Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (31 page)

He immediately began to suspect that Farrid and Calvus were behind this.  Manius was now faced with a difficult choice.  He could march the Legion much farther east or west where there were bridges, and thereby give away his location while also losing a month in the process, or try to cross the river some other way.  Manius did not want to disclose his presence in the area quite yet or lose a month finding a suitable bridge.

Manius walked over to Tomaeus’ tent, which was a gesture of respect in itself.  He could just as easily have sent for his Chief Engineer.

Tomaeus stood up when Manius entered and said “Good afternoon Commander; I understand we have a challenge facing us.”  Somehow Tomaeus already knew of the issue with the Po crossing.  Tomaeus never talked about “problems.”  Problems to him were challenges that simply needed a solution.

Manius said, “I need for you to come up with a way for the Legion to safely cross the river.  I will give you whatever resources you need, and Tomaeus, I need this done quickly.  This is your number one priority.  Drop anything else you are doing”

Manius liked Tomaeus and trusted him to come up with a viable plan.  Manius often commented to those around him that Tomaeus was a genius.

His
tria nomina
[full name] was Pulvillus Tomaeus Venditus, but he preferred to use Tomaeus, his
nomen
[clan name] rather than Pulvillus, his
praenomen
[given name].

He was 5’5”with a broad chest and muscular arms.  He looked more like a handsome professional athlete than a soldier. Although he presented a serious, thoughtful demeanor, a smile and laugh lurked just below the surface.  He obsessed over his job and was always working on a project, either his own personal project or one related to his job.  His fellow officer liked and respected him, but, for the most part, he preferred his hand-abacus and writing instruments more than wine and conversation.

Tomaeus, unlike Manius, came from a privileged background, but did not flaunt it.  In fact, he made an effort to hide it and let his work declare his personal value.  As a youth, he excelled in mathematics and the 7-stringed
cithara
[guitar-like] musical instrument.

While Manius was forming the
XVII
, he heard about Tomaeus and his extraordinary engineering skills from another Commander who had worked with him in Spain.  He learned that Tomaeus had picked up an infection in his foot and was recuperating back in Rome.  Since a good engineer was vital to the success of any mission, Manius made a personal visit to enlist Tomaeus in the
XVII. 
The visit went well from Manius’ perspective, and Tomaeus asked for a few days before making a decision.

Since he would be working directly for the Commander, Tomaeus wanted to learn more about Manius before committing to a 30 month expedition.  He was reluctant to leave his family again, but his choices were duty with the
XVII
, or back to Spain and the endless marching and fighting.  He would leave Rome in either case.  After discussing it with his wife and children, Tomaeus decided to join the
XVII
and Manius.  Manius’ pleasant personality actually made the decision for Tomaeus.  He liked Manius and felt they would work well together.

That evening, Tomaeus met with his staff and briefed them on the bridge building task facing them.  Tomaeus spent a restless night as he mulled over the many options available to him.  He rejoiced when the sun finally rose and he could get the challenge “out of his head” and onto the actual work site.  When he finished a quick breakfast, he gathered his staff and rode to the river.  After studying the flowing water and walking the area, they developed a general idea for the river crossing.  He and his staff then brainstormed his ideas, worked out the bugs, and finalized it.

He found Manius around noon talking to Rosa and politely interrupted.  He told Manius, “We have three options to get the Legion across the river.”

Manius said, “Tomaeus, let’s go to the Operations Tent so the staff can also hear your report.  When everyone was assembled and seated, Tomaeus began his presentation.

“Yesterday, the Commander tasked the Engineers to design a method to safely cross the Legion over the Po.  The site selected for fording by the cavalry is narrow, shallow, and appears able to support a river crossing by three different methods.  All three require a substantial number of troops on the far side to support the effort. The reason for this,” Tomaeus explained, “is that the requirement for timber to build a bridge exceeds its availability on our side of the Po, but there is adequate timber on the far side.”

“With adequate Legionary assistance, we can build five 20’ rafts simultaneously and ferry the Legion across.  Horses on both sides would be required to pull the ferry back and forth.  Because of the number of troops to be ferried including wagons and horses, it would take approximately 10 days, working day and night, to get across including the two days to build the rafts.  This method of crossing is risky and not the safest.”

“A second method is to use the same 5 20” rafts to form a pontoon bridge.  The rafts would be towed into position and lashed together.  Upstream suspension ropes would help stabilize the bridge.  Anchors would be dropped alongside the individual rafts to help maintain their position.  The entire Legion would be able to walk or ride across.  For many of the same reasons, this pontoon bridge is not the safest method particularly in view of the speed of the current and rising of the water.  It would, however, be the quickest way across.  I estimate we could begin crossing in four days.”

“We recommend the building of a standard wooden pile bridge.  By working day and night,” he said, “it would take about a week to build it and the Legion could begin crossing in the safest way possible.  We have the resources and experience to build a proper bridge.  This bridge would be permanent and not only help us, but also the surrounding tribes.  That concludes my report.”  He then sat down.  He was pleased with himself.  He had delivered a professional report and provided three options.  He’d given the pros and cons of each and made his recommendation.  He was now prepared to answer any questions.

Manius and the staff discussed the three options and agreed with Tomaeus’ recommendation.  Manius asked how he proposed to get the necessary timber to our side of the river.  Tomaeus said we would float the logs across using suspension lines spanning the river.

