Book II, 18, lines 3-8.
Background:
Pyrrhos had returned to Italy. He landed near Taras in spring of 270. The combined might of the Tarantine garrison and Pyrrhos’ phalanxes and elephants, and perhaps the idea of getting penned in between the sallying city garrison and the attacking relief force, caused the Romans to break of the siege and head back up North into friendly territory.
After strengthening his army with both light and heavy Tarantine cavalry and some infantry from Taras and the surrounding towns, Pyrrhos seems to have headed North, where he encountered and defeated several small Roman armies or expeditionary forces.
It appears that those small victories earned the general the support of the local Italian people, especially that of the Samnite people.
The text:
[…]
And the Bruttians said they would help, and the Lucanians said they would help, and the Samnites from the South of Samnium sent a great number of men to defeat the Romans. Pyrrhos then marched this army, 14500 men strong, half of which were Italians, to the gates of Arpi.
[…]
Book II, 26-29.
Background:
Pyrrhos did not besiege Arpi, although he did fight some minor skirmishes with the garrison there and pillaged the perimeter of the city. The nearing winter and reports of a large Roman army closing in with the purpose to defeat him once and for all, forced the Epirote to return to Tarantine territory.
The Romans were confident they would beat Pyrrhos again, they had learned how to counter the elephants and phalanxes and they had numeral superiority.
The text:
[…]
In the early campaigning season of [269] two Roman legions under the command of propraetor Sextus Cornelius Rufus marched through Northern Apulia. It was a little to the South of the coastal hill town of Cannae, on the right bank of the river Ophidous [also known as the Aufidus], that Pyrrhos deployed his troops in battle formation.
The phalanx formed the centre of the Epirote battle line. On the right side stood the Samnites, the elephants and Pyrrhos own personal guard. On the left stood the Tartantines and the other Italians, along with a small number of Celts [most likely the Galatians recruited in Makedonia three years earlier].
The Romans had formed their normal fashion [the triplex acies], though with all their javelin throwers amassed on the flank to counter the mighty elephants. The cavalry covered the other Roman flank.
[…]
The aforementioned tactic [the description of which has been lost, but the surviving text make the Roman tactic quite clear – see illustration below] was to prove a mistake from the Roman commander. Pushing back the Italians on both side of the phalanx did not work because of the unexpected bravery of these men. While the Romans thus could not attack the phalanx from the flanks, this did allow the phalanx to attack the flanks of the split Roman forces.
On top of that, the Roman and allied cavalry proved no match for the Tarantines, who soon started to harass the skirmishers to support Pyrrhos, the Samnites and the elephants.
[…]
The Battle of Cannae
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