28.36
Mago's hopes had been raised by the
mutiny in the Roman camp and the revolt of Indibilis. Now he despaired of
effecting anything in Spain and made preparations for his departure. Whilst
he was so employed a despatch came from the Carthaginian senate ordering
him to take the fleet which he had at Gades over to Italy, and after raising as
large a force as possible of Gauls and Ligurians in that country to form a
junction with Hannibal and not allow the war which had been begun with so
much energy and even more success to drag on lifelessly. Money was
brought to him from Carthage for the purpose, and he also requisitioned as
much as he could from the people in Gades. Not only their public treasury
but even their temples were plundered, and they were all compelled to
contribute their private stores of gold and silver. Sailing along the Spanish
coast, he landed a force not far from New Carthage, and plundered the
nearest fields, after which he brought up his fleet at the city. During the day
he kept his men on board, and did not disembark them till night. He then
took them to that part of the city wall where the Romans had effected the
capture of the place; thinking that the city was held by a weak garrison and
that there would be a movement amongst some of the townsmen who hoped
for a change of masters. The country people, however, who were fleeing
from their fields had brought news of the depredations and approach of the
enemy. His fleet had also been seen during the day, and it was obvious that
they would not have taken their station before the city without some special
reason. An armed force was accordingly drawn up outside the gate which
faced the sea. The enemy approached the walls in disorder, soldiers and
seamen were mixed together, and there was much more noise and tumult
than fighting strength. Suddenly the gate was thrown open and the Romans
burst out with a cheer; the enemy were thrown into confusion, turned their
backs at the very first discharge of missiles and were pursued with heavy loss
down to the shore. If the ships had not been brought up close to the beach
and so afforded a means of escape, not a single fugitive would have
survived. On the ships, too, there was hurry and confusion; the crews drew
up the ladders, lest the enemy should clamber on board with their comrades,
and cut the cables and hawsers so as not to lose time in weighing anchor.
Many who tried to swim to the ships could not see in the darkness what
direction to take or what dangers to avoid, and perished miserably. The next
day, after the fleet had regained the ocean, it was discovered that 800 men
had been killed between the wall and the shore and as many as 2000 arms of
different kinds picked up.
