Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (25 page)

The two wounded men selected by Servilius to brief Manius were weary from the long trip back to Rome, but they planned to seek out the Tribune to pass on the good news of the battle as soon as they arrived.  Manius beat them to it.  He heard that the convoy of wounded was only a few hours out and rode to meet them.  He made a point of taking Calvus with him so he would see the result of his handiwork.  A few men had died during the trip, but the majority were in good spirits.

They cheered Manius when he rode up alongside the wagons.  Manius purposely spoke to each man individually and gently prompted them with questions to get each to relate his account of the battle.  He purposely did not make any patriotic speeches, but rather let them talk about their battle experiences.  Manius was a good listener and these men had a need to talk.  For some, it was their first engagement against another man who truly wanted to kill him.

When the convoy arrived back at the camp, the wounded were in for a surprise.  Manius had arranged for their families and friends to be there to greet the returning heroes.  The wounded Legionaries had no idea.  It was a grand and welcomed surprise and sent a very significant message to the rest of the
XVII
~ our Commander cares about us!

The women that were rescued from the
Ardiaei
camp presented Servilius with a vexing problem for which there was really no good solution.  There were at least 1500 women, most of whom had been forcibly removed from their homes in southern Italy.  Some had no families to return to; everyone was dead.  About a half of them had children or were pregnant.  Some wanted to return home; others elected to stay at the port; and about 30 begged Servilius to take them with him as cooks and laundry maids.  After much debate, Servilius agreed.  It was more mouths to feed, but not that many.  They were young and would be able to keep up.  They sought protection from men and the consequences of a lawless society on women.  Travelling with the Legion was the best of several bad options.

North to
Patavium

On January 4, after four days at sea, the three ships docked at
Fossa Clodia
, an island just off the coast.  Each ship towed five flat bottom barges 20’ long and 10’ wide.  It was an ungainly looking sea convoy and made for slow rowing.  The sailors said the trip was relatively smooth; the Legionaries had a much different opinion and were happy to finally disembark.  During the voyage, the crew kept a sharp eye out for
Illyrian
pirates, who despite their defeat by a Roman Navy in 219 would still occasionally attack easy targets.

The off loading of the ships at
Fossa Clodia
and reloading onto the barges went smoothly in the calm of the lagoon, but still took two days to complete.  Supplies were stacked; weapons and gear stowed; and everyone breathed easier because the weather was not any rougher.  Then it rained for two days and even the lagoon was too choppy to ferry men or equipment to the main land.  The cold rain made both man and beast miserable.  Servilius and his Centurions managed to make one trip to shore on an empty barge during the rain to familiarize themselves with the terrain and to plan for the landing.  Everyone waited for the weather to change to begin the next phase of the mission ~ land the force south of Correzzola.

The sun finally shone brightly on the third day and it warmed considerably.  Men, equipment, supplies, and animals began the slow poling trip to shore, about a mile away.  The movement took three days of multiple round trips to complete.  As the beachhead expanded, Servilius erected a palisade wall and laid out a proper Roman camp.  As they became available, he sent out cavalry scouts to explore the area, select a route to
Patavium
, and look for friendly
Euganei
and
Veneti
.  The ground was saturated and mud was everywhere.  It was time to move to higher ground.

During the short march north to
Patavium
, the ground dried considerably, which was a great relief to men and animals.  Wagon wheels turned easier and men walked lighter.  Servilius scouted ahead and found a suitable site for the night’s encampment, which would also serve as a temporary fort until the permanent one was built.  It was on high ground and not far from the
Medoacus
River.  He put the men to work on preparing the encampment as soon as they arrived.  It was already late in the day.  The next day, full of adrenaline and energy, Servilius dispatched his cavalry to begin actively patrolling the region; he also met with his engineers and directed them to search for a good site for the permanent fort while continuing to strengthen the temporary fort.  He then set out with a small mounted escort to find the local people.

About 15 miles north, Servilius saw a built up area with about 30 huts.  There were a few people in the village looking in his direction, but were not indicating for him to come any closer.  He did not want to frighten them with too many soldiers, so he held his position and sent two riders forward.  The meeting seemed to be going well and soon the riders signaled for Servilius and the others to come to the village.  Suspicious that this could be a trap, he circled the village looking for anything out of the ordinary.  As more and more villagers came out of their huts, he felt more confident and finally rode into the village.

The
Euganei
were as friendly and as hospitable as Manius said they would be.  They were long time friends of Rome and had even sent troops to fight alongside the Legions in the Gallic War and most recently in the Battle of
Cannae
.  There was some hard feeling over the loss of so many men at
Cannae
, but the
Euganei
were forgiving.  After drinks and food, Servilius explained that he was there to build a supply fort at
Patavium
and that more ships would arrive periodically at
Fossa Clodia
with supplies.

