Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (22 page)

Tribune Quintus Sentius Calvus

With two weeks remaining before the operation would be put into motion, two very strange things happened:  first, the
Campus Martius
Commandant, Tribune Quintus Sentius Calvus, was abruptly assigned to the
XVII
as Manius’
Optio
[Second-in-Command] and, second, by pure chance one evening, Joseph observed Ambassador Farrid and Tribune Calvus in a conspiratorial huddle.  Joseph saw the two men talking in a little used passage way near the 230 year old
Lacus
[pool]
Curtius
that he used as a short cut to get to the bridge over the Tiber where he had been secretly meeting with Decima.

Joseph and Decima were passionately in love and had been meeting for about a month.  Their favorite place was the west end of the bridge over the Tiber along the shore.  Their romance blossomed during the last five months when Joseph saw her almost on a daily basis while living at the Tribune’s house.  It began slowly, platonically, but quickly moved through infatuation to love as they spent time getting to know one another in the beautiful
peristylium
at the rear of the house.  It was here that she learned about his one God, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  She was fascinated by the history, the traditions, and rituals.  In time, she said she also wanted to observe the Torah.  Joseph was pleased with her accepting attitude, but still undecided whether to embrace or reject his faith.

Both Manius and Lucia noticed the growing relationship between Joseph and Decima and felt that the upcoming separation forced upon them by the Cisalpine mission was going to be difficult for the two of them, but maybe it was a good thing.  Lucia felt that if the relationship survived the separation, then they could get married if they still felt the same.  Manius, however, was beginning to have misgivings.  He was not sure he wanted his daughter to marry a foreigner.

Joseph was hesitant to tell Tribune Tullus how it came about that he saw Ambassador Farrid and Tribune Calvus talking, but he had to let him know they were planning something.  Manius never questioned why Joseph was where he was and instead focused on why Farrid and Calvus were meeting at all and surreptitiously at that.

Manius now recalled that over the last five months, those still loyal to him at
Campus
Martius
would occasionally pull him aside to tell him how Tribune Calvus was undoing all that Manius had built in terms of training for the Legionaries.  He had cut training hours for critical skills, reduced the standards needed to graduate, and shortened overall Legionaries’ training.  They felt the training was inferior and Rome would ultimately suffer the consequences on the battlefield.  Manius now pondered the unthinkable; perhaps Calvus’ was intentionally weakening the Roman Army by graduating poorly trained Legionaries; and who would benefit from that ~ the Carthaginians!  And why was Calvus now suddenly assigned to the
XVII
?  Perhaps so Calvus could keep Farrid apprised of their plans and movements so Hasdrubal and Mago would know when and where to invade Italy.

Now that Manius felt he better understood Calvus’ intentions, he could possibly use that knowledge to send misleading signals to Farrid and the Carthaginians.  Manius shared this information with Levi and trusted his discretion to tell only those who would be directly impacted.  Specifically, Manius insisted that Levi authenticate all legitimate communication between Rome and the
XVII
via a hidden code written in two separate places on all official communications and known only by the two of them.  The authentication code would also include a dated numbering system to ensure that no messages had been intentionally diverted or accidently lost.  Manius feared receiving bogus messages from Farrid through Calvus that would undermine his mission and direct him away from a possible Carthaginian landing on the Italian coast.

Centurion Servilius ~
Patavium
Mission

As privately instructed by Tribune Tullus, Centurion Publius Auerlius Servilius completed his final preparations for his mission to
Patavium
in early December 210 in order to meet his actual departure date.  In three days, December 12
^th
, he and his half of the
Triarii
would begin the 130 mile march east to the coastal city of
Aternum
.  The publically announced route they would travel was along the
Via Salaria
[salt road], to
Via Ceclia
, to the settlement of Interamnia [Teramo] and then south along the coast to
Aternum
.  Ships and barges were waiting to ferry his command north to the island of
Fossa Clodia
.  He was actually scheduled to sail on January 1 and not the announced date of February 1 given at the planning meeting two months earlier.

The announced departure date was a ruse designed by Manius to mislead any of the numerous spies who wished to see his mission fail.  Similarly, the intended route to
Aternum
was not the announced northeast route of
Via Salaria
.  His actual route was longer and took him in a more easterly direction, but it avoided the Gran Sasso Mountains, which was a relief.

In their effort to discover the exact route that Servilius would travel from Rome to
Aternum
, Farrid and Calvus had recruited several more spies, one of which was an Illyrian archer assigned to Centurion Servilius.  From him, they learned that the actual route was Rome, to
Tibur
[Tivoli], Avezzano,
Properi
[Popoli],
Teate
[Chieti], and
Aternum
.  Farrid immediately notified Agron and his
Ardiaei
warriors who were camped at
Teate
.

