Chronicles of Hannibal: The Elephant, The Alps and the Romans

Fig. 1: A painting of Hannibal and his army on the wall of the Capitoline Museum, Rome.

Photograph: Alamy

Hello again children, I am back with another post, this time about another one of my favourite historical events. Not because it is a fuck-up, not because it was a hilarious show of human nature but rather because it is one of the greatest military feats ever achieved: Hannibal and his army crossing the Alps, which may not seem like that much of an achievement until you release that the bulk of his forces were North African elephants.

Yes, that's right. Elephants. The animals with large flappy ears and a comically large nose with enough strength to make me regret laughing at it. Hannibal's crossing of the Alps was such a daring move that the Romans simply had no answer for it and were totally flabbergasted at the now rampant pachyderms in Italy. But I am getting ahead of myself, let's back up a few years.

*insert more flashback noises*

Carthage, the country Hannibal hailed from, had just surrendered to Rome in what was known as the First Punic War, which lasted from 264-241 BC. It ended with Carthage's naval defeat at the Aegates Islands and the subsequent loss of said islands. Rome imposed surprisingly fair surrender terms that did not leave Carthage without their might. Carthage would have to pay Rome a tribute every year, which they could definitely afford as they were one of if not the richest Mediterranian city-states, and they were entirely stripped of their navy. They were left bitter, however, when they lost Sardinia. Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian Field Marshal was left personally affronted because why not and he proved to be a thorn in the side of Rome for many years after the war had ended. He was eventually killed in another conquest to take Ibera, specifically to spite the Romans. Thus, was the origin story of Hamilcar's son, Hannibal who had witnessed his father's death and swore to make Rome tremble before him.

Hannibal proved to be incredibly resourceful, having been informed about Roman politics constantly by his spies within the Roman senate itself. He knew that Rome had spent the following years tightening their grip on the islands that they had taken from Carthage, so an invasion across the Mediterranean was impossible. However, the spies told him that Rome had viciously subdued the Gaelic tribes in France and they were pissed and itching for a revolt. It was then that an idea began to form in Hannibal's head, a plan so crazy and so daring that it couldn't help but work (Yes I know that you know what the plan was, I was the one that told you. It's just a narrative device ok? Stop being a backseat writer).

Hannibal immediately sent envoys to the Gaelic tribes, hoping to ally with them. His plan was to bolster his forces with the Gauls and have a safe place to launch an invasion over the Alps. The Gauls were more than happy to ally themselves with Hannibal and began making preparations of their own. Note how I say "ally themselves with Hannibal" and not with Carthage. That is because Hannibal acted completely of his own accord, with his own army against the wishes of the Carthaginian senate. With the preparations completed, Hannibal and his army travel to Saguntum, a protectorate of Rome, in 221 BC and lay siege to the city. Thus started the Second Punic War. The siege of Saguntum lasted eight months and Hannibal emerged victorious. Hannibal then marched towards Southern France with an army of 40,000 infantry, 4,000 horses, and 37 war elephants which trust me, was enough to make the stoutest atheist pray to any God. He had to move quickly, otherwise, the Romans would strike quickly at Carthage and the war would be over.

Rome, unaware of what Hannibal was planning, began strengthening their hold on the Mediterranean islands and the Italian coast. They completely ignored the Alps, as they believed that it formed a natural barrier and was neigh impossible to cross. They began reinforcing their ambush site which is now modern-day Marseille. Hannibal would spend the next fifteen years proving them wrong. When Hannibal arrived at the launching point of the invasion, he realized just how slow it would be moving his army across the Alps. Hannibal would have to lead his massive army - and more importantly, his gargantuan war elephants - up two-kilometer high mountain passes. It was not only his men, but their winter clothes, food, and armoury. The passes were no roads, but rough tracks used by men and their animals. They would be forced to move in single-file, resulting in the army being spread over untold miles. This simply would not do. So, he divided his army in two and made the rendezvous point the Roman city of Turin. His first group went north through the Isere Valley and his second went south along the Durance, which is one of the major rivers in southeastern France. His army managed to enter Italy without alerting the Romans in a relatively quick time. However, Hannibal was met with disaster as he made his descent, as he lost almost a quarter of his total force. However, this did not stop the tactical genius and he attacked what is now modern-day Turin.

Can you imagine the conversation between the two guards on duty when he attacked?

"Hey, uh Cicero? You've been a guard a long time right?"

"Nearly twenty years Felix. Why?"

"So you would know about the animals native to the area, correct?"

"Most certainly."

"Are elephants native to these parts?"

"Of course not Felix! What a most bizarre question."

"Then what the fuck are those things charging the walls of the city?"

Utter chaos ensues.

Hannibal spent fifteen years in Italy with his army, killing millions and destroying the land, but he never managed to conquer Rome. Thus was the full might of Hannibal realised. The Punic War raged until 202 BC when Hannibal was defeated in the fields of North Africa. He was respected and feared by the Romans and the Roman general who defeated him Scipio Africanus (yes that was his name) acknowledged him as an equal. Hannibal's deed lives on in myth and legends and is widely considered one of the greatest military minds in all of history. Not the greatest animal handler in the world but a genius none the less.

And there you have it, another more serious post, not that many jokes to crack. I'm just simply in awe of such a fantastic feat and as I said, this is definitely one of my most favourite events ever. So to make up for the lack of jokes, here are some memes. Enjoy.

You can watch a short video of the event here.