to the left and ravines in front. Hasdrubal's best troops were his Hispanic veterans, who he put in a deep formation on his right flank. The centre was composed of Ligures, also deployed in deep ranks. Finally, on his left, he placed the tired Gauls on a hilltop, shielded by the deep ravine in front of them. Hasdrubal also had ten elephants, which he put up front. He had introduced an innovation in elephant warfare, equipping their mahouts with hammers and chisels to kill the beasts if they ever turned against their own troops, as it was frequent. Marcus Livius Salinator deployed the Roman army in front of the Carthaginian force. The Roman left wing was commanded by Marcus Livius, the right wing was under Gaius Claudius Nero, facing the inaccessible Gauls, and the centre was under the command of Porcius Licinius. The Roman cavalry was placed on the left wing, facing the Carthaginian cavalry. Battle The battle started with the Roman left flank charging the Carthaginian right, followed a little later by the advance of the Roman centre. The outnumbered Carthaginian cavalry tumbled against the Roman cavalry. The Carthaginian right wing and centre held their ground and the war elephants succeeded in breaking the Roman lines and spreading mass confusion. Claudius Nero, on the Roman right flank, struggled to overcome the terrain that blocked his path to the unwary Gauls on Hasdrubal's left. Seeing the futility in wasting further time attempting to reach the inert Gauls, he instead took half of his men in cohorts and led them from behind the battling Roman lines to the extreme Roman left, swinging his troops around and crashing into the Carthaginian right flank with sudden force and intensity. The Carthaginian right wing, composed of Hispanics, could not withstand this two pronged attack of Marcus Livius from the front and Claudius Nero on their flank. They were forced to fall back, taking the Ligures in the Carthaginian centre with them. The elephants were running amok, killing Romans and Carthaginians alike. Hasdrubal fought alongside his men and exhorted them to keep fighting, rallying fleeing soldiers and re-starting the battle wherever he was present. The Gauls on the Carthaginian left now faced a three pronged attack: Porcius Licinius from the front, Marcus Livius from their right flank, and Claudius Nero from the rear. By now, the Roman cavalry had completely defeated the Carthaginian cavalry and,