Liv. 22.28.1Duplex inde Hannibalī gaudium fuit — neque enim quicquam eōrum, quae apud hostēs agerentur, eum fallēbat et perfugīs multa indicantibus et per suōs explōrantem — : nam et līberam Minucī temeritātem sē suō modō captātūrum et sollertiae Fabiī dīmidium vīrium dēcessisse.Hannibal's joy at this was twofold — for nothing of what was being done among the enemy escaped him, since deserters reported much and he made enquiries through his own men — : for he thought that he would catch Minucius' unchecked rashness in his own way, and that Fabius' skill had lost half its strength. Liv. 22.28.3Tumulus erat inter castra Minuciī et Poenōrum, quem quī occupāsset, haud dubiē inīquiōrem erat hostī locum factūrus.There was a hillock between the camps of Minucius and the Carthaginians, and whoever seized it was without doubt going to make the position more unfavourable for the enemy. Liv. 22.28.4Eum nōn tam capere sine certāmine volēbat Hannibal, quamquam id operae pretium erat, quam causam certāminis cum Minuciō, quem prōcursūrum ad obsistendum satis sciēbat, contrahere.Hannibal did not so much want to take it without a fight, although that was worth the effort, as to bring about a cause for a fight with Minucius, who, he knew well enough, would rush out to oppose him.
Liv. 22.28.5Ager omnis medius erat prīmā speciē inūtilis īnsidiātōrī, quia nōn modo silvestre quicquam sed nē vepribus quidem vestītum habēbat, rē ipsā nātus tegendīs īnsidiīs eō magis, quod in nūdā valle nūlla tālis fraus timērī poterat;All the ground in between seemed at first sight useless to one laying an ambush, because it had not only nothing wooded but nothing covered even with brambles; in reality it was made for hiding an ambush, all the more because in a bare valley no such trick could be feared; Liv. 22.28.6et erant in ānfrāctibus cavae rūpēs, ut quaedam eārum ducēnōs armātōs possent capere.and there were hollow rocks in its windings, so large that some of them could hold two hundred armed men each. Liv. 22.28.7In hās latebrās, quot quemque locum aptē īnsidēre poterant, quīnque mīlia conduntur peditum equitumque.Into these hiding places, as many as could conveniently occupy each spot, five thousand infantry and cavalry are concealed. Liv. 22.28.8Nēcubi tamen aut mōtus alicuius temerē ēgressī aut fulgor armōrum fraudem in valle tam apertā dētegeret, missīs paucīs prīmā lūce ad ;But so that nowhere either the movement of someone who had rashly stepped out or the gleam of arms might reveal the trick in so open a valley, he sent a few men at first light to; Liv. 22.28.8capiendum quem ante dīximus tumulum āvertit oculōs hostium.seize the hillock we mentioned before, and so drew off the enemy's eyes.
Liv. 22.28.9Prīmō statim cōnspectū contempta paucitās, ac sibi quisque dēposcere pellendōs inde hostīs ac locum capiendum;At the very first sight their small number was despised, and each man demanded for himself the task of driving the enemy from there and taking the position; Liv. 22.28.9dux ipse inter stolidissimōs ferōcissimōsque ad arma vocat et vānīs minīs increpat hostem.the commander himself, among the most foolish and most headstrong, calls them to arms and assails the enemy with empty threats. Liv. 22.28.10Prīncipiō levem armātūram dīmittit, deinde cōnfertō agmine mittit equitēs;First he sends out the light-armed troops, then sends the cavalry in close column; Liv. 22.28.10postrēmō, cum hostibus quoque subsidia mittī vidēret, īnstrūctīs legiōnibus prōcēdit.finally, when he saw that reinforcements were being sent to the enemy too, he advances with the legions drawn up. Liv. 22.28.11Et Hannibal labōrantibus suīs alia atque alia crēscente certāmine mittēns auxilia peditum equitumque iam iūstam explēverat aciem, ac tōtīs utrimque vīribus certātur.Hannibal too, sending one reinforcement of infantry and cavalry after another to his hard-pressed men as the struggle grew, had by now filled out a regular battle line, and the fight is waged with full strength on both sides.
Liv. 22.28.11Prīma levis armātūra Rōmānōrum, praeoccupātum ex īnferiōre locō succēdēns tumulum, pulsa dētrūsaque terrōrem in succēdentem intulit equitem et ad signa legiōnum refūgit.First the Roman light-armed troops, coming up from lower ground towards the hillock that had already been seized, were driven back and thrust down, carried panic into the cavalry coming up behind, and fled back to the standards of the legions. Liv. 22.28.13Peditum aciēs inter perculsōs inpavida sōla erat vidēbāturque, sī iūsta ac rēcta pugna esset, haudquāquam inpār futūra: tantum animōrum fēcerat prosperē ante paucōs diēs rēs gesta;The line of infantry alone was unafraid among those who were shaken, and it seemed that, if it were a regular and straightforward battle, it would be by no means unequal: so much spirit had the success of a few days before created; Liv. 22.28.14sed exortī repente īnsidiātōrēs eum tumultum terrōremque in latera utrimque ab tergōque incursantēs fēcērunt, ut nec animus ad pugnam neque ad fugam spēs cuiquam superesset.but the men in ambush, rising up suddenly and charging against both flanks and from the rear, caused such confusion and terror that no one had any courage left for fighting or any hope of flight.