 Knowing that both armies were closing in on him, he decided to make a stand against Antonius Hybrida near Pistoria with his back against the mountains; he hoped that if he defeated Antonius, the other armies would lose morale and more people would flock to his cause.Some sources say that Catiline might have faced Antonius hoping he might still switch sides.Catiline’s army had dwindled from 10,000 soldiers to about 3,000 by then, it is not certain how many soldiers Gaius Antonius had under his command but Sallust states in his writings "The Conspiracy of Catiline" that he outnumbered Catiline's forces.