Liv. 22.45.1Dum altercātiōnibus magis quam cōnsiliīs tempus teritur, Hannibal ex aciē, quam ad multum diēī tenuerat īnstrūctam, cum in castra cēterās reciperet cōpiās, Numidās ad invādendōs ex minōribus castrīs Rōmānōrum aquātōrēs trāns flūmen mittit.While time was being wasted on wrangling rather than on deliberation, Hannibal, withdrawing the rest of his forces into camp from the line which he had kept drawn up until late in the day, sends the Numidians across the river to attack the Romans fetching water from the smaller camp. Liv. 22.45.3Quam inconditam turbam cum vixdum in rīpam ēgressī clamōre ac tumultū fugāssent, in statiōnem quoque prō vallō locātam atque in ipsās prope portās ēvectī sunt.When, scarcely yet out on the bank, they had routed this disorderly crowd with shouting and uproar, they rode on even against the outpost stationed before the rampart and almost up to the very gates. Liv. 22.45.4Id vērō adeō indignum vīsum ab tumultuāriō auxiliō iam etiam castra Rōmāna terrērī, ut ea modo ūna causa, nē extemplō trānsīrent flūmen dērigerentque aciem, tenuerit Rōmānōs, quod summa imperiī eō diē penes Paulum fuit.It truly seemed so outrageous that now even a Roman camp should be terrorised by an irregular auxiliary force, that one reason alone kept the Romans from crossing the river at once and drawing up their line: that the supreme command that day lay with Paulus.
Liv. 22.45.5Itaque posterō diē Varrō, cui sors eius diēī imperiī erat, nihil cōnsultō collēgā signum prōposuit īnstrūctāsque cōpiās flūmen trādūxit, sequente Paulō, quia magis nōn probāre quam nōn adiuvāre cōnsilium poterat.So the next day Varro, whose turn it was by lot to command that day, without consulting his colleague at all, displayed the signal and led his forces in battle order across the river, with Paulus following, since he could withhold his approval of the plan but not his support. Liv. 22.45.6Trānsgressī flūmen eās quoque, quās in castrīs minōribus habuerant, cōpiās suīs adiungunt atque ita īnstruunt aciem: in dextrō cornū — id erat flūminī propius — Rōmānōs equitēs locant, deinde peditēs;Having crossed the river, they join to their own the forces they had kept in the smaller camp as well, and draw up their line thus: on the right wing (this was nearer the river) they place the Roman cavalry, then the infantry; Liv. 22.45.7laevum cornū extrēmī equitēs sociōrum, intrā peditēs, ad medium iūnctī legiōnibus Rōmānīs, tenuērunt;the left wing was held by the allied cavalry at the far end, and inside them the allied infantry, joined at the centre to the Roman legions; Liv. 22.45.7iaculātōrēs cum cēterīs levium armōrum auxiliīs prīma aciēs facta.the javelin-men, with the rest of the light-armed auxiliaries, formed the front line.
Liv. 22.45.8Cōnsulēs cornua tenuēre, Terentius laevum, Aemilius dextrum;The consuls held the wings, Terentius the left, Aemilius the right; Liv. 22.45.8Geminō Servīliō media pugna tuenda data.to Geminus Servilius was given the centre of the battle to defend.