Hannibal Barca's crossing of the Alps and his 15-year campaign in Italy. Holland and Sandbrook examine one of history's greatest military minds — and why winning every battle wasn't enough to win the war.
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Highlights
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Tactical genius is not the same as strategic vision
Hannibal won every major battle against Rome for 15 years — Trebia, Lake Trasimene, Cannae — and still lost the war. Tactical brilliance without strategic sustainability is futile.
Resilience is a system property, not an individual trait
Rome survived Cannae — the worst military defeat in its history — not because of individual courage but because its political and social systems were designed to absorb catastrophic losses.