PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf and Field Marshall Sir Nigel Bagnall talk to Timewatch about the man who taught Rome the meaning of fear. Filmed in Tunis, France and Italy, at the key battle sites and amidst the savage scenery of Hannibal's route, this film provides a unique insight into one of the most compelling personalities of the ancient world.

"The technology of war may change, the sophistication of weapons certainly changes. But those same principles of war that applied to the days of Hannibal apply today," says Schwarzkopf, former Supreme Commander of Coalition Forces in the 1991 Gulf War. He proved their worth when he successfully put to the test 2,000-year-old tactics on a 20th century battlefield.

In a unique interview granted to Timewatch, the General explains why he believes "soldiers have so much to learn by studying the ancients", and why his personal hero is Hannibal. Of all Romes' enemies, it was Hannibal who dealt the biggest blow to the mighty empire. No other commander came so close to taking the capital, nor inflicting such crushing defeats. Within one afternoon, Hannibal and his army had annihilated eight Roman legions. At Cannae, his most complete victory, he inflicted worse casualties in a single day's fighting than any other commander in history.

The true mark of greatness comes from the fact that all this was achieved against terrible odds. In an unbelievable feat that is now legendary, Hannibal transported an army of 50,000 men and 37 elephants from the coasts of southern Spain to the plains of central Italy, crossing the Alps in the middle of winter and he fought for 17 years far from home and without reinforcements. Had Hannibal been more ambitious, history would have been very different.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Producer Jonathon Stamp
Series Editor Lawrence Rees

DURATION
1x50'