On a summer's day in 216 BC, the forces commanded by the Carthaginian general Hannibal met the Roman army at Cannae. In spite of being far fewer in number, Hannibal's men nevertheless inflicted a savage defeat on the Romans. How this astonishing victory was achieved has been a constant source of fascination for historians ever since. Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War considers what led the two armies to fight that day, and why they adopted the tactics that they did. It explores in detail the composition of the armies, both the Roman militia and their Italian allies on one side, and Hannibal's multinational horde of mercenaries and subject and allied levies on the other. It examines how the opposing generals planned their tactics and led their men, and finally it focuses on the experience of battle. Skirmishing, cavalry and infantry combat, and the final encirclement and annihilation of the Roman forces are all considered. Special attention is given to what it was actually like to be there, and why men fought in such atrocious conditions.
Gregory Daly's gripping work reconstructs a full picture of the most destructive battle in ancient history, elaborating on the rather bare accounts given by ancient writers - whose descriptions tended to be simplified in order to impose order on inherently chaotic events. By concentrating on the experiences of the men who fought at Cannae, Daly gives the first realistic portrayal of the horrors they endured.