Battle of Beneventum ( 214 BC ) The Battle of Beneventum was fought in 214 BC near modern Benevento during the Second Punic War . Roman legion s under Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus defeated Hanno ' s Carthaginian forces , denying Hannibal reinforcements . Livy gives a brief description of the battle , which was part of the Roman campaign to subdue the southern Italian city - states that had joined Hannibal after the Battle of Cannae . Background . Following the disastrous defeat at Cannae , the Romans under Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator adopted a policy of fighting Carthage wherever Hannibal was not . Rome fielded 40 legions , 20 Roman and 20 allied legions , or nearly 200 , 000 legionnaires . Hannibal , while preparing to assault the city of Nola in Campania , was waiting for his lieutenant Hanno to bring his 1 , 200 Numidian horsemen along with 17 , 000 Bruttians and Lucanians up the Via Appia from Bruttium . Hanno had been ordered down there on a previous occasion to stir up the southern cities of Magna Graecia against Rome and to recruit fresh soldiers , which he had done . Hannibal ordered his lieutenant to come to him to reinforce him , and he specifically advised him to march to Campania by way of Beneventum . There were however , alternative routes that Hanno could have taken . The consul Fabius had ordered Gracchus , a praetor , to march from Lucercia , where he had been wintering , on to Beneventum . Fabius ' son , the Q . Fabius Maximus who became consul the following year , was in command of a separate force , and was ordered to take possession of Lucercia . Fabius ordered Gracchus to Beneventum with the idea of cooping up Hannibal in Campania , he had failed to do this previously in 215 BC , and perhaps with the scheme in mind of preventing reinforcements from reaching him . However , it should be noted that there is no evidence that Fabius had any idea that reinforcements were on their way . Preliminaries . Hanno and Gracchus reached the city about the same time , but Gracchus got actual possession of the city due to the fact that there was a Roman garrison within it . He encamped about a mile outside of the city , astride Hanno ' s path . Hano encamped roughly three miles from the city . It was at this time that Gracchus received permission from the senate to promise the two legions that consisted of slaves , that were the battle won , and they brought him the head of an enemy , they would be granted their freedom . It was not until the next day that the armies lined up in order of battle . The two sides arrayed their respective forces in a fashion typical of the day . Hanno , with his right wing on the Calor river , placed his cavalry . Next to these , in his center , came his infantry . To the left of these , " Flying in the air " so to speak due to the fact they were not protected by any topographical feature , was the other half of Hanno ' s cavalry . The Roman line was longer than that of the Carthaginians . The Roman left was similarly arrayed , except that the Roman cavalry was stationed on the left . Traditionally , the Roman cavalry was weaker in number than the allied cavalry . To the right of the Roman cavalry were the legions . Traditionally , a Roman army consisted of four legions , the two Roman legions " Proper " ( In the sense that they were Roman ) so to speak were on the inner part of the Roman line and the two allied legions were placed to the left and right of these respectively . However , it is not clear if there were any allied legions in this battle , it is not specified . It is not specified where the proper Roman legions and the legions manned by slaved were placed respectively . To the right of the infantry was where the majority of the Roman cavalry was stationed . Battle . The ensuing battle was a bloody slogging match . Gracchus¹ proclamation almost proved to be the Roman¹s undoing . As not only were the slaves stopping to decapitate the slain , but they were carrying them around the battle field with them , thus hampering them down . Realizing what was happening he declared no man would be freed unless the enemy were completely defeated . While this was going on , Gracchus ordered his cavalry to attack Hanno ' s flanks , where the Numidian cavalry was stationed . The Numidian cavalry , fought skillfully against this cavalry charge , and for sometime the combat on the flanks was in doubt . However , Gracchus again sent word through his orderlies to the rank and file that unless the enemy were quickly defeated , they would not win their freedom . Being thus motivated , the slave legions made one last desperate push , and forced the Carthiginian army to retreat back to their camp , where they were swiftly followed by the legionnaires themselves . Upon arriving in the camp , the Carthiginians found that some of their Roman prisoners had armed themselves with weapons . Completely surrounded , the Carthiginian reinforcements were utterly destroyed . Results . The ensuing onslaught led to the total destruction of Hanno¹s army and the capture of his camp , less than 2 , 000 of his men escaped with their lives , including Hanno . 2 , 000 Roman ' s were killed in this battle . Although Gracchus proclaimed the liberty of his soldiers for thus winning the victory , there were some 4 , 000 soldiers that he was displeased with . As a result of this , he ordered that they should eat their evening meal standing , instead of sitting , for the rest of their service in the legions . In the legions , the morning meal was taken standing , but the evening meal was taken sitting . This gesture was meant to dishonor them for a perceived lack of courage during the battle . Gracchus ' , after the battle , proceeded into Lucania , in order to prevent Hanno raising another army in this area and bringing it to Hannibal . He was eventually able to push Hanno into Bruttium as a result of his victory outside of Beneventum . Thus robbed of the prospect of badly needed reinforcements , Hannibal was forced to come to terms with the fact that he would be unable to conduct a successful campaign in Campania .