Alexander the Great was antiquity\'s greatest commander

[Paullus Scipio]

I think Hannibal is overrated in one respect: romans of his time lacked the tactical / strategical finesse (which they later acquired) and their strength was mainly ability to bounce back from awful losses which would have broken the backbone of many hellenistic armies. Every commander should be judged in context of their opponents. Rome in Hannibal`s time was a crude totalitarian state with immense reserve of manpower and not yet the finely tuned fighting machine it turned out to be later, methinks...

I can't entirely agree with this, though it is certainly true that the Romans ability to 'bounce back' from enormous casualties, whether on land (second Punic War) or sea (several times! first Punic War), thanks to their vast Italian manpower reserves was a major factor in their ultimate success in their wars, and should not be under-rated. The Romans certainly did not lack tactical/strategic finesse for their time, and as you say in context of their opponents. They had conquered Italy - against formidable opposition from Etruscans, Samnites and Gauls. They had 'seen off' one of History's great generals - Pyrhhus - and his powerful Hellenistic army, which introduced elephants to the western Mediterranean, and they had defeated Carthage, the greatest power in the Mediterranean on land and sea. Thus just before the second Punic War, the Roman Army was the undisputed Champion of the Mediterranean world.

Hannibal's feats, innovations and success should be seen in that light - against the best Army of the time. If they seem inept against Hannibal, that is a measure of HIS greatness. Certainly, once they had learnt from his genius (largely via Scipio Africanus), they became even greater, easily disposing of the Hellenistic kingdoms - Alexander's military heirs, be it noted - despite elephants, scythed chariots and other "wonder weapons".

They then, their military strategy/Tactics forged and tempered by Hannibal's genius, rapidly established a lasting ( contrast Alexander) huge Empire in fairly short order.....

Furthermore, many of Hannibal's feats remain unsurpassed ( though sometimes equalled). For example, commanders regard it as difficult to successfully pull off a company sized ambush. Hannibal had the imagination and skills to pull off an army-sized ambush ! (Lake Trasimene). His feat of enveloping and destroying a larger foe ( Cannae) is something all modern armies study ( consider German strategy in World War 1, or Kursk, a failed emulation in World War 2, or Norman Schwartzkopf's admiration of Hannibal's brilliance), or his skill at escaping when surrounded, by the ploy of tying torches to the horns of cattle at night, while his army slipped away by another route - a tactic much copied since.

Cannae must be, and generally is by Military Professionals, regarded as the outstanding military achievement of all time, against the best Army in the region, nay, the world at the time!!