Hannibal's Passage Through the Alps

Scipio sent a cavalry unit out to investigate. Sure enough, they found hannibal on the west bank of the river. A light skirmish of no consequence ensued that served only to alert hannibal to the fact that the romans were now officially on to him. When scipio arrived with his legions, the fires of the carthaginian camp were still smouldering but the army was gone. The consul decided against a pursuit, which would have taken his two legions into an unknown and unfriendly territory in spain. Instead he returned to italy to brace the northern border for hannibal's invasion. He planned to fight th war in sp