army defeated the surprised and unprepared Romans in the Battles of Ticinus and Trebia. He now occupied northern Italy. Recruiting local Gauls, traditional enemies of Rome, Hannibal moved south. During 217 BC, he defeated Roman consul Gaius Glaminus at Lake Transimeno. During 216 BC, Hannibal encountered a series of cautious, delaying actions by the Romans.
             The next large scale battle occurred when Hannibal reached Cannae on the Aufidius River. Here Hannibal attacked the Romans using his superior cavalry mobility to encircle the center of the Roman defense and destroy most of the defenders. In this battle, more than 50,000 Romans died while Hannibal lost less than 7,000 of his men. Hannibal could now advance on Rome and Naples but this did not materialize. He was not joined by deserting allies of Rome nor was he given reinforcements by his government because of political jealousies. Despite these difficulties, Hannibal pressed on and although he was able to defeat the Roman Army in the field, he was unable because of lack of siege weapons and adequate personnel, to conquer any cities. Hannibal asked his brother, Hasdrubal, commander of an army in Spain to assist him, but the enemy learnt of the plan: Hasdrubal's force was ambushed and Hasdrubal was killed. In 204 BC, Hannibal finally met his match. Scipio Africanus, a Roman General whom Hannibal had once defeated, invaded Carthage. Hannibal then withdrew from Italy to return home. Hannibal then organized a new army of 50,000 and marched against the invading Romans. In March 202
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