0:00:07 > 0:00:09We're on a ten-week journey...
0:00:09 > 0:00:12cycling 3,500km
0:00:12 > 0:00:17on the trail of the great Carthaginian warrior, Hannibal.
0:00:17 > 0:00:23Over 2,000 years ago, Hannibal marched his army from the south of Spain,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26across the Alps and into Italy.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31He launched a spectacular assault on the heart of Roman power.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37Hannibal's brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago, were his generals.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41I'm Danny Wood, I'm a journalist.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44And like Hannibal, I'm travelling with my brothers.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Ben, a computer expert,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50and Sam, an archaeologist.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55Hannibal marched with over 100,000 soldiers...armed with swords,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58spears...and 37 elephants.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
0:01:01 > 0:01:04- We're armed with three bikes... - Three tents...
0:01:04 > 0:01:05And a bike cam.
0:01:05 > 0:01:11In the last 29 days, we've cycled 1,600km
0:01:11 > 0:01:16from Cartagena in Spain through southern France and across the Alps.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Now we're heading for some of the bloodiest battlefields in history
0:01:21 > 0:01:25and following Hannibal's trail on the long, hard road to Rome.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45Week five of our journey, and we're having an easy ride through Piacenza in northern Italy.
0:01:49 > 0:01:55But for Hannibal, in 218 BC, this was hostile territory.
0:01:56 > 0:02:02He knew he was about to face the Romans in battle on their home turf.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05And the Carthaginian army was far from fighting fit.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Hannibal's men were exhausted and emaciated with hunger
0:02:11 > 0:02:17and they were about to confront a disciplined, well-equipped and highly motivated professional army.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20The Romans would fight to the death to defend their homeland.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32Before his first battle with the Romans, Hannibal gathered his entire army together.
0:02:32 > 0:02:39He wanted to spur them on with a vivid lesson about bravery and the rewards of victory.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44Hannibal lined up all the prisoners he'd taken in battle and offered them the chance to win their freedom.
0:02:44 > 0:02:50All they had to do, he said, was fight each other to the death in single combat.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54The victors would be given a horse and arms and set free.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59Hannibal's men cheered on hundreds of raw and bloody struggles for survival.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03After the slaughter, the winners rode away in freedom.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Those who refused to fight had chosen slavery.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09They were forced to bury the dead.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17When the bloody spectacle was over, Hannibal turned to his men and hit his message home.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Hannibal was one of history's great communicators.
0:03:22 > 0:03:28If his men fought well and triumphed, he said liberty, Rome and all its riches would be theirs.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32If they died heroically in battle, they would be spared further suffering.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37But if they refused to fight, then they too would spend the rest of their lives in slavery.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45We're cycling along the river Trebbia.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50The ancient Greek and Roman historians Polybius and Livy
0:03:50 > 0:03:54tell us that Hannibal's first major battle with the Romans
0:03:54 > 0:03:59took place in 218 BC on 21st December -
0:03:59 > 0:04:00the winter solstice.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Hannibal set up camp on this bank of the river.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07The Romans, on the other side.
0:04:07 > 0:04:13The Carthaginians had fewer troops but Hannibal's strategic genius would give them an advantage.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19The night before the battle, Hannibal sent his brother Mago
0:04:19 > 0:04:23along with a small troop to hide along the banks of the Trebbia.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26His battle plan was already unfolding.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Early the next morning, long before the Romans even had time to have breakfast,
0:04:31 > 0:04:37Hannibal sent his crack troops, the Numidian cavalry, across the river to provoke them.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45The Romans took the bait and chased the Numidian cavalry back to the river.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49They were unprepared for battle, but now the Roman infantry
0:04:49 > 0:04:52started to wade across the freezing river in full armour.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Back then it would have been much deeper.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57They'd have been up to their armpits in icy water.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16When they got to the other side, the Romans were frozen to the bone,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19almost incapable of holding their weapons.
0:05:19 > 0:05:25Hannibal had already reduced his enemy to shivering wrecks and the battle hadn't even started.
