The first war between Carthage and Rome was fought at sea.  The Romans knew that the Carthaginians were better sailors, so they made huge planks with an iron spike to attach their ships to those of the enemy.  This Roman invention was like a drawbridge and was called the corvus (raven).  They could then board the enemy ships and fight as if they were on land.  The Romans won.  This success was even more amazing because the Romans built their first warship using a Carthaginian wreck as a model! 

In the second war Carthage almost defeated Rome.  The Carthaginian general Hannibal was one of the few generals to have a number of victories against the Roman army.  Hannibal was 28 years old when he attacked the Romans by surprise when he marched 35000 troops and 37 war elephants north through Spain, along the French coast, and into Italy through the passes of the Alps.