 Pompey also sent a fleet under his brother-in-law, Gaius Memmius, accompanied by the able Spaniard Balbus, to try and take New Carthage, secure it as a base, and from there move up the coast.Memmius was immediately blockaded in the city, probably by Sertorius's pirate allies, and was unable to play his part in the campaign.Pompey had a veteran army (recruited from among his own and Sulla's veterans) of 30,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry at his back and must have been very confident for he immediately took the offensive; Upon entering Hispania he started clearing the coastal strip from the Pyrenees to New Carthage in order to link up with Metellus who was in Hispania Ulterior.