Field of Battle — interactive historical battle reconstructions

Battle of Cannae

2 August 216 BC · Apulia, southern Italy

Map options

Schematic reconstruction · timing illustrative

Stage 1 of 6 · Approach & deploymentReady

At dawn, both armies cross the river to give battle. Rome forms its infantry in unusual depth. Hannibal places his Gauls and Iberians forward, with African infantry held back on either side and cavalry on the wings.

More detail · context & sequence

DawnPartly disputed

Approach & deployment

At dawn, the Romans cross the Aufidus and assemble in a deep formation, preparing to bring their superior infantry numbers against Hannibal’s centre. Hannibal also crosses, sending his light troops ahead. He advances his Gauls and Iberians in a crescent, leaving the African infantry farther back on either side. Rome is ready for a powerful central attack; Hannibal has kept forces on the wings that can shape how the battle unfolds.

Sequence

1Both armies cross the river and take their places for the battle to come. (timing uncertain)· next

Codes (e.g. R1) match the formations on the map and the list below. Order follows the sources; animation timing is an explanatory reconstruction.

Reconstruction note: Polybius 3.110–113 places the larger Roman camp and Hannibal’s camp on one bank, with the smaller Roman camp across the river. At sunrise the larger Roman force crosses to join the smaller; Hannibal sends light troops ahead and crosses his main bodies at two points. His centre then advances from a line into a crescent. Camp sites, crossings, routes, departure order and compressed timing here are reconstructed, not surveyed ancient locations. The assignment of individual formations to camps and crossings is illustrative.

Playback settings

Movement speed

Reading pace

Step by step waits after each sequence. Continuous carries on automatically. Reading pace changes pauses; movement speed changes troop motion.

1/6

Chapters · 1 of 6

Armies

Formations

Carthage

Gallic & Iberian centre

Rome

Roman & allied heavy infantry

Forces & numbers

Carthage: c. 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry (Polybius 3.114)
Losses: c. 5,700 killed (Polybius 3.117); Livy gives c. 8,000

Rome: c. 80,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry (Polybius 3.113); modern estimates often lower
Losses: Polybius: c. 70,000 killed, c. 10,000 captured; Livy: c. 48,200 killed. Losses per formation are not recorded

Map key

Carthage

Rome

Ivory spears mark infantry, a horse marks cavalry, and a bow marks missile troops. Flags mark formations associated with commanders. Central names appear while paused on larger maps; select a formation for its commander. Exact commander positions are uncertain. Worn rear edges show reported losses and disorder qualitatively. Counters and their size are not exact subdivisions or troop counts.

Infantry

Cavalry

Missile troops

In action

Withdrawing

Routed

Surrendered

Destroyed

Disordered

Losses reported

Fronts in contact (fighting)

Missile fire (illustrative volleys)

Movement

Attack

Retreat or flight

Dashed outlines on terrain mark approximate or uncertain features. Dashed lines of works are still under construction.

Marker size is schematic. Widths roughly reflect relative frontage where sources allow, not exact troop numbers. A narrower block is a change of formation, not casualties.

Combat effects are illustrative. Outcomes follow the sources; volleys, contact and condition are qualitative, with no invented casualty figures.

Sources & reconstruction notes

Hannibal lets his centre give ground on purpose, then closes both wings and his cavalry around a much larger Roman army.

Sources

Polybius, Histories — 3.107–117 — the fullest ancient account
Livy, History of Rome — 22.44–50
Appian, Hannibalic War — 19–26
A. Goldsworthy, Cannae (2001)
G. Daly, Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War (2002)

Notes

Whether the battle was fought on the right or left bank of the Aufidus is still debated. This map follows the common reading of Polybius: Romans facing south, right flank on the river.
The river has shifted since antiquity. The modern course (thin line) crosses the reconstructed battlefield; the broad blue channel is the conjectured ancient course on the Roman right.
No roads, woodland blocks or camps are reconstructed because their positions are not securely known. Sparse vegetation and ground symbols are illustrative surface decoration, not evidence of specific ancient trees or obstacles.
The terrain scale is 60 metres per map unit, based on the modern elevation grid. Ancient deployment distances and troop-marker dimensions remain schematic, not surveyed or exact-strength measurements. Cavalry routes are reconstructed on the landward side of the conjectured ancient river; full formation footprints are checked against its bank.