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Thus the battle seems to have happened at that river rather by accident than by the design of the general. For their camp was without either rampart or palisade, and there remained thousands upon thousands of their enemies yet unconquered; to whom were joined as many of the Ambrones as escaped.
Now the Ambrones were separated by the stream, for they could not all cross and get into order of battle before the Ligurians, who advanced at a run, fell on the first ranks and began the battle; and the Romans coming up to support the Ligurians, and rushing on the barbarians from higher ground, broke their ranks and put them to flight.
Though full of food and excited and inflamed with wine, they did not advance in disorderly or frantic haste, nor utter confused shouts, but striking their arms to a certain measure, and advancing all in regular line, they often called out their name Ambrones, either to encourage one another or to terrify the Romans by this announcement.
Rome was not unprepared for this invasion; to meet it, Marius had been recalled from his command in Africa, and invested with the consular power. When the division of the Ambrones and the Teutones reached the Maritime Alps, they found that general encamped in a position which lay directly in their line of march.
The enemy dividing themselves into two parts, the Cimbri arranged to go against Catulus higher up through the country of the Norici, and to force that passage; the Teutones and Ambrones to march against Marius by the sea-side through Liguria. The Cimbri were a considerable time in doing their part.
Assaulted for three successive days, the Romans maintained themselves in their intrenchments: at last the Gauls, giving up the attempt to force them, passed on and soon reached Aquæ Sextiæ, whither they were followed by Marius. Marius encamped on a hill opposite the quarter of the Ambrones; between them flowed a river.
But, whether from the difficulty of finding supplies on the Alpine routes or from other reasons, the mass again broke up into two hosts, one of which, composed of the Cimbri and Tigorini, was to recross the Rhine and to invade Italy through the passes of the eastern Alps already reconnoitred in 641, and the other, composed of the newly-arrived Teutones, the Tougeni, and the Ambrones the flower of the Cimbrian host already tried in the battle of Arausio was to invade Italy through Roman Gaul and the western passes.
The sutlers of the Roman army having descended to obtain water, encountered, in the bed of the torrent, some Gauls. A skirmish began; the Ambrones flocked in great numbers to support their comrades; soon they assembled their whole force and advanced upon the Romans. In crossing the stream they were vigorously opposed by the auxiliaries.
This acclamation, bandied from one army to the other before they joined, served to rouse and heighten their fury, while the men on either side strove, with all possible vehemence, the one to overshout the other. The river disordered the Ambrones; before they could draw up all their army on the other side of it, the Ligurians presently fell upon the van, and began to charge them hand to hand.
XX. After destroying many of the Ambrones, the Romans retreated and night came on; yet this great success was not followed, as is usual on such occasions, by pæans of victory, and drinking in the tents, and merriment over supper, and what is sweetest of all to men who have won a victory, gentle sleep, but the Romans spent that night of all others in fear and alarm.
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