Hannibal Tactics

Military skills and tactics were the basis of Hannibal’s constant victories over the many Roman armies. Hannibal was able to create tactics that were unheard of during his time that could not be matched by any other army. He was constantly victorious in his many battles because of his smarts and advancement. Even when he was outnumbered and outgunned, he still managed to pull off a victory. During the battle of Cannae, Hannibal used tactics that ensured his win. The Romans believed that hannibal had no chance because the Roman army was many times the size of Hannibal’s, but they were mistaken. Hannibal used a convex crescent shape that slowly became concave and surrounded the Romans when under pressure (“Hannibal Barca”). His unusual tactics …show more content…
According to Richard A. Gabriel, Hannibal’s army “was incapable of any field discipline” and they “could not be disciplined to a standard set of tactics.” Hannibal was still able to control his men and make them follow all of his orders and it is all proved through his countless victories during the war. His leadership skills are shown through his abilities to create these amazingly effective tactics. He showed his troops that no matter the circumstances, the right tactics will make anyone emerge victorious. Numbers and amount of guns mattered, but if the wrong plan is used the smaller army can win over the more prepared army. Hannibal leads his men by teaching them that the only way to truly win a battle is to use a tactic that will outsmart and confuse the enemy into making mistakes. Hannibal’s incredibly effective tactics and ability to control his unruly troops show his advanced level of …show more content…
Occasionally, Hannibal went too far and was incredibly cruel to his troops. While marching from Iberia to Italy one year during the war, there was not enough food for his hundreds of troops to survive because the length of the journey was misjudged and barbarians stole their supplies. Cannibalism of the dead soldiers was suggested by one of the officers and Hannibal did not have any problems with it ("Ancient History Sourcebook”). He agreed to eat his fallen men because he believed that the boldness and effectiveness of the idea outweighed the morals. He did not understand that eating his own men was passing the line. Occasionally he was too persistent which caused him to agree to things like this, even if it not accepted by the law, culture or population. Him overlooking the absurdness of ideas like this is what blemished his good name. The rest of his men knew that cannibalism was a line that they would not cross but Hannibal seemed blind. His need to keep going, destroy the Romans and keep his men alive outweighed or clouded his judgement. This shows that his leadership was not great in all areas. He was not the most experienced in all situations and he did not know how to deal with all that would trouble