There were many difficulties involved in crossing a giant river with an army in 218 B.C.. and Hannibal Barca and his army of 38,000 men did this with speed and agility. Because the Rhone is very wide, deep, and fast, Hannibal chose to cross it between the Fourques and Arles, where the Rhone is 800 meters wide but relatively shallow. Hannibal obtained all the available large boats from the boatmen on the spot.
While Hannibal was preparing to cross the Rhone, he noticed that on the other side of the Rhone was an army of Gallic warriors, waiting for Hannibal to cross. Hannibal sent Hanno, son of one of Hannibal's chief officers, to go upstream about 35 kilometers, to cross the Rhone with a segment of the army, and then to circle behind the Gallic warriors. By the time Hanno signalled Hannibal to cross, Hannibal's army had been waiting to cross. Hannibal first sent his infantry across the Rhone and before they could get across, the Gallic warriors began retreating to fight Hanno's force . The Gauls found themselves in between two trained