Roman Military Defeats

Listen to "Roman Military Defeats"

The Romans were, without a doubt, the most dominant force in the Western Mediterranean throughout most of their history. However, these titans still had their share of catastrophic defeats. The four most notable being:

• Battle of Lake Trasimene (217BC): Hannibal, being pursued by Flaminius of Rome, hides in the forests to the north of Lake Trasimene. He then ambushes Flaminius, surrounds him, and easily defeats him.
• Battle of Cannae (216BC): Hannibal proves that superior tactics can make up for inferior numbers. Hannibal, using a pincer motion, surrounds the slow Roman forces and slaughters them.
• Battle of Arausio (105BC): Boiorix of the Cimbri takes advantage of the two un-cooperative Roman commanders and easily defeats them.
• Battle of Teutoberg Forest (9AD): Ariminus of the Germans conducts many hit-and-run attacks on the Romans until every single one of their 24,000 man force is dead.

To learn more, read Extreme War by Terrence Poulos

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine