http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html During the week of August 27, 2009, I spent a week in the French Savoy Alps, near the border with Italy. I joined the British Hannibal Expedition’s 50th anniversary of their march of a single elephant across the Alps in 1959, recreating the route used by the African General Hannibal in his march on Rome in the Second Punic War, in 218 BC. The 1959 expedition was done to test a possible route across the mountains, and to monitor the effects of Alpine altitudes on an elephant. The 2009 march was a commemoration of the 1959 expedition.

 Hannibal marched 40,000 soldiers and 37 elephants along this route. This time we were only 30 troops, and no elephant. It’s not easy to rent an elephant... http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#0 187a16fe-880c-473e-afe0-53138db47923 http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/france-map/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/france-map/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Map of France, showing route from Paris down to Savoy, by train.</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#1 1cd39197-7859-4d5c-9a06-b001e5ef6417 http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/Hannibal_route_of_invasion/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/Hannibal_route_of_invasion/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Hannibal&#x2019;s invasion route to Rome. We only covered the summit portion, in the Alps.</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#2 5cfca166-254e-4953-9541-86b3a12149ac http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-1/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-1/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">The British Hannibal Expedition, in 1959. The elephant&#x2019;s name was Jumbo, from a zoo in Turin.</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#3 17d65106-b77b-4c2d-9d87-15db4682c40c http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-2/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-2/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">The 1959 Expedition on Day 1, with 1 elephant, embarking from&#xA0; the valley town of Montmelian.</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#4 26d03e41-b325-4411-b412-b46ddce1ce92 http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-3/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-3/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">The 1959 expedition was a bit more suburban than 2,000 years ago. Did Hannibal play guitar on picnic-blankets for his tired elephants?</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#5 3fada61c-d24e-4864-a4c7-ea4595e5ee02 http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-4/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-4/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">During a night march, re-creating one of many such night-marches by Hannibal.</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#6 c1c84fd5-5742-424f-bad3-dde6eba4bf83 http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-5/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-5/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Elephants are apparently not common in the Alps, and always draw a crowd.</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#7 cec30eae-0b18-4b77-ba4a-32470d30bc12 http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-6/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-6/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Jumbo was probably the only elephant to ever be danced around in the Alps.</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#8 32db0d07-e34a-4b0c-93b3-0f03be4eba02 http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-7/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-7/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">The expedition wasn&#x2019;t completely accurate. Did Hannibal feed his elephants cake in Susa...?</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#9 28749330-85be-41e6-a51d-9d89544011b7 http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-8-Front/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-8-Front/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">The book written about the 1959 Expedition.</p></div></div> http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History.html#10 02cd4187-95b5-4815-9feb-bb0dee0ae71d http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-9-Back/thumb.jpg http://www.christers.net/hannibal/Site/Page_1_-_Hannibal_History_files/Media/hoyte-9-Back/micro.jpg <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_93"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">John Hoyte organized the 2009 commemoration, along with Sir Richard Jolly.</p></div></div>