Romans await Hannibal's invasion.
You have changed History! (You really need to pay closer attention.)
Because of the Specificity of Orders Problem, Scipio has no real
choice but to send his troops on to Spain, because that is what the Senate
ordered him to do. He did, however, return to Rome himself, to raise
another army, and await Hannibal's passage over the Alps. Scroll
down...
That's right,
you must follow orders, even when they seem illogical. The
Roman Senate wanted to make sure that no General used his army against
Rome itself, so it was treason do go beyond one's assigned area.
(Julius Caesar would later violate this rule, when he brought his army
across the Rubicon.) Scipio saw his only solution was to give control
of his army to his generals, and return to Rome to prepare a new army for
the defense of Italy. There was some question about whether Hannibal
could successfully cross the Alps, but it was certain that, once across,
he could not possibly return by that route. This would put
Scipio in position to make another important decision.
Hannibal crossed
the Alps, although it cost him many of his war elephants, one of his greatest
weapons. The steep descent into the Po River valley made it obvious
that there would be no retreat by that path. Hannibal's only course
now was to head into Italy itself. Moving north from Rome, Scipio
convinced his men that they had Hannibal trapped between themselves and
the Alps. He stirred their patriotism by reminding them that, if
they failed, Rome would be lost. At the Ticinus branch of the Po,
Scipio found himself only 5 miles from Hannibal's camp. At this point,
the Ticinus was rather deep, so fording the river was not an option.
Scipio was faced with a choice: build a bridge across the river, or wait
on Hannibal to cross it. With a bridge, Scipio could fight Hannibal
earlier and away from any important Italian cities. It would also
give the Roman soldiers something to do until conflict came. To wait
might mean that Hannibal would move farther north, or even away from conflict
altogether. Waiting might also cause Hannibal to become impatient,
and perhaps make some mistakes, and Scipio would be fighting on
his own territory. What do you think he did?