0:05:27 > 0:05:33Unlike the Romans, the men in Hannibal's camp had eaten breakfast and were well rested.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38They'd been sitting by campfires and warming up their muscles with olive oil and grease.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45When the Romans emerged from the river, the Carthaginians were ready for them.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Hannibal arranged his foot soldiers in a vast line of 20,000 men.
0:05:49 > 0:05:5410,000 cavalry and 37 elephants took their places at the sides.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59This must have been an impressive sight. An army formation three miles long.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02The Romans faced Hannibal with a similar formation.
0:06:02 > 0:06:0736,000 infantry in the centre and 4,000 cavalry on each wing.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Then...
0:06:09 > 0:06:10battle began.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19It was a battle of thrusting swords, flying javelins,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23pounding hooves and terrifying elephant charges.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25The Roman cavalry was quickly crushed
0:06:25 > 0:06:29and the Carthaginian cavalry started charging the Roman infantry.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Now, Mago and his men sprang out from their hiding places by the river.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49No chance to retreat, the Roman infantry found themselves surrounded.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52THEY LAUGH
0:06:55 > 0:06:57That got him.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Urrgh...
0:07:12 > 0:07:17Hannibal won the Battle of Trebbia using the terrain and the weather to his advantage.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21He'd also came up with a perfect combination of strategy and tactics,
0:07:21 > 0:07:26using both provocation and surprise and clinching his plan with an ambush.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31This was Rome's first real taste of Hannibal's military genius.
0:07:35 > 0:07:3830,000 Roman soldiers were slaughtered at Trebbia.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45News of the crushing defeat was soon sending waves of panic around the Roman Republic.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53And Hannibal's great victory also persuaded more local tribes to rally to his cause.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59This was a disaster for Rome.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01But Hannibal had suffered losses too.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04And according to the Greek historian Polybius,
0:08:04 > 0:08:08all but one of Hannibal's elephants perished in the cold weather that followed the battle.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Right at the start of Hannibal's campaign in Italy, he'd lost his mighty weapons of terror.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29Hannibal's victory has never been forgotten by the people of this region.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34- Buongiorno.- Buongiorno.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Buongiorno.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51So why is your wine named after Hannibal?
0:08:51 > 0:08:54HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:09:04 > 0:09:06And is it a popular name in Italy?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27- Great.- Yes!- Yes!
0:09:34 > 0:09:36To Hannibal!
0:09:40 > 0:09:42- Buono?- Si, buono. Very good.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Could I have two bottles, please?
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Va bene. Non c'e' problema.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Le do due bottiglie!
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Perfect. Thank you.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14As he marched deeper into Roman territory,
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Hannibal liked to gather intelligence by travelling incognito.
0:10:17 > 0:10:23He used to dress up in a range of disguises to avoid being spotted.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32Polybius tells us that Hannibal even had a number of wigs made and kept constantly changing them.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36He also changed his clothes so that even his troops found it difficult to recognise him.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44The Romans were now desperately trying to predict Hannibal's next move.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50They sent legions to block the two main roads heading south.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53But Hannibal never did anything predictable.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57He decided to take the road nobody would ever expect.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Across the marshes.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08We've been given special permission to continue our journey through
0:11:08 > 0:11:13one of the last surviving areas of ancient marshland in Italy.
0:11:23 > 0:11:24HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:11:40 > 0:11:41And is it dangerous?
0:11:57 > 0:12:00- We're going to try this on our bikes, I think.- Hmm.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02We'll see you when we're drowning.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04- Good luck.- Thanks. - Ciao.- Bye.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15You go first, Danny.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Yeah. Sending big brother first when the going gets tough.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Hurry up, Danny.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29This was one of the hardest stretches for Hannibal's army.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33For four days and three nights they had to force their way through reedy marshes.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46This must have been hard on the troops.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50Their feet constantly wet and no chance of sleep or rest.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54After only a few minutes in these conditions, I'm knackered.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57And these men didn't stop for days.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Hannibal himself got sick and caught an eye infection here.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22He had to be carried for much of the journey by the sole surviving elephant.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Hannibal had outwitted the Romans again.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39But it came at a huge personal cost.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42He lost the sight in one of his eyes.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Lake Trasimene in central Italy.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53About 200km from Rome.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01When Hannibal arrived here in 217 BC, he knew he was
0:14:01 > 0:14:07being followed by two legions, led by a general called Flaminius.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09So Hannibal decided to catch him out.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14The approach to the lake was a gorge that led to a very narrow path
0:14:14 > 0:14:18that went alongside the shore for two or three kilometres.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The shore of the lake has changed so much since Hannibal's time
0:14:21 > 0:14:24that today it's very hard to imagine that it was a thin trail.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33On 20th June, the Carthaginian army marched along the side of the lake.
