Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War

by Thomas A. Timmes

  This was the moment Servilius was waiting for! The ballistae had ranged their weapons four days ago, stained their arrows black with ash to conceal their flight, and stuck two innocent looking poles into the ground at either end of the field now occupied by the Gaesatae. It was 500 yards, easily within the Scorpio range with the wing-like devices attached to the arrows. Servilius order the ballistae to prepare to fire. The four crossbow weapons were winched back, the sinews staining under the tension. Arrows were inserted into the slider tracks and the gunners raised their arms signally their readiness. “Fire!” barked Servilius and four huge arrows snapped off the launchers and flew towards the milling Gaesatae. Ten seconds later they impacted the unsuspecting men.

  The results were predictable. Neither Bagaudas nor his men had any idea what had just hit them! Scores of men now lay dead and wounded and the formation was thrown into total confusion. Four seconds later, the second set of four ballistae arrows smashed into the Gaesatae. When the third set of four arrows hit, the men broke for the hill in panic leaving dozens of dead and dying lying in the field. Once back on the hill, Bagaudas was shown one of the arrows and loudly cursed the Romans.

  The 3000 hidden in the trees to the west were not sure what was happening. They saw Bagaudas march his men off the hill and then saw them suddenly running back in panic. Mandos, thinking he needed to do something, ordered his men to charge the Roman camp.

  Servilius was taken by surprise by the loud shouts and lines of men running at his position! He had not seen this coming, but immediately ordered the Scorpio and archers to relocate to the west wall and begin firing as soon as they were ready. The archers got there first and began shooting directly at the advancing horde. By the time the ballistae were in their new positions, the Gaesatae were already in the ditch and trying to climb over the palisades. Servilius directed Legionaries from the south wall to move to the west. Hundreds of heavy Roman pila were now crashing into Gaesatae flesh and shield, but the 3000 pressed their attack. Archers were now leaning out over the wall and firing point blank; they could not miss. The Gaesatae attack slowed at first and then the men began to back away. The wall, pila, and arrows were too much!

  When Bagaudas heard the shouting as the 3000 left the tree line, he immediately ordered a rider to tell them to stop the attack and return to the hill, but the rider was too late. When he found Mandos, the assault was in full fury.

  Seeing his chance of success slipping away and his losses mounting, Mandos summoned his trumpeter and sounded the withdrawal. Many more Gaesatae died as they turned their backs to the Romans. It was a bad day for the mercenaries. Barely 1500 made it back to the trees. Bagaudas was absolutely furious. He blamed Mandos for the disaster, for everything that went wrong. He accused him of being a traitor, a secret Roman agent. He swore; he threw things; he vowed to kill Mandos. Some of his ranting was genuine, but most of it was theater for the benefit of what remained of his army. He needed a scapegoat to explain away why so many men died for nothing. When the demoralized troops returned to the hill, Bagaudas yelled, “Grab him!” He then screamed at Mandos, “Why did you attack? I specifically told you not to unless I ordered it. You are responsible for my men dying.”

  Mandos screamed back at Bagaudas, “I thought you were being attacked and I had to do something to help. I thought it was the right thing to do!”

  “Kneel,” ordered Bagaudas in a loud commanding voice.

  Mandos screamed “No, do not do this. I am sorry. I was trying to help.” He struggled against the two men trying to force him to his knees. “No, Bagaudas, please,” he pleaded.

  “Lay him down,” ordered Bagaudas. “Stop him from moving.” A man grabbed Mandos’ hair and stretched his head flat on the ground. Three other men held his body flat. Bagaudas drew his sword and with both hand brought it down. The tip of the blade hit the ground and took most of the force. Mandos’ shoulder and neck suffered a deep laceration, but it was not a fatal blow. Bagaudas drew his sword back for another swing, with the same result. Mandos was screaming in shock and pain. Bagaudas then drew his dagger and cut Mandos’ throat to shut him up. He then cut off his head. Bagaudas had Mandos’ head impaled on a stake facing the Roman camp so he would forever see the disaster he wrought.

