On a hot, dusty summer's day in 216 BC, the forces of the Carthaginian general Hannibal faced the Roman army in a dramatic encounter at Cannae. Hannibal slaughtered the much larger Roman army. It was the high point of his military career. Massively outnumbered, they nevertheless won an astonishing victory-one that left more than 50,000 Romans dead. Gregory Daly's enthralling narrative recreates the infamous battle and provides a compelling portrait of the horror and chaos of ancient warfare. From the composition of the armies to the strategy and methods of the generals, Daly draws the reader in and makes the battle come alive.
Clear, vivid, and drawing on a wide range of ancient sources and modern scholarship, Cannae offers the fullest account yet of the most destructive battle in ancient history.