Marching with all haste north he enlisted 10,000 troops from among the inhabitants of the country, many of them having already served in the Roman army.

He then marched north to Tenneto, where he was joined by the praetors Manlius and Attilius with over 20,000 men, with whom he marched to Piacenza.
Hannibal, after, as usual, rousing the enthusiasm of his soldiers by an address, marched towards Scipio.

The latter, with his cavalry, had crossed the Ticino and was within five miles of Vercella, when Hannibal, also with his cavalry, came within sight.

Scipio's front was covered with a swarm of foot skirmishers mixed with irregular Gaulish horsemen; the Roman cavalry and the cavalry of the Italian allies formed his main body.
Hannibal ordered the Carthaginian horse to charge full upon the centre of the enemy, and the Numidians to attack them on both flanks.

The Romans, in those days, little understood the use of cavalry, the troops frequently dismounting and fighting on foot.