The troops first had to cross the snowy Pyrenees Mountains, which divide what we now call Spain from what we now call France. Losses in the Pyrenees were substantial, but Hannibal pressed on, determined to reach Rome. Passing through Gaul, he recruited thousands of Gauls into his army, making up somewhat for the soldiers he had already lost. The losses mounted heavily on the trip through the Alps, as frozen mountain passes and fierce Alpine tribes made the crossing very difficult. When Hannibal's force reached northern Italy, it was down to just 26,000 troops. Still, those troops were determined to take the fight to the Romans.

An expedition that transported that many troops wasn't destined to be kept secret, even in ancient times. Word got passed on to Rome of Hannibal's daring plan, and Roman troops were ready when the tired Carthaginians burst into the Po Valley. The result wasn't exactly a Roman victory, however, not matter how much it might seem like the opportunity for one, what with a rested and ready Roman force just itching to teach the daring Hannibal and his exhausted troops a lesson. Instead, Rome got taught the lesson, one it would learn the hard way a couple more times before adapting to meet a superior challenge.

Hannibal's ultimate goal was to get enough of Rome's neighbors to turn against Rome that a final victory before the gates of the Eternal City would force the mighty foe into submission. Hannibal devoted the next few years of his life to that goal, ranging up and down Italy in search of frustrated "allies" of Rome.

He began his southern march after the Trebia River massacre by choosing not to pick a fight with Flaminius, one of Rome's new consuls, who had set up camp in the road that led from the river to Rome. Hannibal instead chose to allow his troops to go sauntering around the fertile plains of Tuscany, living off the fat of that fat land. Flaminius was so angry that he vowed to defeat Hannibal wherever he could find him. Picking up his army, the hotheaded new consul marched his men at double speed right into the jaws of another Carthaginian trap at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.

Despite the tremendous loss of life and honor, Rome continued to be able to put thousands of men into the field. This was a luxury that Hannibal never had. The fear that shook Rome to its core after the twin massacres of Trebia River and Lake Trasimene was eased somewhat by a new round of forced recruiting, with the result being that the following year, Rome could march 90,000 men into battle, compared to Hannibal's 50,000. Hannibal was outmanned, as always, and one can imagine his frustration at the continued lack of support from Rome's neighbors.

Those neighbors, it seemed, were still hedging their bets, unwilling to risk reprisals in case Rome somehow prevailed. Such bet-hedging looked to be a good idea, too, as long as Rome could continue to send fresh troops into battle no matter how many times they were getting slaughtered at the hands of Hannibal's genius. Astonished at what he thought folly, Hannibal kept looking for the one big victory that would signal to everyone that Rome's demise was at hand. For years, he roamed up and down the length of Italy, as Roman armies avoided him while protecting the gates of the city of Rome itself. Small battles dotted the landscape as the two sides sparred with each other but avoided a huge engagement.

Hannibal got his wish for a knockout blow in 216, at a bump in the road called Cannae. Total losses that day exceeded 50,000 for Rome and 5,000 for Carthage. It was the single largest death toll ever suffered by Rome, and it looked to be the nail in the coffin of Roman influence throughout the Mediterranean world.

Next page > The Ascendancy of Rome > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5