Liv. 21.54.1Erat in mediō rīvus praealtīs utrimque clausus rīpīs et circā obsitus palūstribus herbīs et, quibus inculta ferme vestiuntur, virgultīs vepribusque.Between the armies was a stream, enclosed on both sides by very high banks and overgrown round about with marsh plants and with the brushwood and brambles that usually clothe uncultivated ground. Liv. 21.54.1Quem ubi equitēs quoque tegendō satis latebrōsum locum circumvectus ipse oculīs perlūstrāvit, " hic erit locus," Magōnī frātrī ait "quem teneās.When he had ridden round it himself and surveyed with his own eyes a place with cover enough to hide even cavalry, he said to his brother Mago, 'This will be the place for you to hold. Liv. 21.54.2Dēlige centēnōs virōs ex omnī pedite atque equite, cum quibus ad mē vigiliā prīmā veniās;Choose a hundred men apiece from all the infantry and cavalry, and come to me with them at the first watch; Liv. 21.54.3nunc corpora cūrāre tempus est."now it is time to look after your bodies.' Liv. 21.54.3Ita praetōrium missum.So the council was dismissed. Liv. 21.54.3Mox cum dēlēctīs Magō aderat.Soon Mago was there with his chosen men.
Liv. 21.54.3" rōbora virōrum cernō" inquit Hannibal;'I see the pick of the men,' said Hannibal; Liv. 21.54.3"sed utī numerō etiam, nōn animīs modo valeātis, singulī vōbīs novēnōs ex turmīs manipulīsque vestrī similēs ēligite.'but so that you may be strong in numbers too, not only in spirit, let each of you choose nine men like yourselves from the squadrons and maniples. Liv. 21.54.3Magō locum mōnstrābit, quem īnsideātis: hostem caecum ad hās bellī artēs habētis."Mago will show you the place where you are to lie in wait: you have an enemy who is blind to these arts of war.' Liv. 21.54.3Ita mīlle equitibus , mīlle peditibus dīmissīs Hannibal prīmā lūce Numidās equitēs trānsgressōs Trebiam flūmen obequitāre iubet hostium portīs iaculandōque in statiōnēs ēlicere ad pugnam hostem, iniectō deinde certāmine cēdendō sēnsim citrā flūmen pertrahere.So, having sent off a thousand horse and a thousand foot, Hannibal at first light orders the Numidian cavalry to cross the river Trebia, ride up to the enemy's gates, and by hurling javelins at the outposts draw the enemy out to battle; then, once the fight was joined, by giving ground to draw them gradually across to this side of the river.
Liv. 21.54.5Haec mandāta Numidīs;These were the orders given to the Numidians; Liv. 21.54.5cēterīs ducibus peditum equitumque praeceptum, ut prandēre omnēs iubērent, armātōs deinde īnstrātīsque equīs signum expectāre.the other commanders of infantry and cavalry were instructed to order all their men to take their morning meal and then, armed and with their horses saddled, to await the signal. Liv. 21.54.6Semprōnius ad tumultum Numidārum prīmum omnem equitātum, ferōx eā parte vīrium, deinde sex mīlia peditum, postrēmō omnēs cōpiās ab dēstinātō iam ante cōnsiliō avidus certāminis ēdūxit.Sempronius, at the uproar of the Numidians, led out first all his cavalry, being confident in that part of his forces, then six thousand infantry, and finally all his forces, eager for battle in keeping with a plan already formed beforehand. Liv. 21.54.7Erat forte brūmae tempus et nivālis diēs in locīs Alpibus Appennīnōque interiectīs, propinquitāte etiam flūminum ac palūdum praegelidīs.It happened to be the season of the winter solstice and a snowy day in the region lying between the Alps and the Apennines, which was bitterly cold, too, from the nearness of rivers and marshes.
Liv. 21.54.8Ad hoc raptim ēductīs hominibus atque equīs, nōn captō ante cibō, nōn ope ūllā ad arcendum frīgus adhibitā, nihil calōris īnerat, et quidquid aurae flūminis adpropinquābant, adflābat ācrior frīgoris vīs.Besides, since men and horses had been led out in haste, without first taking food and without any means applied to keep off the cold, there was no warmth in them, and the nearer they came to the breeze off the river, the keener the force of the cold that blew upon them. Liv. 21.54.9Ut vērō refugientēs Numidās īnsequentēs aquam ingressī sunt — et erat pectoribus tenus aucta nocturnō imbrī — , tum utique ēgressīs rigēre omnibus corpora, ut vix armōrum tenendōrum potentia esset, et simul lassitūdine et prōcēdente iam diē fame etiam dēficere.But when, pursuing the Numidians as they fell back, they entered the water, which had risen breast-high with the night's rain, then indeed, when they came out, everyone's bodies were so stiff that they hardly had the strength to hold their weapons, and at the same time they began to fail from weariness and, as the day wore on, from hunger too.