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Cannae

Cannae refers to the site in southern Italy where the Battle of Cannae took place in 216 BCE, during the Second Punic War. The engagement occurred near the ancient town of Cannae, in the region of Apulia, on the banks of the Aufidus river. The modern location is near Canne della Battaglia, a locality in the municipality of Barletta.

The battle pitted a Carthaginian army led by Hannibal against a much larger Roman force commanded by

Casualties were catastrophic for Rome, with tens of thousands killed and many more captured; Carthaginian losses

Today, the site is recognized for its historical significance and is associated with archaeological and commemorative

consuls
Lucius
Aemilius
Paullus
and
Gaius
Terentius
Varro.
Estimates
of
troop
numbers
vary,
but
Romans
are
commonly
placed
around
80,000
infantry
with
several
thousand
cavalry,
while
Hannibal’s
force
is
thought
to
have
been
roughly
50,000
to
60,000
in
total.
Hannibal
arranged
his
troops
in
a
shallow,
convex
formation
with
a
strong
army
on
the
flanks
and
a
deliberately
weakened
center.
As
the
Romans
pressed
forward,
the
Carthaginian
infantry
center
gradually
gave
way,
drawing
the
Romans
in,
while
Hannibal’s
cavalry
defeated
the
Roman
horse
on
the
wings
and
then
struck
the
Roman
flanks,
completing
a
double
envelopment.
were
significantly
smaller.
The
defeat
did
not
end
Roman
resistance,
and
Rome
soon
reformed
its
military
approach
to
the
war.
Hannibal’s
victory
at
Cannae
has
become
one
of
the
most
celebrated
examples
of
tactical
genius
in
military
history,
often
cited
as
a
classic
case
of
encirclement
and
the
effective
use
of
terrain
and
balance
of
forces.
efforts
connected
to
the
battle
and
its
legacy
in
military
theory.