Customer Reviews

Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War

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Battle of Cannae was one of the most complete victories ever won over the famed Roman legions by any of her many opponents. Fought during the Second Punic War, Hannibal who won this great tactical victory will be forever be remembered by it. This battle set the standard of what we would regard as a total tactical victory on the battlefield. Gregory Daly's book goes into considerable details on how this event took places, forces and commanders involved and lay-out of the battle, location, formations and conditions. Daly's put considerable effort into his research and what we have here is a very definitive book on the battle of Cannae. Its also helped that I thought Gregory Daly wrote pretty well, nicely paced and clearly written. Anyone with a slightest interest in this time period should buy this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down. Although the available references for this battle are rather limited (primarily Polybius and Livy) Daly does a masterful job of combing the ancient sources for evidence of what the experience of combat must have been like for the Carthaginians and Romans on that hot day. He uses much of what Victor Hanson has written regarding ancient warfare, John Keegan's analytical framework and considerable thought and insight to weave a "face of battle" picture of the event. The work has great information on the composition and tactics of the armies and a wonderful description of the manipular legion at work. A must read if you are even remotely interested in ancient warfare.

If you are a student of ancient warfare, this is a must read. Together with Livy & Polybius (who are widely quoted throughout the book), this is an essential reference book for a detailed study of one of the greatest battles in antiquity.

The book includes 7-maps and 10-figures that help visualize geography and troop dispositions, however I would have liked a few more of the latter. The Osprey books "Roman Battle Tactics" and "Cannae" can help make up for this. There is excellent coverage of the maniple system as it was in 216, and a decent figure is included here.

The book begins with a general description of Rome and Carthage during this age, followed by a chapter outlining the events that led to the battle. Chapters are dedicated to detailed study of both armies and their command. The final chapter is particularly well done, where Daly takes us into the midst of the battle and delivers a high quality perspective on the experience of both the commanders, and the massive number of troops who fought and died on this terrible day.

While this is essentially a text book, it kept me turning the pages and wanting more. Enjoy.

A facinating educational read! Thorough details of battle - indepth descriptions of conditions and strategies. Need I say more.

BW CA 90210