Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (46 page)

Rasce, as we discussed, be prepared to attack the rear of any
Suevi
advance through the woods.  If they attack straight up the field, as I now think they now will, I envision you sweeping around our left flank to hit them in the flank and rear.  Wait for my command. 
Optio
form the Legion, minus the
Triarii
,
outside the fort.  Have them sit down and drink plenty of water.  Then, on my command, have them sweep around the south side of the fort to the front.  Servilius, be prepared to move the
Triarii
out of the fort and onto the north side to box them in. I will be in the observation tower.  Tomaeus, that tower better hold me!”  Everyone laughed as they exited the meeting.

Joseph stood in the tower as he watched his two friends Accius and Tertius move outside the fort with the
Hastati
.  He had been greatly relieved that were still alive after the fight with Vocion’s men, but still angry he had been was unable to join them.  Last night around the tent group fire, they told Joseph about the battle.  He listened with rapt attention.  Surprisingly, no one expressed any resentment that Joseph was safely in the rear with the wagon train while they fought.  He was greatly relieved, but overwhelmed with guilt.  Accius told him that after throwing his two
pila
, it actually felt good to run downhill and charge the
Suevi
.  He said running and yelling broke the tension and when he saw so many
Suevi
fall from the
pila
, he realized they weren’t invincible.  Tertius added that our stabbing technique with the
gladius
as opposed to their overhead swinging was much better.  Joseph hung on every word and stayed with them until they were ordered back to work on the fort.  He resolved that, one way or another, he would join his comrades for the fight tomorrow.

Andreas’ Auxiliaries built the brush piles and then ran to the field to form up on the top of the hill.  Excitement was high!  Andreas told them they would march along the back side of the hill, stop, turn, and then advance over the top forming a long line.  Andreas told them, “Your job is to stand here at the top of the hill until the
Suevi
begin their advance some ¾ of a mile to your front.  When the advancing
Suevi
are about 400 yards away, you are to “flee” the hill in “panic,” race to the fort, cross the ditches on the temporary bridges, and take up your positions on the walls.”

Legionaries had already stock piled the walls with caches of stones every 25’ or so.  The archers filled the towers and were to have priority on the walls until the
Suevi
entered the final ditch.  At that point, the Auxiliaries would throw the rocks and ignite the pitch-soaked brush in the ditch.  The wooden walls by the ditch were coated with mud up to a height of 4’ to prevent them from catching fire.

At 1000 hours, Manius issued orders for the troops to eat a light meal.  The bulk of the preparation for the battle was complete and the men now had time to cook.  Manius was concerned that they would have to go too long without food and become weak and lethargic just when they needed to exert themselves.  Since the Auxiliaries were busy building brush piles and then would be standing battle ready on the hill, Manius had the Legionaries prepare extra food and it was carried up to the Auxiliaries in carts.  Those men too sick, injured, or wounded to fight were placed in the towers.  The senior man among them was designated a sentry and instructed to continuously scan the surrounding countryside for signs of any
Suevi
surprises.

*******

1100: The
Suevi
army was almost giddy as they filtered out of the woods and into the field.  They were well rested and had eaten a hot breakfast.  From the onset, they had only heard how inept the Romans were; how ill prepared they were to fight; and how they outnumbered them by at least 2 to 1.  At this point, most
Suevi
soldiers were ready to get this over with and return home.  They all figured on an easy fight, unlike when they faced the
Teuton
and
Cimbri
. Ariovistus’ orders to his Commanders had been simple and straight forward: “Assemble in the field and wait for me.  We will attack the Romans standing on the hill to the front.”

*******

Bethica spent a restless night as she mentally reviewed the options open to her.  Yesterday, her scouts had scoured the countryside from the river to the mountains for a distance of about 5 miles east of Telfs and found nothing.  She concluded that Vocion and the Romans had to be closer to Innsbruck and the Brenner Pass.  “It is possible,” she thought, “that the Romans had already fled back south through the Pass when they saw the size of her father’s army.”  When she talked with her father at Schwaz, he told to link up with Vocion, but if the battle had already been fought by the time she arrived in the area, then her mission was to block any Romans escaping from the battle area.  She called her Commanders to discuss their next move.

When they had assembled, she said, “As you know, yesterday, our patrols found neither Vocion nor the Romans.  If the Romans are still in the valley, they must be closer to the Innsbruck-Brenner Road and, by now, very close to our main army.  In fact, the battle may very well be over.  This morning at first light, I sent out patrols with instructions to continue the search all the way to the Brenner road.  Unless we hear from the scouts, my plan is to hold the army together here for a few more hours and then spread them out north and south to block any escaping Romans.”

For Bethica, the tension was unbearable as she waited for word from her patrols.  Her men, on the other hand, welcomed the inactivity and freedom to just sit and rest.  Just as she reached her breaking point, two highly agitated scouts raced into the camp calling her loudly by name.  She approached them.  “Just tell me what happened,” she said in a calm voice.

