Book 39
30
The Roman generals in the meantime had spent their whole time in drawing Spanish troops from the friendly cities and restoring the courage of their men which had been so shaken in the battle. When they considered that they were strong enough and the soldiers were asking that they might meet the enemy and wipe out their disgrace, they moved forward and fixed their camp at a distance of twelve miles from the Tagus. Then, taking up the standards and forming into a closed square, they reached the Tagus at daybreak. The enemy camp was on a hill on the other side of the river. There were two places where the river was fordable, and the armies were promptly led across-Calpurnius on the right and Quinctius on the left. The enemy remained quiet-taken aback at the sudden advance of the Romans and making up their minds what to do-when they might have attacked the Romans and thrown them into confusion during the passage of the river. The Romans meanwhile had transported their baggage across and placed it all together. There was not space enough for an entrenched camp, so seeing the enemy in motion, they deployed into line of battle. Two legions, the fifth from Calpurnius' army and the eighth under Quinctius, formed the centre-the main strength of the army. The ground was level and open up to the hostile camp; there was no fear of surprise or ambush.
