Great Battles in History Series: The Battle of Cannae

Speaker: Roy Heidicker The Battle of Cannae took place on August 2, 216 BC. This battle was part of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage. The Carthaginians, led by Hannibal, had beaten Roman armies in 218 and 217 BC. The Romans responded by building their biggest army ever, large enough (they thought) to crush Hannibal’s troops. Instead, Hannibal’s smaller force of Carthaginians, allies, and mercenaries, annihilated the much larger Roman army. From that time until today, Cannae is considered by most military history experts to be the most perfect battle ever fought. Since then, many battlefield commanders have sought to achieve their own Cannae like battle. This lecture will explain how Hannibal accomplished this textbook battle for the ages. Dr. Roy “Doc” Heidicker is the recently retired Historian of 4th Fighter Wing located at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. With his wife Judine, he is the owner of Classic Aviation and War Art. Doc no longer enjoys vacationing with the Air Force in Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, and England but looks forward to vacationing with Judine in places like Las Vegas and Manhattan. He played an instrumental role in organizing a series of lectures for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Doc is currently heading up the Great Battles in History series.