The battle of
Cannae was the greatest defeat the
Roman Empire ever suffered. The battle took place in 216B.C. during
the Second Punic War between the
Carthaginians under
Hannibal, and the
Romans. The Romans had a larger army, their infantry outnumbered Hannibal's 80000:40000, however he had the advantage in cavalry, 10000:6000.
Hannibal deployed his troops with his left wing on the banks of the River Aufidus, he had his infantry in the centre drive forward, while his Africans on the flanks held back. When the Romans drove into his centre he was able to outflank them with the Africans. The decisive event of the battle was when Hannibal's cavalry on the left overwhelmed the Roman cavalry they were facing. They then rode across to the right flank where they helped the Carthaginian right wing cavalry defeat the Roman cavalry they were facing. The Carthaginian cavalry then repeatedly charged the Roman rear. The Romans were encircled and suffered terrible losses. The Roman army is estimated to have lost more men in that single day's fighting than any other army in western history.
The battle of Cannae was the greatest victory of Hannibal's career and its basic strategy was copied over 2000 years later in Norman Schwarzkopf's tactics for Desert Storm.