Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War

by Thomas A. Timmes

  The woods also concealed the other 1000 men of the Hastati and Snake’s 100 archers. Manius kept his original “changed” Maniple in the field in plain view of the bridge in the same location where the 1000, now hidden in the ditch, had stood the day before.

  His plan was to use the Maniple to draw the Suevi into a trap. As the Suevi got closer, the Maniple would break and run to the rear, to the waiting men in the ditch. He hoped the Suevi would eagerly pursue them and in the process lose whatever cohesion they had. Once the Suevi were past the woods, the men in the ditch would rise up to face them and the archers would commence firing. The 1000 men still in the woods would then advance into the open field behind the Suevi and close off any escape. After the battle, Manius planned to move the entire Hastati back to Calvus and the waiting Legion as quickly as possible and await developments. He anticipated that after the skirmish the Suevi would cross the bridge to inspect the battle field, but take no further action until they had a chance to think about what had just happened to their men.

  At about 1100 that morning, the Suevi Commander of the 500 moved his men across the river by boat and began the 2-mile walk to the waiting Maniple in the distance. The morning air was cool and the sky was overcast. The Suevi warriors were relaxed and unconcerned. None realized that this would be the last day of his life.

  The Maniple had been sitting as ordered, but now rose and faced the oncoming Suevi. As they watched the Suevi warriors, they felt naked without their customary armor, helmet, gladius, shield, and pila. When the distance closed to 500 yards, the Maniple drew their unfamiliar Gallic swords to maintain the ruse and nervously eyed one another. Their lives would shortly depend on running fast enough to stay ahead of the pursuing Suevi and not falling down. The Suevi Commander was told to expect 1000 Romans, but could now see that their number was well short of that. He figured the rest had already deserted and continued to walk towards the Romans.

  When the distance closed to 100 yards, the Suevi drew their swords and began to taunt the Romans. The Maniple held its position, but was feeling real anxiety as the Suevi got closer. Their Centurion spoke soothingly and told them to hold their position until he gave the order to run. At 30 yards, the men were clearly at the limit of their tolerance, but Roman discipline prevented them from obeying their instinct to run and save themselves. At 20 yards, the Suevi suddenly stopped walking, but continued yelling and taunting the Maniple.

  The Centurion yelled, “Run” and the 100 dropped their swords, spun around, and literally ran for their lives. The Suevi immediately began a sprint to catch them. As soon as they passed the woods where the archers and 1000 Hastati lay hidden, the 1000 ran into the field to close off any possible escape for the Suevi. They then quickly formed up into a triplex acies consisting of 500 in the first line, followed by 300 in the second and 200 in the third. Once formed, they began to trot to catch up to the pursuing Suevi.

  To their great relief, the “retreating” Maniple reached the ditch and ran around it. The 1000 men in the ditch then rose up from their hidden position. The Suevi stopped instantly and were immediately pelted by a storm of arrows coming from the woods. They instinctively crouched and moved closer together for protection as the arrows began to find their target. About 50 yards separated them from the 1000. The Suevi were totally surprised, perplexed, and fascinated all at the same time. The Suevi took it all in: the armor, the shields, and the pila. They turned when they heard noise behind them and saw another Roman force running at them from the rear.

  Most never saw the pila arching through the air and only felt or heard their impact. Within seconds, 3200 iron tipped spears covered their ranks from one end to the other. No one escaped the rain of death. The archers ceased firing when the Legionaries got within 20 yards of the now dead and dying Suevi. It was over that quickly. It was a perfectly executed ambush. The men had high praise for Manius.

  The Centurions told the men to execute any survivors and retrieve all usable pila. The archers did the same. Beside Roman policy to reuse thrown pila whenever possible, Manius did not want the Suevi to find any arrows or pila among the Suevi dead. He wanted to keep his weaponry a surprise for as long as possible.

