To the Death

by Peter R. Hall

  Meanwhile the Romans had nearly completed building their platforms, though they had done so at a cost. Many legionaries died from missiles fired by the Jews. While this was going on, increasing numbers of starving Jews were creeping into the ravines in search of anything edible. Fearing that arsonists might be mingling with the civilians, Titus ordered them to be rounded up. One such encounter would live forever in the memory of the Roman patrol that was out that night. They discovered a group of Jews huddled in the darkness around a smoking fire, cooking a meal.

  Crouched like primeval savages they slashed at a roasting joint with their daggers. As they wolfed down the bloody haunch, the scout who had found them stifled a cry of revulsion on seeing what he thought was a goat ended not in a cloven hoof but in a human foot. Its toenails glistening with fat in the firelight. Having been discovered, the cornered Jews tried to fight their way clear but were easily subdued and captured. Taken back to the Roman camp, Titus ordered that they were to be crucified in full view of their countrymen lining the wall.

  This tragedy was played out daily, with an average of five hundred men per day being captured. The Roman soldiers, bitter at a war that had gone on for six long years, extracted a grim revenge on these men. They nailed up their prisoners live, in every conceivable attitude - upside down, horizontally and diagonally. This macabre spectacle quickly numbered thousands, attracting flocks of birds of prey. It was a grisly addition to the theatre of death that the citizens were forced to watch, as the rebels drove them to the walls with whips. Even children were forced to witness what happened to “deserters”.

  Meanwhile, Titus went from platform to platform, demonstrating that he would soon be ready for the final attack. After twenty days of continuous labour, all four of the huge platforms were ready. The Fifth Legion positioned theirs opposite the Antonia. Another, built by the Twelfth, was positioned in support fifty feet along the wall on the left hand side. On the right hand side, the Tenth placed a tower near the Almond pool. The Fifteenth moved their tower to attack the wall near the High Priest’s monument.

  John, however, had not been idle. As well as his own men, hundreds of citizens had been drafted in as miners. Day and night they had dug deep to get under the wall; then they had cut a horizontal shaft. These galleries were carefully supported by wooden props for John’s mine took him directly under the Fifth and Twelfth legions’ platforms. These were then enlarged into caverns that he packed with barrels of bitumen and timber faggots coated with tar. Both sides were ready at the same time. The Romans eased their towers into their final positions and the Jews set torches to their underground bonfires. The Jews’ final touches were to run leather hoses down the tunnels to the seat of the fire. Using bellows, they pumped air to the heart of the fires they had set. The resulting conflagration burned through the supporting props in minutes, culminating in the barrels of bitumen exploding.

  With the ground collapsing beneath them, the platforms the Romans had laboured so hard and so long to make, disappeared, falling in chaos into the bowels of the furnace raging beneath them. There was no escape for the legionaries manning them, who fell into the flaming craters to be burned alive. A horrified Titus watched helplessly, as clouds of black smoke billowed out of the gigantic pits that had swallowed up his men. A dense cloud of dust and debris was hurled skywards, as more and more barrels exploded. This was followed, by sheets of flame shooting heavenwards as the platforms added to the fuel the Jews had packed underground. Within an hour, Jewish ingenuity had destroyed months of work by their adversary. The shocked Romans fell back in despair. They had been certain that victory would be theirs. This reversal plunged them into depression. Morale hit rock bottom.

  The following day Gioras struck while the enemy was in a state of shock. The Romans, in anticipation of the platforms’ success, had moved their battering rams close to the wall and were ready to put them to use. These were the rebels’ targets, but first they launched a diversionary attack against the remaining platforms, drawing the Roman forces away from the rams. Three volunteers then ran out of the city armed with firebrands and swords.

  Throughout the war, neither side produced three braver men. Attacking the legionaries manning the rams, they set fire to them. Standing fast while the flames took hold, they fought off the enraged Romans. With such an example of courage, the rebels charged out of the city to engage the enemy. In minutes, the two sides were locked in the most desperate hand to hand fighting.

