the mountain. Hannibal won the battle, lost the war, but left an everlasting legacy.

Citations

Mosig, Yozan. "New Perspectives on the Battle of Cannae." The History Herald, September 21, 2015. https://thehistoryherald.com/articles/ancient-history-civilisation/hannibal-and-the-punic-wars/new-perspectives-on-the-battle-of-cannae/amp/.

Hunt, Patrick. "Battle of Cannae." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Last modified February 25, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Cannae.

Tyler Department of History, College of William & Mary. "Writing a History Paper: The Basics (Example Essay Included)." Accessed May 23, 2025. https://www.wm.edu/as/history/undergraduateprogram/hwrc/handouts/handouts/writingahistorypaperexampleessay.pdf.

Cambell, D. (2018a). Roman Legionary Versus Carthaginian Warrior. Osprey Publishing.