Battle of Cannae: Hannibal’s Masterpiece | Second Punic War | 216 BC

How did Hannibal turn Rome’s powerful army into a trapped mass of infantry? At Cannae in 216 BC, Hannibal’s army defeated the Romans through a devastating double envelopment. This full-length, 16-stage presentation follows the campaign, the opposing armies and the battle’s turning points. See how the Roman advance pushed back Hannibal’s centre, how his African infantry struck the flanks, and how cavalry closed the Roman rear. Follow the collapse, the prisoners and the aftermath — and discover why victory at Cannae did not end the Second Punic War. Part of Wars of Rome from John Howard History, using narrated campaign maps, historical objects, later illustrations and labelled reconstructions. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:15 Rome and Carthage at war 05:11 The armies converge on Cannae 07:45 Marching to the battlefield 10:10 The Roman army 13:15 Hannibal’s army 16:34 Skirmishers open the battle 19:15 Hasdrubal defeats the Roman right 21:31 The centre drives inward 23:45 The crescent turns concave 25:57 African infantry attacks the flanks 28:07 Rome’s allied cavalry is driven off 30:18 The double envelopment closes 32:32 The surrounded infantry fights on 34:56 Collapse and escape 36:46 The human cost and the prisoners 38:39 Victory does not end the war 41:25 Closing thoughts and subscribe Was Cannae mainly Hannibal’s achievement, a failure of Roman command, or the result of superior cavalry? Share your view below, and subscribe for more narrated battles and campaign maps. VISUALS AND SOURCES AI-generated scenes are labelled historical reconstructions; narration uses a synthetic voice. Maps, formations and strengths are interpretive; ancient accounts and modern estimates differ. Later portraits are not verified likenesses. Modern archaeological photographs are not images of the battle. Polybius, Histories, Book III: https://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/a... IMAGE CREDITS Sagunto — Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Lake Trasimene — Fulvia7, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Canne archaeological site — maxzocca, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Battle memorial — Jörg Schulz, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Canne archaeological remains — Roberto Ragno, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Livy manuscript — Dorieo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Montefortino helmet — Dorieo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Libou Knight stele — Meriam Cherif, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Falcata hilt — Dorieo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Baza grave objects — Luis García (Zaqarbal), CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... La Tène swords — Dorieo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Later portrait bust — Sergey Sosnovskiy, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Capua amphitheatre — Rico Heil, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Images proportionately resized/framed for display. Adaptations retain their stated licences. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Other public-domain/CC0 material includes the Metropolitan Museum’s Montefortino helmet image, Jona Lendering’s armour photograph, Turner’s Alpine painting and US Military Academy diagrams. One diagram prints “215 BC”; the presentation identifies the battle date as 216 BC. #Cannae #Hannibal #SecondPunicWar