Vero and the Carthaginians in Cany

The Carthaginians were set up in Cany, and the legions marched straight for them. Paulus did not like the look of the flat, open plain, fearing the destructive force of Hannibal's Numidian cavalry. Vero saw the nearly two-to-one advantage the Romans held, and immediately wanted to fight an infantry battle in the field. He made a critical decision to pack his troops close together and eliminate the checkerboard space between the man-pul's. His hope was to drive through the weaker Carthaginian infantry, divide Hannibal's army in half, and use the superior Roman numbers to annihilate the Carthaginian army.