Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (41 page)

He told his cavalry Commander Rasce, “Put 300 of your cavalry on the main east-west and north-south roads across the entire valley; keep them there for the duration to prevent the two
Suevi
columns from making contact with each other.”  He explained, “If we fight and defeat the smaller of the two columns first, it will be critical to prevent any survivors from getting back to Ariovistus with news of the battle.  We need to keep him in the dark as to our location and fate of his smaller column.”  Manius dismissed Rasce with the comment, “Rasce, let me be clear about this, the mission of the
XVII
and the lives of every man in this command depend upon the two
Suevi
columns remaining blind to each others’ location.  I’m counting on you.”

Rasce replied, “
Praetor
, nothing will get through; count on it.”

When Manius confirmed that Vocion’s column was the smaller of the two and had crossed the river well before Ariovistus made his crossing, he alerted the Legion and moved seven miles west from Igls to Kematen in the direction of Vocion.  At the same time, messengers were sent to Andreas to inform him of the location of the two enemy encampments and to tell him to force march his 4500 Auxiliaries to Oberperfuss, about a mile southwest of Kematen and
Legio XVII
.  He was further instructed to be prepared to move, on order, west to Volsesgasse and, on order, move into the woods and approach the village of Ranggen from the south.

Manius wanted to keep the Auxiliaries in the woods and out of sight of Ranggen and any scouting
Suevi.
They were to be his Hannibalic surprise.  Manius planned to have the Legion and Andrea’s Auxiliaries march west in two parallel columns, one in the open, the other in the woods, and then converge for the expected battle at Ranggen.

Andreas dispatched mounted guides to locate Oberperfuss and Volsesgasse and told them to immediately come back and lead the column forward.  For Andreas and his men, the long wait was finally over.  Most of the Auxiliaries were young, 17 to 23 years of age, and had never been in a battle, but were eager to fight.  They were beginning to grouse about having to sit at Axams and do nothing while the Romans had all the “fun.”  Now they were moving!  Their blood and minds raced as they picked their way down the steep hill and headed northwest onto flatter ground.  Each was preoccupied with thoughts of personal heroism and honor.  With their youthful optimism, none expected to die!

To ensure Vocion went to Ranggen as opposed to staying on the road to Innsbruck, Manius dispatched Rasce and 280 of his cavalry to ride to Ranggen and set up a mock encampment in the open field just outside Ranggen with lots of noise and camp fires to draw Vocion’s attention.  Manius explained to Rasce that he wanted to fight Vocion in the open fields by Ranggen before Ariovistus arrives in the area.  Manius said, “You are the bait; wiggle like bait.”

After Rasce got to Ranggen, he took half a dozen riders and went looking for Vocion’s camp.  It was almost dark.  They found the camp in the woods just off the main east-west road.  Rasce made sure they were spotted by appearing to blunder into Vocion’s camp and retreated slowly enough to allow a few of the
Suevi
to follow him.  Rasce and his cavalry then spent a nervous night in an open field about 200 yards from the edge of the woods hoping the
Suevi
would not attack them before dawn.

When Vocion heard how the Roman horsemen had accidently entered his perimeter and were now making camp about a mile away, he attributed it to Roman ignorance and lack of experience.  He decided to attack the Romans in the morning, but planned a surprise for them.  Since the Romans were mounted, he knew they would simply ride away if threatened.  He had to cut off their line of retreat.  He designated two subordinate Commanders to each take 1000 men and head to where the Romans were camping on the outskirts of Ranggen.  He told them to stay in the woods but to get behind the cavalry so that when he attacked them in the morning, they would be in a position to block their retreat.  About an hour later, both groups left Vocion’s camp and went their separate ways, one north the other south.

After a difficult nighttime walk through the woods with many false turns, they found their positions in the woods facing a large field; one group was on the north, the other on the south side of the field.  They could see the Roman campfires through the trees.  They now waited for Vocion to attack, but that was still several hours off, so, after posting guards, they slept.

*******

That evening, a Roman scout reported that the larger
Suevi
army was camped at Weer, 20 miles and about six to eight hours away.  Manius informed his Tribunes of the
Suevi
army at Weer and briefly discussed it, but decided that they needed to focus on one battle at a time and not be distracted.  Vocion’s army was the greater threat.  That night, Manius could not sleep.  He and Joseph spent most of the night devising a strategy to fight two back-to-back battles.  By morning, they had one, but it contained many “ifs.”

By 0400, Manius and the
XVII
had eaten, packed up, and were on the way to Ranggen to meet Vocion.  It was still dark when they set out.  Guides who had familiarized themselves with the route the day before led the way.  Andreas had spent the night at Oberperfuss, which was only a mile from the Legion, but separated by trees and a steep ridge.  He and his Auxiliaries were also up and moving westward through the woods to Volsesgasse, parallel with the Legion.

By 0500 hours,
Legio
XVII
entered the mile long cleared field leading to Ranggen. At the far end of the field was the bait - Rasce and his cavalry.  At this point, Manius could not see the cavalry because of a rise in the ground about three quarters of a mile to his front.  It was now almost light enough to see.  As they entered the field, Manius ordered the Legion to form up silently into three long columns rather than the usual three lines.  He used this formation in case an attack materialized on his flank.  Because of their intensive training, Legionaries could swiftly go from column to linear formation when the need arose.  Wagons brought up the rear.  The 12 ballistae were positioned on the right flank with 500 of the archers and the remaining 100 cavalry.  Four hundred and eighty archers were on the left.