“We got as far as Ranggen,” one of the scouts said.  “That’s where we saw the bodies of Vocion’s army and, out in the field, the Romans were fighting your father’s men from a big fortification with 20’ walls,” said the other.  “That’s when we left to come and tell you.  We ran the entire way.”

Bethica was greatly disturbed, but hid it as she looked at her Commanders.  They had assembled when they heard the scouts calling for Bethica.  She said, “Assemble the army.  I want to approach Ranggen on a broad front to catch the Romans running away from the battle.  Kacili take 1000 men to the road by the river and keep even with me as we move forward.  I will lead the remaining 2000 directly to Ranggen through the woods.  We move in 5 minutes.  It was 1300 hours.  Ranggen was 8 miles away.

*******

About 1120 hours, Ariovistus rode out of the woods to address his men.  He felt no need to deliver a stirring speech in order to motivate them as they were already well motivated, so he simply reinforced their view of the waiting Roman army and their expected victory.  He pointed in the direction of the river and Innsbruck and told them that tonight they would all be home with their families.  His remarks were greeted with wild enthusiasm.  The men patted each other on the back, joked, some even sang songs.  It was more like men at a celebration than men preparing for a battle.

1130: The
Suevi
army, 11,000 strong, moved forward in a mass.  Ariovistus led them on his horse.  About 20 horsemen rode on the flank.  The advancing army yelled and hollered, but for their own fun and amusement rather than to steel their courage.  When the distance closed to half a mile, the younger and more excitable warriors began to push their way to the front in anticipation of running.  As more and more of them got to the front, they increased the pace and the shouting became more warlike.  With 400 yards to go, the leading edge suddenly took off.  Thousands of young men now raced for the hill and the waiting Auxiliaries, which was their signal to turn and flee in “panic” back to the fort to man the walls.

As the Auxiliaries began to disappear from the hill, the entire
Suevi
mass cheered and broke into a run.  The intent was to catch the fleeing Romans before they got too far away.  A gap of about 100 yards had now opened between the younger faster runners and the bulk of the army.

As the first wave of the pursuing
Suevi
crested the hill, they found themselves looking down at a fully manned wall that stretched almost the entire length of the hill and not the fleeing Romans they expected to see.  Most stopped dead in their tracks while a few others kept going, but at a slower pace as their eyes darted about.  They were all completely surprised by what they saw and it took them a few seconds to figure out that this was an enemy fortification.  When this information processed from their eyes to their brains, they started forward again, helped in part, by newcomers arriving behind them who pushed them forward in order to see better themselves.

The 800 archers on the walls and in the three towers held their fire.  Their orders were to fire when the
Suevi
hit the first ditch 40’ from the wall and then to fire as accurately and as fast as they could.  The archers on the two side towers were told to fire on any
Suevi
who tried to run around the sides of the fort.  Manius watched as the first wave of
Suevi
crested the hill.  He could see their surprise.  He hoped the ditches and caltrop off on the flanks would prevent any
Suevi
from coming around to the sides.  So far it was working, but the real test would come when the
Suevi
mass came over the hill.

From his position in the observation tower, Manius could see the Legion hidden along the back wall and hoped the
Suevi
could not.  The Auxiliaries stood behind the archers on the wall.  Some were holding rocks and others torches to light the brush in the final ditch.  The
Triarii
stood at the ready in the center of the fort.  Moments later, the
Suevi
mass burst over the hill.  The sight gave everyone a chill.  There were so many of them.

Ariovistus spurred his horse so he could keep up with the leading edge of his men, but pulled up when he reached the base of the hill.  He turned and rode back to the bulk of the army and waved them forward.  The cavalry rushed by on his left.  As they passed him, he stopped his horse and just watched.  There was nothing he could do at this point and he was wary of stray arrows.  He would go over the hill later.  He had not lived this long to be killed or wounded by a randomly fired arrow.

The archers in the woods adjacent to the hill watched the mass of
Suevi
flow onto and over the hill.  It was clear to them at this point that no
Suevi
were coming through the woods so they moved to the edge of the woods and even into the field.  The distance from them to the
Suevi
was about 300 yards, which was a long shot, but within their range.  They held their fire until they saw the archers on the towers begin to fire, then they fired arrow after arrow into the mass.

The
ballistae
crews had winched their bows back and placed arrows in the slide.  They were told to aim center mass unless
Suevi
horse appeared.  Horses were to be their number one priority.  Their number two target was
Suevi
attempting to get around the sides of the fort.  Manius told the
ballistae
Commander that he expected the
Suevi
cavalry to come over the hill on the flank of the infantry and that by targeting the horses, they could turn a
Suevi
asset into a deficit.  Wounded horses charging uncontrollably around the battlefield can destroy formations and cause soldiers to watch out for them more than the enemy.  Earlier, Manius directed that four
ballistae
be placed on the two outer edges of the wall facing the hill and the remaining four grouped in the center of the wall.  All the crews were prepared to pull back from the wall when the
Suevi
got close.  Defending the wall was the responsibility of the infantry not
ballistae
crews.