6 – He Deliberately Chose Cannae to Lure the Romans into a Fight
The Battle of Cannae in 216 BC is still believed to be the biggest loss of human life during a single day in battle in history. Estimates regarding Roman casualties vary; Polybius wrote that over 85,000 Romans died while Livy said it was over 67,000 compared to up to 5,700 Carthaginian casualties. When you bear in mind that the estimated adult male population in Rome at that time was around 400,000, the Roman losses become even more crippling.
The fact that the battle happened at Cannae was no accident. The Romans had used the ruined citadel as a food magazine for various crucial items such as grain oil. Hannibal knew the importance of Cannae and began marching towards it from his camp at Geronium which was around 75 miles away. Even Hannibal’s soldiers didn’t know the real reason why he wanted to fight there.
Hannibal was aware that Rome was still dependant on grain grown in Italy, especially at Apulia which is where Cannae was located. After the defeats at the Trebbia and Lake Trasimene, the Romans adopted a more cautious approach, better known as the Fabian strategy. It was named after Quintus Fabius Maximus who was appointed dictator after Trasimene, and he elected to avoid open battle whenever possible.
However, Hannibal’s arrival at Cannae changed things. Once the Romans arrived on the scene, Hannibal sent his cavalry to stop the enemy from getting water from the only river in the area. To be fair, his cause was helped by the irritation felt by many Romans when they had to adopt the Fabian strategy. They believed Rome should always fight and didn’t like to stay in the shadows while the Carthaginians ravaged the countryside. After three days, Varro elected to confront Hannibal’s forces, and the Battle of Cannae began. The rest is history.