Legio XVII: Battle of Zama (35 page)

“I’m pretty sure I can make out the wall, but as far as what is behind it, that’s anyone’s guess,” said the leader as he rose and adjusted his gear.  “Let’s go back down to the horses and ride to the edge of the lake by the islands.”

The second four-man Detachment that went south rode south along the tree line, but kept the river in sight.  When they saw that the wall ended, they rode closer to the river and stopped.  The water seemed shallow, but the vegetation on the far side appeared to be a jumble of snarled trees and brush.  It also looked swampy.  They continued farther south and noted that the swamp ended after about two miles, and the land opened up to a vast grassy meadow.  The river, however, had grown much wider and picked up speed, making it no longer fordable.

It was about this time that they noticed about 20 horsemen now visible on the far side of the river and paralleling them as they rode south.  The riders, dressed as Cenomani, made no attempt to conceal themselves and were within shouting distance.  One of the Illyrians who spoke the Cenomani language yelled over.  “Who are you?”

The Cenomani interpreter riding with the Romans quickly translated and the Roman Commander told him to yell back, “We are Cenomani guarding our land.  Go back where you came from.”

That elicited a quick response, “We will go where we want.”  And with that, the Illyrians continued riding south.  They trotted another 17 miles until they were within 200 yards of the still-standing bridge at Mantua.  The Roman Commander on the other side of the river suddenly yelled to his men, “Follow me!” as he drew his sword and charged across the bridge.  The 20 men with him kicked their horses, and the entire group raced towards the bridge.  When the Illyrians saw the charge, they spun their horses around and galloped back the way they had come.

The Romans crossed the shaking 20 foot wooden bridge and gave chase.  In the scramble to get away, one of the Illyrian horses stumbled and pitched the rider over its head.  The rider hit the ground hard and rolled several feet.  The horse recovered quickly and continued to run, but the man lay still for several moments as he assessed his injuries.  He realized his left arm was probably broken and his head was bleeding profusely.  He slowly drew himself to a standing position, leaned against a tree, and drew his sword.

Seeing the downed rider, the Romans halted their pursuit, and drew up beside him.  One man dismounted with his sword in hand and approached the wounded Illyrian.  “Wait,” called the Commander.  “The Legates may want to talk to him.  Disarm him, tie him up, and go find his horse.  We need to keep him alive.”  With one blow, the Roman knocked the sword out of his hand.  Then three other men sped off to retrieve his horse.  A Cenomani warrior dismounted to help the wounded man, while Romans dismounted to tie him up.  When they grabbed his arm, he screamed in pain and dropped to his knees.  Pulling back his sleeve, they could see bone sticking out of his skin.  They removed his dagger and searched him head to toe for other weapons.

The Cenomani took it upon himself to care for the man.  He cut off the Illyrian’s sleeve and used it to wrap around his head to stanch the blood flow.  He then fashioned a splint from tree branches and bound his arm to his chest.  The Romans laid him across the back of a horse amid screams of pain, and they all rode back across the bridge.  Here they stopped, and the Commander pointed out six men and said, “You men burn this bridge down.  Stay here until you see it fall into the river.  Sextus, you’re in charge.”

The sound of hoof beats caused everyone to look across the river.  It was the three men who went looking for the runaway horse.  They found it, so the injured man was hoisted onto his own horse and tied to the saddle to prevent him from falling off.  The Commander and 13 men now began the long ride back to Lake Benacus.  After a few hours as darkness was falling, they stopped for the night.  Settled a short distance from the rest of the group, the Cenomani continued to care for the injured Illyrian giving him water and food.

Two hours later, having spotted the campfire, the six men who stayed behind to burn down the bridge rode into camp.

The Commander raised his eyebrows in question, “The bridge?”

“In the water,” confirmed Sextus.

*******

At 8:00 A.M., representatives of each of the four Illyrian groups of 5,000 men rode to within a mile of the wall.  They stayed south of the road and selected four sites for their new camps.  The camps were lined up parallel with the river and positioned about 200 yards apart. The last camp was on line with the southern end of the wall across the Mincio.

At 9:00 A.M., the Army had eaten their breakfast, packed their gear, and began walking the two miles to their new camps.  They arrived about 40 minutes later and began digging holes to emplace their palisade with the poles they had used the previous day.  Next, they set up their tarp tents and gathered firewood.  Wagons and slaves were parked in the center of the camps while the animals were taken outside the wall to graze.  Dindar set up a separate headquarters about 300 yards behind the four camps, and three hundred men were camped around his tent for security.

At 11:00 A.M., the four men who had ridden to the mountains returned and gave their report to their Commander, who then went to see Dindar.  “Commander, the men who went to the mountains to observe the enemy camp reported that the distance from the mountains to the wall is too great to see any detail.  They did get close to the islands and observed similar walls around each of the three islands.  They too are lightly manned by Cenomani.”

“Someone must be helping them,” mused Dindar.  “A relatively small army could not have completed all this construction in such a short time.  I need to know who else is behind those walls.”

At 5:00 P.M. the three riders returned from their trip south along the river and the process of reporting was repeated.  The cavalry Commander began repeating the Detachment’s report to Dindar, when Dindar cut him off and said, “I want to hear it from them.  Bring them here.”

The scouts reported all that had happened including losing one man when his horse stumbled.  “I suspect the Cenomani killed him.”

“Could you tell the identity of the riders?” asked Dindar.

“Sir, they spoke Cenomani and looked like ordinary horsemen.”

“What about the bridge?” asked Dindar.

“I can’t tell for certain, but if they want to prevent us from crossing the river, I suspect they burned it after we left.”

