10 Most Decisive Ancient Generals

6. Hannibal


Battle of Cannae (Loss ratio 1: 9) Hannibal was a Punic Carthaginian tactician and military commander and known for the impressive feat of crossing the Pyrenees with war elephants. In Italy, he decisively won three battles, Trasimene, Trebia and the most popular, Cannae. In the Battle of Cannae, with careful use of favorable terrain, Hannibal defeated the numerically superior Roman forces, led by two consuls. When the battle concluded, very few Roman soldiers escaped; after losing more than 75,000 men. Romans were in complete disarray for a brief period of time and with their best army destroyed, Rome was in the brink of destruction. They became so desperate, that some resorted to human sacrifices to appease the gods.