Such was the position of affairs at Capua. During this time Hannibal was drawn in two directions;he was anxious to get possession of the citadel of Tarentum and he was equally anxious to retain 瓦s hold on Cap ua Regard for Capua however carried the day, for he saw that it was the spot to which all eyes were turned. of friends and foe s. alike. and its fate would J show conclusively, one way or the other, the ”consequences of defection from Rome. Leaving therefore his baggage and heavy-armed troops in Bruttium, he hurrie d into Campania with a force of hors e and foot selected for their capacity for rapid marching. Swift as his advance was, however, three and thirty elephants followed him. He took up his position in a secluded valley at the back of Mount Tifata which overlooked Capua. On his march he captured the fortified post of. Calatia. He then turned his attention to the besleLyers of CaDua. and sent a messaffe to the city tellin them at what time加intended to attack the Roman lines,.so that they might be ready to make a sortie and pour in full strength out of .all their gates. The investing force was throwninto a state of great alarm, for while Hannibal was deliveringhis assault on one side, the whole of the forces of Capua, mounted and unmounted, supported by the Punic garrisonunder Bostar and Hanno were making a vigbrous sortie on theother. Realising their critical position and the danger of leaving a portion of their lines unprotected饰concentrating their defence in any one direction, the Romans divided their force; AppiusWT恤吵us confronted the Capuans,和lvius was opposed1 ' .1 to rianm bal;the propraetor h. Nero with the cavalry of the held the road to Suessula, and C. Fulvius Flacm cavalry of the allies took up a position towards the Volturnus.4 There was not only the usual shouting and uproar when the battle commenced;the din of horses and men and arms was aggravated by the non-combatant population of Capua. They crowded on to the walls, and by clashing brazen vessels together, as people do in the dead of the night when there is an eclipse of the moon, they made such a dreadful noise that it even distracted the attention of the combatants. Appius had no difficulty in driving the Capuans from his earthworks, but Fulvius had to meet a much heavier attack from Hannibal and his Cartha}the sixth legion gave way and Eelephants succeeded in getting upenetrated the Roman line, andbreaking through into the campcut off from their supports. Wthe legion and the danger whichupon Q. Navius and other cents:the enemy's cohort which waswork. " It is a most critical meyou must allow the enemy tobreak into the camp with lessbreaking through the closed ra;dispose of them whilst they a夔 it will llnot be a hard fight;they are a small body, cut off from their support ;and the very fact of the Ro 刀以an line will be an advantage if both sections close on flanks, who would.then be hemmed and exposed to a double a创比c k vn nearing this 1v avius took the standard of the secon d maniple of hastati from the bearer and advanced with it against the enemy, threatening at the same time to throw it into their钾dst it his men did not promptly follow him~ and take their.share in the夕g典ng..，tie was a huge man_ and钾S armour set sum oft, and as he lilted.the standard high in the air, he attracted alt eyes. But when he was close to the Spaniards they hurled their javelins at him from all sides. and almost the whole of their line turned their attention to this one man: