Chapter 67

Caesar meanwhile was embarrassed by lack of corn; for which reason he mustered all his forces in camp and, leaving troops to garrison Leptis, Ruspina and Acylla, and assigning his fleet to Cispius and Aquila to maintain the naval blockade, the one of Hadrumetum and the other of Thapsus, he himself set fire to his camp and at the fourth watch of the night in battle formation with his baggage concentrated on the left wing evacuated that position and came to the town of Aggar. This town had previously been repeatedly attacked by the Gaetulians only to be very stoutly defended by the inhabitants themselves. Here in the plain he pitched a single camp and then set off in person with part of his army on a foraging mission round the farmsteads; and finding a large quantity of barley, oil, wine and figs, and a little wheat, he returned to camp with his army duly refreshed. Meanwhile Scipio, who had got to know of Caesar’s departure, proceeded to follow him across the plateau with his entire forces and established himself six miles away from Caesar’s camp, with his forces divided among three separate camps.