  The Suevi at the bridge, who were watching, were frustrated because they could not see clearly what was happening. The warm, hazy air combined with the distance made it impossible to see. Once their 500 men got close to the waiting Maniple, the backs of their own men completely blocked the view. All they could see was the 500 as a small dark mound on the horizon. Even climbing atop the still standing northern tower of the bridge did not help. They could see their men advancing; they could then see people coming out of the wood and then going in the direction of their 500 who were now masked by this new group. They could then make out people moving away and disappearing into the surrounding woods. That was it.

  They assumed their warriors were in pursuit and would eventually reappear, but the day wore on and they did not return. It was now getting dark so Ariovistus made the decision to wait until morning to go out and see what happened. He was beginning to get a bad feeling about these Romans and decided on caution. He secretly hoped his men would return during the night bragging about their exploits, but, in his heart, doubted that it would happen.

  Early the next morning, two men swam their horses across the river and rode out to see what had happened to the 500. They were concerned and nervous as they cautiously eyed the surrounding woods. Then they spotted the discarded Gallic swords lying in the field where they had been dropped by the Romans as they “fled” the battle field. They continued on and spotted in the distance what appeared at first to be piles of rocks strewn across the field.

  As they got closer, they realized it was their men and no one was moving. They dismounted and walked among the bodies. Most of the men seemed to have died of puncture wounds and not the usual cuts to the face, neck, or shoulder. They remounted and rode quickly back to the bridge. Elitovius and the Rhaetians scouts watched the two men from the woods. When the Suevi rode away, Elitovius walked the mile back to the Legion’s camp at Igls to tell Manius.

  When Manius heard that the Suevi had discovered the bodies, he directed the 2000-man Hastati to return to the open field by Vill, ground their equipment, and eat their noon day meal, but to remain standing so they would be visible from the bridge. He wanted Ariovistus to know the Romans were still there and may come back to the bridge, but this time to totally destroy it!

  The two Suevi scouts returned and reported all they had seen to Ariovistus except the fact about the Gallic swords lying in the field. It did not seem important. Ariovistus had just called the Council together, when a bridge guard rushed in with the news that a large Roman force was again visible in the distant field and they seemed to be yelling. Ariovistus turned to the assembled Council and told them that the Romans were mocking them. He told them that the 500 sent to destroy the Romans were now lying dead in the field. That same field is again occupied by Romans and they are taunting us; daring us to come out and fight them. Which we will do in time, but first I want to hear some ideas about how our 500 got defeated. Ariovistus told the Council that there was an absence of sword cuts on the bodies, which were found in piles and not spread out over the battle field as usual. The scouts said they were all crowded together and killed by puncture wounds.

  The Council concluded that the Commander of the 500 was unprepared and had met a force larger than his own; he obviously did not pay enough attention to his surroundings; the men were ambushed and killed by missiles and not man-to-man fighting. They concluded that the Romans were cowards who preferred to fight at a distance and will run when real men get too close to them. The Council decided that their army should cross the river and close the distance with the Romans quickly to avoid the missiles. The quicker they could close the distance, the quicker the Romans would run. Ariovistus sat silently listening as the Council argued and debated the issue and began formulating his own plan.

  Finally, he had heard e
nough. He stood up and said, “If our army crosses the river and the Romans run away, they could easily go back to the Brenner to escape us; they could then get a bigger army, come back, and continue to bother us. My point is we have to totally defeat them now. We have to send Rome and the Rhaetians a strong message that this is our valley, our Pass, and we can do whatever we want on either side of the mountains.”

  Figure 22 Telfs on the Left and Schwaz on the Right (Google Maps)

  “My plan is to cross the river at two separate points, one 20 miles upstream and the other 20 miles downstream to escape observation.

