Hannibal Barca’s crossing of the Alps in 218 BCE remains one of history’s most audacious military campaigns, but the most incredible part isn’t just that he did it—it’s how he overcame the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. When his army of 60,000 soldiers and 37 war elephants encountered massive rockslides blocking the mountain passes, conventional tools proved useless against the solid stone. Hannibal’s engineers employed an ancient chemical warfare technique that sounds impossible: they built enormous fires to superheat the rocks, then doused the hot stone with sour wine. The acetic acid and thermal shock caused the boulders to fracture and crumble, literally dissolving the mountain barrier. Though he lost nearly half his forces in the brutal crossing, Hannibal emerged in northern Italy where Romans believed invasion was geographically impossible. This combination of chemical knowledge and tactical daring gave Carthage 15 years of victories on Roman soil.
#HannibalBarca #AncientWarfare #CarthageEmpire #ironage #shorts
29 Comments
Yes. Thank you. Another African general who did the impossible.
Adding that the elephants were African elephants, not the little semi-domesticated Indian elephants.
People mean nothing
What's the name of the background music?
The name Hanibaal means "Favored by Baal". He was a Kna'ani from Carthage, descendant of the people of Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon (who the ancient Greeks called Pheniki).
"Where there is no way, I shall make a way."
Romans ruled 1000 years ago???! Really !!
Kudos!!!!!!!!!
Look, they whitened him up. 🙄
I would not like to be the guy doing the dousing
Only one elephant made it, and he still ripped Rome a new A-hole
Sed Carthago delenda est!
I heard this same story about alexander the great, guess it was this guy instead.
He was spotted by Rome scouts but they couldn't explain exactly what they seen as they didn't have a word for elephants so we're not believe ed😮
Alexander the great crossed the Hindu kush and Balkan mountains with his armies a long time before Hannibal
the Romans would also cross the Alps with their armies it was never considered as impossible.
Then he came up to Rome, had no tools to siege it, went back to Carthage and lost the war in one battle.
It's a matter of physics not chemistry. The thermal shock broke them.
Heating up a rock with fire then pouring liquid on it so it cracks is chemistry?
He was an Afri zn and turned all those blonde & blue eye so called europeans into tanned men today called Italians
Carthago delenda est.
And it was.
Victory yet futile, Hannibals campaign led to total defeat and aventual destruction of Carthage.
Yes, during the Roman Warm Period which was hotter than Al Gore's min-warm period. The Roman Warm period lasted about 400 years.
its crazy we still havent had an epic movie or tv show about hannibal and all this…terrible hollywood
Lo del vinagre podría ser más mito que realidad. Las rocas al calentarlas al fuego y después echarles agua suele ser suficiente para romperlas por completo o por lo menos agrietar las.
Hannibal was apparently an idiot. Not even a Pyrrhic victory, just a humiliating defeat. Surely many in his army realized his foolish approach wouldn’t work yet his stupidity prevailed
Yet he didnt march on Rome !! can someone explain why?
The idea is very impressive I will definitely recommend this.
Hannibal was Handy
While he was goofing around in Italy for years, Rome retook all territory lost to Hannibal they also crossed the Mediterranean and attacked Carthage and defeated Hannibal in one battle with the son of the general that lost to him in the first place.
Hannibal never could take Rome, enen being there for years he still couldn't do it. Carthage challenged Rome and lost.