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Battle of Heraclea4,000–13,000 killedBattle of Asculum 3,505 killedBattle of Beneventum11,000 killed, 2 elephants killed, 8 elephants capturedBattle of the Strait of Messina: 70 warships
Battle of Heraclea7,000–15,000 killed and 1,800 capturedBattle of Asculum6,000 killedBattle of Beneventum9,000 killed
The Pyrrhic War was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans.
A skilled commander, with a strong army fortified by war elephants , Pyrrhus enjoyed initial success against the Roman legions, but suffered heavy losses even in these victories. Plutarch wrote that Pyrrhus said after the second battle of the war, "If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined." He could not call up more men from home and his allies in Italy were becoming indifferent. The Romans, by contrast, had a very large pool of military manpower and could replenish their legions even if their forces were depleted in many battles. This has led to the expression "Pyrrhic victory", a term for a victory that inflicts losses the victor cannot afford in the long term.