Legio XVII: Battle of Zama (39 page)

Andreas went directly to Manius’ tent.  “Andreas, you look worn out.  You must have ridden nonstop.  Quickly, give me your report, and then go eat and lay down.”

“Sir, the mercenaries devastated the Inn River Valley and slaughtered 50,000 Suevi, mostly civilians, at Bad Tolz.  The people there had decided to stay at the fort, and the Queen sent 10,000 Suevi Auxiliaries to help in its defense if the mercenaries came their way.  No one expected they would.  Apparently, the evacuation of the people and farm animals out of the valley left the mercenaries with nothing to eat, and Bad Tolz looked like easy pickings.  Sir, the good news is that the Queen and Council decided to send their15,000 man Army to help us.  She expects them to arrive on July 22.  I told her to come around the west side of the lake to join us since the enemy occupies the other side.”

“Good report, Andreas.  That’s excellent news, and thank you for your effort.  Now get some rest!”

*******

Lugius was surprised that Dindar did not object to sending 5,000 of his men to help Vendim along with 5,000 of his Taurisci.  Lugius could sense that Dindar had lost his confidence and could be easily led.  So he said, “We have approved Sali’s attack plan.  We would like the Illyrians to take charge of the rafts and attack on the island.  If it fails, send the remaining 4,000 men to the north gate.  I want to begin practicing the attack today.  I will move my men back a few miles towards Verona to conduct rehearsals, but have them return to their camps in the evening.  We have eight days to prepare, which should be more than enough.  I will tell Vendim to start his attack at 2:00 A.M. on the 20th.  I plan to put our two armies in their attack position about 400 yards back from the river.  If Vendim attacks on the 20th, we will move forward and assault the wall.  If he does not attack by 2:00 A.M., we will return to our camps.  On the 21st, we will again assume our attack position and wait for Vendim.  If he again fails to attack, we will begin the assault without him.”

No one had any comments and the meeting broke up.  Dindar was in a very sour mood when he summoned Vendim to meet with him.  “You are the Commander of the operation to overcome the defenses at the top of the lake.  You are to travel down the lake’s edge and assault the west side of the wall at 2:00 A.M. on July 20th.  Lugius said if you don’t attack on the 20th, they will wait until the 21st and attack with or without you.  I’m repeating all this, so we are clear on your orders.”

“I don’t trust the Taurisci,” he continued.  “When you assault the position on top of the cliffs, put their men in the front.  You said that the width of the defenses up there is about 1,500 feet.  That means a front of 800 men.  Put the Taurisci in six rows of 800.  Put Malush’s men behind them in the same configuration.  Tell Malush to order his men to cut down any Taurisci who try to flee the battlefield.  Don’t let them retreat.  Have your men come last so they will suffer the fewest casualties.  After you take the position, send the Taurisci and Malush’s men back here.  That’s the agreement.  Gather your men, and leave tomorrow at dawn while it’s still cool.  You should be back at the top of the lake on the 15th.  I wish you success; we could use some.”

*******

The following day the signal detachment on the mountain transmitted two items.  Ten thousand men were walking up the road in the direction of Trento, and all the other troops in the mercenary camp were walking towards Verona.

Manius assembled his leaders to review and make sense of the two messages.  The one message was quite clear.  Fifteen thousand men were going to assault the Suevi position.  Even though the cavalry posted near the signal station on the west side of the lake already sent a rider to notify Odo of the impending attack, Manius had another signal sent telling Odo to start sending men to the rear.  The plan was to keep the archers and best pila marksmen on the wall and allow the others to go back down the lake in preparation for the ambush.  Manius knew that Odo would not be able to hold his position against 15,000 men.

Commander Gervasius, who was feeling emboldened after his successful night attack, was the first to offer a comment.  “Praetor, if I may, I would like to suggest a date when we could expect to see action.”

“Go ahead,” said Manius.

“If the reinforcements reach the top of the lake on the 15th, I would expect they would attack Odo’s position on the 16th.  If they continue down the lakeside, they would arrive at the ambush side on the 18th.  I would think the enemy would expect him to launch his attack on the west wall on the 20th or 21st.”

“I think that’s an accurate assessment,” said Manius, “which means Commander Calvus should leave here with Legio XVII and I Raetorum on the 16th to be ready for the ambush on the 18th.  Hopefully one of two things will happen at Odo’s position.  The mercenaries will take such heavy casualties that Calvus won’t be ambushing 15,000 men or, perhaps, some of the enemy will return to their main camp.  It’s obvious to me that the enemy wants to tie together the attack on our west wall with a full frontal assault on our east wall.  In fact, I suspect that the reason the enemy has pulled back to Verona is to practice the assault on the river wall.”

“Calvus, if our timing is off and we are attacked while you and two Legions are out of the fort, we’re in trouble.”

“Praetor, that’s also been on my mind.  I recognize the importance of executing the ambush, but I am also concerned with pulling out two full Legions.”

“How far away is the ambush site?” asked Manius.

“It’s about 25 miles.”

“I assume that you will spend one night in the field on your way there, but after the ambush, I want you to force march the men back here.  Don’t stop.  Leave the wounded.  Don’t wait for stragglers.  Get the Legions back here as soon as possible.  I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Bricius, when Calvus and the two Legions leave camp on the 16th, I want you to abandon the island and bring your Legion back here.  Leave a small force on the island’s wall.  Take up Legio XVII’s position at the north end of the wall.  Caile, you and Bricius will have to spread out to cover that portion of the wall normally occupied by I Raetorum.  This is one of the things that you as Legates must see to personally, or it won’t happen.”

