
Originally Posted by
CBR
Hannibal took a big but calculated risk with his cavalry. He put all his heavy cavalry on his left wing and let the Numidians handle the right wing. The Numidians would never have defeated a similar size of Roman allied cavalry if the allied cavalry had attacked but (and this is me guessing) he must have assumed that the Romans would try to be defensive. He had seen the Roman army deployed just one or two days before so maybe he spotted something in how they deployed.
We should also not forget the fog of war, there were no binoculars and lots of dust so there was a good chance that the Romans would never notice the weak right wing.
The concave infantry formation is more up for debate as historians don't agree on what happened. I don't think there was any planned retreat and the losses among the Celts suggest a tough fight and rout with many being cut down. But the formation meant the Roman infantry would not just move forward when in pursuit but also inwards. That would increase the disruption and give a better chance for his Africans in their counter attack.
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