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|combatant1= 12px Carthage Allied African, Spanish, and Gallic tribes |combatant2= 25px Roman Republic Allied Italian states: Etruscans Samnites |commander1=Hannibal, Maharbal, Mago, Hanno, Hasdrubal |commander2=Gaius Terentius Varro, Lucius Aemilius Paullus |strength1=50,000: 32,000 heavy infantry, 8,000 light infantry, 10,000 cavalry |strength2=86,400: 40,000 Roman infantry, 40,000 allied infantry, 2,400 Roman cavalry, 4,000 allied cavalry |casualties1= Killed: 5,700 (Polybius) * 4,000 Gallic * 1,500 Spanish and African * 200 cavalry |casualties2= Killed: 53,500–75,000 Romans and allied infantry 2,700 Roman and allied cavalry Captured: 10,000 }} The Battle of Cannae ( or ) is a major battle of the Second Punic War that took place on 2 August 216 BC in Cannae〔name of the battle〕, Apulia, in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage, under Hannibal, decisively defeated a larger army of the Roman Republic under the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. It is regarded both as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history and as one of the worst defeats in Roman history. Having recovered from their losses at Trebia (218 BC) and Lake Trasimene (217 BC), the Romans decided to engage Hannibal at Cannae, with roughly 86,000 Roman and allied troops. The Romans massed their heavy infantry in a deeper formation than usual, while Hannibal utilized the double-envelopment tactic. This was so successful that the Roman army was effectively destroyed as a fighting force. Following the defeat, Capua and several other Italian city-states defected from the Roman Republic to Carthage. ==Strategic background== Shortly after the start of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed into Italy by traversing the Pyrenees and the Alps during the summer and early autumn. He quickly won major victories over the Romans at Trebia and at Lake Trasimene. After these losses, the Romans appointed Fabius Maximus as dictator to deal with the threat.〔Livy. ''The History of Rome by Titus Livius: Books Nine to Twenty-Six'', trans. D. Spillan and Cyrus Edmonds. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1868.〕 Fabius used attrition warfare against Hannibal, cutting off his supply lines and avoiding pitched battles. These tactics proved unpopular with the Romans, who, as they recovered from the shock of Hannibal's victories, began to question the wisdom of the Fabian strategy which had given the Carthaginian army a chance to regroup.〔Liddell Hart, Basil. ''Strategy''. New York City, New York: Penguin, 1967.〕 The majority of Romans were eager to see a quick conclusion to the war. It was feared that, if Hannibal continued plundering Italy unopposed, Rome's allies might defect to the Carthaginian side for self-preservation.〔 Therefore, when Fabius came to the end of his term, the Senate did not renew his dictatorial powers and command was given to consuls Gnaeus Servilius Geminus and Marcus Atilius Regulus. In 216 BC, when elections resumed, Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus were elected as consuls, placed in command of a newly raised army of unprecedented size, and directed to engage Hannibal. Polybius wrote: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Cannae」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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