Manius liked the pile bridge concept.  He told the staff to mount up and then the entire party rode from Parma with the Engineer to the proposed bridge site.  It looked doable.  He approved the plan.  With each passing hour, the river seemed to be getting that much higher.

Since the river was only about 100 yards wide at this point, Tomaeus knew of a quick river crossing technique to get men and material across using just ropes.   He had seen it done in Spain and explained it to Manius, who told him to give it a try.

“But,” Tomaeus said, “We still have to get some men on the far side to make this work.”  Manius was frustrated at this point, but had an idea.

“Get the
Optio
,” he told an aide.  “Since he probably caused this problem, I might as well make him suffer a little,” he thought. “But I cannot just send over a few men, they would be defenseless.”

When Tribune Calvus reported a few minutes later, Manius said, “Tribune, I have a mission for you. I want you to head up a party of about 20 engineers, three Maniples, and a small detachment of cavalry and archers.  Your mission is to head east, downstream, along the river’s edge until you find some usable boats.  I suspect the
Insubres
didn’t destroy boats too far in that direction.  They’d know we’d have a hard time bringing them back up stream.  Select the Maniples from the
Hastati
and tell Rasce and Snake you’ll need some of their people too.”

“Prepare the Maniples to be by themselves on the other side of the river for up to a week; bring extra food rations for yourself and food for barter.  After crossing the infantry over the river, send the cavalry back here to let me know of your progress.  Tribune, have your party ready to go first thing in the morning.  Any questions?”  Calvus had none and was surprised and excited by the prospect of an independent command.  His mind raced as he thought of what he had to do to get ready.

Calvus pushed out his cavalry escort at first light.  They were packing extra food in compliance with Manius’ orders.  The Maniples had risen at 0400, eaten, completed their packing, and followed the horses into the morning sun.  The going was extremely difficult and slow.  The river bank was broken by numerous streams and thick vegetation.  The column was averaging about one mile an hour.  At least it was cool and there were few biting bugs.  Eighteen hours later, after spending a miserable night along the river bank, Calvus spotted a settlement about 100 yards inland from the river and built up on stilts.  Their eleven boats appeared intact and were secured not far from the bank of the river.  The sun was dropping quickly so Calvus decided to wait until morning to attempt the crossing.

Most of the people in the settlement scattered when they spotted the approaching column.  Calvus marched the Maniples into the center of the settlement in column formation and then had them face outward, in the direction of the huts.  The 15 cavalrymen, archers, and the engineers stayed back at the wood line, but deployed in a line facing the village.  Calvus called for the chief.  There was no response.  He called again and this time threatened to burn down the huts unless the chief came out.  An elderly man with two young boys assisting him finally stepped out of one of the huts.  They were clearly scared.

Calvus said, “We need to use your boats tomorrow and we will pay you.”  The old man replied that the settlement had no need for Roman coins, but would take food.  Calvus, sensing the beginning of negotiations, removed his helmet, and said, “Let’s sit down and discuss the terms.”

The cavalry Detachment Commander saw Calvus wave for them to enter the village.  “They want food, not money,” he told the Commander.  “Break out enough rations for the Chief and his family and give it to him now, but hold back on the rest until I determine what we need for the boats.  Dispatch two riders to go back to Praetor Tullus and tell him that we found boats and should cross tomorrow.”

Calvus then gathered the Centurions from the three Maniples and inspected the grounds for the night’s camp site.  The best choice was simply to encircle the small settlement with the Maniples.  Calvus correctly assessed that there was no need to dig an encampment or ditch.  They were in the middle of a wilderness with very few people for miles around.  Each Maniple posted guards and was tied into the other Maniples for a seamless circle.

Calvus, his chief engineer, and cavalry detachment commander returned to the Chief’s hut and sat with the frightened man who offered them neither food nor wine.  The extra food had already been delivered to the old man and his daughters were now preparing the dinner.  “Let’s eat this tonight and you and your village will have more tomorrow,” Calvus said.  After about 20 minutes, a cavalryman entered the hut and whispered something to Calvus, who told the others what he said, “The people are beginning to return from the surrounding grasslands.  They’re scared and unarmed.”

During the meal, the Chief wisely agreed to let the Romans use the boats in exchange for food for the settlement.  The Chief told them that the village had been attacked by river people about a month ago.  He said, “They took anything of value and all their food.  They had raped several of the women and kidnapped three young men.  Besides all that, the fishing was poor and the settlement was now in bad shape.  He begged them not to keep or destroy the boats.”

The next day, Calvus gave the Chief the food and prepared the boats to cross the rapidly moving river.  The Chief, no longer frightened, said he would provide men to steer the boats.  The crossing required multiple trips and was touch and go for several of the boats, but they all made it across safely.

The march back west along the opposite bank back to the vicinity of Casalmaggiore was a much easier trip even with the extra baggage of a single boat.  Calvus decided to keep one boat just in case he needed it.  It turned out to be a good idea.  Twelve men, six to a side, carried it.  The Romans were able to use a road about 100 yards back from the river’s edge.  Calvus sent his archers up ahead to act as an advance party to provide early warning.  The Maniples marched four men abreast and made good time.  Eventually, they could see Tomaeus and half a dozen other men standing on the south bank.  They called to each other, but it was difficult to hear because of the rushing water.