Key Facts
- Year of crossing
- 218 BC
- Conflict
- Second Punic War
- Primary ancient sources
- Polybius and Livy
- Exact route
- Unknown; debated by historians
- 'Hannibalism'
- French term for the unanswerable route question
Strategic Narrative Overview
Hannibal's army traversed the Alps over roughly fifteen days in late autumn 218 BC, enduring severe cold, treacherous mountain terrain, hostile Alpine tribes, and significant losses of men and animals. The exact route remains unknown, with ancient sources Polybius and Livy offering limited and sometimes conflicting place names. Despite heavy attrition, the surviving force descended into the Po Valley, where Hannibal sought to rally Gallic tribes against Rome and press his campaign southward.
01 / The Origins
By 218 BC, Carthage and Rome were locked in escalating rivalry over Mediterranean dominance following the First Punic War. Hannibal Barca, commanding Carthaginian forces in Iberia, resolved to carry the war directly into Italy rather than await a Roman offensive. Bypassing Roman naval strength and land garrisons along the coast, he led his army — including war elephants — on an overland march through southern Gaul and across the Alps into the Italian peninsula.
03 / The Outcome
The crossing itself had no single decisive endpoint; it was a preparatory maneuver enabling subsequent battles on Italian soil. Hannibal's arrival in Italy initiated years of devastating campaigning, including victories at the Trebia, Lake Trasimene, and Cannae. The route over the Alps has never been definitively identified, and scholarly debate — termed 'Hannibalism' by French historians — continues, with a 2022 study concluding the question may be intrinsically unanswerable.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Hannibal Barca.
Side B
1 belligerent