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To his embarrassment, after he successfully crossed the river, Vocion got all twisted up in the woods near the village of Holl. His men initially moved too far south and only stopped when the terrain became too steep to climb. The woods were so thick and dark, it was almost impossible to control the army’s movement. He called a halt to allow the men to eat while he tried to figure a way out of the woods. He wanted to get back heading east on the small road that paralleled the river.
By 1500 hours, Vocion’s column exited the woods at Flaurling, found the road, and continued east for four miles. At Inzing, Vocion moved his men back into the woods and stopped for the night. Everyone was tired and irritated after walking through the forest by Holl and then having to retrace their steps. Vocion, on the other hand, felt energized, but fretted that he was falling behind the established time schedule and would miss linking up with Ariovistus or, worse, arrive after the battle was fought. He decided to push harder tomorrow. If he had taken the time to think about it, he would have placed the Romans near the exit of the Brenner Pass, in the area where they were first observed, about seven miles from his present position. He did not know it, but he was now only four miles from 5500 Legionaries, 4500 Auxiliaries, 800 archers, and 600 cavalry.
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Manius received a steady stream of information on the progress of the two Suevi columns. His scouts were well positioned to observe every move they made. Once the Suevi left Innsbruck and were definitely committed to crossing the river, Manius replaced his foot scouts with cavalry scouts to ensure he received more timely information. There was no longer a great need for stealth or secrecy. The need now was for information and timely movement.
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.
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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.
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Ariovist
us 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Sleeping Suevi were instantly awake and started running away from the noise. The leader of the 1000 managed to grab a few of the men to attempt a stand, but quickly decided against it. While Andreas’ Maniple dealt with those who did decide to stand and fight, Andreas turned to his Raeti Commander, Lugano, and told him to have his men swing around to the south and get in front of the fleeing Suevi. He then told Taluric to hold his Cenomani in place until he could sort out what was happening, but to be prepared to continue the attack through the Maniples.
The Centurion with the lead Maniple put his men in a line formation and continued to push the Suevi. As the Romans advanced, they began meeting more and more resistance as the Suevi overcame their initial shock of the surprise encounter. Andreas then told Taluric to push his men through the Maniples and take over the fight, which they did with alacrity! The two Maniples moved to the rear and were happy for the break. Within 20 minutes, Andreas could hear the Raeti entering the fight on the back side of the woods and knew it was almost over. The Cenomani and Raeti cut down the last Suevi and it was quiet again.
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When Vocion’s men were in position in the wood line by Ranggen, he cupped his mouth and was about to yell “attack” when the woods south of him suddenly erupted with yelling and the sounds of battle, metal on metal. He figured that the 1000 men he sent to the south woods the previous night had prematurely begun the attack on the Roman cavalry. He swore loudly and promised to find out who did this. He specifically told both Commanders the previous night not to attack until he initiated it. He loudly yelled “attack” and his 4000 men exploded out of the woods running for the Roman cavalry.
Vocion’s other 1000 men on the north side of the field heard the initial commotion coming out of the woods to the south, but did not have time to figure out what it was. Vocion had begun his main attack and so they too left the woods and raced into the field to get behind the Roman horse and trap them.
Having been on edge all night, as soon as Rasce heard the first sounds of battle, he yelled “mount up” and the entire 280 bolted straight for the hill to their rear. They easily evaded Vocion and also the 1000 coming out of the north woods. As they crested the hill, they saw Manius and drew up. Manius said, “Well done Rasce” and told him to take up his position on the right flank with the archers and ballistae. But he personally was anything but calm! It appeared to him that he had just avoided an ambush and he could not understand how it had happened. He had a battle raging in the south woods, a large group of men to his front, and another smaller group coming into the field from the north woods. He assumed this was Vocion’s army, but was surprised that they were all here already.
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Manius had to act and act fast. He spun around and ordered the three columns into a linear formatio
n. It encouraged him to see the speed of the transformation. Centurions barked orders and the columns became a mass of swirling men. In the blink of an eye, he was now looking at three thick lines of men facing the Suevi on the other side of the hill. Each line presented a front of 500 with two men behind the man in front. Once the Legion formed itself for battle, he ordered the Hastati to cross over the hill, but then stopped them when they were just over the crest. The Principes and Triarii as well as the archers and ballistae, maintained their position on the back side of the hill, out of sight.
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When Vocion’s men broke out of the woods, they initially ran straight for the Roman cavalry camp only to see them mount up and race away to the hill. The men stopped their pursuit and looked about for new orders. They appeared puzzled. Most now faced the sound of battle coming out of the woods to their south, about the same distance away as the cavalry now on the hill. Vocion too just stood. He was perplexed. Where were his 1000 men in the south woods? He expected to see them running across the field to intercept the horses, but all he heard was the sound of battle.
In a flash, they were forgotten; up on the hill, Vocion could now see a thin line of soldiers begin to appear. As they came over the crest, he could see that each man had two more walking behind him. He immediately associated these men with the 1000 Romans who displayed themselves in the field opposite the bridge a couple of days earlier. “These are the same men who taunted us,” he thought. He started yelling, “That’s our enemy! There on the hill! They’re the ones who killed 500 of our men. We’re not going to let them get away! We outnumber them!” The continuing noise coming from the woods annoyed him because he could not figure out its source, so he was easily distracted by this new sight and new opportunity to his front.
Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War Page 30