Why Don't We Learn from History? - the Battle of Cannae (216 BC‪)‬

The battle of Cannae was undoubtedly Hannibal's masterpiece. Indeed it seems almost churlish to speak of the incompetence of his opponents in the face of a master's supreme skill. Yet Hannibal was blessed by facing a Roman army enormous in numbers yet divided in command. It was this very system which allowed the two consuls to alternate control on a daily basis that condemned Rome to the heaviest defeat in her history. During his campaign in southern Italy in 216 BC, Hannibal depended for supplies on living off the country or on capturing important food depots. It was this factor that rendered him most vulnerable to defeat. In this spring of 216 BC he had marched south, crossing the River Aufidus, and occupying the town of Cannae, which was an important grain depot for the Romans. Cannae was situated on a hill overlooking a very broad plain across which the sluggish River Aufidus flowed to the sea. Hannibal knew that by seizing Cannae he was not only securing food for his troops, but threatening Rome's supplies to her own army.