2nd Beneventum (214 BC)

Desperate for manpower to replace the losses at Cannae, the Romans found a unique solution. They formed two legions from slaves. They were given to the Consul Gracchus who saw their potential and trained them well. Two years later, still …

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Desperate for manpower to replace the losses at Cannae, the Romans found a unique solution. They formed two legions from slaves. They were given to the Consul Gracchus who saw their potential and trained them well. Two years later, still under his command, these legions engaged a Carthaginian army under Hanno. Gracchus issued a decree to his men before the battle - freedom to any soldier bringing back a Carthaginian head. The Roman attack started well, but as soon as Carthaginians began to fall, scores of Gracchus's troops broke ranks to decapitate corpses. Faced with a disintegrating army, Gracchus corrected his error by amending his decree to "win the battle and secure your freedom." The slave soldiers quickly reformed and swept all before them. Interestingly, these soldiers gave their loyalty to Gracchus - not Rome. When he was killed a few years later, most of the soldiers in these legions deserted.

Benevento, Italy

The Battle of Beneventum was fought in 214 BC near modern Benevento during the Second Punic War. Roman legions 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.

Wikipedia: Battle of Beneventum (214 BC)

Carthaginian

Roman

Second Punic War