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Battle maps
Seventeen battles with phase-by-phase movements from the sources. The full 3D viewer comes later; these are the 2D step maps.
Proof of concept
Immersive 3D battle: Cannae
2 August 216 BCE — Apulia, Italy, on the Aufidus river.
Exact site along the river is debated. Which Roman consul held command on the day is contested.
- Phase 1: Deployment
The Romans mass their infantry in an unusually deep, narrow center, hoping to smash through by weight. Hannibal draws his Gallic and Spanish infantry into a convex crescent projecting toward the Romans, veteran African heavy infantry on the wings in echelon, superior cavalry on both flanks.
Source: Britannica, Battle of Cannae
- Phase 2: Cavalry clash
Hasdrubal's heavy cavalry on the Carthaginian left routs the Roman citizen cavalry on the Roman right, then rides behind the Roman line to strike the allied cavalry on the Roman left.
Source: Wikipedia, Battle of Cannae
- Phase 3: The center gives
The Roman mass drives into the crescent. Hannibal's center yields step by step without breaking; the convex arc flattens, then inverts into a concave pocket as the Romans push deeper.
Source: Gates of History, Battle of Cannae
- Phase 4: The trap closes
The African veterans wheel inward onto the exposed Roman flanks while Hasdrubal's cavalry seals the rear. Surrounded on all sides, the Roman army is destroyed.
Source: Wikipedia, Battle of Cannae — casualty figures disputed.
Red blocks: Roman forces. Blue blocks: Carthaginian forces. Positions are approximate reconstructions from the sources.