41.1
. . . It was said that
he called to arms the fighting men whom his father had kept in peace, and
that he was very popular with them, as they were eager for plunder. The
consul held a council of war to discuss the Histrian campaign. Some thought
it ought to be undertaken at once before the enemy had time to get his forces
together; others considered that the senate ought first to be consulted. The
opinion in favour of prompt action prevailed. From Aquileia, the consul
advanced to the Timavus Lake close to the sea. C. Furius, one of the two
naval commanders, sailed there with ten ships. He and his colleague were to
act against the Illyrian fleet and protect the coasts of the Upper Sea with
twenty ships. Their joint command pivoted on Ancona; L. Cornelius had the
defence of the coast to the right as far as Tarentum, and C. Furius to the left
as far as Aquileia. The ten ships under Furius had been sent to the nearest
harbour on Histrian territory, together with cargo ships and a large amount
of supplies. The consul followed them with the legions and fixed his camp
about five miles from the sea. A busy market soon sprang up in the harbour,
and all supplies were carried up from the sea to the camp. To render this
more secure, pickets were posted on every side of the camp. On the side
facing Histria the emergency cohort from Placentia was posted permanently;
M. Aebutius, one of the military tribunes, was ordered to take two maniples
from the second legion to the river bank between the camp and the sea to
protect the watering-parties; two other military tribunes, L. and C. Aelius,
took the third legion along the road leading to Aquileia to protect the
foraging and wood-cutting troops. In that direction lay the camp of the
Gauls about a mile distant. and in their chief's absence Catemelus was in
command. They did not number more than 3000 armed men.
