Following the siege of Saguntum, the Roman Senate decreed six Legions be raised, totalling approximately 70,000 men in number. Such a reaction echoed the determination to defeat an enemy Rome genuinely thought could destroy it; a determination, unusually, which only grew stronger as the war progressed in Carthage's favour. Despite several more humiliating defeats at Hannibal's hands, the Romans continued to raise large citizen armies. In preparation for the cataclysmic Battle of Cannae the Senate ordered the raising of eight Legions - as many as 90,000 men - in a desperate attempt to remove the Carthaginian threat from Roman soil once and for all. However, Cannae turned out to be Hannibal's greatest victory of the war. The destruction of yet another army would've crushed a lesser nation, but Rome refused to be brought to terms and moved to a state of full mobilisation of the remaining male population. Taking full advantage of Hannibal's inability to strike decisively following his victory, it bought the time needed to rebuild its forces.
