Battle of CannaeBattle of CannaeDateAugust 2, 216 BCLocation Cannae, ItalyResult Decisive Carthaginian victoryCombatantsCarthage Roman RepublicCommandersHannibal Gaius Terentius Varro,Lucius Aemilius Paullus †Strength40,000 heavy infantry,6,000 light infantry,8,000 cavalry86,400–87,000 men (16 Roman and Allied legions)Casualties and losses6,000 killed,10,000 wounded70,000 killed (Polybius),50,000 killed (Livy),around 11,000 capturedThe Battle of Cannae was a major battle of the Second Punic War, taking place on August 2, 216 BC near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. The Carthaginian army under Hannibal decisively defeated a numerically superior Roman army under command of the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. Following the Battle of Cannae, Capua and several other Italian city-states defected from the Roman Republic. Although the battle failed to decide the outcome of the war in favour of Carthage, it is regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history and the greatest defeat of Rome.Having recovered from their previous losses at Trebia (218 BC) and Trasimene (217 BC), the Romans decided to confront Hannibal at Cannae, with roughly 87,000 Roman and Allied troops. With their right wing positioned near the Aufidus River, the Romans placed their cavalry on their flanks and massed their heavy infantry in a deeper formation than usual in the centre. Perhaps the Romans hoped to break the Carthaginian line earlier in the battle than they had at the Battle of Trebia. To counter this, Hannibal utilized the double-envelopment tactic. He drew up his least reliable infantry in the centre, with the flanks composed of Carthaginian cavalry. Before engaging the Romans, however, his lines adopted a crescent shape — advancing his centre with his veteran troops at the wings in echelon formation. Upon the onset of the battle, the Carthaginian centre withdrew before the advance of the numerically superior Romans. While Hannibal's centre line yielded, the Romans had unknowingly driven themselves into a large arc — whereupon the Carthaginian infantry and cavalry(positioned on the flanks) encircled the main body of Roman infantry. Surrounded and attacked on all sides with no means of escape, the Roman army was subsequently cut to pieces. An estimated 60,000–70,000 Romans were killed or captured at Cannae (including the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus and eighty Roman senators). In terms of the number of lives lost in a single day, Cannae is estimated to be within the thirty costliest battles in all of recorded human history. Ernlee Bradford, a biographer of Hannibal, claims that the 50,000 Romans killed represent the largest number of troops felled in battle in a single day.MARKETING LESSONS FROM THE BATTLE OF CANNAE1. A SUPERIOR STRATEGY CAN BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN SUPERIOR RESOURCES.2. A WELL-THOUGHT-OUT PLAN, COVERING ALL THE DETAILS OF THE STRATEGY, HELPED MAKE HANNIBAL SUCCESSFUL.3. TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGY REQUIRED TACTICAL COORDINATION AMONG LARGE NUMBERS OF TROOPS AND UNITS. EVERYONE WORKED TOGETHER TO SUPPORT THE OVERALL STRATEGY AND A SINGLE OBJECTIVE. 4. EVEN THOUGH HANNIBAL WON THIS BATTLE AND MANY OTHERS, HE NEVER DEFEATED THE ROMANS COMPLETELY, AND NEVER CONQUERED ROME (HIS ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE) BECAUSE OF UNCONTROLLABLE AND UNFORSEEN
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