Roman Victory at Panormus
Meanwhile Hasdrubal noticed the terror displayed by
the Romans whenever they had lately found
themselves in the presence of the enemy. He
learnt also that one of the Consuls had departed and gone
to
Italy, and that Caecilius was lingering in
Panormus with
the other half of the army, with the view of
protecting the corn-crops of the allies just
then ripe for the harvest.
He therefore got
his troops in motion, marched out, and encamped on the
frontier of the territory of
Panormus. Caecilius saw well
enough that the enemy had become supremely confident, and
he was anxious to draw him on; he therefore kept his men
within the walls. Hasdrubal imagined that Caecilius dared
not come out to give him battle. Elated with this idea, he
pushed boldly forward with his whole army and marched over
the pass into the territory of
Panormus. But though he was
destroying all the standing crops up to the very walls of the
town, Caecilius was not shaken from his resolution, but kept
persistently to it, until he had induced him to cross the river
which lay between him and the town. But no sooner had the
Carthaginians got their elephants and men across, than
Caecilius commenced sending out his light-armed troops to
harass them, until be had forced them to get their whole army
into fighting order. When he saw that everything was happening as he designed it, he placed some of his light troops to
line the wall and moat, with instructions that if the elephants
came within range they should pour volleys of their missiles
upon them; but that whenever they found themselves being
forced from their ground by them, they should retreat into the
moat, rush out of it again, and hurl darts at the elephants
which happened to be nearest. At the same time he gave
orders to the armourers in the market-place to carry the
missiles and heap them up outside at the foot of the wall.
Meanwhile he took up his own position with his maniples at
the gate which was opposite the enemy's left wing, and kept
despatching detachment after detachment to reinforce his
skirmishers. The engagement commenced by them becoming
more and more general, a feeling of emulation took possession
of the officers in charge of the elephants. They wished
to distinguish themselves in the eyes of Hasdrubal, and
they desired that the credit of the victory should be theirs:
they therefore, with one accord, charged the advanced skirmishing parties of the enemy, routed them with ease, and
pursued them up to the moat. But no sooner did the elephants thus come to close quarters than they were wounded by
the archers on the wall, and overwhelmed with volleys of pila
and javelins which poured thick and fast upon them from the
men stationed on the outer edge of the moat, and who had
not yet been engaged,—and thus, studded all over with darts,
and wounded past all bearing, they soon got beyond control.
They turned and bore down upon their own masters, trampling
men to death, and throwing their own lines into utter disorder
and confusion. When Caecilius saw this he led out his men
with promptitude. His troops were fresh; the enemy were in
disorder; and he charged them diagonally on the flank: the
result was that he inflicted a severe defeat upon them, killed a
large number, and forced the rest into precipitate flight. Of the
elephants he captured ten along with their Indian riders: the
rest which had thrown their Indians he managed to drive into
a herd after the battle, and secured every one of them. This
achievement gained him the credit on all hands of having substantially benefited the Roman cause, by once more restoring
confidence to the army, and giving them the command of the
open country.