by R. W. Peake
“I wonder if Caesar’s lost his nerve,” Vibius mused, drawing a chorus of angry remarks, to which he replied defensively, “Then what other reason could we have of not engaging with these bastards? We’ve passed over good ground that would've made a perfect battlefield, but we do nothing. So what else could it be?”
In this much, Vibius was right and we all knew it. It was not a matter of terrain; even with the hills, there had been plenty of spots where two armies of our size could have deployed then gone about the business of slaughtering each other.
“I don’t think it has to do with terrain, I think it has to do with us.” This came from Calienus, immediately catching our attention and to be honest, arousing our irritation. Seeing the reaction on our faces that his remark caused, he added quickly, “I’m not talking about us, the 10th, or the other veterans in the 7th 8th and 9th for that matter. But how long have those boys in the 11th and 12th been in the army now? A month?”
Someone calculated quickly and answered, “They’ve been in one week longer than a month.”
“So how well trained could they possibly be?” he asked, rhetorically, since we all knew the answer to that. They had taken a hard course in marching and all that goes with it, we had to give them that, but that left precious little time for weapons training. Their training regimen was composed of snatched bits of time whenever they could grab it. They had undoubtedly been training in the camp when we had attacked the Helvetii at the bridge, yet how much good would that have done? Sitting in silence as we mulled this over, I for one could see the sense of it, and I said so. Caesar was not fighting because he wanted to season the new Legions a bit more before we forced a battle on the Helvetii, so we would continue to march and wait.
The only event of any note that happened during this period was when our cavalry became overeager and attacked the rearguard of the Helvetii, all 4,000 of our men going against what we were told was 500 Helvetian warriors. Our men were bloodily repulsed, a fact that did not do much to instill confidence in our cavalry among the Legions, I can tell you that. This clash only strengthened Caesar’s resolve that biding his time was his best option, except that the supply situation soon threatened that, prompting him to try one stratagem before the situation turned desperate. The scouts reported that the enemy had gone into camp at the base of a hill some six miles distant. On questioning the scouts and locals friendly to us, Caesar learned that the hill was sufficiently large enough, with a slope practicable enough that he could send a Legion on a night march to take up position on the crest of the hill, getting there by traversing the reverse slope away from the Helvetii camp. Like we did with the assault on the bridge, the plan was that the dawn would arise to the sight of a Roman Legion, this time commanding the heights above their camp, with Caesar then bringing up the rest of the army to face them, in a pincer movement. The 10th was selected as the Legion to climb the hill, yet another sign of Caesar’s confidence in not just us but Labienus as well. Setting out that night once it was dusk, we waved cheerily at the other Legions left behind who were making their usual rude remarks and catcalls at us. The only time we do not hate each other is when we are fighting someone else, I thought as I listened to some of the more inventive and colorful taunts thrown at us as we tramped out of the gate. No matter, all that counts is when the fighting starts, they will be by our side when we need them.
During my career, I have read several books and treatises on the art of warfare, and there is always a phrase that makes me laugh when I read it. The “fortunes of war”, or “Bellona’s fickle caress”, or some such nonsense is how it is usually termed. Although I have no disagreement with the idea behind it, if you are one of those who are subject to these vagaries, it is not quite so easy to dismiss as a sign of the gods’ displeasure or indifference. Such was the case with Caesar’s night operation against the Helvetii. Oh, we did our part well enough; despite getting lost a couple of times in the dark, we found the enemy camp, skirted around it far enough away to avoid detection, then climbed up the small hill behind the camp, even having time to dig a shallow entrenchment before the sun came up. Then we waited for the rest of Caesar’s army to approach from the opposite direction, from the southeast where we had left them. It was enjoyable seeing the consternation of the Helvetii when they became aware of our presence above them, except we got a little nervous as the day wore on. Caesar’s progress was clearly marked for all of us to see, the accustomed pall of dust marking his march towards us, and to our eyes, it was painfully slow to watch. Luckily for us, it was clearly visible to the Helvetians as well, which is the only reason I am sure that they did not turn on us. Despite our superior position, they still outnumbered us more than 20 to one in warriors, so that it would not have taken long for them to walk up the hill to crush us. Nevertheless, it was clear that Caesar was up to something and this forced them to hesitate, unwilling to commit to our destruction while leaving the camp either undefended or lightly guarded. So like us, they sat watching that damn dust cloud move gradually in our direction. Then the cloud stopped, the dust slowly settling back to the earth, not more than a couple of miles from us. We could clearly see the army now, although it was still an indistinct mass on the horizon, with the sharper eyes among us reporting a great deal of activity at the front where the command group was normally located.
“What in Dis’ name are they waiting on?” fumed Optio Rufio, prompting a snapped reply from Pilus Prior Vetruvius about officers needing to keep their mouths shut.
