Battle of Tifernum

Ambush
By doing so he learned in time the Samnites had laid another ambush and he went on in a carré so he was prepared for an attack from all sides. The Samnites on seeing their ambush wouldn't work descended from the hills where they had been hiding and both parties prepared for a pitched battle.

Stalemate?
After several hours of fighting the Samnites were still not moving one step back and gave the Romans a hard time.
Fabius Maximus had to find a solution and fast because his own men were growing tired. And he did. In fact he did two things that cannot be seen as separate actions like Livius tells us. At that time in the battle it is very likely the hastati already had been pulled back. Those of the first legion Fabius Maximus sent under the command of Cornelius Scipio to go secretly as possible behind the hills and to move unseen behind the enemy. There they should come over the hill in a wide formation with all standards.

Victory
When Cornelius Scipio unexpectedly (except for Fabius of course) showed his "legions" on the top of the hill, Fabius yelled his colleague finely showed up. (Which couldn't be true because his colleague Decius Mus was far away in Etruria). And his whole army repeated this yell. But the Samnites didn't know that, and really believed a fresh army was approaching and started to flee.