  The Romans had devastated Bagaudas’ force. He had lost about 2000 men; almost half his army. The Gaesatae immediately began preparations to resume their march south, but with a lot fewer men.

  When the Gaesatae were well south of Patavium, Servilius allowed the archers and Scorpio crews to retrieve their arrows and survey the effects of their weapons. Legionaries similarly retrieved any still useful pila. Severely wounded Gaesatae were quickly killed while the lightly wounded were taken prisoner. Following their tradition, the Romans leaders walked the battlefield and mined it for lessons learned. Servilius praised the archers and ballistae for their good work and the Legionaries for their defense of the west wall. He then dispatched riders to inform Tribune Tullus, who was still at Rome and Centurion Vitulus at Clastidium of all that had transpired.

  As Servilius blew out his candle and ended January 20th, he marveled at all that had happened since he left Rome on December 12th. It bothered him that he had lost a week’s worth of construction time on the new fort because of the Gaesatae. He needed to begin construction tomorrow and somehow make up for the lost time.

  The first thing on his mind when he awoke the next morning was his continuing need for information. He did not want to be surprised by any more mercenaries moving south to join Hannibal. Before he left Rome, Elitovius, Tribune Tullus chief spy, told him to see a Veneti by the name of Belunum who lived in the port city of Spinea on the Po River, 21 miles from Patavium. Elitovius said he had worked with Belunum in the past and he could be trusted. Servilius summoned his cavalry commander, Sura, and instructed him to discreetly find Belunum. Tell him only what he needs to know and arrange for a way to have information discreetly passed. With that off his mind, he could now concentrate on building the fort.

  Prior to the Gaesatae attack, his engineers had been busy searching an area closer to the river for the perfect site to build the new fort. They wanted it reasonably close to the river and on a hill top with good visibility. It had to be easily accessible from the existing roads, and have sufficient trees close by with which to build the fort. They had found a site and now awaited the Centurion’s approval to begin staking out its exact dimensions. Servilius accompanied the engineers to the site, which was about a mile north of the present encampment. It was ideal and Servilius directed the work to begin immediately. The engineers estimated it would take a minimum of 90 days to complete, which would be around mid April, 209.

  Servilius gathered an escort, which included an engineer and several Maniples’ Centurions, and rode back to the village of Mestre. Once again, the Romans observed the village from the hilltop and Axius rode up to greet them. He apologized profusely for the deception he was forced to employ at their last meeting and offered his sympathy for the two Romans who were captured.

  He told Servilius how the Gaesatae had surprised the village in the early morning hours and threatened to kill the Chief and all the children if they did not cooperate. Axius told them that they had been raided so frequently by Gaesatae and other mercenaries passing through the area that they had taken to hiding anything of value, including their food. He begged Servilius for Roman weapons, training, and fortifications to better defend themselves.

  Once in the village, Servilius met the old Chief, Avitus, who delighted in showing the Romans his many battle scars. He was all talk. It became obvious to Servilius that Avitus was the Chief in name only and that his son, Axius, was, in fact, the de facto leader of this village. Eventually, Avitus was led away to rest and the negotiations started in earnest. The Veneti wanted Roman help with village’s defenses, and Servilius wanted 1000 Veneti to help build the fort. Axius was eager to compromise and willingly reduced the cost of providing the 1000 men in exchange for training, weapons, and inst
ructions on building a wall and preparing a ditch to repel raiders.

  Axius promised that his men would arrive at the Roman camp within 10 days and could stay for 90 days. Servilius promised in turn that his engineers would survey the village and propose a proper defensive strategy within the week. Servilius additionally promised to obtain the desired weapons for the village and a Roman cadre to train the men on their use. Lastly, Servilius said he would provide foremen to guide and direct the work on the village’s defenses.

  Servilius was feeling a little overwhelmed as he rode back to camp. He thought about all he had to do: build his own fort and now build a fort for the Veneti as well as equip and train them. Providing them with weapons would be an easy first step. The Gaesatae had left a few thousand lying on the battlefield. His men had already gathered them and put them in the encampment for safe keeping. He also believed he could trust his engineers to do a professional site survey for the village and that he had adequate Centurions to supervise the building of the two forts. He felt the same for training the Veneti. He had the people. The building and training effort just had to be organized and supervised. “Maybe this won’t be so difficult,” he thought.