He was merely voicing our own fears, yet an officer of any sort cannot do that, and the Pilus Prior was right to correct him, no matter how embarrassing it may have been for Rufio. It clearly was on the Pilus Prior’s mind as well, because he finally turned and stalked off, looking for the Primus Pilus and Labienus.
We sat for the better of the morning waiting before there was movement, and once it came, it was not what we had expected at all. Instead of advancing on the camp, the army began to march across our front to our left, instead of arraying in battle formation. They maintained a healthy distance away from the camp so that in the event the Helvetians decided to roll the dice, our army would have time to shake out into formation, while we would be poised to strike from their rear. However, the Helvetii were not foolish, at least this day, instead contenting themselves with drawing up into a battle line, then standing there watching as the Legions marched around them. This development caused us a great deal of consternation, since we had no way of knowing what had happened to change the plan. Once Caesar moved a distance away to a much smaller hill, only then did he have the Legions form up for battle, sending all the baggage train to the rear. This new position meant that while we would not be engaged in an assault from their direct rear, we would still be able to swing down the hill onto their flank, and for a bit there was speculation that this might actually be better than from the direct rear. Whatever the case, still nothing happened, the sun rising ever higher in the sky. First we were allowed to kneel, then finally sit down, and we prepared a cold meal while we waited, it being just a matter of moments before the dice came out and the gambling began. It was in this manner that we passed most of the day, with Labienus and the Centurions becoming increasingly frustrated. No word came from Caesar, so our orders still remained in place, but it became clear to all of us that the likelihood of attack was decreasing with every passing moment. The Helvetii sensed this, made their own preparations for breaking camp, and by a bit past midday had moved on again, leaving us to watch them as they withdrew to continue their westward march. After about two parts of a watch, the rear of their column was marching away, and we were soon left alone on the hill, wondering what was going on.
The anticlimactic result came in the form of a mounted courier, bearing orders from Caesar that told us to leave the hill and rejoin the army, which was drawn back up into marching formation to follow the Helvetii. It was not until that night when we made camp that we learned what took place. Caesar had sent a Centurion from the 7t
h Legion, a man named Considius, to scout ahead and report back to Caesar whether or not he saw us in position on the hill. Considius came galloping back to report that the hill was indeed occupied, not by the 10th Legion, but by Helvetii. He claimed to recognize the helmets and crests of our Legion as being of Gaulish origin, so Caesar took him at his word, and waited for the 10th to dislodge the force from the hill. However, we did not because we were already there, and finally Caesar made the decision to move from his original position to find a defensible location, thinking that the 10th had been wiped out and the Helvetians were of a mind to attack. Consequently, Caesar moved to a smaller hill, where he shook the Legions out for battle, though of course no such battle took place, and instead he watched helplessly as the Helvetii went marching by, intent on making progress, no matter how small. They managed to move less than seven miles that day, so that we only had to march three before making camp. Considius was not formally punished, although he was more or less laughed out of the army; I heard a rumor that he drank himself to death not long after this event. Such are the “fortunes of war” I suppose, except I imagine Considius would call it something else. We rejoined the army without problems, and bedded down for the night, cursing the name of Considius.
By this time, our supply situation was extremely serious. The army was now down to two days’ rations for both men and animals, and I imagine that there is nothing quite as unsettling as being the commander of a hungry army. Caesar was forced to turn the army north, to march on the Aeduan town of Bibracte, where he knew there would be supplies in abundance. When the Helvetii scouts saw this, they interpreted it as a sign of desperation, which in a sense it was, so they in turn reversed their march to intercept us. Making camp for the night on the banks of a river, the next morning we broke camp to begin the day’s march, none of us in the ranks suspecting what was about to take place. Still headed north, following the river, we had not gotten far when there was a flurry of commotion as horsemen went racing up the side of the column looking for Caesar. The Helvetii had been sighted coming back east down the valley to intercept us, prompting Caesar to make one of those instant decisions for which he is rightly famous. Rather than continuing the march, knowing that we could march faster than the Helvetii and thereby escape them, he ordered an about turn, dispatching a unit of cavalry to go back to harass the Helvetii while he maneuvered the rest of the army into the position that he wanted. For our part, it meant that we had to reverse our course, which is fine if you are the rear Legion in that day’s march, but the baggage train is a bit of an obstacle for everyone else. It immediately became clear that we would have to bypass the baggage train in some way, so we cut out over the open ground, foregoing the relative comfort of what passed for a road, marching over rough ground until we were directed by Labienus to turn to the west, where we were shaken from column to line. Forming up so that the 10th was on the right, the other three Legions were arrayed to our left. Marching west, we tramped over the prominent hill that we could see even from the river. Once we crested it, we spotted the vast army of the Helvetii, already in the process of forming up, a few miles across the valley floor. Caesar ordered the two new Legions to stay behind to guard the baggage, using the hill we had just climbed as the rallying point where they would build a barrier of some sort. The rest of us were ordered to march down the slope of the hill a way before we were stopped, then further deployed into the aciestriplex. While we did this, we watched as Caesar and the command group met at the front of the army to pass his orders.
