`Hannibal Enemy of Rome` by: Leonard Cotterell

The route Hannibal actually took to get on the way to the Po valley has been disputed among historians . Cotterell states

He [Hannibal] climbed one pass ) then climbed onto a second , more difficult pass which led him into the valley of Po , in Northern Italy These geographical conditions exactly fit the account given by Polybius though not that of Livy (p . 58

After many perils and deaths of his men and most of his elephants along the way , the surrounding tribes of Gauls may have guided Hannibal through more difficult deadly terrains

. Eventually , Hannibal arrived at a strategic spot overlooking the Po valley where he galvanized the morale of his men . They were going to need it since the Italian terrain , steeper than the French side of the Alps , would be causing more deaths (Cotterell , 80 ) Interestingly , Cotterell says that Hannibal had to be an excellent diplomat with certain surrounding tribes to gain their help against the Romans : He [Hannibal] came , he said , not as a conqueror , but as a liberator (Cotterell , 85 ) Psychological strategies were also among Hannibal 's tactics , basically know your enemy ' Hannibal knew that the other consul Tiberius Sempronius was impatient and impetuous ' and took advantage of that (Cotterell , 92 Hannibal then organized his men with a front and a hidden group to attack the Romans by surprise at the battle of Trebbia (Cotterell , 99 The Roman army was defeated and the Romans hearing of this catastrophe were alarmed since Hannibal now seemed unstoppable (Cotterell , 113 ) In the meantime , the Romans attacked Carthagena and decimated the Carthaginians armies there . A truce was then signed between the Romans and Carthaginians , demanding the withdrawal of the Carthaginian army from Italian soil , from Gaul , and the surrender of their colonies and some of their ships (Cotterell , 226

In conclusion...