Battle of Cannae

E38666

battle military engagement

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.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Battle of Cannae canonical	17
Cannae	4

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	battle ⓘ military engagement ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Battle of Cannae ⓘ surface form: Cannae
belligerent	Carthage ⓘ Roman Republic ⓘ
CarthaginianCasualties	several thousand killed ⓘ
combatant	Carthaginian army ⓘ Roman army ⓘ
commander	Gaius Terentius Varro ⓘ Hannibal (Carthaginian general) ⓘ surface form: 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	Roman Antiquity ⓘ surface form: Ancient Rome
influenced	Alfred von Schlieffen ⓘ Carl von Clausewitz ⓘ
involvedUnitType	Carthaginian heavy infantry ⓘ Gallic infantry ⓘ Iberian infantry ⓘ Numidian cavalry ⓘ Roman legions ⓘ
location	Apulia ⓘ Battle of Cannae self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: 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 (21)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Punic Wars → notableBattle → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

subject surface form: Second Punic War

Hannibal (Carthaginian general) → notableWork → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

subject surface form: Hannibal

Hannibal (Carthaginian general) → notableBattle → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

subject surface form: Hannibal

Battle of Cannae → location → Battle of Cannae self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Cannae

Battle of Cannae → alsoKnownAs → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

this entity surface form: Cannae

Second Punic War → notableEvent → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Gaius Terentius Varro → militaryEngagement → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Gaius Terentius Varro → associatedWithLocation → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

this entity surface form: Cannae

Lucius Aemilius Paullus → participatedIn → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Lucius Aemilius Paullus → placeOfDeath → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

this entity surface form: Cannae

Battle of Lake Trasimene → followedBy → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Mago Barca → battle → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Battle of the Ticinus → relatedConflict → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Maharbal → associatedWith → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Hannibal's crossing of the Alps → followedBy → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Numidian cavalry → famousEngagement → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Carthaginian army → notableBattle → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Battle of the Silarus → followed → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Battle of the Silarus → precededBy → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Battle of Herdonia (212 BC) → precededBy → Battle of Cannae ⓘ

Hannibal (temporarily influenced region) → associatedWithBattle → Battle of Cannae ⓘ