De Bello Africo
Gaius Julius Caesar
English text
PROLOGUE
Second book on Civil War
23.
At the same time in Sicily, Caio Scribonio Curione, underestimating the militias of Publio Azzio Varo, left for Africa with only two of the four legions that Caesar had entrusted to him and with only 600 knights; after two days and three nights of navigation he landed in a place called Anguillaria which was 22000 steps (15.5 km) from Clupea, which in summer offers a discreet anchorage closed as it is by two high promontories. There, near Clupea was Lucius Caesar (Son) with the 10 warships that had been drawn ashore in Utica after being used against pirates and that Publius Azzio had rearmed for the present war; these, fearing for the greater number of the ships of Caio Scribonio Curione, left the deepest sea and reached the nearest beach with a trireme with protections, and abandoned it on the beach to flee to Adrumeto by land. Adrumeto was defended by C. Considio Longo who had a legion; the other ships of Lucius Caesar, after his escape, also repaired in Adrumeto. The Quaestor Marcio Rufo who was in charge of the 12 warships that Caio Curione had brought from Sicily as escort for the cargo ships; while searching for Lucius Caesar's ships, he saw the trireme abandoned on the shore, towed it and with that prey returned to Caius Scribonius Curio.
24.
Curion sent Marcio Rufo with his ships to Utica while he and the army continued for two days to the Bagrada River, where he left the lieutenant Caio Caninio Rebilo with the legions while he, with the cavalry, continued to Utica to view the camp Cornelius, a place deemed very suitable for the camp. This was a hill overlooking the sea, steep and steep but which nevertheless had a slightly gentler slope on the side facing the city of Utica. From there, in a straight line, the city was just over 1000 steps (750 m), but since there was a source, the sea crept in for a long stretch creating a marshy area of stagnant water, so that to reach the city you had to make a 6 mile (9 Km) wide tour.
25.
Exploring the place, Caio Curione saw the field of Publio Azzio Varo leaning against the city walls at that gate called Belica; it was well protected both by the city walls and by the city theatre which stood in front of the city; its foundations were imposing, which made access to the camp narrow. Upon observing, he realized that the streets were clogged with goods that were brought to the city from the countryside; for fear of possible riots, he then sent his cavalry to prey and plunder. To protect that convoy, Publius Azzio Varus also sent 600 Numidian knights and 4,000 infantrymen from the city, whom King Juba had sent only a few days earlier to help Utica. King Juba had ties of friendship with Pompey, who had been hosted by his father, but at the same time had a deep grudge against Caius Scribonius Curion, who when he was tribune of the plebs had promulgated and tried to pass a law that provided for the confiscation of the kingdom of Juba. The cavalry collided, and in truth the Numidians did not endure the first assault and after losing about 120 of their men took refuge in the field near the city.
At the same time, the warships arrived, Curion ordered to communicate to the approximately 200 cargo ships that were in front of Utica to direct the bow towards the Cornelio field and that he would consider those who had not fulfilled the order as enemy vessels. The intimation had its effect: all the ships laden with supplies for Utica immediately lifted the anchors and headed for their commanded place; all this gave the army a great abundance of everything.
26.
Curione returned to the camp near the Bagrada river where by acclamation of the entire army he was greeted as supreme commander. The following day he led the army near Utica but, while he was still building the camp, the knights of the guard outposts announced that huge cavalry and infantry reinforcements sent by King Juba were arriving: while on the horizon a large cloud of dust, immediately afterwards the enemy vanguard also appeared. Curione, shaken by this news, immediately sent the cavalry to support the first impact to stop the Numidian advance, while he himself quickly diverted the legions from the works and deployed them in battle order. The knights attacked before the reinforcements of Juba had time to take sides because they were prevented by luggage and by the fact that, not fearing dangers, they marched in broken ranks; so they were put to flight by ours. The enemy cavalry remained almost completely unharmed, fleeing quickly along the coast and taking refuge in the city, but many men of their infantry were killed.
27.
The following night, two centurions scattered along with 22 soldiers from their respective companies fled from the Caio Curione camp and they went to Azzio Varo. These two, whether they sincerely reported to him or pleased him with words he liked - and for that matter we all willingly believe in what we ourselves hope and want, and we think that the others also have our same hopes - reassured him that mind of all that the army was against Curion and that it would have been necessary for armies to have a parliamentary way to express these feelings. Comforted by these speeches, Publius Azzio Varus, the following morning, brought the legions out of the field and deployed them in a not great valley between the two camps, and so did Caius Curion.
28.
In the army of Publius Azzio Varo there was that Sesto Quintilio Varo already seen in Corfinio who, as mentioned above, after being left free by Caesar had come to Africa; now Caius Scribonius Curion was coming to Africa with the legions he had received from Caesar, who had also received them already formed precisely in Corfinio so that these legions, with the exception of a few replaced centurions, had the same centurias with Corfinio's handpieces.
Having the opportunity to speak, Sesto Quintilio Varo went around the ranks of Curione, urging them not to forget the oath made to Domizio Enobarbo and to him when he was their commissioner, and that is not to carry weapons against those who had the same fate and in the siege endured their own evils, and not to fight for those who with contempt called them as deserters. To these words he added few others, with the aim of arousing hope in prizes freely given by him if they had followed him and Publius Azzio Varo.
Despite these speeches, there was no reaction in the army of Curion; thus, both commanders took the army back to their respective camps.
29.
But in the field of Curione a great fear creeps into the hearts of the soldiers and is increased by the speeches between them. Each man made his own conjectures and to those heard by others he added his own. Moreover, when a rumour, even if it started from one, is transferred to another and from these to more people, it ends up that the sources of this rumour seem to be many. It was a civil war waged by a kind of men from whom they can be expected to act according to their feelings; they were legions that until recently had been in the opposing camp ... after all, these changing moods had also benefited Caesar. The town halls themselves were divided into two factions: in fact it was not Marsi and Peligni as in the previous night that made rumours, but speeches by soldiers; too big doubts were accepted as truth. And it was those characters who are used to wanting to appear like the more informed ones, who invented new ones.
30.
As a consequence of these rumours, the war council was assembled to deliberate on the general situation of the army. Some argued that an effort should be made to attack Publius Azzio Varo's camp because idleness was even more harmful to the morale of the soldiers, and that in any case it would be better to die in battle than suffer the torture of being abandoned and betrayed by one's own soldiers. Others proposed to withdraw from the field near Utica at night to take refuge in the Cornelio camp, which was more distant, and use that time to restore the soldiers' disposition, because anyway from there, if things had taken a bad turn, thanks the great availability of ships could easily have found refuge in Sicily.
31.
Gaius Curion disapproved of both proposals: one lacked courage, the other required too much; one resulted in a shameful escape while the other claimed to fight in an unfavourable position. "With what confidence," he said, "do we trust that we will be able to conquer that field which is extremely protected by the nature of the place and the fortification works? And what could happen to the morale