1Marius, greatly heartened above all by the inexperience of the enemy, orders the strictest possible silence to be kept, and not even the signals to be sounded, as was usual, at the watches. 1Then, when daylight was approaching, and the enemy were by now exhausted and had shortly before been overcome by sleep, he orders the sentries, and likewise the trumpeters of the cohorts, squadrons and legions, suddenly all at once to sound the signals, and the soldiers to raise a shout and burst out of the gates. 2The Moors and Gaetulians, suddenly roused by the strange and dreadful noise, could neither flee nor take up arms nor do or provide for anything at all: so utterly had terror, almost like madness, seized them all through the din and shouting, with no one coming to their aid, our men pressing on, and the uproar and panic.
3In the end all were routed and put to flight, most of their arms and military standards were taken, and more were killed in that battle than in all the earlier ones. 3For their flight was hindered by sleep and unaccustomed fear.