A History Of Hannibal And The Punic Wars: Episode 27 — Lake Trasimene

Few characters in history have cast a shadow as long as Hannibal, the 3rd century BC Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps with his elephants and smashed the Roman army in a series of stunning victories.

It's for this reason that I've chosen to go back in time a bit for this podcast series that concluded in 2014. Jamie Redfern spends 61 episodes looking at the legendary Roman nemesis Hannibal and his campaigns and life.

For my episode of choice, I picked Lake Trasimene, one of Hannibal's most renowned exploits. The 20-minute episode traces the pitfalls of Hannibal's brutal journey through the swamps and mountains of northern Italy before miraculously reconstituting his force in time to ambush and destroy the much larger army of Gaius Flaminius Nepos, the opposing consul. Hannibal grasps the reckless and overconfident nature of his opponent, utilizing it to draw out his forces before backup can arrive and committing him to battle prematurely.

If you're looking for a digestible approach to this arc of Roman history, the Hannibal and the Punic Wars podcast delivers well.