Battle of Cannae
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The Battle of Cannae was a major engagement in 216 BC during the Second Punic War in which Hannibal’s Carthaginian army annihilated a much larger Roman force, becoming one of history’s most famous examples of tactical encirclement.
Aliases (1)
- Cannae ×4
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
battle
→
military engagement → |
| alsoKnownAs |
Cannae
→
|
| belligerent |
Carthage
→
Roman Republic → |
| CarthaginianCasualties |
several thousand killed
→
|
| combatant |
Carthaginian army
→
Roman army → |
| commander |
Gaius Terentius Varro
→
Hannibal Barca → Lucius Aemilius Paullus → |
| conflict |
Second Punic War
→
|
| country |
Roman Republic
→
|
| date |
216 BC
→
|
| describedIn |
Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita
→
Polybius’ Histories → |
| estimatedCarthaginianForces |
about 10,000 cavalry
→
about 40,000 infantry → |
| estimatedRomanForces |
about 6,000 cavalry
→
about 80,000 infantry → |
| followedBy |
Battle of Herdonia (212 BC)
→
Battle of the Silarus → |
| historicalEra |
3rd century BC
→
|
| historicalPeriod |
Ancient Rome
→
|
| influenced |
Alfred von Schlieffen
→
Carl von Clausewitz → |
| involvedUnitType |
Carthaginian heavy infantry
→
Gallic infantry → Iberian infantry → Numidian cavalry → Roman legions → |
| location |
Apulia
→
Cannae → southeastern Italy → |
| notableFor |
classic example of double envelopment
→
heavy Roman casualties → influence on later military theory → one of the worst defeats in Roman military history → |
| outcome |
annihilation of a large Roman army
→
|
| partOf |
Second Punic War
→
|
| pointInTime |
2 August 216 BC
→
|
| precededBy |
Battle of Lake Trasimene
→
|
| result |
decisive Carthaginian victory
→
|
| RomanCasualties |
many thousands captured
→
tens of thousands killed → |
| strategicContext |
Hannibal’s campaign in Italy
→
|
| strategicObjective |
to force Rome into submission by destroying its armies
→
|
| studiedIn |
military academies worldwide
→
|
| tacticUsed |
double envelopment
→
tactical encirclement → |
Referenced by (13)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Hannibal
→
Second Punic War → |
notableBattle |
|
Battle of Cannae
("Cannae")
→
|
alsoKnownAs |
|
Gaius Terentius Varro
("Cannae")
→
|
associatedWithLocation |
|
Mago Barca
→
|
battle |
|
Battle of Lake Trasimene
→
|
followedBy |
|
Battle of Cannae
("Cannae")
→
|
location |
|
Gaius Terentius Varro
→
|
militaryEngagement |
|
Second Punic War
→
|
notableEvent |
|
Hannibal
→
|
notableWork |
|
Lucius Aemilius Paullus
→
|
participatedIn |
|
Lucius Aemilius Paullus
("Cannae")
→
|
placeOfDeath |
|
Battle of the Ticinus
→
|
relatedConflict |