23. A Catastrophic Defeat
The Romans rotated command on a daily basis between their two consuls, Lucius Aemilius Paulus and Gaius Terentius Varro. On August 2, 216 BC, it was Varro’s day in command, and his day to be an idiot. Against the advice of Paulus, he led out the Roman army against Hannibal. The Carthaginian general adopted a brilliant tactical plan that was carried out to perfection. He placed less reliable Gauls in the center, in a formation that bulged out towards the Romans. On either side of the Gauls, he positioned his disciplined African infantry (see map above). As the Romans advanced, the Gauls would give way, until their formation, which had started off bulging outwards, bent and bulged inwards, forming a bowl shape or sack.
The confident Romans, scenting victory as the enemy gave ground, would push into the sack. That was when the African infantry positioned to the Gauls’ sides would wheel inwards and attack the Roman flanks. By then, the Carthaginian cavalry would have defeated the Roman cavalry. It would then turn around, and attack the enemy infantry’s rear, thus completely encircling the Romans. It worked exactly as planned. In a battle seen to this day as the gold standard for tactical generalship, the Romans were nearly wiped out. Only 10,000 out of the 87,000 strong army escaped, while the rest were slaughtered or captured.
