The Carthaginian Elephants That Crossed the Alps Did Not Win the War, and the Carthaginian Elephants That Stayed Home Lost It
Hannibal Barca crossed the Alps in October 218 BCE with 37 war elephants. All but one were dead within four months. At the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE, Hannibal's 80 fresh African elephants panicked at Roman trumpet signals, turned, and trampled their own infantry. The defeat ended the Second Punic War and Carthaginian power.
Read the story →