Fabius Maximus

But Terentius, insisting on his right to command a day in turn, and then encamping over against Hannibal by the river Aufidus amid the town called Cannae, at break of day put out the signal for battle,—a scarlet tunic displayed above the general’s tent. At this event the Carthaginians were confounded at first, seeing the boldness of the Roman general and the number of his army, which was more than double their own.

But Hannibal ordered his forces to arm for battle, while he himself; with a few companions, rode to the top of a gently sloping ridge, from which he watched his enemies as they formed in battle array. When one of his companions, named Gisco, a man of his own rank, remarked that the number of the enemy amazed him, Hannibal put on a serious look and said: Gisco, another thing has escaped your notice which is more amazing still. And when Gisco asked what it was, It is the fact, said he, that in all this multitude there is no one who is called Gisco.

The jest took them all by surprise and set them laughing, and as they made their way down from the ridge, they reported the pleasantry to all who met them, so that great numbers were laughing heartily, and Hannibal’s escort could not even recover themselves. The sight of this infused courage into the Carthaginians. They reasoned that their general must have a mighty contempt for the enemy if he laughed and jested so in the presence of danger.

In the battle Hannibal practiced a double strategy. In the first place, he took advantage of the ground to put the wind at his back. This wind came down like a fiery hurricane, and raised a huge cloud of dust from the exposed and sandy plains and drove it over the Carthaginian lines hard into the faces of the Romans, who turned away to avoid it, and so fell into confusion.

In the second place, he formed his troops as follows: the sturdiest and most warlike part of his force he stationed on either side of the centre, and manned the centre itself with his poorest soldiers, intending to use this as a wedge jutting out far in advance of the rest of his line. But orders were given to the picked troops, when the Romans should have cut the troops in the centre to pieces, pursued them hotly as they retreated and formed a deep hollow, and so got within their enemy’s line of battle,—then to turn sharply from either side, smite them on the flanks, and envelop them by closing in upon their rear.