To the utter surprise and consternation of the Romans, Hannibal and his army had crossed the Alps.
He defeated the Romans in a battle near Placentia, in spite of the tremendous loss of life in the Alps. Then he advanced into Italy and slaughtered the two new Roman consuls, Flaminius and Servilius, near Lake Trasimene. Then the Comitia Centuriata elected Q. Fabius Maximus who bothered Hannibal but avoided any pitched battles. The Roman
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In the words of Florus who compared the Carthaginians with a thunderbolt, it burst its way through the middle of the Alps and descended on to Italy from those snows of fabulous height as if launched from the skies.