30 1 While the soldiers were fortifying their camp at Ticinum, word of Caecina’s defeat arrived; the troops almost mutinied again, for they suspected that their absence from the battle was due to treachery and delay on the part of Valens. They refused to rest; they would not wait for their general; they advanced before the standards, and spurred on the standard-bearers; and they quickly marched and joined Caecina. Valens did not enjoy a good reputation with Caecina’s troops; they complained that in spite of their great inferiority in numbers Valens had exposed them to an enemy whose strength was unimpaired, and at the same time, to excuse themselves, they praised and flattered the strength of the troops that joined them, for they did not wish these to despise them as defeated and cowardly soldiers. Moreover, although Valens had the larger army, in fact almost twice as many legionaries and auxiliaries, the troops were inclined to favour Caecina, not only for his kindness of heart, which he was thought to display more readily than Valens, but also because of his vigorous youth, his tall person, and a certain unwarranted popularity. This caused rivalry between the generals. Caecina made sport of Valens as a shameful and disgraceful character; Valens ridiculed Caecina as a conceited and vain person. Yet they laid aside their hatred and devoted themselves to the common interest; in many communications, sacrificing all hope of pardon, they heaped insults on Otho, while the generals of Otho’s party refrained from using the abundant material they had at hand for attacking Vitellius.
31 1 In fact, before these two met their deaths, in which Otho won a glorious reputation while Vitellius gained infamy, the indolent pleasures of Vitellius were less feared than the fiery passions of Otho. Moreover the murder of Galba had made men stand in terror of Otho and hate him; but no one blamed Vitellius for beginning the war. The sensuality and gluttony of Vitellius were regarded as disgracing him alone; Otho’s luxury, cruelty and daring seemed more dangerous to the state.
After Caecina and Valens had joined forces, the Vitellians no longer hesitated to engage with all their forces. Otho, however, took counsel as to whether it was better to protract the war or to try his fortune now.
32 1 Then Suetonius Paulinus, who was regarded as the most skilful general of the time, thought it consonant with his reputation to express his views with regard to the whole conduct of the war, maintaining that the enemy’s advantage lay in haste, their own in delay. He spoke to this effect; “The whole army of Vitellius has now arrived, and there are no strong reserves behind them, for the Gallic provinces are growing reckless, and it would be unwise to abandon the bank of the Rhine when so many hostile tribes are ready to rush across it. The troops in Britain are kept away by their enemies’ assaults and by the sea; the Spanish provinces have no forces to spare; Gallia Narbonensis has been badly frightened by the attacks of our fleet and by defeat; Italy north of the Po, shut in by the Alps, can look to no relief by sea, and in fact has been devastated by the mere passage of an army. Our opponents have no supplies anywhere for their troops, and they cannot maintain their forces without supplies; then the Germans, who are the fiercest warriors in their army, if the war be protracted into summer, will soon lose their strength and be unable to endure the change of country and climate. Many wars, formidable in their first onset, have shrunk to nothing through the tedium caused by inaction. On the other hand, our own resources are rich and certain: Pannonia, Moesia, Dalmatia and the East are with us; their armies are undiminished; we have also Italy and Rome, the capital of the empire, the Senate and the People — names never insignificant, even if they be sometimes obscured. We have also on our side public and private resources and an enormous amount of money, which in time of civil strife is more powerful than the sword. Physically our soldiers are inured to Italy, or, at least, to heat. The Po is our defence; our cities are well protected by their garrisons and walls, and we have learned from the defence of Placentia that none will surrender to the foe. Your policy therefore is to prolong the war. In a few days the Fourteenth legion itself, a force of great renown, will be here with troops from Moesia besides; then you may again consider the question, and if we decide to fight we shall engage with increased strength.”
