Tom Holland

Yeah. By any standards, let alone the standards of the ancient world. That's about... Twice the size of Villa Park. Oh, my word. That's your standard. That is literally almost as many people as there are members of the Restless History Club. Yeah, that's a lot of people. Imagine them all being wiped out. That would be terrible. Yeah, awful. I mean, what a formidable force they would make.

Yeah. By any standards, let alone the standards of the ancient world. That's about... Twice the size of Villa Park. Oh, my word. That's your standard. That is literally almost as many people as there are members of the Restless History Club. Yeah, that's a lot of people. Imagine them all being wiped out. That would be terrible. Yeah, awful. I mean, what a formidable force they would make.

Yeah. By any standards, let alone the standards of the ancient world. That's about... Twice the size of Villa Park. Oh, my word. That's your standard. That is literally almost as many people as there are members of the Restless History Club. Yeah, that's a lot of people. Imagine them all being wiped out. That would be terrible. Yeah, awful. I mean, what a formidable force they would make.

Let's be serious about it. This is now a force far bigger than anything Hannibal can command, right? So they have good grounds for thinking, you know, no matter what the tactics are, Our army is now so enormous. There's no way Hannibal can beat us. Yeah.

Let's be serious about it. This is now a force far bigger than anything Hannibal can command, right? So they have good grounds for thinking, you know, no matter what the tactics are, Our army is now so enormous. There's no way Hannibal can beat us. Yeah.

Let's be serious about it. This is now a force far bigger than anything Hannibal can command, right? So they have good grounds for thinking, you know, no matter what the tactics are, Our army is now so enormous. There's no way Hannibal can beat us. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And there is manly laughter.' I actually genuinely don't get what he's talking about. What's his point?

And there is manly laughter.' I actually genuinely don't get what he's talking about. What's his point?

And there is manly laughter.' I actually genuinely don't get what he's talking about. What's his point?

The battle of Cannae is about to begin. Tom, I am absolutely breathless with excitement. Come back after the break to find out what happens. Welcome back to The Rest Is History. It is dawn on the 2nd of August, 216. I'm outside the tent of the Roman commander Varro. A red flag has been hoisted. The signal, Tom, that battle is about to begin. So paint the scene for us, please.

The battle of Cannae is about to begin. Tom, I am absolutely breathless with excitement. Come back after the break to find out what happens. Welcome back to The Rest Is History. It is dawn on the 2nd of August, 216. I'm outside the tent of the Roman commander Varro. A red flag has been hoisted. The signal, Tom, that battle is about to begin. So paint the scene for us, please.

The battle of Cannae is about to begin. Tom, I am absolutely breathless with excitement. Come back after the break to find out what happens. Welcome back to The Rest Is History. It is dawn on the 2nd of August, 216. I'm outside the tent of the Roman commander Varro. A red flag has been hoisted. The signal, Tom, that battle is about to begin. So paint the scene for us, please.

Yeah, so they're stretched across the terrain and they can't possibly be encircled.

Yeah, so they're stretched across the terrain and they can't possibly be encircled.

Yeah, so they're stretched across the terrain and they can't possibly be encircled.

So from your description, it sounds like an extremely meticulously devised, well-ordered, formidable military machine. But is there an argument that the sheer size and complexity of this system means that it's frankly, a bit lumbering and a bit overcomplicated and that Hannibal can actually exploit this. I think that you have seized on the weakness that Hannibal seizes on, Dominic.

So from your description, it sounds like an extremely meticulously devised, well-ordered, formidable military machine. But is there an argument that the sheer size and complexity of this system means that it's frankly, a bit lumbering and a bit overcomplicated and that Hannibal can actually exploit this. I think that you have seized on the weakness that Hannibal seizes on, Dominic.