When Manius approached the rise in the ground that was blocking his view, he stopped the columns and cautiously rode up to peer over the top.  He could see Rasce’s cavalry silhouetted against the trees and their fires still burning in the half light.  It was quiet.  Sixteen thousand men were now separated by only 400 yards, but neither side was aware of the other.

*******

Ariovistus woke his warriors at 0400 and was on the road west by 0600.  His men had eaten and were eager to engage the Romans.  Ariovistus’ painful hemorrhoids from the day before had been numbed by
a poultice made from pilewort juice and powder
he applied the previous night.  He was now able to ride without too much discomfort.  He steadily pushed the men and covered the 10 miles to Aldrans village in three hours.  Unbeknownst to him, the Battle of Ranggen, 10 miles farther west, was almost over and Vocion’s army was on the verge of total defeat.

Battle of Ranggen

Andreas passed through Volsesgasse and entered the woods on his left.  He was walking west and parallel to the advancing
XVII
, but still could not see them.  As he entered the woods, he put his two Roman Maniples in the lead, one behind the other.  They were followed by 20 Roman archers.  The two Auxiliary units of 2500 hundred
Raeti
and 2000
Cenomani
, his main fighting force, brought up the rear.  He put the Romans in the lead intentionally to provide a steadying force should something unexpected happen.  His greatest concern was that the leading elements of the Auxiliaries might break and run if startled and panic his entire army.  He could sense action was imminent.

*******

Vocion roused his remaining 4000 men at 0400, had them eat quickly, which meant a cold breakfast, and began picking his way through the woods to the waiting Roman cavalry campsite at Ranggen.  He spotted their fires and cautiously approached the edge of the woods.  His men followed and filtered down to the edge of the field.  Vocion saw the Roman cavalry, as expected, and then, unexpectedly, in the distance, saw a lone rider just cresting a small hill to his front about 400 yards away.  He figured it was just one more Roman and paid no particular attention.  The lone rider was Manius.

*******

Bethica mulled over her father’s plan.  She had voiced her opposition to this war, but now had no choice but to obey her father’s wishes and commit her forces to the fight.  After leaving her father at the Schwaz river crossing, she continued on to Innsbruck arriving in the evening.  During the long walk back to Innsbruck, she told her subordinates what had transpired with her father and their role in the battle plan.  The men were told to go to their homes for the night and to reassemble tomorrow morning at 0400 hours on the road leading west-the same direction that Vocion had traveled.

Ariovistus told Bethica to follow in Vocion’s footsteps, which meant she was to cross the river at Telfs and then head east towards the Brenner-Innsbruck road.  He told her to cross the river then dispatch 500 men to block the Reschen Pass over the Alps, 25 miles further west of Telfs, and send another1500 men to block the Secret Passage, 15 miles west.  He wanted to ensure that none of the Romans escaped.  He told her to find Vocion and to subordinate her command to his.  Ariovistus would rather have put Bethica in charge of Vocion’s army, but knew he would never stand for it.  He could trust Bethica to do the right thing.

Bethica’s men were exhausted by the time they fell into their beds at Innsbruck, but by 0400 hours, her men were assembled on the road and began to walk.  Unbeknownst to Bethica, by the time she was only 8-miles outside of Innsbruck, Vocion was dead and his army defeated.  She was completely unaware of the life and death struggle taking place 2-miles directly across the river.  The thick stands of trees lining the river and those encasing the battlefield, along with the sound of flowing water, combined to completely mask the sounds of battle coming from Ranggen.

She crossed the river by 1400 hours, dispatched her units to block the two Passes, sent out foot patrols to find Vocion, and decided to stop for the night to give the scouts time to work.  She also had to let the men dry out. She also realized the seriousness of her situation.  If she continued walking east, she may blunder into the Romans, which, without the added manpower of Vocion’s army, could be disastrous now that her force was reduced to 4000 men.  She was also aware that her men had just walked 180 miles from the Danube and then tagged on another 20 to get to the Telfs crossing site.  She decided her men had to rest and she had to find Vocion before committing her force.  She decided to spend the night of the 10th in the woods opposite Telfs.  By nightfall, her scouts returned.  They had failed to find Vocion, the Romans, or the Ranggen battlefield, which was 8 miles east.

*******

Andreas had his leading Maniple advance through the south woods in no particular formation.  It was way too dense for that.  But as it had gotten lighter, he kept expanding his front until about 50 men, or half a Maniple, were roughly on line.  The rest followed.  They were making a lot of noise.  He hoped the trees muffled the sound.  Suddenly, about 30 feet to the front, men started rising up from the ground and yelling.  He did not know who they were or what they were saying.  His men stopped walking and just stared at them.  One of the
Raeti
interpreters with Andreas yelled to him, “They’re
Suevi
.  It’s an ambush.”

Andreas instinctively yelled, “Attack” and the lead 50 men started running forward.  A shining example of Roman discipline!

Andreas told them to throw their
pila
and use the sword.  The
Suevi
were completely surprised by the sight of so many men approaching them through the woods and were utterly terrified now that they were being charged.  They abandoned their position and scrambled back through the trees spreading panic as they went.