Battle of Lake Trasimene

Hannibal drew the Roman consul Gaius Flaminius along the northern shore of Lake Trasimene and concealed troops on the surrounding heights. When the Roman column entered the confined ground, the Carthaginian army attacked from several directions.

The Romans had little room to form a coherent battle line, and much of the army was killed, captured or driven into the lake. The defeat demonstrated Hannibal’s ability to exploit terrain, intelligence and Roman aggression.

The battle is one of the operational disasters analysed in Thirteen Roman Defeats, where it is used to examine command judgement as well as battlefield tactics.