This paper deals with the comparison of Livy's and Polybius' description of the battle of Cannae 216 BC. This battle was the central event of the Second Punic War. The paper discusses, based on the writings of the mentioned historiographers, on the Roman and Carthaginian army, their commanders and military tactics in the context of the battle of Cannae. In focus of their description of the battle is Hanibal's decisive maneuver by which the Roman army was surrounded and broken. The battle was remembered exactly by that tactical move. For the Roman state, the consequences were catastrophic: almost entire army was destroyed and many Italian cities fell under the rule of Carthage. Analyzing the consistency or non-consistency in the descriptions of the battle of the two mentioned historiographers, it follows that they are not based only on the use of different sources, but also on the different perceptions of the way in which history is written.