33 1 Marius Celsus supported the opinion of Paulinus. Annius Gallus did likewise; he had been incapacitated a few days before by a fall from his horse, but a delegation which had been sent to consult him reported back his views. Otho was inclined to fight. His brother Titianus and the praetorian prefect, Proculus, impatient as they were through inexperience, declared that fortune, the gods, and Otho’s good genius favoured his policy and would favour its execution; in fact they had taken refuge in flattery to prevent anyone from daring to oppose their views. When they had decided on an engagement, they debated whether it was better for the emperor to take part in the battle in person or to withdraw. Paulinus and Celsus now offered no opposition for fear that they might seem to expose the emperor to danger; so the same councillors urged on him the baser course and persuaded him to withdraw to Brixellum and there, safe from the risks of battle, to reserve himself for the supreme control of the empire. This day first brought doom to Otho’s side, for with him went a strong force of praetorians, of his bodyguard, and of horse, and the spirit of those who remained was broken; they suspected their generals; and Otho, in whom alone the troops had confidence, while he trusted no one but his soldiers, had left the authority of his generals in doubt.
34 1 None of these facts escaped the knowledge of the Vitellians, for there were many desertions, as is always the case in civil wars; and spies, in their anxiety to inquire into the purposes of the other side, failed to conceal their own. Caecina and Valens quietly watched for their enemy’s imprudence to end in ruin, and, employing a common substitute for wisdom, waited to profit by their opponents’ folly. They began a bridge and made a feint of crossing the Po in the face of a band of gladiators; they also wished to keep their own men from spending their time in idleness. They arranged some boats at equal intervals, heading upstream, and fastened them together with strong beams at prow and stern. They also cast out anchors to make the bridges more secure; the cables they did not draw taut, but let them hang loose, so that when the river rose the line of boats was lifted without being disturbed. At the end of the bridge a tower was built and raised aloft on the last boat, that they might repulse the enemy by artillery and machines. Otho’s troops had built a tower on the opposite bank and kept shooting stones and firebrands at the Vitellians.
35 1 In the middle of the river was an island, which the gladiators were trying to reach in boats, but the Germans swam across and anticipated them. When a considerable number of Germans had crossed, Macer filled some light Liburnian vessels and attacked them with the bravest of his gladiators. But gladiators have not the same steadfast courage in battle as regular soldiers, and now in their unsteady boats they could not shoot so accurately as the Germans, who had firm footing on the shore; and when the gladiators in their fright began to move about in confusion so that rowers and fighters were commingled and got in another’s way, the Germans actually jumped into the shallow water, held back the boats, and boarded them, or sank them with their hands. All this went on under the eyes of both armies, and the keener the delight it gave the Vitellians, the greater the indignation which Otho’s followers felt toward Macer, who was the cause and author of their defeat.
36 1 In fact the battle ended in flight, after the gladiators had succeeded in dragging off the boats that were left. Then they began to clamour for Macer’s life. Wounded as he was by a lance thrown from a distance, they had already attacked him with drawn swords, when he was saved by the intervention of the tribunes and centurions. Shortly after, at Otho’s orders, Vestricius Spurinna left a small garrison at Placentia and came with his cohorts of auxiliaries, Then Otho sent Flavius Sabinus, consul designate, to take command of Macer’s forces. The soldiers were delighted at the change of generals, but the numerous mutinies had made the generals dislike so troublesome a command.
37 1 In certain authorities I find it stated t
hat, prompted by their fear of war or by their disgust with both emperors, whose shameful wickedness was becoming better known and more notorious every day, the armies debated whether they should not give up fighting and either consult together themselves or allow the senate to choose an emperor. This, it is urged, was the reason why the generals on Otho’s side advised delay, and it is said that Paulinus had great hope of being chosen, since he was the senior ex-consul and by his distinguished service had won fame and reputation in his British campaigns. Now while I can grant that there were a few who silently prayed for peace instead of civil strife, and who wished a good and upright emperor instead of the worst rascals alive, still I do not believe that Paulinus, with his practical good sense, ever hoped for such moderation on the part of the people in that most corrupt age that the very men whose passion for war had destroyed peace would now abandon war from love of peace. Nor can I think that the two armies, whose habits and speech were so different, could ever have come to such an agreement or that the lieutenants and generals, most of whom were well aware of their own extravagance, poverty, and crimes, would ever have endured an emperor unless he was foul with vice and under obligations to them.