The archer took the money and deserted.  Snake learned later that he spent the money on drink, gambling, and prostitutes and was killed shortly thereafter in an argument over a gambling debt.

Agron now knew Servilius’ route.  He immediately moved his camp 12 miles west to a densely wooded area between Torre De Passeri and Scafa.  This area would provide concealment from prying eyes and was an excellent site from which to launch an ambush.  He now had to wait two months for his prey to arrive.  Despite the cold, his female captives enjoyed bathing in the Pescara River, which ran through the encampment.

Even though Servilius felt confident that his command was properly prepared for the mission in terms of planning, logistics, and training, his 25 years experience with the army taught him that if something can go wrong it will and that there are always unexpected challenges.  But at least he had done his part to the best of his ability.

He and Tribune Tullus and Centurion Vitulus had met continuously over the last five months to plan and collaborate over a whole host of issues and in the process, had all become good friends.  There was no animosity or envy among them.  They all had difficult jobs to do and welcomed any support and assistance they could get.  In a sense, they upheld one another and provided encouragement when they seemed surrounded by naysayers and incompetence.

Servilius was a little older than most other Centurions.  The majority of the Legionaries he commanded were between 17 and 25.  For them, fighting, marching, and physical hardships were an inconvenience easily endured. He was 42, which was on the older side even for Centurions who were generally in their mid to late 30s.  It took him much longer to recover from an extended march or a sleepless night.  Despite his age, he was physically and mentally tougher than most of the younger men and they knew it.  He was rarely challenged.  His scarred face was a constant reminder of his long service and vast experience in the Army.

Following the end of the First Punic War with Carthage, Sardinia remained for years in a state of revolt against the newly imposed Roman Rule.  Shortly after enlisting in the Army, Servilius and his Legion deployed to the fractious Island to quell the fighting initiated and maintained by Carthaginian mercenaries.

As Servilius tells it, it was during a relatively small engagement that he sustained a sword slash to his left cheek.  “I felt evenly matched against the Carthaginian.  We were the same height and weight, but his sword arm was much stronger than I anticipated.  His sword came at me horizontal to the ground, not overhead.  I raised my shield and blocked it, but it was swung with such strength that his sword pushed my shield aside and the tip of the blade raked across my helmet and cheek and took out two teeth in the process.  I backed up out of the line and tried to stop the blood loss.  I never did see what happened to him.  I was out of the fight and took months to recover.  If the Army had introduced the cheek armor we now wear, I would not have this scar.”  Inwardly, Servilius took great pride in his battle scar and made no attempt to hide it.

Before Servilius left Rome, Manius met privately with him and Centurion Vitulus.  Manius had developed 10 time-tested rules that he wanted to pass on.  “The three of us will shortly become independent Commanders.  By that I mean, you two will be separated from the Legion and I will be separated from other Legions.  We will be on our own in hostile territory.  There will be no one to provide immediate help should the need arise.  Our decisions must be well thought out and executed in a timely manner or we will fail our men and our mission.  Here are some thoughts I want you to consider.  For now, just listen.  Joseph has written them down and will give them to you when you leave here.

1.  Everything you do has a consequence.  Think 10 steps ahead.

2.  Accomplishing the mission is your number 1 priority.

3.  Your men will enable you to accomplish your mission.  Respect them and lead them.

4.  Always think food, fodder, and fuel.  The army cannot operate without these.

5.  Assume the enemy will do the unexpected and plan for it.

6.  Whether you are attacking or defending, plan a surprise for the enemy.

7.  Lead from the front.

8.  Keep me informed of your location and activities.

9.  Treat friend and foe with dignity and respect.

10.  Never underestimate the enemy.

Servilius was the first element of
Legion XVII
to depart Rome, so his troops got the biggest send off.  Besides Tribune Tullus, there were representatives of the Senate,
Comitia Centuriata
, religious leaders, and hundreds of family members to see them off.  It was a proud and sad day for everyone as the 1000 man “
Patavium
Mission” aligned themselves, were called to attention, and began their nine day march to the sea.

Centurion Servilius planned to continue training his command while enroute to the port.  But it was not training for training sake; the countryside outside of Rome was a dangerous place.  Law and order, previously imposed by Roman might, had ceased to exist over large swaths of the country.  War lords and gangs, some of which numbered in the thousands, roamed freely to rob and kill at will.  Servilius paid particular attention to his rear guard as attacking the rear of a marching column was a favorite tactic of the many gangs that preyed on travelers.

Late in the day, when Servilius and his
Triarii
were about six days out from Rome and a little over half way to the port, cavalry scouts brought back word that they had spotted a large encampment in the woods north of Scafa and close to the road.  It appeared to hold several thousand people.  “Centurion, we saw huts, women and children, and the smoke from numerous camp fires.  The men appeared to be warriors and when they spotted us a general alarm went up throughout the camp; we immediately left and were not followed.”