June 217 BC · Lake Trasimene, Etruria (central Italy) Theater
June 217 BC
Hannibal set the greatest ambush in military history. He concealed his entire army of 40,000 men in the hills and woods along a narrow lakeside road shrouded in morning mist. The Roman army of four legions marched unknowing into the trap; when the signal was given, Carthaginians poured down on three sides simultaneously. The Romans had no room to form a battle line. The consul Flaminius was killed early in the fighting. The battle lasted perhaps three hours; 15,000 Romans died in the trap, 10,000 more were captured. A Roman cavalry force of 4,000 that arrived too late was also surrounded and forced to surrender. An earthquake struck during the battle — no one noticed.
Commanders