0:14:35 > 0:14:43Hannibal then took up position here on top of this hill to ensure that Flaminius would see him.
0:14:43 > 0:14:49Flaminius set up camp just outside the entrance of the gorge, ready to attack the following day.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52During the night, Hannibal quietly divided his men into several troops
0:14:52 > 0:14:55and ranged them on the hills above the lake.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Hannibal's men hid in the bushes, waiting for the signal to attack.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07The next day was the summer solstice.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13At dawn, the Roman army advanced into the gorge.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22A thick mist was rising from the lake, obscuring the shoreline.
0:15:22 > 0:15:28The Roman army started making its way through the gorge while Hannibal's troops silently waited.
0:15:28 > 0:15:34When the bulk of the Roman army was on this path by the shore, Hannibal gave the signal.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37The Carthaginian infantry swept down the hill.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42At the same time, the cavalry closed off the escape route at the entrance to the gorge.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44The Romans didn't know what had hit them.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Attacked on all fronts, many tried to escape to the lake.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53But, weighed down by their armour, they drowned or were massacred by Hannibal's men.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57The battle was so fierce that the soldiers didn't even notice
0:15:57 > 0:16:01a violent earthquake that hit as the lake turned the colour of blood.
0:16:07 > 0:16:14In the space of three hours, the Romans lost 15,000 men,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17including Flaminius himself.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31The memory of the battle lives on to this day.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- Buongiorno, senora.- Buongiorno. - Buongiorno.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:17:28 > 0:17:32As the first rumours of the defeat at Trasimene reached the city of Rome,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35the people gathered in panic on the streets.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39The senior magistrate addressed the masses in the Forum and conceded,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42"There has been a great battle, but we have been defeated."
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Hannibal's next stop would surely be Rome.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51The Roman Senate took extreme measures.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55For one of the rare times in the history of the Republic,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59they appointed a political leader with unlimited powers,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03a dictator - Quintus Fabius Maximus.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11Fabius was an experienced general and a clever politician.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15He devised a completely new strategy for beating Hannibal.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18He decided to play a long game.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31Fabius decided that if the Roman army avoided meeting Hannibal in full combat,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34he wouldn't have the chance to defeat them again.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38Instead, Fabius would send his troops to follow Hannibal
0:18:38 > 0:18:42and prevent him from getting at food and supplies.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50Fabius's strategy earned him the nickname Fabian the Great Delayer.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55But he also ordered a scorched earth policy wherever Hannibal was likely to pass looking for food.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59This tactic was known as kicking the enemy in the stomach.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10- Buongiorno.- Buongiorno.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15- We're very hungry. We were wondering if we could have some pizza?- Si, si.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Thank you.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24OK. OK.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28THEY LAUGH
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Oh, that's stretched it.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Do I just shove it in and shove it out? Basically pull it? OK.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Don't throw my pizza in the fire.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Here it comes.
0:19:47 > 0:19:48It's quite a good shape.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52How to get it off?
0:19:55 > 0:19:57So which pizza is the best, do you think?
