Battle Of Cannae : The Romans

My essay is about the Battle of Alesia that took place in 52 BC, by the Roman dictator Julius Caesar. Rome went to war with the Gallic tribes from 58 BC to 50 BC, these wars ended with the win in Alesia in 52 BC. The Romans had a lot of victories and that made the Roman Republic expand over all of Gaul. This battle win in Alesia made Julius Caesar head ruler of the Roman Republic.

The Battle of Cannae, between the Carthaginian General Hannibal and the larger Roman army under the command of Lucius Aemilius Paulus and Gaius Terentius Varro in 216 B.C. serves as one of the most influential tactical battles in history. Two enemy forces faced off using very different tactics. The Roman Empire had succeeded in amassing over 50,000 infantry troops and an estimated 6,000 cavalry troops. The Roman army planned to use its vast numbers to subdue the smaller numbered forces of the Carthaginian army using sheer force. Hannibal’s army, though lesser in quality and quantity compared to the Roman army, was composed of seasoned fighters. Hannibal plan was to use the fighting techniques of the Roman army to his benefit.

The military might of Rome was second to none in its prime. Victorious battle after battle did nothing but

The Romans won the Second Punic war for a variety of reasons. These included the role and strategy of the Roman Senate and the failure of the Carthaginian government to support Hannibal. Rome’s strong control of the sea as well as Carthage's failure to rebuild their navy contributed greatly. The actions of Fabius Maximus and Scipio Africanus brought about the decline of Hannibal's momentum in Italy and his final defeat. Thus, there was no single reason as to why Rome were victorious against Carthage.

One trait every army must have to be successful is the willingness and drive to dominate. The Roman army took these traits to a whole different level. The Romans were very extreme in battle as well. They often enjoyed humiliating other city-states by burning them to the ground. In 264 B.C.E. a battle between other Greek city-states forced Rome and Carthage, who dominated the western part of the Mediterranean, into conflict. The First Punic War was for the control of Sicily.4 This battle lasted twenty-three years.4 The Romans were losing a lot of men, but they continued to battle on.4 Finally, the persistence paid off.4 The Romans learned how to fight by sea and cut off the Carthaginian supply line into

Yet when Carthage took Sicily, Rome responded by building 330 ships to fight for their land, starting the First Punic War. Carthage was defeated by Rome in 241 BCE, and had to give up Sicily. Carthage went to war with Rome again when the Carthaginian general Hannibal attacked the city of Saguntum, Rome’s ally. This was the start of the Second Punic War. Hannibal was defeated at the Battle of Zama, meaning Carthage lost against Rome once more. The Third Punic War began when Carthage refused Rome’s demands to have Carthage dismantled and rebuilt further inland. The Roman general Scipio Aemilianus surrounded Carthage with armed forces for three years until it fell and the Romans burned it to the ground. Around 122 BCE, Julius Caesar decided to re-build Carthage, and five years after his death, the city rose again. Power and importance shifted back to Carthage, until the fall of the

The military prowess of Roman commanders and legionaries proved to be successful enough to turn a small community into an ancient super power. There are many discussions to be had about the tactics and success of the Roman army, some of which are: their style of fighting, the attitude toward the fight, and the fruits of their war.

The Second Punic War was heavily dependent on critical analysis and strategic maneuvers, so obtaining the right information was crucial in winning the war. Hannibal, one of the most influential Carthage leaders, tried to deter the Roman citizens to supporting his military to increase his number and build a stronger force. For instance, during the time Fabius was the dictator, the people of Rome disagreed with his tactic of avoiding Hannibal. This information allowed Hannibal to act and try to persuade the Romans. Hannibal, during the Battle of Cannae, used information gathered from previous battles to build and execute his plan. Hannibal was aware that the Romans were going to stick to their usual tradition and use their block formation and figured out a way to use this to his advantage. At the battle of Trebia, Hannibal realized that his center line lacked strength, so he planned on using this weakness to draw the Romans into the center ultimately, and it

