In 218 BC Hannibal, son of Carthage planned to cross the Alps with an army of soldiers and elephants, so fulfilling a lifelong mission to invade Italy and destroy Rome. Throughout his youth Hannibal had watched as the Romans plundered his home city of Carthage, and at the age of nine he swore an oath of eternal enmity to Rome. His future was set - Hannibal's whole life would be devoted to war with Rome. This is the story of how Hannibal planned his legendary surprise invasion of Italy by crossing the Alps in the thick of winter. Hannibal knew that crossing the highest mountain range in Europe with an army of soldiers and elephants was a big risk, but it was an opportunity to bring maximum terror to Rome. Even though few of Hannibal's elephants survived the gruelling two-week journey, his plan paid off as he visited a series of devastating blows on the battlefields of Italy. But it was his battle at Cannae that would propel Hannibal to legendary status. He later collected the rings of 50.000 fallen Roman soldiers, which would be poured onto the floor of the Carthaginian senate to demonstrate the scale of the victory. It was the largest battlefield defeat in the history of Rome. But despite this astonishing victory, Hannibal was never able to capitalise on it by advancing on Rome. He waged war in Italy for a further 15 years, but the Carthaginian senate refused to send reinforcements. Eventually Rome made its victorious move and took the war back to Carthage. Hunted by the enemy and abandoned by his own, Hannibal was forced into exile, and at the age of 63 Hannibal took poison and killed himself.