Upon meeting the Samnites, the Roman and Samnite armies were separated by the Caudine forks, meaning that neither were willing to commit to an assault, instead preferring to skirmish against the other side until that side broke. After many days of skirmishing, it was the Samnites decided to commit to an all out attack against the Romans, as they feared that if they did not, their strength would be steadily sapped away by Roman skirmishing before they could get a chance to fight a decisive battle. Upon seeing the Samnites getting into formation, the consuls prepared their own men for battle, with Sulpicius taking command of the right flank and Poetelius presiding over the left.