The Battle of the river Ticinus, November 218 BC

Cornelius Mattens - The Battle of Ticino

After Hannibal crossed the Alps he recruited amongst the Gauls in north Italy and soon advanced south, towards the waiting Roman army led by Scipio (the father of Africanus)and Lucius Manlius.


The first action between the two armies took place in November, to the north of the left bank of the Po, between the Sesia and Ticino rivers, near to Lomello. The battle was a fairly small (around 8,000 men per side) and was mostly a cavalry encounter.

It started as a preliminary confrontation of cavalry - Scipio had sent his cavalry and light troops to probe for Hannibal. Hannibal had placed his heavy cavalry in the centre, with the Numidians on the wings, charged with enveloping the Romans. With these tactics, Hannibal severely mauled the Roman contingent led by Scipio, primarily due to Hannibal's Numidian cavalry.

Scipio was severely wounded, and the Romans withdrew to Placentia. Manoeuvres failed to lead to a second engagement.

But the action was to continue soon at the Battle of the Trebbia River.