The ruthless genius of Hannibal’s strategy was then revealed. Not only was the Roman army surrounded, but as their superior numbers pressed into the arc of Hannibal’s bowed-in center, the Roman ranks were squeezed together. They became so tightly massed that many Roman soldiers could not move to raise their weapons. The Romans had lost coherence and mobility. Encircled and compressed together, their numerical superiority had been nullified.