0:19:57 > 0:19:59HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:19:59 > 0:20:01Oh, your one. Of course.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Of course.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13Seriously good.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19- Much better.- Yeah.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28Fabius played cat and mouse with Hannibal month after month,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30always keeping him on the move
0:20:30 > 0:20:34but never openly challenging him in battle.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Hannibal decided to strike out for the Adriatic coast
0:20:37 > 0:20:41to find shelter and security for the winter.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45But his plans were discovered by Fabius's spies.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49The quickest way to get across the mountains to the Adriatic coast
0:20:49 > 0:20:52was through a valley known as the Valley of Callicula.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01Fabius decided to adopt some of Hannibal's own tactics.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Fabius posted 4,000 men at the entrance to the Valley of Callicula.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09They waited to ambush Hannibal's army.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12But Hannibal was always two steps ahead of the Romans.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16He anticipated the trap and devised his own plan to outmanoeuvre Fabius.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23Hannibal ordered his men to collect dry sticks and bind them into torches.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26These torches were then attached to the horns of 2,000 oxen,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and late that night the torches were lit
0:21:29 > 0:21:33and the oxen were driven up here, to the high ground above the pass.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48When the Roman soldiers saw the passing flames,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52they thought the Carthaginian army was escaping to the hills - so they charged after them.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57Down in the pass, the way was now clear.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Hannibal's army passed through the Valley of Callicula with no opposition.
0:22:14 > 0:22:20Once they arrived at the Adriatic coast, Hannibal and his troops settled down for the winter.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32We know a great deal about Hannibal's tactics in battle, but next to nothing about his private life.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36But it's said that at this time he had a winter love affair with a woman from this area.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41It must have been quite a passion as people were still talking about it centuries later.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52While Hannibal was falling in love, his troops were taking a well-earned rest.
0:22:55 > 0:23:01We've been on the road for six weeks now and we're ready for a bit of a break ourselves.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34It's like being in a Wild West movie.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50I'm going to be an Italian stallion.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54The best thing is I can't see myself. I might be in for a shock.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57- Very good?- Very good.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59- OK.- Nice.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01- Bene?- Si. Va bene. Grazie.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05- Thank you.- OK.- Grazie.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07It looks quite nice. A different style.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Looks a bit like Mum's.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10LAUGHTER
0:24:13 > 0:24:17- Goodbye.- Goodbye. Thanks. Ciao.
0:24:38 > 0:24:45In the summer of 216 BC, the Romans were ready to go into battle with Hannibal once again.
0:24:45 > 0:24:52They'd recruited the largest army they'd ever had - about 80,000 soldiers.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58They now outnumbered Hannibal's forces by almost two to one.
0:25:03 > 0:25:09On 2nd August, the two armies faced each other here, at Cannae.
0:25:15 > 0:25:21To avoid another Carthaginian ambush, the Romans decided to fight on this huge open plain.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24They arranged their troops in a formation which would have stretched
0:25:24 > 0:25:28all the way from the river, over there, for almost four kilometres.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Hannibal could see that the Roman army was much bigger than his,
0:25:36 > 0:25:40so to avoid any risk of being surrounded, he stretched his troops
0:25:40 > 0:25:44into a long, thin, curved line protruding towards the enemy.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Then battle commenced.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58After hours of fierce fighting, Hannibal's thin front line began to give in the centre.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02The Romans thought they had the upper hand at last.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05But this was exactly what Hannibal wanted them to believe,
0:26:05 > 0:26:11because just either side of his front line, he placed his crack troops - his African heavy infantry.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14The Roman army had been drawn into a trap yet again.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18As the Roman legionaries struggled to fight off the heavy infantry,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Hannibal's cavalry charged them from behind.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Now the Romans were completely surrounded.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27What followed was a massacre
0:26:27 > 0:26:30and the Roman army was annihilated.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Thousands of Roman soldiers were hacked down and left to bleed to death.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00This field was soon covered with mutilated corpses in a sea of blood.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Cannae is one of the bloodiest battles ever fought.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Rome lost around 70,000 men.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25It was the largest loss of life in a single day of battle in the history of the world.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34Hannibal had been terrorising Rome for two years now.
0:27:34 > 0:27:41In that time, he'd slaughtered about 100,000 Roman soldiers and one third of the Roman Senate.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Every Roman household was in mourning.
0:27:47 > 0:27:53Unlike any other enemy in its history, Hannibal had brought Rome to the brink of destruction.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18In the next programme...
0:28:19 > 0:28:22..we make a sacrifice to the gods,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Hannibal reaches the gates of Rome,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31and the fate of an entire civilisation is decided in one final battle.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:54 > 0:28:57E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk