Battle of the Second Punic War consisting in a three-day engagement in Apulia, Italy between the forces of Rome and Carthage in the summer of 209 BCE
An inconclusive three-day battle in 209 BC that checked Hannibal's movements in southern Italy while Rome pressed his allies elsewhere.
Key Facts
- Date
- Spring 209 BC
- Duration
- Three days
- Total casualties (est.)
- Up to 14,000 killed
- War context
- Tenth year of the Second Punic War
- Region
- Apulia, southern Italy
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After the Roman disaster at Cannae, many cities and tribes in southern Italy defected to Carthage. Rome launched a broad offensive in 209 BC to punish these defectors, reclaim territory, and limit Hannibal's support base in Magna Graecia and Lucania.
Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus engaged Hannibal's Carthaginian forces near Canusium (also called Asculum) in Apulia over three days of fighting. Neither side achieved a decisive breakthrough, and both sustained heavy losses estimated at up to 14,000 killed in total.
Though Marcellus's army took a heavy blow, his engagement with Hannibal's main force restrained Punic movements long enough for simultaneous Roman operations to succeed against Hannibal's allies in Magna Graecia and Lucania, marginally tightening Rome's strategic position.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Marcus Claudius Marcellus.
Side B
1 belligerent
Hannibal Barca.