  To add to the confusion, the Jews were setting fire to anything that would burn. With the remaining platforms well alight and the rams engulfed in flames, the rebel forces which now numbered several thousand launched a direct frontal attack, driving the Romans back to their camp. Here, the retreating Romans, shamed by Jewish courage, halted their headlong flight and made a stand.

  At this point of crisis in the battle, Titus arrived from the shambles of the Antonia.

  Outraged, he cursed the men who, after capturing the enemy’s walls, were in danger of losing what they had won. He stood down a badly wounded centurion, and with grim determination took command of his men. Leading from the front, he tried to outflank the Jews. Their leaders, however, alert to this new danger, signalled with blasts on rams’ horns to wheel and counter this manoeuvre. Without let-up the battle raged on, dust filling the air, the noise deafening, confusion spreading. The Jews held, desperate in the knowledge that victory was their only option. The Romans, shamed by retreat and knowing that Titus himself was in the front line, fought like men possessed. It was simple. Like their opponents, death before dishonour was the unspoken common creed. With their objectives achieved - the platforms destroyed, the rams disabled, and the Roman army given a very bloody nose - the rams’ horns sounded for a withdrawal. The rebels wisely decided to return to the city, having secured a famous victory.

  With their platforms destroyed the dejected Romans, their morale at rock bottom, trudged back to their camp. Thousands of Jews who had poured out of the city in support of the rebels returned triumphantly, singing hymns of praise to their God. Many of the defeated Romans started to believe that by using the traditional methods of war, they would never take the city. Not unaware of the misgivings and doubts sweeping through his army, Titus called for a council of war.

  With his most senior officers assembled Titus said, “Gentlemen, we have suffered a setback. We must now decide how we can reverse it. Make no mistake, next time we take to the field we will be victorious or dead. There is no question of a Roman retreat from this province and there is no question of Caesar needing to send further reinforcements. As officers, we are responsible for deciding how the army fights. We create the strategy that will decide how the war is fought. We decide the tactics that will be used to achieve that strategy. Doing these things and doing them well, is what it means to have the honour of being an officer in the Roman army. Right now things are tough. Our soldiers are dragging their feet and hanging their heads. I am amazed and alarmed to discover that apparently we are commanding legions without any backbone”.

  Mucianus would have interrupted, but Titus waved him down. “What happened today,” he continued, “came close to a rout. A collapse in the face of a determined enemy who, with inferior weapons, inferior numbers and inferior officers and inferior tactics, forced Roman soldiers to break and run. While I am in command, while I live, that will never happen again. If an officer orders a retreat, then it will be an orderly fighting withdrawal, a military decision which any officer can make and be responsible for. Troops deciding for themselves to pull back, are guilty of cowardice and mutiny. They have no place in Rome’s legions. For the remainder of this campaign, Syrian archers will be positioned behind our infantry. Any man who cuts and runs will be executed and left unburied, his name struck from the legion’s records as though he had never existed”.

  “Now we have a war to fight. One that is a long way from won. Its outcome may seem to some of you to be in doubt. If this is the case you should leave the field and r
eturn to Rome. We need to think as our enemies think. They will have said their goodbyes to those they love the most. With courage, they face us with only one thought. Tomorrow the enemy will come, sword in hand. Read your enemy’s intention in his eyes. I will fight you to the death. This is the moment of reckoning; the moment that decides life or death with honour. So what do we do gentlemen? Our troops look to us for direction, they await our bidding”.

  Mucianus, a veteran of many crises, was a soldier with a long and successful career. His voice was steady and his demeanour calm. “There are several options open to us. I am certain that as this council deliberates, they will be put forward for discussion. For my part, I reflect on the fact that thus far we have only brought up a fraction of the forces available to us. This in itself is of no particular significance. However, knowing what we now know, I recommend we discuss the merits of an all-out assault, using all our forces en masse. How and when we do this we need to discuss separately, because these are tactical matters. This meeting is about strategy. I recommend to you an all-out assault as a strategic move”.

