2nd Punic War: The Battle Of Cannae

Battle tactics are said to have changed over time. However, just the opposite is evident. Battle tactics are for anyone to use, but work best with military’s that are stable and continually training. In many cases, militaries throughout the world can be seen using the same tactics today as used in the 2nd Punic War particularly The Battle of Cannae. What make tactics improve so well is the repetition of both practicing in training and executing tactics on the battlefield. Battle tactics improved with the establishment of a professional military because, most soldiers who were now veterans could move up in ranks and understand how they were previously defeated in different battles. Roman soldiers range from male 17-45 years of age. Each soldier must be a
Though this would be the primary dominate force on the battlefield, Rome actually lost battles because they were primarily heavy infantry. Roman soldiers adopted fighting tactics of other forces and enemies to become the most elite force on the battle field. Starting out, soldiers fought like the Greek worriers known as hoplites. Hoplites were essentially an infantry man armed with a shield and spear, which were on reserve until called to battle. The tactics that were adopted from the Hoplites was a formation called the Phalanx. This formation consisted of soldiers lining up shoulder to shoulder with their weapon in one hand and shield in the opposite. Not only did this help with shields protecting one another, it made lines impenetrable for arrows, spears and enemy as long as they maintained a solid line side by side.2 One general, wreaking havoc throughout the Roman lands was known as Hannibal Barca. Following in his father’s footsteps as a superior military general, he challenged Rome in battle every chance he could. After several attempts of coaxing Rome into battle he achieves a decent victory at the Battle of Trasimene in 217