It is dawn, August 2, 216 BC, and lightning is about to strike the Roman Republic. On a ridge overlooking the expansive plain, Hannibal Barca watches as a massive Roman force – eight enormous legions consisting of 87,000 infantry and cavalry – marches directly, irresistibly toward his troops arranged on the ground below. Two years before, he had led his army over the Alps and descended into Northern Italy to harass and defeat the Romans time-and-again. Now, led by the Consul Varro, the Romans have assembled a massive force for one purpose only – to destroy Hannibal and his army. He watches as dust swirls around the approaching Romans, their breastplates glinting in the rays of the rising sun. He’s been expecting them.
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