These he placed in his second line.
3. Mercenaries, consisting of Moors, Gauls, Ligurians, the Balearic contingent, and the Spaniards.
These he placed in his first line.
4. Carthaginian and Numidian cavalry.
These he placed on his wings.
5. 80 elephants. These he placed on his front, to open the attack.
[B.] Scipio adversus hanc formam robur legionis triplici acie in fronte ordinatum per hastatos et principes et triarios opposuit: nec continuas construxit cohortes, sed manipulis inter se distantibus spatium dedit, per quod elephanti ab hostibus acti 15 facile transmitti sine perturbatione ordinum possent. Ea ipsa intervalla expeditis velitibus implevit, ne interluceret acies, dato his praecepto, ut ad impetum elephantorum vel retro vel in latera concederent. Equitatum deinde in cornua divisit et dextro Romanis 20 equitibus Laelium, sinistro Numidis Masinissam praeposuit: quae tam prudens ordinatio non dubie causa victoriae fuit.
Frontinus, Strategemata, ii. 3. 16.
Scipio’s order of battle. Instead of drawing up his manipuli like the black squares of a chessboard—the usual order, so that, in advancing, the manipuli of the three lines could form one unbroken line—he placed them one behind the other, like the rounds of a ladder, so as to leave spaces in the lines, through which the elephants might pass without trampling down or throwing into confusion the infantry battalions, e.g.:
| not | *** *** *** | but | *** *** *** |