Kitap 23
16
On receiving this information Marcellus warmly thanked the Nolan senators and made up his mind to try the fortune of a battle before any disturbances arose in the city. He formed his army into three divisions and stationed them at the three gates which faced the enemy, he ordered the baggage to follow close behind, and the camp-servants, sutlers, and disabled soldiers were to carry stakes. At the centre gate he posted the strongest part of the legions and the Roman cavalry, at the two on either side he stationed the recruits, the light infantry, and the cavalry of the allies. The Nolans were forbidden to approach the walls or gates and a special reserve was placed in charge of the baggage to prevent any attack upon it whilst the legions were engaged in the battle. In this formation they remained standing inside the gates. Hannibal had his troops drawn up for battle, as he had had for several days, and remained in this position till late in the day. At first it struck him with surprise that the Roman army did not move outside the gates and that not a single soldier appeared on the walls. Then, supposing that the secret interviews had been betrayed and that his friends were afraid to move, he sent back a portion of his troops to their camp with orders to bring all the appliances for attacking the town as soon as possible to the front of the line. He felt fairly confident that if he attacked them whilst thus hesitating the populace would raise some disturbance in the town. Whilst his men were hurrying up to the front ranks, each to his allotted task, and the whole line was approaching the walls, Marcellus ordered the gates to be suddenly flung open, the attack sounded, and the battle shout raised; the infantry, followed by the cavalry, were to attack with all the fury possible. They had already carried enough confusion and alarm into the enemies' centre when P. Valerius Flaccus and C. Aurelius, divisional commanders, burst out from the other two gates and charged. The sutlers and camp-servants and the rest of the troops who were guarding the baggage joined in the shouting, and this made the Carthaginians, who had been despising the fewness of their numbers, think that it was a large army. I would hardly venture to assert, as some authorities do, that 2800 of the enemy were killed, and that the Romans did not lose more than 500. But whether the victory was as great as that or not, I do not think that an action more important in its consequences was fought during the whole war, for it was more difficult for those who conquered to escape being defeated by Hannibal than it was afterwards to conquer him.
