Hannibal's Winter War
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 23 December 2021
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It’s fair to say that winter battles weren’t commonplace in the ancient Mediterranean world. There is, however, one striking exception. A clash that occurred in mid/late December 218 BC, in northern Italy very close to the Po River. This clash was the Battle of the River Trebia, fought between the Roman consular army of Sempronius Longus and the conglomerate Carthaginian force under the leadership of the legendary Hannibal Barca. In this special podcast, Dr Eve MacDonald, Dr Louis Rawlings and Dr Adrian Goldsworthy talk you through the run up to this decisive winter clash, before delving into the details of the battle itself. From Hannibal and his weary, worn down force emerging from the Alps to Roman soldiers wading through the icy waters of the Trebia, sit back and enjoy as Eve, Louis and Adrian talk you through the story of Hannibal’s first great victory against the Roman Republic.
Part 1: The Rise of Hannibal
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's the Ancients on History Hit, I'm Tristan Hughes your host, and in today's podcast |
| 0:16.4 | well, we've been keeping the military history away from you for long enough. |
| 0:20.6 | We're back talking about ancient battles, ancient commanders, and the huge figure that |
| 0:27.3 | is Hannibal. |
| 0:29.2 | Now you might remember a few months back we had a great podcast episode with Dr. Eve McDonald, |
| 0:35.4 | Dr. Adrian Goldsworthy and Dr. Louis Rawlings all about the rise of Hannibal. |
| 0:41.2 | We traced Hannibal from his beginnings in North Africa and his possible links to Syranirca |
| 0:46.9 | and the city of Barker all the way through to his campaigns in Spain and ultimately to |
| 0:52.5 | his famous march to Italy culminating in his crossing of the Alps. |
| 0:58.2 | Now his crossing of the Alps is perhaps the most famous thing remember about Hannibal, |
| 1:02.8 | but we must also remember that this was just the beginning. |
| 1:07.1 | He was marching to Italy to fight the Romans, getting over the Alps was just the start, |
| 1:13.5 | the real war was about to begin. |
| 1:16.2 | And in this second part of our Hannibal episodes with Eve, Louis and Adrian, we cover what |
| 1:23.1 | followed Hannibal crossing the Alps. |
| 1:25.6 | We're going to be talking about the first great battle between Hannibal and the Romans, |
| 1:30.2 | the battle of the river Trebia. |
| 1:33.1 | Now enjoy as Eve, Adrian and Louis talk you through the campaign, the background to |
| 1:40.2 | this great clash, the battle itself and what followed. |
| 1:44.8 | So that further ado to talk all about Hannibal and his first great clash with the Romans in |
| 1:50.8 | the winter in around December 218 BC. |
| 1:55.2 | His Eve, his Louis, his Adrian and a bitter voice over for myself, enjoy. |
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