  We will crush them between our two armies and leave them with no way to escape. Since we don’t know anything about these Romans except that they appear inept, which could be an act for our benefit, I propose we send 6,000 men upstream to cross at Telfs while I take 11,000 men and 50 cavalry and cross the river downstream at Schwaz. Once our two armies are within a few miles of the Brenner Road, we’ll stop and send out scouts to locate each other and the Romans. We’ll then catch them between us. If we depart here in two days, we should be at our crossing sites and on the other side in another two days. We’ll march back in the direction of Innsbruck, find each other, and fight on the seventh day.”

  Ariovistus selected a veteran warrior by the name of Vocion to lead the 6000 to Telfs. He was an imposing man who stood about 5’6”, muscular with strong arms and a full beard. He kept his long hair in a ponytail and his beard tied at the chin. He was renowned for his ferocity in battle. He was also a headstrong, impetuous man, who did not take orders or advice well from either superiors or subordinates; he was a bully with a strong penchant for cruelty; Ariovistus despised him, but he was a leader who could be counted on to complete any task given him. The two men decided who to take, when to depart, and how to proceed. Ariovistus told Vocion not to take on the Romans by himself, but to remain hidden until he brought up his army. The next day, the Council agreed to the plans and the warriors were assembled.

  Two days later, the two columns totally 17,000 men headed out of the settlement in opposite directions. It was close to midnight as they cleared the last huts and began walking to their respective crossing sites. Fifteen thousand additional warriors remained in Innsbruck for home defense should the need arise.

  *******

  The Raeti spies, in groups of three men each, were located at either end of the Innsbruck settlement and stayed hidden by setting up their observation posts on the side of the mountain where they could watch the road and not be seen. They had recently been rotated with the original six men. Their job was to watch for any large group of warriors leaving the village and, if they saw something, to report it back to the Legion immediately. Manius’ other spies were about 10 miles up and down stream on his side of the river. They too were camped where they could see roads and surrounding countryside. Elitovius and his Rhaetians counterpart rotated the men every third day to keep them fresh.

  The Raeti lookout suddenly sat upright. The low sound he had been hearing for the past 10 minutes was growing in intensity, but there was nothing to see. Even though there was only a half moon, the road stood out clearly against the darker vegetation. Then he saw them; they were just coming into view. He woke his companions. This is the reason they had been eating cold food and sleeping on the hard ground. They all focused on counting the number of warriors and looking for distinctive armaments. When the column passed, they came straight down the hillside to the river and swam to the far shore. They dried off as best they could and began the 3 mile walk to Legion Headquarters. They ran across any open spaces, rested in the woods periodically, and continued on. They had to keep the north-south Brenner-Innsbruck Trail in view for fear of getting lost. Finally, they made it to Igls and the Legion.

  When they entered the Praetor’s tent, they found the other lookouts from the other side of the settlement were already there. They had beaten them back and had a similar story to tell. Manius had been awakened and was now fully focused. Before he allowed the spies to give their reports, he had runners assemble his Commanders. Once everyone was present, the spies gave almost identical reports with one major exception. The group that went east had about 30 horses and numbered about 10,000 men. The party that went west had no cavalry and was smaller, maybe 6,000. Both groups carried standard Suevi small round shield and long swords. The spies could not see any body armor. Neither group had archers, but a few supply wagons followed each column.

  When they completed their report, Manius thanked them for their diligence and directed his aide to feed them and find them a place to sleep. It was now 0230. Manius told his Commanders to reassemble at 0800. He told Elitovius and the Rhaetians to put the lookouts on this side of the river on heightened alert. “I need to know where they cross the river and where they go after the crossing. This information must be brought back here as soon as possible.” Manius was worried. He would shortly have two powerful armies bearing down on him with the strength and resolve to utterly destroy the XVII. Information and timely movements were going to be the key to survival. He lay back down, but a thousand things raced through his mind. At one point, he called an aide and said to make sure Andreas and the Auxiliaries at Axams are brought up to date first thing in the morning.

