Battle of Vesuvius

The battle was fought near Mount Vesuvius in 340 BC between the Romans, with their allies the Samnites, against a coalition of several peoples: Latins, Campanians, Volsci, Sidicini, and Aurunci.

The surviving sources on the battle, however, focus almost solely on the Romans (led by Titus Manlius Torquatus and Publius Decius Mus) and the Latins.

The remaining soldiers of the Latin army fled, but because the Roman loss was so great, they could not pursue their enemies.

[4] Decius Mus and Manlius Torquatus both had a dream before the final battle that the Romans would only be victorious if one of the consuls died.

Decius' wing opened and he charged into battle, immediately being killed on the front lines of the Latin army.