History Shorts: Hannibal and the Battle of Cannae

Hannibal inherited his father's hatred of Rome and invaded the Italian peninsula. His actions helped start the Second Punic War. He dealt the Romans devastating losses at Trebbia (218 B.C.) and Trasimene (217 B.C.). In 216 B.C., Hannibal’s 50,000 man force met the Romans at Cannae. The 86,000 man Roman army fell into a trap. Hannibal ordered his center to slowly collapse while swinging his flanks around the Roman force. The Romans advanced against the Carthaginian center and then discovered they had been surrounded. Around 50,000 Romans died making it one of the costliest defeats in ancient history. Europe would not suffer battlefield casualty rates this high again until World War I. Despite the victory, Hannibal could not achieve victory. He lacked siege equipment to starve out the city. Meanwhile, Rome refused to surrender and switched to a guerrilla strategy. Hannibal remained in Italy for the next decade unable to finish off the republic.

The following clip is from a BBC production.  Hannibal is portrayed by Alexander Siddig of Star Trek fame.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTpccODlcdA