1A shout was raised, the auxiliaries ran forward, and the fight was begun first with the light arms; 1then the left wing, of Gallic and Spanish cavalry, clashed with the Roman right, in a manner not at all like a cavalry battle; 1for they had to charge front to front, because no room had been left round about for manoeuvring, since the river on one side and the line of infantry on the other hemmed them in. 3As both sides pressed straight ahead, with the horses brought to a standstill and finally packed together in a crowd, man grappled man and dragged him from his horse. 3The contest had now become for the most part a fight on foot; 3yet it was fought more fiercely than long, and the Roman horsemen, driven back, turn their backs.
4Towards the end of the cavalry engagement the infantry battle broke out, at first equal both in strength and in spirit, as long as the ranks of the Gauls and Spaniards held firm; 5at length the Romans, after long and repeated efforts, with a slanting front and a dense line drove back the enemy wedge, which was too thin and therefore not strong enough, jutting out as it did from the rest of the line. 6Then they pressed on the enemy as they were driven back and gave ground in alarm, and in one unbroken course, carried headlong through the column fleeing in panic, first into the middle of the line, at last, with no one resisting, they reached the African reserves, who had taken position on both sides with the wings drawn back, while the centre, where the Gauls and Spaniards had stood, projected some way.
8As soon as this wedge, driven back, first made the front level, and then by yielding even created a hollow in the middle, the Africans had by now formed wings round about, and as the Romans rushed carelessly into the middle they enveloped them with their flanks, and soon, extending their wings, closed in the enemy from behind as well. 9From this point the Romans, having fought one battle to no purpose, let go of the Gauls and Spaniards, whose backs they had been cutting down, and begin a fresh fight against the Africans, unequal not only because they were shut in against men surrounding them, but also because they were weary and fighting against men fresh and vigorous.