Hannibal’s father Hamilcar a high ranking military leader of Carthage had been gathering resources and conquering territory to gain superiority over Rome with the impending Second Punic War. Hannibal became the commander of the Carthaginian army in Spain, his responsibility was then to reverse the First Punic War and continue the efforts his father had moved his army into Italy. Carthage was aware of the added military strength Rome’s allies allowed them to have therefore the invasion of Italy was to encourage those allies to break ties with the Rome, which would then lessen Roman regional influence and enable Carthage to have a better chance at defeating the Romans. The grand strategy of Carthage in the Battle of Cannae was to defeat the Roman army with strategic battlefield maneuvers. The political objective of Carthage was to encourage Roman city-states to defect from Rome to Carthage. The political objective and the grand strategy were related to the broader theme of Carthage restoring its honor by winning the Second Punic War after their defeat of the First Punic
Hannibal’s father Hamilcar a high ranking military leader of Carthage had been gathering resources and conquering territory to gain superiority over Rome with the impending Second Punic War. Hannibal became the commander of the Carthaginian army in Spain, his responsibility was then to reverse the First Punic War and continue the efforts his father had moved his army into Italy. Carthage was aware of the added military strength Rome’s allies allowed them to have therefore the invasion of Italy was to encourage those allies to break ties with the Rome, which would then lessen Roman regional influence and enable Carthage to have a better chance at defeating the Romans. The grand strategy of Carthage in the Battle of Cannae was to defeat the Roman army with strategic battlefield maneuvers. The political objective of Carthage was to encourage Roman city-states to defect from Rome to Carthage. The political objective and the grand strategy were related to the broader theme of Carthage restoring its honor by winning the Second Punic War after their defeat of the First Punic