  Sextus Cerealis spoke next. “Any strategy carries risk - that is the nature of war. So I won’t speculate on what the outcome, good or bad, could result in from an all-out attack. Whatever our next move is, the question of how, is critical. We cannot afford to lose men at the same rate as the enemy if for no other reason than we cannot expect Rome to send us reinforcements. A new Emperor will want to husband his military strength, knowing that inevitably he will be tested. Somewhere in the Empire, somebody will decide this is a good time to challenge the new man”.

  As a murmur of agreement met this statement, Cerealis continued “Whatever we do, eventually we will need more platforms. They are the only way we can realistically hope to get troops in numbers inside the city. Yes, I know timber is nonexistent and will have to be brought by ship and then overland. Yes, I know it takes time to build the bloody things. But we have no choice. Whatever we decide, keep at the front of your minds three things.

  One, the defences of this city are the best in the world. Two, our enemy is determined and prepared to die fighting. Three, very importantly, our enemy believes he can win. Why? He believes that by forcing us to fight for every building, we will take unacceptable losses. He believes that by dragging the war out, eventually we will give up and go home”.

  A rumble of conversation ran around the tent, dying to give way to Aeternius Fronto. “It is good that we analyse our situation and face the facts of circumstance squarely. We may end up making the best of a bad job, but at least we won’t have rushed in like fools. We won’t have caused the unnecessary deaths of our men – who, let me remind you, are getting fewer as this war grinds on. It is four years since we arrived in this place. We have lost two thousand Roman legionaries and three thousand auxiliaries, and at any one time we have another thousand men recovering from their wounds. Whatever we decide, we must consider these losses. We must consider how long we have been here and, very importantly, how much longer can we be expected to stay. Finally, there is a factor not yet spoken of that is of paramount importance. It is the political implication of what we decide. This, in my view, should guide us to our decisions. Yes, I know you will claim to be just simple soldiers and know nothing of politics; a wise course for a soldier to steer, but absolute bullshit”.

  A roar of laughter greeted this, relieving the sombre mood of the gathering. As it died away Fronto continued, “Not so very long ago, you made the most significant political decision of your lives. One that will change the course of the Empire’s history and for which each and every one of you can and will be held personally responsible for”. The silence that greeted this was profound. Titus, eyes narrowed, face inscrutable, waited as they all did for what was coming next. “You declared Flavius Vespasianus Caesar, for which I salute you”.

  A great roar burst round the tent. When order was finally restored, Titus rose to speak. “No general anywhere could take more pride in you and our legionaries than I do. No general has such officers of good sense, of such excellent experience, to guide him in considering what his course should be. I believe that it is your words of wisdom that will not only win this war for Rome; it will do so with the greatest honour. When it comes, the triumph you will share in Rome with Caesar will be remembered forever”. This was the signal for thunderous applause and the stamping of iron shod sandals.

  “Let me”, said Titus after a pause “summarise what you have drawn out as the key facts. To explain in the light of these, what our strategy to win this war will be. Firstly, we have this most extraordinary situation of Jew killing Jew inside the city. Even as they attack us, they attack each other. Secondly, the city is packed to bursting with pilgrims and refugees. Four hundred thousand extra mouths to feed and they have no food. The rebel factions have taken control of what food remains after a disastrous fire swept through their warehouses. Nearly a million people are starving to death. Disease and famine are doing our job for us. At least five hundred criminal gangs, ranging in numbers from ten to a hundred, are plundering the city. They roam the streets day and night killing anything that moves. Cannibalism has been reported. The High Priest of all Israel is dead. The Holy of Holies is polluted and defiled. The everlasting Eternal Flame on the High altar has gone out.

