Meanwhile, the reconnaissance forces dispatched by Hannibal and Scipio collided. A fierce battle ensued, which the Romans and their Celtic allies won, killing more than 200 Numidians while losing 160 of their own men. The Romans rode on to observe Hannibal’s camp, then hurried back the 50 miles to Scipio’s camp to issue a full report. Without hesitation, Scipio put his army in battle order and advanced to engage the Carthaginian host.

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Hannibal briefly considered offering battle to Scipio’s army, but the arrival of Magilus, a chief of the Boii, convinced him to make all haste to cross the Alps. Magilus assured Hannibal that the Boii would rise up in full strength upon his arrival and would minimize his difficulties in crossing the Alps. Hannibal arranged a mass assembly of his army so that Magilus and his delegation could address the troops and encourage them with promises of aid and support in Italy. Hannibal then started his infantry marching north while his cavalry screened the rear.

Scipio’s army arrived at the Carthaginian crossing site to find an empty camp. Hannibal’s rear guard had departed three days earlier. Scipio was not keen to pursue the Carthaginians into the trackless wilderness, so he marched his army back to the coast. He now had to make some hard decisions. The Senate had ordered him to invade Iberia and engage Hannibal, but Hannibal was well on his way to Italy.

Scipio reached a strategic decision that proved to be one of the most important of the war. He dispatched the bulk of his army under the command of his older brother, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio, to carry on with the invasion of Iberia. Publius Scipio himself hastened back to Italy. He planned to take command of the Roman troops already in Cisalpine Gaul. With that army, he would engage Hannibal when, or if, he emerged from the mountains.

Meanwhile, Hannibal pressed on toward the Alps and his destiny. After marching four days, the army reached the confluence of the Rhône and Iskaras (either the modern Isere or Aygues) rivers. This area was known as the ‘island,’ hemmed in on two sides by rivers and on the third by mountains. There, Hannibal intervened in a local tribal succession dispute between two brothers. With Hannibal’s aid the elder brother, Brancus, became chief. In gratitude, Brancus provided the Carthaginian army with rations, cold-weather gear, guides and escorts. The next 10 days’ marching was uneventful. It had been 160 miles from the Rhône crossing to where the Carthaginians reached the Alps in mid-October. They now entered the territory of the fierce and powerful Allobroges Celts, who were vehemently opposed to allowing any foreign army into their lands.

The Allobroges occupied the high ground dominating the trail into the mountains. Hannibal halted his army and sent out his scouts. They discovered that the Allobroges only manned their outposts during daylight, returning to their villages each night. After dark, Hannibal dispatched light infantry to occupy the key positions. At dawn, as his army advanced into the ravine, the hostile Celts, scrambling to get into position, were dismayed to find Carthaginian infantry already occupying the high ground. The Allobroges hesitated, unsure of what course to follow. Nevertheless, when they observed the long column, strung out and vulnerable, they couldn’t resist launching an attack.

The Carthaginian column was thrown into turmoil, with many of the beasts of burden stampeding. Hannibal’s light troops counterattacked, routing the Allobroges below them, but that only added to the confusion. Both sides suffered heavy losses as men and beasts fell from precipitous cliffs or were trampled or crushed by falling rocks. Hannibal’s light infantry pursued the broken Allobroges back to their villages, capturing food and supplies to make good some of the losses.

Hannibal rested his army for one day and restored order. The Carthaginians were able to march on unmolested for the next three days. Then the elders of another mountain tribe came out to meet Hannibal with gifts and promises of aid. The general remained suspicious, but some of his fears were allayed when the Celts provided him food, hostages and guides to lead them through the next portion of the mountains. At first all seemed well, but the treacherous guides led the Carthaginians into a steep ravine where their warriors waited in ambush. Hannibal, having foreseen that possibility, had placed all his cavalry and baggage at the head of the column, while his infantry brought up the rear. When the ambush was sprung, the cavalry and baggage column got through with few losses. The infantry had some hard fighting, but it was the terrain itself, and the boulders rolled down from above, that resulted in the most casualties. Hannibal eventually brought his army through the ambush.

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