He told the village chief, Darmo, he was interested in hiring about 1000 men to help construct the fort and an additional 500 to guard it when he left.

Servilius intentionally limited the amount of information he shared with Darmo.

“I can supply only 50 men; you will have to travel about 25 miles north east to the
Veneti
settlement at Mestre to get the rest of the men you need,” said Darmo.  Servilius thanked him for his help and asked him to get the 50 ready as they would begin constructing the fort within the week.

The following morning, after inspecting the defenses of the temporary fort, Servilius and his escort set out for Mestre.  The ride was pleasant and the air was quite cool.  Horses and men saw the steam in their breath until the sun rose fully.

It was a cloudless sky when they topped a low ridge overlooking Mestre and the Adriatic, three miles to the east.  The horses were able to trot for most of the three hours and now needed time to graze.  Servilius and his escort obliged them by dismounting.  The men also ate some
hard tack biscuits and drank sour win
e
.
they had packed for the trip.

Bagaudas and the
Gaesatae

Mestre was much bigger than Darmo’s village and laid out in a manner seemingly designed to please a fastidious Roman.  Servilius estimated there were at least 3000 dwellings, but the actual number could be a lot more.  They stood on the hill in plain view of the village waiting for something to happen.  In time, they could see a group of riders, about 30 men, with horses far superior looking to their own, leave the village and begin the easy climb up the hill.  As they got closer, it was obvious that they were mostly unarmed.  Nonetheless, to be safe, Servilius ordered his men to mount their horses and be prepared to fight, but to not draw their weapons.

The villagers halted about 50’ away.  The leader of the group, Axius, raised his hand in greeting and in broken Latin asked their business.  The other
Veneti
eyed the Romans with foreboding, but not hostility.  Some pointed and even rode over to the Roman soldiers to look at their equipment and weapons.  They were not afraid and seemed friendly, but the Legionaries were extremely nervous and suspected a trick.  Servilius briefly explained their mission and need for workers.

He did not mention that eventually he would need
Veneti
soldiers to guard the camp.  The two sides were now thoroughly mixed.  If this were a trick, it would not go well for the Romans.  It was at this point that a few of the Roman cavalrymen, particularly the astute Commander, Quintus Didius Sura, noticed that three of the “
Veneti
” looked different than the rest.  They had weapons!  Their weapons were noticeably different than the Romans’ and their shields had strange markings.  They also did not speak and appeared tense.

Meanwhile, Axius explained to Servilius that he was the Chief’s son and would gladly support building a fort at
Patavium
.  He said that they already had a sizable colony of
Veneti
in the general area and wanted to further develop the region.  The problem was that
Patavium
was subject to invasion from itinerant bands of mercenaries from
Illyria
and probably would not be safe until Hannibal was defeated or ejected from Italy.  The fort would provide security to his people and, therefore, fit in into his plans very nicely.  Servilius began to pick up subtle signal from Axius.  The way his eyes darted furtively and an almost imperceptible shake of his head.  Something was not right!

Axius invited Servilius to come down to the village to meet his father.  When Axius saw the hesitancy on Servilius’ face, he quickly suggested that, perhaps, a few Romans come to the village first to ensure it is safe for the group.  Axius mounted his horse and Servilius asked if two men would volunteer to ride with the
Veneti
to the village.  Axius understood the Roman’s need to protect his men and for reasons that would later become clear was greatly relieved that the entire group did not follow him down.  Two Roman cavalrymen volunteered.

The two soldiers were Appius and Marius.  They graduated from basic legionary training together and were immediately assigned to
Legio XVII
.  Since they had experience with horses, both were subsequently assigned to the cavalry and could not be happier.  As Marius liked to say, “Riding sure beats walking.”  When Centurion Servilius asked for volunteers to check out the
Veneti
village, they both eagerly spoke up.  It looked a great opportunity for an adventure.

As soon as the
Veneti
rode off, the remaining cavalrymen told Servilius that something was wrong.  They pointed out that three of “
Veneti
” did not look at all like the others.  Servilius listened intently.  Their observation confirmed that something was not quite right and that, indeed, Axius was trying to warn him.  When he looked towards the village, he could see his two men dismount and enter a hut.  It was too late to recall them.

Appius and Marius were led into a large hut by Axius.  As their eyes adjusted to the dim light, they could see 20 to 30 people, women and children, and old men mostly sitting and looking at them.  Around the outside of the circle were the younger men.  No one was talking or smiling.  Axius had a young girl bring them each a glass of wine and said, “As you can see, it is safe here.  Summon the rest of your group.”  The pair obediently stepped outside and beckoned for Servilius to come down to the village.

Servilius suspected it was a trap and now regretted sending the two down to the village. His men reappeared.  He could see them waving for the others to come down. He knew they were doomed no matter what he did now.  He told his men to mount up, waved for his men in the village to rejoin the group, waited for about five minutes, and then rode off in the direction of
Patavium
.

