In one of these engagements, he ambushed and defeated the Roman commander Caius Vetilius, who had been pursuing him in Tribola.

Viriathus used the terrain to his advantage, hiding in dense thickets before launching a surprise attack.

He overran the whole country, raiding the land and destroying Roman crops and property.

He lured Plautius into a trap and inflicted heavy casualties, killing nearly the entire Roman force.

They sent the Roman general Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, son of Lucius Aemilius Paulus, with an army of 15,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry.