The massacre that killed up to 70,000 in hours: the “perfect battle” still studied at military academies

The Battle of Cannae is remembered in two sharply different ways: as one of the bloodiest confrontations in human history and as a near-perfect work of military strategy.

The clash took place on Aug. 2, 216 BC, during the long rivalry between Carthage and the Roman Republic. More than 20,000 people died in less than a day, while the Carthaginian army managed to surround and destroy a Roman force of roughly 80,000 soldiers within a few hours.

That result gave Cannae its enduring reputation. The article describes the battle as the work of a military genius who prevailed with fewer troops by using a flanking maneuver. The tactics remain part of military instruction around the world, where the battle is presented as a model for defeating a numerically stronger army.

Carthage was a maritime and commercial empire centered in North Africa, near present-day Tunis. Its territories and colonies extended across parts of North Africa, Sicily, southern Spain, Malta, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands. Its army relied heavily on mercenaries recruited from European and African peoples, including Celtic, Hispanic, Libyan, Numidian, Ethiopian, Greek and Italic warriors. War elephants, Numidian cavalry, Balearic slingers and a renowned navy strengthened its military power.

The article traces the battle to the hostility between Carthage and Rome. It also notes that the strategy associated with Cannae influenced military planning more than 2,000 years later, including during World War I.