Editing Second Punic War (section)

=== Hannibal crosses the Alps, 218 BC ===
{{main|Hannibal's crossing of the Alps}}
[[File:Hannibal's Travels during the Second Punic War.png|thumb|upright=1.4|alt=a map of the western Mediterranean showing the route followed by the Carthaginians from Iberia to Italy|{{center|Hannibal's route from Iberia to Italy}}]]
During 218{{nbs}}BC there was some naval skirmishing in the waters around Sicily; the Romans [[Battle of Lilybaeum|repulsed a Carthaginian attack]]{{sfn|Briscoe|2006|p=61}}{{sfn|Edwell|2015|p=327}} and [[Capture of Malta (218 BC)|captured the island of Malta]].{{sfn|Castillo|2006|p=25}} In Cisalpine Gaul (modern northern Italy), the major [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribes attacked the Roman colonies there, causing the settlers to flee to their previously established colony of Mutina (modern [[Modena]]), where they were besieged. A Roman relief force broke through the siege, but was then ambushed and itself besieged. An army had previously been raised by the Romans to campaign in Iberia, but the [[Roman Senate]] detached one Roman and one allied legion from it to send to north Italy. Recruiting fresh troops to replace these delayed the army's departure for Iberia until September.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2006|pp=151–152}} At the same time a Roman army in Sicily under the consul [[Tiberius Sempronius Longus (consul 218 BC)|Sempronius Longus]] was preparing for an invasion of Africa.{{sfn|Zimmermann|2015|p=284}}

Meanwhile, Hannibal assembled a Carthaginian army in New Carthage (modern [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]]) and led it northwards along the Iberian coast in May or June. It entered Gaul and took an inland route, to avoid the Roman allies to the south.{{sfn|Mahaney|2008|p=221}} At the [[battle of the Rhône Crossing]], Hannibal defeated a force of local Gauls which sought to bar his way.{{sfn|Bagnall|1999|pp=161–162}} A Roman fleet carrying the Iberian-bound army landed at Rome's ally [[Massalia]] (modern [[Marseille]]) at the mouth of the Rhone,{{sfn|Fronda|2015|p=252}} but Hannibal evaded the Romans and continued to Italy.{{sfn|Zimmermann|2015|p=291}} 

The Carthaginians reached the foot of the Alps by late autumn and crossed them in 15 days, surmounting the difficulties of climate, terrain{{sfn|Mahaney|2008|p=221}} and the [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla warfare tactics]] of the native Ligurians. Hannibal arrived in Cisalpine Gaul with 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and an unknown number of elephants{{snd}}the survivors of the 37 with which he left Iberia{{sfn|Erdkamp|2015|p=71}}{{sfn|Hoyos|2015b|p=107}}{{snd}} some time in November; the Romans had already gone into their winter quarters. Hannibal's surprise entry into the Italian peninsula led to the cancellation of Rome's planned campaign for the year: an invasion of Africa.{{sfn|Zimmermann|2015|pp=283–284}}