How many men did General Hannibal Barca Have in the second PUnic War between Carthage and Rome?
The Second Punic War broke out in 218 when Hannibal took control of the Greek city and Roman ally, Saguntum (in Spain). Rome thought it would be easy to defeat Hannibal, but Hannibal, leaving 20,000 troops with his brother Hasdrubal, went further north on the Rhone River than the Romans expected and crossed the river with his elephants on flotation devices. Hannibal reached the Po Valley with less than half his men. He had also encountered unexpected resistance from local tribes, although he did manage to recruit Gauls. This meant he had 30,000 troops by the time he met the Romans in battle. Hannibal won battles in Trebia and at Lake Trasimene, and then continued through the Apennine Mountains. With troops from Gaul and Spain on his side, Hannibal won another battle, against Lucius Aemilius, in which the Romans lost thousands of troops, including their leader. The historian Polybius describes the both sides of this, the Battle of Cannae, as gallant, and says of the losses: — Hannibal’
