by the loss of the strategic port, Hannibal set his base "at Croton, which he found to be well situated for his operations and where he established his magazines and his headquarters against the other towns". As in the previous year, he was confronted by two armies of two legions each, one commanded by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus, the other by the proconsul Q. Caecilius. According to Appian, Crassus managed to detach from Hannibal seven towns in Bruttium, Consentia among them. It is open to debate whether he did this by force or persuasion. It is also debatable whether Crassus accomplished anything, for Livy narrates that Consentia surrendered after the battles at Croton in the following year. For Livy, the most memorable event in Bruttium in 205 BC was a pestilence that "attacked the Romans and the Carthaginians and was equally fatal to both, but in addition to the epidemic, the Carthaginians were suffering from scarcity of food". This occurred toward the year's end. The disease was so serious that Crassus could not return to Rome for conducting the elections of the next consuls and recommended to the Senate to disband one of the armies in Bruttium, so as to preserve the soldiers’ lives. The Senate let Crassus do what he deemed right and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus, who was sent the next year to Bruttium as a new consul had to enroll fresh troops. The first battle in the vicinity of Croton took place in the summer of 204 BC. In Livy's words, it was an irregular battle that was started by an accidental clash between the marching columns of Hannibal and Sempronius. The Carthaginians repulsed their enemies, who retreated in confusion to their camp leaving 1,200 dead. Hannibal was not prepared to storm the fortified camp, so the Romans were not entirely routed. Nevertheless, Sempronius received a severe blow and judged that his two legions were no match to the Carthaginians. He abandoned the camp under the cover of the following night and summoned the proconsul P. Licinius Crassus. After uniting with the other Roman commander in the region, Sempronius returned to Croton looking for revenge. He arranged his legions in front, leaving those of Crassus in reserve. This time, Hannibal could not stand his ground against an army doubled in size and was forced to retreat to Croton at the cost of 4,000 dead and 300 prisoners,