HKB
2 passages · search this phrase →
Often appears with: battle and tactics · weather, storms, and the seasons · roman visibility · numidian cavalry · naval warfare and sea power · hannibal formation at cannae · gallic and spanish cavalry · dust in battle
Usually: commentary or gloss (1) · description (1) · curiosity (1)
Livy describes Hannibal’s deployment at Cannae—Gallic and Spanish cavalry left, Numidian cavalry right, African-centered infantry—plus the wind and dust conditions favoring the Carthaginians.
light-armed auxiliaries, formed the van. The consuls commanded the wings; Terentius the left, Aemilius the right. To Geminus Sevilius was committed the charge of maintaining the battle in the centre. 46. Hannibal, at break of day, having sent before him the Baliares and other light-armed troops, crossed the river, and placed his troops in line of battle, as he had conveyed them across the river. The Gallic and Spani…
A second key note on the Vulturnus wind explains how dust clouds blow into Roman faces, limiting their visibility and aiding the Carthaginian fight plan.
The wind, which the inhabitants of the district call the Vulturnus, blowing violently in front of the Romans, prevented their seeing far by rolling clouds of dust into their faces. 47. The shout being raised, the auxiliaries charged, and the battle commenced in the first place with the light-armed troops: then the left wing, consisting of the Gallic and Spanish cavalry, engages with the Roman right wing, by no means…