This was made possible because the army was comprised of Roman citizens, as well as a great deal of semi-citizens. Therefore, Rome immensely relieved on its semi-citizens during in times of conflict, such as the Second Punic War; they “...were the linchpin in the war…” as John T. Medin IV puts it, “The power of Rome was directly related to the ability of Rome to keep its allies within the system.” With a seemingly endless supply of allies, Rome could afford to lose every battle in the war, yet still win because they controlled not only their own resources, but all of Italy’s resources. Another example of Rome’s firm resilience was proven at the battle of Cannae, where around 70,000 soldiers died, according to Polybius. Despite the enormous loss, a mere five years later the Roman army was able to come back and recapture part of Sicily. The powerful loyalty of semi-citizenship made Rome and her allies not only strong, but

In 216 BC at the hilltop village of Cannae, in Apulia the Roman army stood to fight Hannibal and suffered the greatest losses in a single day in Roman history. As the sun rose the next day it shone on the bodies of the Romans who had been so cleverly trapped and slaughtered. Not far from there, Marhabal, a cavalry commander under Hannibal, tells Hannibal that in five days he “shall dine as victor on the Capitol hill”. Marhabal’s prediction was not just hyperbolic, but it was ludicrous. Not only would it have taken much longer than five days to reach and capture Rome, but Hannibal and his army had no means to even attempt it. Hannibal understood this and when he denied Marhabal’s proposal, Marhabal responded, “[y]ou know how to win a victory, but not how to use one”.

more and more Roman men were deployed into the war. In addition to these new troops from Rome, Roman allies also physically engaged in the war against Carthage. The constant emplacement of new men to the fight allowed for the Roman army to consistently remain twice the size Hannibal’s, even following dramatic losses such as in the Battle of Cannae, essentially making it impossible to destroy the Roman army.

The wise tactics of Hannibal this time were that, they made a convex form, with the pressure of the Romans; it formed a half circle, where the Roman troops entered. The next step of Hannibal was to close that circle and surrounded the Roman troops with the horses and Carthaginians once again with the brilliant strategists of Hannibal win the battle again. There were a lot of deaths in this battle, one battle that Rome could never forget. After the winning of Hannibal, Roman allies switched sides, noticing the real power of Hannibal and his army. Also after the war many cities were in revolt against the Romans, cities such as Sicily and Sardinia.

With the introduction of the hoplite phalanx to the Roman army, came a multitude of wars and long drawn out campaigns that the Romans were involved in throughout the republic period. One such campaign or campaigns that set the Roman republic as the uncontested superpower in the Mediterranean was the Punic Wars. Rome fought three wars against Carthage between 264 and 146 BCE. These wars constituted major events in the history of Rome and the Mediterranean basin (Marcel Le Glay 2009) p. 73. Though these wars were fought for reasons such as competing economics, revenge (most notably the Carthaginian general Hannibal), and a fear that could be related in today’s terms of opposing forces such as (the United States and Soviet Union feared each other during the Cold War) the fact is in the end Rome defeated the Carthaginians, not only were the Carthaginians defeated, but the city of Carthage was demolished and the people massacred or sold into slavery so as not to threaten the Romans ever again. In the fall of the city, in obedience to the Senate’s orders the inhabitants were reduced to slavery or forced to emigrate, the town was burnt and soil was

The Romans were crushed and Hannibal had shown his superiority. Extra troops were added during the battle of Cannae to attempt to curtail Hannibal's conquests, but all was for naught, as Hannibal managed to outmaneuver the roman troops, and slaughtered approximately 70,000 soldiers. Rome was in mourning for the loss of so many lives and the crushing power of Hannibal was apparent.

The second Púnic war (herein after referred to as, “the War”) came to a close in 201 BCE, following Scípio’s victory over Hánnibal at the battle of Záma. After seventeen years of warfare, and at a great loss of life on both sides, Rome defeated Cárthage and came out on top as the new superpower in the Mediterránean region. The outcome of this war brought consequences to Cárthage and created opportunities for Rome (Morey, 1901).