  “The 30 women that we rescued from the Ardiaei seem to be doing well,” he thought. They did not disrupt life in the camp. They did the cooking, washed the Legionaries clothing, and performed repairs on broken clasps and other equipment items. He also heard that they were friendly enough to keep the men from sneaking out at night to find Veneti women.

  He reminded himself that he needed to put the 300 Gaesatae prisoners on the next supply ships that arrived at Fossa Clodia for their one way trip to Rome. He figured the ships coming from Aternum would dock in about two week’s time with their cargo of food, letters, and replacements. In the meantime, some of these prisoners could help build the fort.

  Tribune Tullus was overjoyed when the riders told him about Centurion Servilius’ victory over the Gaesatae. “That’s twice now he’s proven himself in battle,” he said. “I need to get him promoted.” He then read aloud the message from Servilius. “Construction on the new fort should be starting soon and his Legionaries are faring well,” he told those around him. He then took the message over to Army Headquarters. The Gaesatae that attacked Servilius were now moving down the east coast and had to be intercepted before reaching Hannibal. He guessed that the Auxiliary Legion stationed at the port of Aternum would be given that task. This was the same Auxiliary Legion that had escorted his wounded men back to Rome after Servilius’ encounter with Agron and the Ardiaei. He knew the Commander, Praetor Rullus, an uncouth sort of man, but a good commander. He could be counted on to stop the Gaesatae.

  Centurion Vitulus ~ Clastidium Mission

  Centurion Appollonius Albus Vitulus knew he had his work cut out for him when he received his order. He appreciated Tribune Tullus’ confidence in him and hoped the information that the Ligurians could be trusted as loyal allies of Rome was reliable. From his perspective, everything hinged on their support and loyalty.

  After receiving his mission statement from Tullus in late October, he met with his War Council comprised of his two personal aides, the 10 Centurions assigned to his half of the Triarii, and the two Centurions in charge of his 100-man horse cavalry and 200 archers. He repeated the assignment to them and outlined what they had to do. Their input and perspective helped reveal the hidden and assumed tasks of the mission that needed to be accomplished in addition to the stated tasks.

  Vitulus, 32, was very much like Tribune Tullus in his family background, outward appearance, and temperament, although a lot younger. He enjoyed a good laugh, excelled in all things athletic, and did not shirk physical hardship. Unlike some Centurions, he liked his troops and enjoyed their company. He could rapidly assess problems and make sound decisions on matters pertaining to troop movements, logistics, training, and morale, yet lacked the patience to deal effectively with difficult people and multiple courses of action.

  He favored clear cut problems and equally clear solutions. His saving grace was that he was aware of his own shortcomings and chose subordinates whose temperament would make up for what he lacked. Even with this strategy, though, he often lacked the patience to stop and listen to their counsel.

  Vitulus knew that Consul Scipio, 25, [who would later become Scipio Africanus] was preparing to drop a requisition for 30 ships. Vitulus was not 100% sure of Scipio’s overall mission, but had heard that Scipio was preparing to launch an expedition with 25,000 Legionaries in early 209. He heard that Scipio would launch his campaign from his current base in northern Spain to capture the Carthaginian city of Carthago Nova [Cartagena], which is on the east coast of Spain. Vitulus believed that Scipio’s mission was to establish a base of operations and then go after Hasdrubal who was recruiting an army to reinforce Hannibal.

  Scipio’s expedition had many negative implications for Vitulus’ mission. The primary one was that they would be in direct competition for ships. Scipio needed 30 and Vitulus needed only 3, but that could be 3 too many. Scipio had priority.

  Vitulus scheduled a meeting with the Naval Commander at Ostia to brief them on his mission. It went well until he mentioned that he needed three dedicated ships for the foreseeable future to carry his command to Genua and then to make frequent resupply runs. The Navy showed him the door! The reason given for not supporting Vitulus’ mission was that, “The Navy will be supporting Scipio and there aren’t enough ships to go around. You could try to hire civilian ships.”

