Carthage needed its centre to keep the consular squadrons occupied long enough for the wings to destroy the transport escorts. Roman commanders instead returned, drawing on the military experience accumulated along their civil and military career paths. Keeping them away for longer would not necessarily have ensured a Carthaginian victory. The third squadron's shore position and corvus had already made its attackers reluctant to close. There is also disagreement over whether relief reached the fourth squadron before its opponents were already withdrawing. The plan required the Carthaginian wings to defeat the escorts before the consular squadrons could return, but the escorts' defensive positions and boarding weapons frustrated that timetable.
Notable Point · 1:10:36-1:13:14
Why Carthage's timetable failed
The Carthaginian plan depended on keeping Rome's leading squadrons occupied long enough to destroy the escorts, a timetable that Roman discipline and resilient defensive positions disrupted.