Agr. 36.1Ac prīmō congressū ēminus certābātur;At the first encounter the fighting was at long range; Agr. 36.1simulque cōnstantiā, simul arte Britannī ingentibus gladiīs et brevibus caetrīs missilia nostrōrum vītāre vel excutere, atque ipsī magnam vim tēlōrum superfundere, dōnec Agricola Batāvōrum cohortīs ac Tungrōrum duās cohortātus est, ut rem ad mūcrōnēs ac manūs addūcerent;and the Britons, with steadiness and with skill alike, using their huge swords and small shields, avoided or struck aside our missiles, and themselves poured down a great shower of weapons, until Agricola urged the cohorts of the Batavians and two of the Tungrians to bring the matter to sword-point and hand-to-hand fighting; Agr. 36.1quod et ipsīs vetustāte mīlitiae exercitātum et hostibus inhabile parva scūta et ēnormīs gladiōs gerentibus;this was something familiar to them from long military service, and awkward for the enemy, who carried small shields and enormous swords; Agr. 36.1nam Britannōrum gladiī sine mūcrōne complexum armōrum et in artō pugnam nōn tolerābant.for the swords of the Britons, which have no point, could not stand the clash of arms and fighting at close quarters. Agr. 36.2Igitur ut Batāvī miscēre ictūs, ferīre umbōnibus, ōra fodere, et strātīs quī in aequō adstiterant, ērigere in collīs aciem coepēre, cēterae cohortēs aemulātiōne et impetū cōnīsae proximōs quōsque caedere: ac plērīque sēminecēs aut integrī festīnātiōne victōriae relinquēbantur.So when the Batavians began to rain blows, to strike with the bosses of their shields, to stab at faces, and, having cut down those who had stood on the level, to push their line up the hills, the other cohorts, with rivalry and dash, pressed on and slaughtered all those nearest them: and many were left half-dead or unhurt in the haste for victory.
Agr. 36.3Interim equitum turmae, ut fūgēre covinnāriī, peditum sē proeliō miscuēre.Meanwhile the squadrons of cavalry, when the chariot-fighters fled, joined in the infantry battle. Agr. 36.3Et quamquam recentem terrōrem intulerant, dēnsīs tamen hostium agminibus et inaequālibus locīs haerēbant;And although they had brought fresh terror, they nevertheless stuck fast in the dense ranks of the enemy and the uneven ground; Agr. 36.3minimēque equestris eī pugnae faciēs erat, cum †aegrē diū aut stante simul equōrum corporibus impellerentur;and the battle had little look of a cavalry fight, since the men, long hardly able to keep their footing, were at the same time pushed along by the bodies of the horses; Agr. 36.3ac saepe vagī currūs, exterritī sine rēctōribus equī, ut quemque formīdō tulerat, trānsversōs aut obviōs incursābant.and often chariots wandering loose and terrified horses without drivers, as panic carried each of them, crashed into men from the side or head on.