The Roman commander Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus sailed to Spain (Iberia) in middle 210 BCE, and spent the early part of the winter organizing his army (the total force in Spain was approximately 30,000 men) and planning his assault on New Carthage. With the arrival of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the son of Publius Scipio, with another 10,000 troops in 210 BCE, the Carthaginians would come to regret their earlier inaction when engaged in the Battle of Cartagena in 209 BCE.

Opposing him were the three Carthaginian generals (Hasdrubal Barca, Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco), who were on bad terms with each other, geographically scattered (Hasdrubal Barca in central Spain, Mago near Gibraltar and Hasdrubal near the mouth of the Tagus river), and at least 10 days away from New Carthage. The Roman campaign was conducted in winter to capture new Carthage using the element of surprise. The Battle of Cartagena in 209 BCE was a successful Roman assault. With the fall of New Carthage, the Romans forced the Carthaginians to surrender the entire eastern coast of Spain, as well as capturing a large amount of military stores and the silver mines located nearby.