You have changed History! Hannibal knew it was inevitable that he
would have to invade Rome by land. Gambling that he could both destroy
the Roman army, and take their navy would have been foolish.
Then, not being able to invade Italy with that navy would have made the
entire undertaking worthless. Most likely, the Romans, if in danger
of defeat, would simply have withdrawn to their ships and sailed away.
Hannibal had very little chance to gain the decisive victory he needed.
Scroll down to see what he actually did. Though he had
to do some fast talking to inspire his men, Hannibal convinced them that
the best course was to stay on track and cross the Alps. Still, it
was no easy journey. Many mountain men lived in the Alps, and they
resisted Hannibal's advance by throwing rocks down upon his men from ledges
above. Often the snow and ice gave way underfoot, and men plummeted
to their deaths. Most difficult of his equipment to move were the
elephants, and Hannibal lost most of these to the narrow paths, or the
cold. Only the sight of the lush valleys below, and the thought of
verdant lands they would own kept his men moving forward. Soon, he
would have another choice to make. Hannibal inspired
his men by reminding them that they were now all veteran soldiers, whereas
their opponents would be largely composed of new recruits. This brings
in what I call the Leadership Factor. Every time the Roman
consulship changed, so did the leadership of the Roman army. Napoleon
is supposed to have said that it is "better to have one bad General than
two good ones", which may have been intended to refer to Rome. The
Carthaginians had only one man to follow, so as long as he could inspire
them. Hannibal's charisma often caused his army to achieve feats
seemingly beyond their capacity. Here, he emphasized their team spirit,
the great treasure in Rome, and the indisputable truth that recrossing
the Alps would be impossible. He brought in prisoners, and had them
fight each other to the death, promising the winner a free pass home.
This roused his soldiers into a fighting frenzy. This is also a good time to mention
the Specificity of Orders Problem, which will also soon come into
play. (It is a good idea to remember these various Factors
and Problems, since they may help you make decisions later.)
Roman consuls are given orders by the Senate, which inhibit the actions
they can take. As a matter of self-protection, the Senate never
allowed the two consuls to have their armies in the same area at the same
time. This prevented the two consuls from fighting (at a cost of
Roman lives) with each other, and also prevented them from conspiring to
lead the army into Rome and take over. At this point, the consul in charge
of the Roman army that had been sent north was named Scipio. (The
other consul, Sempronius, was sent south, to work his way to Sicily, and
thence onto Africa, where he might attack Carthage itself.) He was
building a bridge across the Ticinus branch of the Po river, when word
came from scouts that Hannibal and his men were only 5 miles away.
Hannibal was fully aware of Scipio's presence, but debated his best course
of action. He could attack now, wading across the river to meet the
Romans, or he could wait, letting them finish their bridge and come to
his
side. His men were still somewhat tired from their trip over the
Alps, and in hostile territory. Quick action, though, might prevent
the Romans from bringing the full might of their army upon him. Which
would you choose to do?