By hitting Rome, Telesinus was offering his men a chance to get their retaliation in first. However, there was also a cool, rational aspect to his planning – with the Samnites in their present mood, there was no way that Sulla could hold station before Praeneste and let the enemy have their way with the city he claimed to represent. Tactically, he should remain where he was, keeping the enemy armies apart and maintaining the siege of Praeneste. Politically, Telesinus had forced his hand. Sulla was compelled to abandon his carefully dug earthworks and make a forced march to defend Rome.