“For the three nights that the two Legions will be gone, I want the men to sleep during the day and fully man the walls at night.  I think an attack is imminent, and we will be vulnerable.  The men can sleep on the ramparts, but I want a 100 percent turnout with full equipment.”

“Vitulus, you will be the acting Commander of Legio XVII during the ambush.  Review again how they may attack us here.”

“Sir, I speculated earlier that they may execute two diversionary attacks at opposite ends of our wall to throw us off balance and cause us to shift forces.  After a pause to allow us to move our men, the main attack will focus on the center gate and maybe the northern gate.  I think we need to ignore the divisionary attacks and wait for the main one.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” said Caile.  “I expect them to make an attempt to overrun the first island, but I think we have enough men there to prevent it.  If they were to get lucky, the men on the first island can simply withdraw to the second, and the enemy will have accomplished little.  I don’t think we have to get excited if we see an attack there.  We can just let it play out.”

Gervasius added, “My men occupy the southern end of the wall.  Don’t send us more troops unless I call for assistance.  If we’re hit with a diversionary attack, we can handle it.”

“Calvus, assuming you get back from the ambush site before we are attacked here, tell me how you plan to handle your position by the northern gate.”

“We have stockpiled extra pila by each position.  I have men ready to fill the clay pots with oil, light them up, and throw them down upon the attackers.  It should have a big psychological effect.  We’ve also put brush down in the ditch with the intention of lighting it as the enemy is crossing.  There’s enough brush down there to create quite a fire.  My men are proficient with the forked poles and should be able to keep the ladders off the wall.”

“Caile, V Etrusci sits over the main gate.  What’s your plan?”

“Sir, it’s the same as that for Legio XVII.  We collaborated on the best way to defend our position.  They’re not coming through us!”

*******

Emil

After Elitovius talked with Emil, and Manius approved his release, Emil was given three day’s worth of food and told to walk to Brixia and find his mother.  The Romans were easily fooled into thinking that Emil had forgiven them and abandoned his thoughts of revenge.  As he walked to Brixia, his anger and determination to avenge his father grew stronger with each step.

When he arrived in Brixia on June 13, he found the settlement a mass of confusion.  Wagons from throughout Cenomani lands were congregating in preparation for their escape to Lake Iseo.  He searched for three days, stealing food as he went.  On the third day, he caught sight of his step father chopping fire wood in the distance.  Striding over to him, Emil asked, “Where is my mother?”

“So, you finally decided to come back.  About time! he sneered.  “I could have used your help loading the wagon.  Your mother is not feeling well and has been of little help to me.”

“Maybe if you stopped beating her, she wouldn’t be sick!” shouted Emil seething with anger.

“Get out of my sight before I use this axe on you, you worthless Boii!”

Emil was white with anger, but managed to control himself and left to find his mother.  She was a nearby wagon, and when Emil climbed in, he could see she was pale and had lost weight.  His anger instantly dissipated and he was filled with concern.  “I’m back, mother.  You don’t look well.”

“It’ll pass; just a fever.  I’m glad you’re back.  I’ve missed you,” she smiled weakly from her bed.

“I missed you too.  Mother,” he said as he sat next to her and held her hand. “I’m going on a trip, and may be gone for a while.”  He paused struggling with his thoughts and even to make eye contact with her.  “Take care of yourself.  Get better.  You’ve been good to me my whole life, and I owe you everything.  I love you.”  Emil kissed her cheek, and then hastily backed out of the wagon before he changed his mind.  He walked back to his stepfather.  “She’s not well and needs to rest,” he said flatly.

“We all need to rest!” his stepfather shot back.  “She’ll cook dinner tonight like she always does or she’ll pay the price.”

Without thinking, Emil’s right fist crashed into the man’s face and knocked him backwards and off his feet.  He lay there stunned.  Emil grabbed the axe from where it stood stuck in a log and swung it up and over his head.  His stepfather lifted his arm to ward off the blow, but it never came.  “If you ever hit my mother again or don’t take care of her, I’ll have your head.”  He threw down the axe and walked away.

Two days later, Emil came upon a group of cavalrymen eating their breakfast.  Their horses were all tied to the various wagons accompanying them. He casually strolled over to a horse on the backside of one of the wagons.  Out of their line of sight, Emil untied the animal, quickly mounted, and rode away.  It took the men a few moments to realize what had happened, and by then Emil was winding his way among the other wagons and racing for the woods.  He figured it was best to avoid the road, and seek the shelter of the woods knowing that if he stayed on the road, they would simply ride him down because of his inexperience with horses.

He raced through the woods as fast as his skill allowed, and after riding for what seemed like hours, he reined in his horse on the edge of a meadow to listen for pursuers.  The only sound he heard was the heavy breathing of the horse, so he dismounted and rested for a while before continuing west.

Along the way, he stopped at settlements and begged for food.  If he didn’t see any males around, he snatched whatever he wanted.  Soon he was armed with a spear and a sword, and his pack was full of food.  This was the first time in his life he felt truly free and powerful.

Ten days later, June 25th, a cavalry detachment on the outskirts of Savona intercepted him and asked his business.  Realizing he had finally met up with Mago’s Carthaginian army, Emil saw his chance.  He knew that the information he had about the Romans and the wall could work to his advantage.  He blurted out, “I have important information about the Romans by Lake Benacus.”  He then asked for food and drink.  The horsemen didn’t take this scraggly looking youth too seriously at first, but Emil manage to convince them he was serious.  Among other things, he told them that he showed the Romans how to get around the lake.  The next day, he was taken to Salicar, Mago’s Deputy.

“What’s your name, boy?”

“Emil, and I am not a boy.  I’m 17 and old enough to be in your army,” he shot back.