38 1 The old greed for power, long ingrained in mankind, came to full growth and broke bounds as the empire became great. When resources were moderate, equality was easily maintained; but when the world had been subjugated and rival states or kings destroyed, so that men were free to covet wealth without anxiety, then the first quarrels between patricians and plebeians broke out. Now the tribunes made trouble, again the consuls usurped too much power; in the city and forum the first essays at civil war were made. Later Gaius Marius, who had sprung from the dregs of the people, and that most cruel of nobles, Lucius Sulla, defeated liberty with arms and turned it into tyranny. After them came Gnaeus Pompey, no better man than they, but one who concealed his purpose more cleverly; and thenceforth there was never any aim but supreme power. The legions made up of Roman citizens did not lay down their arms at Pharsalia or Philippi; much less were the armies of Otho and Vitellius likely to abandon war voluntarily. The same divine wrath, the same human madness, the same motives to crime drove them on to strife. The fact that these wars were ended by a single blow, so to speak, was due to the worthlessness of the emperors. However, my reflections on the character of antiquity and of modern times have taken me too far afield; now I return to my narrative.
39 1 When Otho left for Brixellum the nominal command fell to his brother Titianus, but the real authority was in the hands of the prefect Proculus. As for Celsus and Paulinus, none made any use of their practical knowledge; with the empty title of generals they only served to cloak the faults of others. The tribunes and centurions knew not what to do, because the better men were thrust aside and the worst held the power; the soldiers were enthusiastic, but they preferred to criticize their generals’ orders rather than to execute them. It was decided to move camp to the fourth milestone from Bedriacum, but the advance was made in such ignorance that, in spite of the fact that it was spring and there were many rivers all about them, the troops were distressed by lack of water. There they discussed the question of a battle, for Otho kept sending dispatches urging them to hurry, while the soldiers kept demanding that the emperor take part in the engagement; many insisted that the troops operating across the Po be called in. It is not so easy to decide what they should have done as it is to be sure that the action they took was the worst possible.
40 1 Setting out as if they were starting on a campaign and not going into battle, they aimed to reach the confluence of the Po and the Adua, sixteen miles away. Celsus and Paulinus refused to expose their soldiers, weary as they were with their march and weighed down with baggage, to the enemy, who, unencumbered with baggage, after marching hardly four miles, would not lose the opportunity to attack them either while in disorder on the march or while scattered and engaged in fortifying camp. Thereupon Titianus and Proculus, being defeated in council, sought refuge in the imperial authority. And it is true that a Numidian arrived post-haste with imperative commands from Otho, who, sick of delay and too impatient to rest on hope, rebuked his generals for their inaction and ordered them to bring matters to an issue.
41 1 On the same day, while Caecina was busy with the construction of his bridge, two tribunes of the praetorian cohorts came to him and asked for an interview. Caecina was preparing to hear their proposals and to make counter propositions when suddenly scouts reported that the enemy was upon them. The conversation with the tribunes was broken off, and so it remained uncertain whether they were attempting some plot or treachery, or rather had in mind some honest purpose. Caecina, dismissing the tribunes, rode back into camp, where he found that Fabius Valens had ordered the signal for battle to be given and that the troops were under arms. While the legions were casting lot for positions in the line, the cavalry charged, but, strange to relate, they were kept from being driven back within their entrenchments by an inferior force of Otho’s troops only through the courageous action of the Italian legion. This at the point of the sword compelled the beaten cavalry to wheel about and renew the battle. The legions of Vitellius formed in line without disorder,º for although the enemy were close by, dense thickets made it impossible to see their arms. On Otho’s side the generals were nervous, the soldiers disaffected towards the generals, wagons and camp-followers were mixed in confusion with the troops; moreover, the road, with deep ditches on either side, was narrow even for an army which was advancing quietly. Some of the troops were gathered about their proper standards, others were hunting to find theirs. From every side rose confused shouts of those running to their places or calling their comrades; soldiers rushed to the front or slunk to the rear as courage or fear prompted in each case.
