@DW2 @TrevorGoodchild @plotinus_enjoyer @InvictusManeo @sickburnbro @KarlDahl Carthage walked a MASSIVE army into Italy from Spain to reinforce their position, led by Hasdrubal the best general they had available.

The Romans had active fighting legions all over the Mediterranean at this point, and would have suffered and plausibly lost the war if Hasdrubal's army was able to merge or coordinate with Hannibal's. Their manpower was at its limits.

Hasdrubal crossed the Alps and was marching in from the North. He was met by two consular armies, led by Livius and Licinius. The opposing forces encamped.

In the South, following the Fabian Strategy, Nero led another consular army and was keeping Hannibal tied up. He, alone, realized that if he could surprise Hasdrubal with his own army, reinforcing the Roman position, he could enact a decisive victory and likely save Rome.

So he snuck his army out in the middle of the night. The whole lot. All of them quietly walking away, leaving only a token in their camp to maintain the appearance that they were still there. It worked. Hannibal had no idea that they were gone.

They marched the entire length of the Italian Peninsula in a matter of days, night and day, entered the Roman camps at night and shared tents to hide their numbers. Along the way, they brought nothing but their weapons. The People met them on the road and gave them everything they needed.

They immediately attacked. Hasdrubal was confident of his victory over two consular armies, and was surprised by the third. His entire army was destroyed and he himself killed. Nero immediately left and marched the length of the Italian Peninsula a second time. Hannibal had still not discovered that he had gone, when he returned.

The Second Punic War, for Carthage, was over at that point. Rome, with one maneuver led by one madlad, had changed things from probably-losing to likely-winning. Hannibal could not reinforce or supply his army by sea, and the reinforcing land-force was gone.

Scipio deserves full credit for beating Hannibal face-to-face, but Nero changed the course of the war.