Liv. 21.47.1Hoc prīmum cum Hannibale proelium fuit;This was the first battle with Hannibal; Liv. 21.47.1quō facile appāruit equitātū meliōrem Poenum esse et ob id campōs patentīs, quālēs sunt inter Padum Alpēsque, bellō gerendō Rōmānīs aptōs nōn esse.and from it it became plain that the Carthaginian was superior in cavalry, and that for that reason open plains, such as lie between the Po and the Alps, were not suited to the Romans for waging war. Liv. 21.47.2Itaque proximā nocte iussīs mīlitibus vāsa silentiō colligere castra ab Ticīnō mōta festīnātumque ad Padum est, ut ratibus, quibus iūnxerat flūmen, nōndum resolūtīs sine tumultū atque īnsectātiōne hostis cōpiās trāiceret.So the next night the soldiers were ordered to pack their gear in silence, the camp was moved from the Ticinus, and they hurried to the Po, so that he might take his forces across by the rafts with which he had bridged the river, before they were unfastened, without confusion or pursuit by the enemy. Liv. 21.47.3Prius Placentiam pervēnēre, quam satis scīret Hannibal ab Ticīnō profectōs;They reached Placentia before Hannibal knew for certain that they had left the Ticinus; Liv. 21.47.3tamen ad sescentōs morātōrum in citeriōre rīpā Padī segniter ratem solventēs cēpit.even so he captured about six hundred stragglers on the near bank of the Po, who were slow in unfastening the raft.
Liv. 21.47.3Trānsīre pontem nōn potuit, ut extrēma resolūta erant, tōtā rate in secundam aquam lābente.He could not cross by the bridge, since its ends had been unfastened and the whole raft was drifting downstream. Liv. 21.47.3Coelius auctor est Magōnem cum equitātū et Hispānīs peditibus flūmen extemplō trānāsse, ipsum Hannibalem per superiōra Padī vada exercitum trādūxisse elephantīs in ōrdinem ad sustinendum impetum flūminis oppositīs.Coelius states that Mago with the cavalry and the Spanish infantry swam the river at once, and that Hannibal himself led the army across by fords higher up the Po, with the elephants set in line to break the force of the current. Liv. 21.47.4Ea perītīs amnis eius vix fidem fēcerint;Those who know that river would scarcely believe this; Liv. 21.47.5nam neque equitēs armīs equīsque salvīs tantam vim flūminis superāsse vērī simile est, ut iam Hispānōs omnīs īnflātī trāvēxerint utrēs, et multōrum diērum circuitū Padī vada petenda fuērunt, quā exercitus gravis impedīmentīs trādūcī posset.for it is unlikely that the cavalry overcame so strong a current with their arms and horses safe, even granting that inflated skins carried all the Spaniards across, and it would have taken a detour of many days to reach fords of the Po where an army heavy with baggage could be led across.
Liv. 21.47.6Potiōrēs apud mē auctōrēs sunt, quī bīduō vix locum rate iungendō flūminī inventum trādunt;I find more credible the authorities who report that it took two days to find a place to bridge the river with a raft; Liv. 21.47.6eā cum Magōne equitēs et Hispānōrum expedītōs praemissōs.and that by this the cavalry and the light-armed Spaniards were sent ahead with Mago. Liv. 21.47.7Dum Hannibal, circā flūmen lēgātiōnibus Gallōrum audiendīs morātus, trāicit gravius peditum agmen, interim Magō equitēsque ab trānsitū flūminis diēī ūnīus itinere Placentiam ad hostēs contendunt.While Hannibal, having delayed by the river to hear embassies from the Gauls, brings across the heavier column of infantry, Mago and the cavalry meanwhile push on a day's march from the crossing of the river towards the enemy at Placentia. Liv. 21.47.8Hannibal paucīs post diēbus sex mīlia ā Placentiā castra commūnīvit et posterō diē in cōnspectū hostium aciē dērēctā potestātem pugnae fēcit.A few days later Hannibal fortified a camp six miles from Placentia, and the next day drew up his line in sight of the enemy and offered battle.