  Vitulus immediately reported this to Tribune Tullus and his Second-in-Command Tribune Calvus. It was well known that this problem might occur and Calvus had an immediate solution. He said, “We knew this might happen, so I’ve already approached several wealthy citizens and they’ve agreed to rent the ships for us in exchange for 20% of any spoils we capture during our mission. To them, this is an investment.”

  Tullus immediately suspected Farrid and Carthaginian involvement. What better way to sabotage the mission than to delay the ships’ arrival, ambush them while at sea, or fail to conduct the resupply runs. He thought, this was a bad idea, but he didn’t want to challenge Calvus on this issue now. It may end up being the only option. Tullus said to Vitulus and Calvus, “Let’s keep this on the table, while I try to find out if there are any other solutions.”

  Tullus told Levi about the Navy’s rejection and of Calvus’ proposal. Levi also sensed Farrid’s involvement. Levi thought out loud, “We don’t want to jeopardize Scipio’s mission by taking his ships; that would play to the Carthaginians’ advantage. Maybe hiring three boats is the only feasible alternative, but not Farrid’s ships. I’ll speak to the Navy and get the names of loyal Romans. We will get our ships.”

  Calvus was visibly upset when, only three days later, Tullus announced that a civilian shipping company had been hired and was immediately available to start planning.

  The weeks passed quickly and, before long, it was time to board the ships for the trip north. Loading the ships with men, animals, and materials is a significant undertaking, but it progressed smoothly and was relatively free of problems.

  After three miserable days at sea hugging the western coast of Italy, Centurion Vitulus and his force of 800 men, cavalry, archers, dogs, pack animals, and supplies arrived and disembarked at Genua. Unlike many of the other surrounding tribes, the Ligurians of Genua continued to support Rome ~ and within a few years this port city would pay a very high price for that loyalty.

  Once off loaded, Vitulus rested his men for a day and used the time to link up with the 500 loyal Ligurians who were to help him rebuild the fort and then escort supplies from Genua. The link-up went off without a hitch. The 1300 man force then began a rapid 67 mile march to Clastidium. They made good time, about 15 miles a day, with the cavalry screening their every move and a ready and alert rear guard.

  To protect his command from a surprise attack at night, Vitulus ordered his men to dig an encampment each evening and designed a Ready Ma
niple to stand guard under arms as a rapid reaction force. He knew they did not want to do it. It was much easier for everyone to just drop their gear, picket and feed the animals, and go to sleep. Even his aides would occasionally suggest that they forgo the encampment for the night.

  Vitulus knew that that would be the one night he was attacked. It became a battle of wills. No one really wants to work if they do not have to particularly if there is no immediate tangible benefit. Manius told Vitulus that this would happen. He told him if he gave in just once and did not dig an encampment, the troops were in charge and not him. “Make them dig in every night and they will respect you for it. Be resolute! And if they rebel and refuse to dig, punish the opposition leaders. Do not tolerate even a hint of insubordination. In the field, you have the power, delegated by me, to discipline soldiers. Use that power, but use it wisely. Err on the side of leniency if the question is in doubt, but absolutely crush insubordination.”

  Vitulus was not sure about the Ligurians. Should he insist they also dig or not? As it turned out, they showed no hesitancy to dig alongside the Romans. Maybe they dug with enthusiasm because they knew there was still a looming threat out there. Vitulus dispatched a rider to inform Tribune Tullus of their progress.

  Vitulus’ Triarii and Ligurians passed near a few villages, but encountered only women, children, and old men, all of whom showed great fear upon seeing the two dogs. He knew that the fields should be planted soon, but there was no evidence of any preparation. Vitulus sensed that the young men were in southern Italy with Hannibal. Most villagers scattered in fear when they saw the approaching Romans, but one fearless old man pulling a wagon of firewood only edged off the trail a bit to allow the Romans to pass. He showed no fear, only curiosity.