218 BC Hannibal completed the crossing of the Alps into Gallia Cisalpina [est - “around the setting of the Pleiades”.
During the early part of the Second Punic War the Carthaginian Hannibal was literally unbeatable, defeating every army the Romans could throw at him in the battles of the Ticinus and the Trebbia (218 BC) and Lake Trasimenus (217 BC). Following the disaster at Trasimenus, the Roman Senate appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus as Dictator for a six month term. Fabius, an old campaigner and several times consul, was aware that his tactical skills were no match for Hannibal's. So he avoided open battle, relying instead upon ambushes, night attacks, guerrilla operations, sieges, and similar techniques to wear down the enemy, thereby earning the nickname “Cunctator” (the Delayer).
This led to a series of operations that demonstrated both generals’ extraordinary skill at deception and trickery, as each tried to outsmart the other.
On one occasion Hannibal had been forced to retreat by some clever maneuvering on Fabius's part. Outnumbered, with supplies running low, and night approaching, the Carthaginian found himself confronted by some difficult terrain, which would impede his movement so much that Fabius might be able to pick off part of his rear guard. To keep Fabius at arm's length, Hannibal had torches tied to the horns of cattle and turned the terrified animals loose in the direction of the Roman army. As the cattle fled through the countryside, the torches spread the flames to the surrounding brush. When the Romans saw the moving flames, they at first thought they were witnessing a supernatural apparition, but were soon disabused of this notion by their scouts. Learning of the trick, Fabius decided that it might well be a ruse on Hannibal's part to set him up for an ambush, and pulled his troops back to their camp.
Later that same year, Hannibal was confronted by two Roman armies, one under Fabius and the other under his chief subordinate, Marcus Minucius Rufus. Fabius was wary and clever, while Minucius was unthinking and impulsive. Aware that his opponents were of very different character, Hannibal decided to separate them and then defeat Minucius. Boldly advancing the bulk of his army to a position between his opponents, Hannibal concealed a portion of his troops in ambush. He then sent a small force to seize a hill near Minucius' camp. Minucius took the bait, and led his army out to crush these troops, only to fall into Hannibal's ambush. Things would have gone badly for Minucius, but the wily Fabius, taking advantage of the fact that Hannibal believed he was unwilling to move boldly on the battlefield, spotted the trap, intervened, and forced Hannibal to retreat, or be caught between two foes.
The “Fabian” approach to warfare was, however, unpopular with most Romans. Shortly after Fabius laid down his command, they once more decided to confront Hannibal in a head-on battle, which led to the Roman disaster at Cannae.
1307 Hermann Gessler, Hapsburg Bailiff of Altdorf, shot by William Tell.
1559 the “Peace of the Pyrenees” between France & Spain, finally ended the protracted Italian Wars (1494-1559) Eighth Italian War (1551–1559): Francis was succeeded by Henry II (r. 1547-1559), who decided to try for control of Italy once again. He didn’t do very well on any front (though a brief English attempt to enter the war on Charles’ side did lead to the French capturing Calais after several centuries of English rule). Meanwhile, in 1556, tired of war, Charles abdicated his thrones, leaving Spain to his son Philip II (r. 1556-1598) and the Hapsburg lands to his brother, who shortly became Emperor Ferdinand II (r. 1558-1564), and retired to a monastery. The war dragged on a couple of years more, but by then even the remarkably slow learning Valois family could see that Italy belonged to Spain.
Arguably, these wars were really only manifestations of a struggle that began in the mid-13th century between the House of Hohenstaufen and its heirs, ultimately the Crown of Spain, and the House of Anjou and its heirs, the Crown of France, which did not end until 1815.