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Saguntum to Italy - Coggle Diagram
Saguntum to Italy
After Saguntum
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according to Polybius, in early 218 he sent the Iberian soldiers home and passed control of Iberia to his brother, Hasdrubal Barca
Hannibal sent spies and messengers ahead to form alliances with the Celtic tribes he would encounter as he travelled through Gaul on his way to Rome
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As spring approached, hannibal had formed strong alliances with some Celtic tribes and has secured the support of his troops to march upon rome
However, Rome has less success in trying to secure allies in Iberia and the Celtic tribes
Livy claims that hannibal set off across the river Ebro after a powerful dream told him he would cross the alps into italy
he quickly made his way to the pyrenees and left 10,000 men behind to control northern iberia, so his army was already reduced to 80,000
The Rhone Crossing
the journey across the pyrenees was relatively trouble free, so when the roman commander Cornelius Scipio arrived in Massilia he was shocked to find Hannibal had already crossed the pyrenees
Scipio decided to search for a suitable battlefield, he did not have time to wait for reinforcements
but, crossing the rhone for Hannibal was an issue, how would his elephants cross?
Polybius states that Hannibal ordered his men to buy as many boats as they could from local tribes, and then tie them together to ferry the cavalry and elephants across
Livy claims, however, that the elephants just swam across
The volcae, a local tribe, set up camp on the opposite side of the river, so hannibal sent a small group of men to find an alternative crossing point
this small group crossed at night and moved into position behind the Volcae, allowing hannibal and the others to cross
This alerted the volcae, who came to the river's edge in order to kill Hannibal's men as they landed. This left the Volcae camp vulnerable and the small group of original men took the camp
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