  “No longer are sacrifices and prayers offered each day to their God. The streets are choked with two hundred thousand putrefying corpses. Every day, hundreds of Jewish civilians risk death to flee the horror that Jerusalem has become. They run to us begging for mercy. They flee in terror from the crazed fundamentalists, who insist on fighting to the death.

  Platforms are necessary, but at best they are an aid to securing a foothold. To build them it has been said we have to import timber. Yet we must not allow the siege to be so prolonged that, like the Greeks at Troy, we give up and sail home - which means that, among other things, we must halt supplies being smuggled into the city.

  “So we will construct a wall of earth, a great embankment with a twenty foot deep moat at its base. Fortifications will be positioned along its length. To this end timber will be obtained at any price and brought in by ship and then finally overland. This wall will wrap itself around Jerusalem, halting only when it comes to the bottomless ravines, on which its walls are built.

  When it is completed, the wall will be four and a half miles long with fifteen forts to defend it”.

  To the watching Jews’ amazement, forty thousand legionaries and sixty thousand enslaved Jews captured during the Galilean campaign, completed this task within a month; an astonishing feat of engineering in such a short time.

  The building of this circumvallation caused Jews unable to leave the city to lose all hope. With the days slipping by, the famine became more intense. Bodies piled on bodies, a rotting putrescence bringing cholera and other diseases to strike down the weakened population. Men, gaunt as ghosts, haunted the city’s plazas, eventually keeling over never to move again. The living, too weak to bury their kinsfolk, turned their faces to the wall and prayed to join them. In the people’s misery, no weeping or supplication was heard. Hunger stole all emotion. Dry eyed and slack jawed, those who died slowest watched in envy those who succumbed before them. As it had been prophesied the living envied the dead.

  A deep silence enveloped the city. It was as if God had died. In these final moments of despair and pain, evil visited the civilian population of Jerusalem in the guise of their fellow men. Criminals broke into their houses and stripped the living and the dead of anything of value. As the stench of the dead and dying citizens became unbearable, Gioras and John ordered that they be buried. Because of the numbers, this proved to be impossible so, in return for a meal, those still able bodied threw the corpses from the walls into the bottomless ravines.

  Taking a turn on watch, Titus was sickened to see these ravines mounded with rotting corpses, stinking and foul smelling. These piles of putrefying bodies were never still or quiet. They undulated as the countle
ss thousands of rats fed on them.

  Titus now started to make more platforms, though the scarcity of timber hampered progress. Concentrating on the Antonia, he was eventually able to raise these by an additional four levels. The rebels, watching this operation, decided to cull the remaining citizens. This forced the most desperate to lower themselves down the wall on ropes in a bid to reach the Roman lines. Most were killed by Titus’ Arab archers.

  In the camp of the Syrian auxiliaries, one of the deserters was observed picking gold coins out of his excrement. As news ran round the camp that the Jews were “shitting gold”, their fate was sealed. The Syrian Arabs disembowelled the fugitives and rummaged through their bowel, jesting, “We can at least grease our swords on Jewish guts”. In a single night a thousand prisoners were disembowelled.

  Meanwhile in Jerusalem, a city councillor, was made responsible for dealing with the city’s unburied dead. Overwhelmed by this impossible task, he deserted to the Romans. He told Titus, “Four hundred thousand bodies of the poor have been thrown out of the gates. For others the numbers are unknown. When it became impossible to bury this vast number, some were collected up and packed into the biggest houses. We then nailed the doors shut”. What the official didn’t say was that the poorest people had begun raking the sewers and old dung hills. In desperation they were eating the refuse they found there – a practice that brought its own relief as what they ate killed them.

  The man, overcome by emotion, had to pause for a moment. Titus waited patiently as he struggled to compose himself. With a sigh the Jew continued, “The rebels have imprisoned Josephus’ family. All are held in solitary confinement”.

  “Have they been tortured?”

  “Not yet, though they are given very little food. If they don’t die of starvation, I am sure they will be used as bargaining counters”.