42 1 The sudden consternation and fright of Otho’s men were changed to indifference by an unwarranted joy, for some men were found who spread the false report that the army of Vitellius had deserted him. It was never discovered whether this rumour was spread by Vitellian scouts or whether it started on Otho’s side through treachery or by chance. In any case Otho’s men lost all enthusiasm for battle and actually cheered their foes; but the Vitellians received their cheers with hostile murmurings, and this made Otho’s men fear treachery, for most of them did not know the reason for the cheering. Then the Vitellians charged: their lines were intact; they were superior in strength and in numbers. However, Otho’s troops put up a brave resistance in spite of their disordered ranks, their inferior numbers, and their fatigue. The fact that in places the ground was encumbered by trees and vineyards gave the battle many aspects: the troops fought now hand to hand, again at a distance; they charged now in detachments, again in column. On the raised road they struggled at close quarters, pressing with the weight of their bodies behind their shields; they threw no spears, but crashed swords and axes thor helmets and breastplates. They could recognize one another, they could be seen by all the rest, and they were fighting to decide the issue of the whole war.
43 1 In the open plain between the Po and the road two legions happened to engage. On the side of Vitellius was the Twenty-first, also called the Rapax, a legion long renowned; on Otho’s was the First Adjutrix which had never been in an engagement before, but which was enthusiastic and eager to win its first success. The First cut down the front ranks of the Twenty-first and captured their eagle; thereupon shame at this loss so fired the Twenty-first that they drove back the First, killed their commander, Orfidius Benignus, and captured many colours and standards. In another part of the field the Fifth charged and routed the Thirteenth legion; the Fourteenth was surrounded by a superior force which attacked it. Otho’s generals had long before fled. Caecina and Valens began to strengthen their forces by bringing up reserves; and a new reinforcement came when Varus Alfenus arrived with the Batavians. They had routed the gladiators who had crossed the river in boats, by meeting them with cohorts which cut them down while still in the water. So in the full flush of victory they assaile
d the enemy’s flank.
44 1 The Othonians’ centre was now broken and they fled in disorder, making for Bedriacum. The distance to be covered was vast; the roads were blocked with dead, and so the carnage was greater: for in civil wars captives are not turned to profit. Suetonius Paulinus and Licinius Proculus took different roads and avoided the camp. Vedius Aquila, commander of the Thirteenth legion, was so terrified that he thoughtlessly exposed himself to the angry troops. It was still broad day when he entered camp and was surrounded by a shouting mob of mutinous fugitives. They spared no insult or violence; they greeted him with cries of “deserter” and “traitor,” not because of any crime of his own, but, after the habit of mobs, every man imputed to him his own shame. Night assisted Titianus and Celsus, for Annius Gallus had already placed sentinels and got the soldiers under control. By advice, appeals, and commands he had induced the men not to add to the cruelty of their defeat by massacring their own leaders; he urged that whether the end of the war had come or whether they preferred to resume hostilities, their sole resource in defeat lay in concord. The spirit of the rest was broken; but the praetorians angrily declared that they had been defeated by treachery, not by the valour of their foes. “The troops of Vitellius,” they maintained, “have not won a bloodless victory; we routed their cavalry, and captured the legion’s eagle. Otho and the force with him on the other side of the Po are still left us; the legions from Moesia are on their way hither; a large part of the army is still at Bedriacum. These surely have not been defeated, and, if occasion require, they will consider it more honourable to die in open battle.” Such reflections now roused them to exasperation, or again depressed them; in their utter despair they were more often goaded to fury than to fear.
Complete Works of Tacitus (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 24) Page 24