[Pocus]

On the other hand refined tactics were sometime used, even by common soldiers, to maximize the gain of their army. Its an error to think that men at arms always act as an undisciplined mob when the opposition rout. An example amongst others, at the battle of Cannae, after the successful double envelopement by the Carthaginians, the Roman began to rout en masse. The Carthaginians soldiers came after the retreaters, and systematically crippled them by slashing at their hamstring muscle or simply their legs (thus crippling men rapidly). It is only after that all (except 3000 men taken as prisonners) the Roman army was routed (48.000 dead in the end), that the Carthaginians performed their sinister job of butchering all the wounded romans. It talks about purposeful tactics which were sometime used.