The Battle of Silva Litana was an ambush that took place in a forest 75 miles northwest of the Roman city of Ariminum during the Second Punic War in 216 BC.

The Romans were compelled to postpone military operations against the Gauls until the conclusion of the Second Punic War, sending only two legions to guard against additional Gallic attacks.

[14] After defeating a rebellion of the Picentes in 269 BC, the Romans had further consolidated their hold south of Ager Gallicus,[15] planting new colonies at Ariminum and Firmum.

[20] Nonetheless, the Boii resistance collapsed in the following year; already under attack by Gallic tribes allied to Rome, namely the Veneti and the Cenomani, they were subjugated by the Romans following their defeat at the Battle of Telamon.

The Romans in 218 BC planted Latin rights colonies at Cremona and Placentia and fortified Mutina to keep watch over the Gauls, which again stirred up resentment among the Boii and Insubres.

[19] Hannibal Barca had planned to invade Italy overland from Spain, since Roman naval dominance of the Mediterranean Sea made a sea-borne invasion impossible.

[26] The Boii and Insubres had agreed to meet Hannibal with provisions and reinforcements upon his arrival in Italy, when the Carthaginian army would be at its most vulnerable due to exhaustion and expected losses during the Alpine crossing.

[33] Probably starting in late May or early June, the Carthaginian army spent almost three months moving from Cartagena to the Pyrenees, including a 43-day campaign conquering Catalonia.

As Atillius neared Tannetum, the Gauls retired without battle,[38] and the Romans spent the summer of 218 BC recovering and fortifying Placentia and Cremona.

[44] Hannibal chose not to fight the Romans, [45] but he probably was forced to change his planned route across Alps due to the Roman presence, [46] and his five-week crossing of the Alps using an alternate, more arduous route caused the loss of the majority of his pack animals and 12,000 to 20,000 irreplaceable, battle tested, loyal veteran soldiers, who might have augmented Hannibal's strength in Italy, another indirect consequence of Scipio's delayed arrival in Gaul.

[49][50] Hannibal wintered in Cisalpine Gaul after his victories in the battle of Ticinus and Trebia, and when he marched south in spring of 217 BC, more than half of his army consisted of Gallic recruits.

Approximately 1,200 of the infantry, poorer or younger men unable to afford the armour and equipment of a standard legionary, served as javelin-armed skirmishers, known as velites.

[60][61] The Gauls were brave, fierce warriors who fought in tribes and clans in massed infantry formation, but lacked the discipline of their Roman and Carthaginian opponents.

The Infantry wore no armor, fought naked or stripped to the waist in plaid trousers and a loose cloak, a variety of different size and shaped metal bossed shields made of oak or linden covered with leather [62] and iron slashing swords, both cavalry and Infantry carried spears and javelins for close quarter and ranged combat.

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the remaining consul-elect for 215 BC, consoled the Senate by emphasizing the importance of defeating Hannibal, with the Gauls being only a secondary priority for the Roman war strategy.

[69] Hasdrubal, reinforced by 4,500 soldiers, was occupied with subduing Iberian rebels based near Gades in 216 BC and was unable to leave Spain.