Because of their youth and inexperience, neither Appius nor Marius noticed that the people in the hut were actually prisoners and the young men their guards.   When they returned to the hut, they were grabbed, disarmed, and tied up.

As soon as they were over the hill and out of sight of the village, Servilius directed two men to find a place to observe the village without being seen.  “Once you figure out what is happening, report back to me immediately.  I need to know the approximate size of the force that has captured the village.  Meanwhile, we will strengthen our defenses and wait to hear from you.”  Servilius then gathered up food and water from everyone and gave it to the two.  “Stay hidden,” he told them, as he rode away.

Servilius returned to the camp to brief the Legionaries on what had occurred at Mestre and to have them continue strengthening the fort.  He then sent two riders to warn Darmo that mercenaries may be moving through the area and that he could move his people to the fort for protection when the time comes.

Servilius gathered his leadership team and began a walking tour inside the encampment.  Satisfied it was strong; he then took the group outside the camp to look at it again but this time from an attacker’s perspective.  Then entire group brainstormed how and where an attacker would position his troops for an assault.  They also tried to estimate the size of the force necessary to capture a village of 3000 huts and perhaps 12,000 people.  Most guessed in the range of 3,000 to 5,000 warriors.  Servilius had plenty of provision that had accompanied them on the ships so he was not overly concerned about being besieged in the fort.

Other than a few patches of woods to the west, the ground surrounding the encampment for 500 yards around was fairly clear of undergrowth, which was one of the reasons he had chosen it.  He did not want to give an enemy any places to hide troops.

Servilius guessed that the mercenaries would attempt to lure the Romans outside the encampment to fight, but no one thought they would attempt to storm the fort; it was definitely too strong for a direct assault.  If the Romans simply sat tight, they could probably outlast the attackers.  While looking over the terrain, the group identified a likely enemy base camp about half a mile south of the Roman camp on a hill that was lightly wooded; they then identified a likely place for the enemy to form up for a battle.

The site was a relatively cleared area about 300 yards from the hill and 500 from the Roman camp.  Servilius figured he would send a Maniple to this area to cut the few trees and underbrush to ensure they had a good view of it and that it afforded the mercenaries a full view of the Roman camp; he wanted the enemy to use it!  Lastly there was a deep ditch about 200 yards from the north wall of the Roman camp that could hide 1000 or more men.  This ditch was about 150 yards long and ran parallel to the camp’s north wall.

Servilius envisioned the mercenaries would try to draw the Romans out of the camp by forming up in the cleared space 500 yards away to the south.  Then while fully occupying the Romans with this show of force, they would try to storm the north side of the camp using troops hidden in the ditch.  The
Gaesatae
attack scenario was very Hannibalic in nature, but the Romans had learned from their multiple defeats at the hands of the Carthaginian “fox.”  Now, whether in Italy or Spain, Roman Commanders always looked for the unusual and sought to incorporate the unexpected into their own plans.  Hannibal had taught them well.

Servilius ordered his 200 archers and two war dogs to position themselves on the north side of the camp facing the ditch.  Their effective range was about 250 yards, which would allow them to drop their arrows into the ditch and disrupt any plans to storm the fort from that direction.  If the mercenaries stormed out of the ditch and attacked the camp, the archers would have them under direct fire for at least a minute.

Each of the 200 archers could fire 12 arrows per minute or 2400 arrows in total, which should break up the attack.   Servilius then ordered the four
ballistae
to the south wall and instructed the gunners to fit the arrows with wings to gain the necessary distance to hit targets at 500 yards.  Servilius wanted to attack them with the
ballistae
while they were forming their ranks and least expecting a Roman response.

The Commander of the 200 archers, an Illyrian by the name of Clausal, formed up his men and briefed them on the mission, which was to fire on the mercenaries while they lie hidden in the ditch and then kill them in the open should they decide on a direct assault.  To ensure that the plunging arrows landed in the ditch, Clausal sent out two men to spot the fall of the test arrows; one stood on the east end of the ditch and the other on the west end.  Several archers then aimed their bows upwards at about a 45 degree angle and fired.  The two men adjusted the arrow strikes with hand and arm signals.

This was repeated several times until all the arrows landed inside the ditch.  Clausal then planted thin long sticks in the ground at an angle that corresponded to the drawn bows. He adjusted the angle of the sticks with each additional shot.  When the arrows were on target, he substituted 10 large poles for the sticks and planted them where the archers would form up to fire.  He then summoned all the archers and formed them into seven parallel lines of 30 archers each facing the ditch.  He instructed them to draw their bows at the same angle as the poles and to fire on his command.  The vast majority landed squarely in the ditch.  After five more practice shots, he told them to go to the ditch to retrieve their arrows.  Practice was over.  Servilius watched approvingly.