Dindar turned to an aide.  “Summon the Commanders and the Carthaginians.” In less than twenty minutes, the entire group had gathered in his tent.  He told them what the scouts reported from atop the mountain and along the river.  “It appears we are facing the Cenomani, but I think there are others helping them.  Maybe the Veneti or Rhaetians?  I find it hard to believe that there are Romans behind that wall, but I won’t rule it out.  Any ideas?”

“I believe
the Romans
are behind this,” retorted Mintho pounding his fist on the table.  “Who else wants to stop us from joining Mago?  No one!”

“Assuming you are correct, how can we notify Mago that we are here, but face this obstacle?”

“I think we should attack the wall straight on,” said Bujar, a Commander of 5,000. “Maybe it isn’t that big an obstacle.  Maybe it just looks formidable and would fall with a little Illyrian push.”

Sali, Commander of 10,000, conjectured, “Perhaps, we can get around the lake from the north end and come in behind the wall?  If not with the entire Army, maybe a portion of it.  They could attack from the far side as well as send riders to Genoa to tell Mago what’s happening here.”

“That’s a possibility,” said Dindar nodding his head. He then looked at Mintho.  “Tell me about the army coming from Ptuj and Posonium.”

“My men were instructed to ask Sirium and Magimarus for 10,000 Taurisci and 20,000 Boii and Eravisci.  They were to march to Salzburg, then Innsbruck, and come here maybe two to three weeks ahead of us.”

“Today is the second of July,” said Dindar.  “If they were two to three weeks ahead of us, they would have passed this way in mid June, which is impossible.  This fortification we are facing wasn’t built in two weeks.  They either went around the lake to bypass this obstacle as suggested by Sali, or they haven’t yet arrived.  I suspect the latter.  Whoever built this wall must also have plans to prevent being bypassed.”

“When you lay it out like that, I think you may be right,” agreed Mintho.  “We could send scouts up to Trento to look for them.”

“That’s what I plan to do,” replied Dindar as he stood up.  “Vendim, I want you and your men to go north to see if you can get around the lake.  You are on a reconnaissance mission.  I don’t want you to engage the enemy unless you’re sure you can easily beat them.  If you encounter a force larger than yours, come back.  If you manage to get all the way around the lake and it appears that you can successfully attack the enemy behind the wall, then do it.  If we hear the sound of battle, we will attack the wall head on.  If you can, send riders to Genoa to inform Mago of our situation.  The rest of us will wait here.  We have enough food and slaves to keep the men busy.  Malush, I want you to give Vendim your 50 archers for this mission.”

On July 3rd, five scouts with extra pack horses rode out of camp headed to Trento.  They were told to locate an army of Taurisci and Boii/Eravisci coming from Trento.  Two days later, Vendim’s 5,000 men started walking north.  Once they got around the mountains, they were instructed to head west and go around the lake.

The signal station on top of the mountain reported the five men riding north and the 5,000 men walking north on the road.  Manius was informed within an hour and a half.

The five scouts arrived at Trento on the 5th.  They had been intercepted about five miles down the road by Boii cavalry and escorted to Aze and Lugius.  The Boii cavalry Commander announced, “Commanders, there are five Illyrian riders here to talk to you, and they’ve got quite a story to tell.”

“Bring them here,” said Aze anxious to hear their tale.

Haggith said to Aze and Lugius, “They must be with the Illyrian army I told you about yesterday while we ate dinner in King Timo’s residence.  I told you that the Illyrians are probably two weeks behind us, but maybe not.  We did lose a week attacking Bad Tolz.”

The five Illyrians entered the tent, and one who was a native Boii, spoke, “Dindar, our Commander, sends his greetings.  His army of 20,000 men is encamped about four day’s march from here at the south end of Lake Benacus.  Dindar wants you to know that the Cenomani have built a defensive position on the west side of the Mincio River consisting of a high wooden wall that is blocking our westward movement.  The wall is sparsely manned with Cenomani troops and extends south along the river for about a mile and a half.  We sent riders south along the river, but did not find a way to cross it.  Our riders were attacked by Cenomani cavalry at the Mantua Bridge.  Unless you have questions for us, we will leave and inform Dindar that your army is a four days march north.”

“Yes, you may go and tell him that Aze and Lugius send their greetings.  We will see him on the 11th and talk about this wall.”

*******

Vendim and his men arrived at the top of the lake three days later, July 8th.  They rested at Riva Del Garda while the cavalry escort went forward to view the route ahead.  It looked like an easy walk through the flat countryside along the edge of the lake and then a gradual ascent up to the top of the cliffs.  The cavalry scouts noted that the hillside was dotted with trees and brush that obscured their view of the crest.  When they returned, they reported that the way ahead looked clear.

After the cavalry Commander gave his report to Vendim, he added, “We won’t be much good to you going up the hill.  I suggest that I have a few men follow the infantry up the hill while the rest of us wait here.  If the top of the hill is suitable for horses, my men will come back and tell me so we can join you.”  Vendim agreed and decided to spend the night at Riva before continuing.

The signal station at Gargnano, across the lake from the mountain, sent a rider to warn the Suevi on the plateau that 5,000 men were coming their way.  When Odo, was notified, he passed the message to his Legion.  The defenses and the men were prepared.  Odo’s plan was to allow the Illyrians to enter the area with the foot traps, throw their pila, and have the archers bring them under fire. He planned to fight at the wall for as long as possible, and then release the logs to roll down the hill.  At this point, his men would withdraw across the plateau.

Odo posted a few of his men along the cliff’s edge to watch the Illyrian camp at Riva.  They saw the enemy army cross the Sarca River and the cavalry scout the lake.  The Suevi held an obvious advantage; Odo knew where the enemy was located, their strength, and their intentions.  The Illyrians lacked such vital awareness.