  Preparations for Battle

  Vocion marched his 6000 men through the night without taking any breaks. When the sun rose, he halted the force a mere three miles from Telfs and the intended crossing site. He ordered his men into the woods and told them to cook their breakfast while he went forward to inspect the crossing site. The water was low and running slow, which was what he expected. He figured he would set up a single rope across the river for the men to hold onto as they waded across. He planned to leave the wagons at the crossing site. From here on, the men would have to carry their supplies. On the far side he could see forests and envisioned entering the woods to conceal his movements as he went east to find Ariovistus and the Romans. By 0800 he was at the crossing and by 1300 he had his force across the river and moving into the deep woods at Holl. So far, it was a smooth operation and he felt good.

  *******

  Once Ariovistus cleared the settlement and got about five miles away, he slowed the pace considerably. He gave the men periodic breaks and called a halt at 0400 to allow his men to eat and rest. Actually, he was hungry, tired, and extremely uncomfortable with his hemorrhoids; riding his horse was painful and forced him to dismount and walk on several occasions. Three hours later, after the troops had eaten and rested, the column continued their eastward march. He arrived at Schwaz at noon and began crossing the river at 1300. (At the same time, Vocion was already across the river and entering the woods.) Once across, he had the men dry out a bit and began moving his column west in the direction of Innsbruck. After an hour, he stopped the march for the night at Weer, only two miles west of Schwaz. Ariovistus did not know it, but, at this moment, Vocion was only four miles from Legio XVII while he was still 20 miles away. His slow progress and Vocion’s rash and aggressive nature would cost them both dearly.

  *******

  Bethica and her men had been walking for nine days. Today was July 9th. They would be home tomorrow. The Kufstein route was definitely the better of the two ways home. As expected, her army was well fed by the people in the valley and the walking was much easier.

  One of her mounted scouts approached the head of the column riding hard. “Bethica,” he said breathlessly, “Your father is a few miles down the road at Schwaz. He is leading a large force and they are crossing the river.” She spurred her horse to a gallop and only pulled up when she spotted Ariovistus sitting by the side of the road. He looked surprised, but was happy to see her. His two sons had died in battle several years ago against the Cimbri. She alone survived and was now his designated heir and his joy. He was immensely proud of her.

  Even as a child she was more daring and bold than boys her own age. Then, after her mother’s death, she managed the household. Now, she looked every part the futur
e chief. At 5’4”, she stood straight and proud. Her hair was loosely braided in the back and held in place by her Commander’s headband. She eschewed finery for the practical. She wore cloth trousers covered with leather legging. Her belt was engraved with Suevi religious symbols and held her short knife, riding crop, and, until recently, her folded map.

  “Father, what is this? What has happened?” she asked as she smoothly slid off her horse, her brow furrowed with concern. She stood quietly as Ariovistus explained to his daughter all that had occurred and his plans to deal with the Romans. Bethica was immediately concerned. She had a very good relationship with him. He loved her and she loved him and they talked frequently and honestly. This allowed her to freely advise him as well as to correct him when she felt he was wrong. “Father,” she said, “I think we are rushing into this. We need to slow down. Six days ago you met this Roman for the first time and now we are at war? We know too little about these people and the way you describe their ineptitude sounds to me like a deception. And why did you put Vocion in charge of the other half of the army. You know he does not think. He just acts. Father, I beg you, call off this war until we have more time to think. You are too old for this. Perhaps, we can find a middle ground, some compromise. Let me talk to this Manius.”

  Ariovistus stared at her. He felt she was attacking him and opened his mouth to defend himself, but hesitated. He knew in his heart she was right and he would be unable to convince her otherwise. This war had indeed spun out of control. He had been rash. But at this point, he felt committed. His honor and pride were now in charge. Suddenly, he sat upright. He had an idea. He would use Bethica and her 6000 to ensure a victory. He felt he could, at least, win her over to support the effort. Ariovistus drew his dagger from his belt and began to draw in the dirt to show Bethica where to take her men.