Liv. 22.19.1Prīncipiō aestātis, quā haec gerēbantur, in Hispāniā quoque terrā marīque coeptum bellum est.At the beginning of the summer in which these things were happening, war began in Spain too, by land and sea. Liv. 22.19.2Hasdrubal ad eum nāvium numerum quem ā frātre īnstrūctum parātumque accēperat, decem adiectīs quadrāgintā nāvium classem Himilcōnī trādit, atque ita Carthāgine profectus nāvīs prope terram, exercitum in lītore dūcēbat parātus cōnflīgere, quācumque parte cōpiārum hostis occurrisset.Hasdrubal added ten ships to the number of ships that he had received fitted out and ready from his brother, and handed over a fleet of forty ships to Himilco; and so, setting out from Carthage, he kept his ships close to land while he led the army along the shore, ready to fight with whatever part of his forces the enemy should meet. Liv. 22.19.4Cn. Scīpiō postquam mōvisse ex hībernīs hostem audīvit, prīmō idem cōnsiliī fuit;Gnaeus Scipio, after he heard that the enemy had moved out of winter quarters, at first had the same plan; Liv. 22.19.4deinde minus terrā propter ingentem fāmam novōrum auxiliōrum concurrere ausus, dēlēctō mīlite ad nāvēs inpositō quīnque et trīgintā nāvium classe īre obviam hostī pergit.then, not daring to engage on land because of the great report of fresh auxiliaries, he put picked soldiers on board and went on to meet the enemy with a fleet of thirty-five ships.
Liv. 22.19.5Alterō ab Tarracōne diē ad statiōnem decem mīlia passuum distantem ab ōstiō Hibērī amnis pervēnit.On the second day from Tarraco he reached an anchorage ten miles from the mouth of the river Ebro. Liv. 22.19.5Inde duae Massiliēnsium speculātōriae praemissae rettulēre classem Pūnicam stāre in ōstiō flūminis castraque in rīpā posita.From there two Massilian scout ships were sent ahead, and they reported that the Punic fleet lay in the mouth of the river and that a camp had been pitched on the bank. Liv. 22.19.6Itaque ut inprōvidōs incautōsque ūniversōs simul effūsō terrōre opprimeret, sublātīs ancorīs ad hostem vādit.So, in order to overwhelm them all together while they were off their guard and unprepared, spreading terror everywhere at once, he weighed anchor and made for the enemy. Liv. 22.19.6Multās et locīs altīs positās turrīs Hispānia habet, quibus et speculīs et prōpugnāculīs adversus latrōnēs ūtuntur.Spain has many towers set on high places, which they use both as lookouts and as strongholds against brigands. Liv. 22.19.7Inde prīmō cōnspectīs hostium nāvibus datum signum Hasdrubalī est, tumultusque prius in terrā et castrīs quam ad mare et ad nāvēs est ortus, nōndum aut pulsū remōrum strepitūque aliō nauticō exaudītō aut aperientibus classem prōmunturiīs, cum repente eques alius super alium ab Hasdrubale missus vagōs in lītore quiētōsque in tentōriīs suīs, nihil minus quam hostem aut proelium eō diē expectantīs, cōnscendere nāvēs properē atque arma capere iubet: classem Rōmānam iam haud procul portū esse.From these, as soon as the enemy ships were sighted, a signal was given to Hasdrubal, and confusion arose on land and in the camp before it did by the sea and among the ships, since neither the beat of oars and the other sounds of seamen had yet been heard nor had the headlands yet revealed the fleet, when suddenly horseman after horseman, sent by Hasdrubal, ordered those who were wandering on the shore or resting in their tents, expecting nothing less than the enemy or a battle that day, to board the ships in haste and take up arms: the Roman fleet was already not far from the harbour.
Liv. 22.19.8Haec equitēs dīmissī passim imperābant;These were the orders given by the horsemen sent out in all directions; Liv. 22.19.9mox Hasdrubal ipse cum omnī exercitū aderat, variōque omnia tumultū strepunt ruentibus in nāvēs simul rēmigibus mīlitibusque fugientium magis ē terrā quam in pugnam euntium modō.soon Hasdrubal himself was there with his whole army, and everything was loud with confused uproar, as rowers and soldiers rushed onto the ships together, more like men fleeing from the land than men going into battle. Liv. 22.19.10Vixdum omnēs cōnscenderant, cum aliī resolūtīs ōrīs in ancorās ēvehuntur, aliī, nē quid teneat, ancorālia incidunt, raptimque omnia ac praeproperē agendō mīlitum apparātū nautica ministeria impediuntur, trepidātiōne nautārum capere et aptāre arma mīles prohibētur.Scarcely had all embarked when some cast off their moorings and drift out onto their anchors, others cut the anchor-ropes so that nothing may hold them back; and with everything being done in a rush and too hastily, the seamen's tasks are hindered by the soldiers' gear, and the soldier is prevented by the panic of the sailors from taking up and fitting on his arms.
Liv. 22.19.11Et iam Rōmānus nōn adpropinquābat modo, sed dērēxerat etiam in pugnam nāvēs.And now the Roman was not only approaching but had even drawn up his ships for battle. Liv. 22.19.11Itaque nōn ab hoste et proeliō magis Poenī quam suōmet ipsī tumultū turbātī et temptātā vērius pugnā quam initā in fugam āvertērunt classem.So the Carthaginians, thrown into confusion no more by the enemy and the battle than by their own uproar, having attempted a fight rather than truly joined one, turned their fleet to flight. Liv. 22.19.12Et cum adversī amnis ōs lātō agminī et tum multīs simul venientibus haud sānē intrābile esset, in lītus passim nāvēs ēgērunt, atque aliī vadīs aliī siccō lītore exceptī partim armātī partim inermēs ad īnstrūctam per lītus aciem suōrum perfūgēre;And since the mouth of the river facing them could hardly be entered by a broad line, especially with many coming in at once, they drove their ships ashore all along the coast, and the men, received some by the shallows and some by the dry beach, some armed and some unarmed, fled to the line of their comrades drawn up along the shore; Liv. 22.19.12duae tamen prīmō concursū captae erant Pūnicae nāvēs, quattuor suppressae.two Punic ships, however, had been captured at the first clash, and four sunk.