who crossed the alps with a herd of war elephants
Hannibal's crossing of the Alps The Centrones waited to attack, first allowing half of the army to move through the pass.[82] This was meant to divide Hannibal's troops and supplies and make it difficult for his army to organize a counter-attack, but Hannibal, having anticipated deceit by the Centrones, had arranged his army with elephants, cavalry and baggage in front, while his hoplites followed in the rear. Centrones forces had positioned themselves on the slopes parallel to Hannibal's army used this higher ground to roll boulders and rain rocks down at the Carthaginian army, killing many more pack animals. Confusion reigned in the ranks caught in the pass. However, Hannibal's heavily armed rearguard held back from entering the pass,[82] forcing the Barbarians to descend to fight. The rearguard was thus able to hold off the attackers, before Hannibal and the half of his army not separated from him were forced to spend the night near a large white rock, which Polybius writes "afforded them protection"[83] and is described by William Brockedon, who investigated Hannibal's route through the Alps, as being a "vast mass of gypsum...as a military position, its occupation secures the defence of the pass."[84] By morning, the Centrones were no longer in the area.