Hannibal Crosses the Alps
A Route Examined and
a Proposed Alternate Route

Introduction

By Russ Lockwood

If Hannibal had failed in the attempt to cross the Alps, Rome's victory over Carthage would have come faster and at less cost. Instead of being marked as a Great Captain of War, Hannibal might very well have been called much less flattering terms. Indeed, had Hannibal and his army perished atop some Alp, we probably would have a better idea of his route. The Romans might have elected to raise a monument to folly--or at least hubris--to commemorate a failed effort to lead 50,000 troops through the Alps at the very doorstep of winter.

But Hannibal did accomplish the near impossible and the Carthaginian host slipped around an intercepting Roman army and entered Italy. So began the legend of Hannibal, to be reinforced on numerous battlefields across the length of Italy.

Yet this initial miracle, so far removed from sunny Spain from where he started, remains a center of controversy. Not that he accomplished such a march in harsh conditions or suffered some loss while retaining enough of a fighting core--that is for certain. But which route did he take? Which pass did he use? Which line of march matches the geographical descriptions of ancient authors?

Professional historians and military men offer a considerable number of options and theories, essentially about as many routes as there are passes. Most have generally settled--you might call this conventional wisdom--on one pass, the Col du Clapier. However, Edward Gibbons, author of The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, claimed Hannibal crossed at the pass at Mont Genevre. Lt. Col. Theodore Ayrault Dodge, author of many biographies of ancient commanders (including Hannibal), stated the Carthaginians used the Little St. Bernard pass. Napoleon, a commander who knew a thing or two about Alpine marches, contended the pass was at Mont Cenis.

If an army of scholars, soldiers, and classical professors cannot agree, what chance of anyone else piercing the shadows of time and revealing the route? Or even, why bother? Indeed, in many a book about Hannibal or the Second Punic War, you'll find many the authors mention a highlight or two of crossing the Alps, say, an ambush here or a hardship there, and then briefly mention the lack of concensus as to the exact route before heading into the campaign in Italy.

And yet, it is precisely the crossing of the Alps and the route taken that should form the basis of a history of Hannibal, the Carthaginians, and the campaign in Italy. The events not only fuel the imagination, but presage Hannibal's drive, dedication, and daring in his effort to dismantle the Roman Republic. And an overview of the accomplishment, while not necessarily laying to rest any differences in routes and passes, offers the chance to revisit the start of a brilliant campaign.

Hannibal Crosses the Alps A Route Examined and a Proposed Alternate Route

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© Copyright 2002 by Russ Lockwood.
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