Editing Battle of Cannae (section)

== Roman command ==
The two consuls were each assigned two of the four legions to command, unusually employing all four legions at once on the same assignment. However, the Senate feared a real threat, and deployed not just four legions to the field but all eight, including allies.<ref name="Polybius iii.107" /> Ordinarily, each of the two consuls would command his own portion of the army, but since the two armies were combined into one, Roman law required them to alternate their command on a daily basis.{{sfn|Daly|2002|p=119}}

The traditional account puts Varro in command on the day of the battle, and much of the blame for the defeat has been laid on his shoulders.{{sfn|Daly|2002|p=119}} His low origins seem to be exaggerated in the sources, and Varro may have been made a [[scapegoat]] by the aristocratic establishment.{{sfn|Daly|2002|p=119}} He lacked the powerful descendants that Paullus had, descendants who were willing and able to protect his reputation—most notably his grandson [[Scipio Aemilianus]], the patron of Polybius, one of the main sources of this history.{{sfn|Daly|2002|pp=119–120}}