Speaking of Cannae...

[Astiryu1]

(sorry, I did not mean to start the aforementioned argument :lol: )

I have been doing my best not to myself!
I was bred on Martial Arts flicks myself and most of those are just as bad if not worse! :x

[Dithrambus]

Speaking of Cannae ...

John Stewart speaks with the author of "Ghosts Of Cannae - Hannibal And The Darkest Hour Of The Roman Republic"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/2 ... 63650.html

:|

Narukami

Amazon has placed this book in my recomended reading list, have you read it? I guess my real question is, should I buy it?

Thanks

[M. Demetrius]

Do you want it? Can you afford it? If yes to both, then buy it. EZ.

[Astiryu1]

I kind of liked the author in the Video. It seemed like he had a sense of humor albeit a little dry.(My preferred humor)

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

The old classic 'Hannibal' from the late 50s with Victor Mature is on DVD. There are worse movies, all things considered. The cronology of events is decent.

Edit: Ooh! Ooh! I forgot 'Revak the Rebel' from about 1956, on VCR. Jack Palance. This is where Varro is captured and made an elephant trainer in Carthage. Lots of overacting.

Ralph

[Epictetus]

The Roman casualties at Cannae -- would they be considered 50% of the total Roman Army at that time? 75%...?

The Romans still had some minor forces at Rome itself, plus their army in Spain under the Scipio brothers, and small forces in other areas (Sicily?) plus the 10,000 or so survivors at Cannae itself rallied by the younger Scipio and other officers.

If we take Goldsworthy's numbers of 45,000+ dead and 18,000 captured what total does that loss represent?

I guess it depends upon how we define the total numerical strength of the “Roman Army” at that time. Do we count Latin allies and other auxiliaries? Do we trust the numbers the writers give us? Livy himself admits that his sources vary and he himself is unsure.

The forces also were augmented. But how great was the augmentation of infantry and cavalry authors vary so much, that I scarcely dare positively assert. Some state, that ten thousand soldiers were levied as a reinforcement; others, four fresh legions, that there might be eight legions in service. It is said also, that the complement of the legion was increased in respect both to foot and horse, one thousand foot and one hundred horse being added to each, so that each might contain five thousand foot and three hundred horse; and that the allies furnished twice as many cavalry, and an equal number of infantry. Some authorities affirm that there were eighty-seven thousand two hundred soldiers in the Roman camp when the battle of Cannae was fought.

Livy 22.36

Then we have Roman and allied forces in other theatres. In Spain, some 15,000 Carthaginians were said to be killed and 4,000 captured by Celtiberians friendly to Rome during three sieges and two battles (Livy 22.21). Do we count these allies as part of the Roman army or not? If so, how would we judge the size of the Roman-friendly forces in Spain?

As for the number of Romans in Spain, Scipio declined to fight a land battle at one point (Livy 22.19) because the Carthaginians had fresh auxiliaries. Evidently he judged his force inadequate at that particular time and place. Judging from this, presumably they were a modest force.

In the Mediterranean theatre Geminus had 120 ships whose troops were performing some inland raids. Some 1,000 of these were killed in an ambush (Livy 22.31). Later 25 more ships were added. How many troops could fit on each ship? Also, Syracuse offered 1,000 archers and slingers here (Livy 22.37).

Even if we could come to a decision on what constituted the "Roman Army", I think it would be very difficult to come to a reliable estimate.

[Dithrambus]

The author states in the interview with John Stewart that the Roman casulties in one days fighting at Cannae where greater than the total American losses in the Vietnam War, which were: 58, 159, Is he exaggerating a bit in that statement?

[Goffredo]

pronuniation question.
I am an american but live in Italy for many many (too many?) years. I also never studied latin. So I ask: what is the correct "english" pronunciation of Cannae? I was surpirsed to hear "can-ee". Italians say something like "cann-eh". Can-ee sound ridiculous. I like the italian pronunciation, but maybe I am just used to it. How would sound like in classic latin?

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Cannae to me is Cann-ay or -eh....who pronounces it ee? hock:

As in piraeus...... :roll:

[M. Demetrius]

If you pronounce it as if it were Italian, you should be about right. the AE is a dipthong that sounds like an English "long I", like the English word eye.

[Goffredo]

my mistake to write "can-ee". I ment to write "can-eye" (made mistake twice!)
Italians pronounce it "cann-eh" (double n, and not "eye", like long I, but a "eh" sounding a bit like the first e in elephant).

sorry

[Gaius Decius Aquilius]

@ Asrtiyu1 - I got your PM but can't respond. My PM does not want to send anything. Try Belle and Blade. That is where I got my Hannibal and Revak.

Hannibal can be watched with 2 -5 beers. Revak takes over 8 beers to watch. Get tall-boys.

Ralph

[Astiryu1]

Sounds pretty bad... :twisted:

[ParthianBow]

The author states in the interview with John Stewart that the Roman casulties in one days fighting at Cannae where greater than the total American losses in the Vietnam War, which were: 58, 159, Is he exaggerating a bit in that statement?

Not if you take what's commonly accepted: that the Romans lost well over 50,000 men killed at the battle. It was one of, if not the most, bloody battle(s) to take place until those of the First and Second World Wars. And obviously there were no firearms involved. The ancient sources tell us that the killing went on until two hours after dark, and that the Carthaginian troops, who had entirely surrounded the Romans, took regular breaks between killing. By the end, the soldiers were red from head to toe in blood, and the horses were covered in it from the bottoms of their necks to their hooves. hock:

I will have the privilege of describing the battle in Legionary, the second book of my trilogy about the second Punic war. To do so will fulfil a long-held dream of mine. I just hope I do it justice. I've allocated four chapters to the battle itself, which could be about 28-32,000 words.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

:

I I've allocated four chapters to the battle itself, which could be about 28-32,000 words.

hock: hock: I think I'll need to take regular breaks to read about a bloodbath for that long..... :wink:
When is it out?