In the Autumn of 218 BC, Hannibal's soldiers first saw the snow-capped Alps and must have been gripped with fear at the thought of crossing them. While the local Gauls had learned to weave their way through the towering mountains, what chance had a foreign army with 46,000 men, thousands of horses and 37 ponderous elephants?
They hoped fervently that their leader would change his mind at the last minute. Instead, Hannibal urged his men forward. They had already travelled a long way, starting in Spain, passing by the Pyrenees, crossing the mighty river Rhone, and now beyond these mountains, Italy awaited them
