Dominic Sandbrook

He could have done that. But that's not actually what Napoleon is saying. Napoleon's comments on Hannibal sacrificing half his army to get where he wanted to, to get his chosen field of battle, is not meant as a criticism. I mean, this is the kind of thing Napoleon did all the time. He'd sacrifice... hundreds of thousands of men to get his army into the position where he wanted to fight.

Because what Napoleon is recognizing and is clearly the case is that by bypassing Scipio, by refusing to meet the Romans on the Rhine, by getting into Italy, Hannibal has kept the initiative.

Because what Napoleon is recognizing and is clearly the case is that by bypassing Scipio, by refusing to meet the Romans on the Rhine, by getting into Italy, Hannibal has kept the initiative.

Because what Napoleon is recognizing and is clearly the case is that by bypassing Scipio, by refusing to meet the Romans on the Rhine, by getting into Italy, Hannibal has kept the initiative.

Hannibal absolutely appreciates that it is the manpower that the Romans have that is the huge problem. And that's why he's come to Italy, because his only prospect of defeating Rome is to secure the backing of people in the peninsula of Italy.

Hannibal absolutely appreciates that it is the manpower that the Romans have that is the huge problem. And that's why he's come to Italy, because his only prospect of defeating Rome is to secure the backing of people in the peninsula of Italy.

Hannibal absolutely appreciates that it is the manpower that the Romans have that is the huge problem. And that's why he's come to Italy, because his only prospect of defeating Rome is to secure the backing of people in the peninsula of Italy.

Absolutely, because his arrival in Italy is designed to terrify and intimidate the Romans, which it does. And the moment he arrives in Italy, this desperate summons goes from Rome to Sempronius Longus. the consul who is in Sicily with a large task force getting ready to invade Africa. That immediately gets called back. So that's one thing that Hannibal has gained.

Absolutely, because his arrival in Italy is designed to terrify and intimidate the Romans, which it does. And the moment he arrives in Italy, this desperate summons goes from Rome to Sempronius Longus. the consul who is in Sicily with a large task force getting ready to invade Africa. That immediately gets called back. So that's one thing that Hannibal has gained.

Absolutely, because his arrival in Italy is designed to terrify and intimidate the Romans, which it does. And the moment he arrives in Italy, this desperate summons goes from Rome to Sempronius Longus. the consul who is in Sicily with a large task force getting ready to invade Africa. That immediately gets called back. So that's one thing that Hannibal has gained.

But the other thing that Hannibal's arrival does is that it hugely impresses people who are naturally hostile to Rome, of which the most significant are the Gauls who live on the Italian side of the Alps. And Hannibal has to project the aura of a man who can genuinely defeat the Romans, because otherwise the Gauls won't rally to his cause. But if they do, there are large numbers of them.

But the other thing that Hannibal's arrival does is that it hugely impresses people who are naturally hostile to Rome, of which the most significant are the Gauls who live on the Italian side of the Alps. And Hannibal has to project the aura of a man who can genuinely defeat the Romans, because otherwise the Gauls won't rally to his cause. But if they do, there are large numbers of them.

But the other thing that Hannibal's arrival does is that it hugely impresses people who are naturally hostile to Rome, of which the most significant are the Gauls who live on the Italian side of the Alps. And Hannibal has to project the aura of a man who can genuinely defeat the Romans, because otherwise the Gauls won't rally to his cause. But if they do, there are large numbers of them.

It's more than possible, as we will see, for Hannibal to get the size of his army back to what it had been when he left the Pyrenees.

It's more than possible, as we will see, for Hannibal to get the size of his army back to what it had been when he left the Pyrenees.

It's more than possible, as we will see, for Hannibal to get the size of his army back to what it had been when he left the Pyrenees.

Yeah, so quote Eve MacDonald, who wrote a wonderful book about Hellenistic life. As news of his approach reached the Roman population, it must have seemed like the coming of a supernatural force. But I think you can say the same about the Gauls, and that's just as important. So he's followed the road of Hercules as Hercules had done.

Yeah, so quote Eve MacDonald, who wrote a wonderful book about Hellenistic life. As news of his approach reached the Roman population, it must have seemed like the coming of a supernatural force. But I think you can say the same about the Gauls, and that's just as important. So he's followed the road of Hercules as Hercules had done.

Yeah, so quote Eve MacDonald, who wrote a wonderful book about Hellenistic life. As news of his approach reached the Roman population, it must have seemed like the coming of a supernatural force. But I think you can say the same about the Gauls, and that's just as important. So he's followed the road of Hercules as Hercules had done.

He's descended from the snowy peaks like a demigod, and he's done it with elephants. It is a stupefying achievement. And one of the measures of that is that we are talking about it