“There sure are a lot of those bastards.” Calienus voiced what we were all thinking.
It is one thing to see a mass of people on the march and realize that a good number of them are warriors, but not until they were actually arrayed before us did we realize just how many there actually were. The Helvetii were in what can only loosely be called a formation; it looked to me more of a grouping of clans or tribes, all of them dressed in whatever armor they could each provide themselves, the metal glinting in the sun. Too far away at this point to make out individuals, it was a silver-black mass that spread out in front of us, on lower ground. In their way was our cavalry, trying to delay their advance while we formed up, and our boys were clearly getting the worst of it.
Our examination was interrupted by an exclamation by Romulus. “Looks like it’s win or die, boys,” he called out, and we looked where he was pointing. The command group had all dismounted, including Caesar, who donned his helmet and stood, along with the Tribunes and his staff, as the slaves took the horses to the rear.
“That’s for us,” Calienus commented, just loud enough for us to hear. “He’s letting us know that he’s not going to cut and run no matter what happens.”
My heart thumped more strongly in my chest as the words of Calienus sunk in. Here was a man I could follow, a man we could all follow to the gates of Hades and back if he asked it of us.
Our cavalry was quickly brushed aside, the only obstacle left after that the bodies of men and horses that the Helvetii had to step or climb over as they came at us. They flowed over the dead like a black mass of water, drawing close enough that we could now make out individuals, although we still could not see their faces. Despite the rush, Caesar had managed to place us on superior ground, with the Helvetians forced to climb a fairly steep slope to get to us, where the pitch of the ground would give us more momentum when we began our countercharge. Standing silently, watching them come, the sound of their voices screaming their war cries rolled over us in waves. Suddenly, without any order given, someone began a rhythmic tapping of his javelin against the metal rim of his shield, and it was quickly picked up by the men around him, spreading throughout the ranks, first with our Legion, then with the other three, until the sound went rolling down the slope in a challenge to the roar of the Helvetians. As if running into an invisible wall the Helvetian advance checked, the front ranks crashing to a halt as our response to their cries rolled over them, and now that we could see their faces, there was fear and uncertainty there as they were confronted not by the passionate roar of men consumed in bloodlust but the cold, measured sound of an army of professionals, men who viewed what was to come with a detached sense of duty. These warriors had never seen anything like this; they earned their experience and their scars fighting men like themselves, men who worked themselves into a frenzy, fighting with a passion that, while it ran hot, also spent itself quickly. What stood before them up that hill was unlike anything most of them had ever faced and it stopped them in their tracks, if only for a moment, and they stood there as if uncertain what to do as we waited for them. Then they began to build their courage back up, their voices growing in volume and anger again, the momentary lapse of courage forgotten. At least so they hoped, I thought, as I watched them perform their strange rituals once again. Before they resumed the advance, men would dart out from their lines, brandishing their weapons, screaming at us and despite the fact we could not understand what they were saying, it was clear they were describing what they would do to each and every one of us. As we would learn from prisoners, it was their custom for the men to give their lineage, the feats of their ancestors along with their own, so their enemy could know exactly what fate awaited them, all of which was lost on us.
“They are some excitable bastards, aren’t they?
Rufio grinned at my remark, replying, “I just wish they would hurry up and get on with it. I’m getting bored standing here.”
Feeble joke it may have been, it was nevertheless appreciated and our laughter, even if somewhat forced, was hearty and loud. The Centuries around us looked over to see what the joke was about, prompting Rufio to repeat it for their ears, and a wave of laughter rippled through the Cohort.
“All right ladies, shut your mouths and save your breath,” snapped the Pilus Prior, but we could see a smile on his lips as he said this, and we knew that he was just as proud of us as Crastinus had been. Aside from the slaughter at the bridge, in which we played little part, this was g
oing to be our first major test under the new Pilus Prior, and we were all determined to show him that he could rely on us. Just as importantly, we wanted to see how he measured up when commanding us. The Helvetian advance began again, this time at a slow trot as they approached the base of the hill.
“Prepare Javelins!”
Immediately, the front Centuries assumed the position, as I pulled my arm back with everyone else, feeling the shaft along the length of my arm and aiming the point skyward. I watched the Helvetians now quicken the pace to a run, unleashing a last roar as they charged up the base of the hill. There were so many of them, I remember thinking, that the rear ranks were still more than a half mile away. We would be wading in bodies before the day was through.
“Jupiter Optimus Maximus, protect this Legion, soldiers all!”
I do not know who said it, yet I was glad that someone had. They were close enough now that their charge was not only seen and heard, it was felt, the ground beneath us beginning to shake.