Julius looked at Octavian, who watched him, waiting for the signal. The extraordinarii were grim and their spatha blades glittered as they held their position. By the time they reached the opposite bank they would be at full gallop and Julius felt a moment of breathless anticipation as they waited to bring death to the Britons.
In silence, Julius dropped his arm and the cornicens blared out all over the vast column. Julius heard Octavian roar and the extraordinarii surged forward into the shallow water in a mass, faster and faster. The horses churned the water into froth as the Roman cavalry lowered their swords over their mount’s heads and leaned forward, ready for the first kills. Arrows and spears punched into them and horses and men screamed, staining the water red as their bodies slipped into the current. The Britons roared and came on.
It called for precision, but every man on the heavy ballistae was ready. As the Britons surged forward to meet the extraordinarii, Julius signalled the teams and a last load of iron and stone flew over the heads of the galloping Romans, smashing the first impetuous ranks into rags.
Great holes appeared in the mass of the enemy and Octavian aimed his horse for one, the gelding staggering slightly as he reached dry ground. His mount was blowing heavily and he was drenched in freezing water. He heard the bellow of the Tenth as they charged across the ford behind him and he knew the Roman gods were watching the sons of their city, even so far away.
There was no room for thought in that first charge. Octavian and Brutus had chosen the extraordinarii for their skills with horse and sword and they formed an arrowhead without a single order being called, striking against the Britons and carving a path deep into their ranks.
The Tenth could not use their spears with their own cavalry so close ahead, but they were the veterans of Gaul and Germany and whoever stood to face them was cut down. The Britons fell back in disarray before the combined attack and their main advantage was lost with incredible speed as the Tenth widened their line with the perfection of a dance and the spaces they created filled with legions coming over. The squares formed on the flanks and the extraordinarii moved amongst them, their speed and agility protecting them from the spears and swords of the Catuvellauni.
Julius heard horns wail out over the enemy’s heads and they fell back and to the flanks, opening a wide avenue in their midst. Through it, Julius could see a cloud of dust and then a wall of horses and chariots galloping at suicidal speed. The Roman cornicens sounded the order to close up and the squares halted, the men within locking shields and setting themselves in the alien soil to hold the position.
The chariots were manned by two warriors and Julius marvelled at the skill of the spearmen who balanced so precariously at high speed while their companions held the reins of the charging horses. At the last moment, the spears were launched and Julius saw legionaries killed by a wave of the shafts, thrown with enough power to punch through even the Roman shields.
Octavian saw the carnage that resulted and shouted new orders. They disengaged from the flanks and cut across the line of the chariots before they could throw again or turn. The Britons rushed in amongst them and Julius saw horses and men gutted and cut down, blood spraying amongst them. The Tenth and Third pushed forward and closed the centre, overwhelming the chariot men as they fought with roaring desperation. Some of the Britons’ horses panicked and Julius saw more than one knock legionaries to the ground as empty chariots were dragged through the field behind their wide-eyed mounts.
‘The extraordinarii are clear!’ Julius heard Brutus shout to him and he nodded, ordering spears. It was not the most disciplined of attacks. Many of the Romans had lost their weapons in the fighting, but still a few thousand of the dark shafts went up and added to the chaos of the Catuvellauni as they tried to re-form.
Julius looked back and saw that two of his legions were still in the river, simply unable to go further against the press of their own men. He signalled an advance and the Tenth responded with the discipline he had come to expect, locking shields and forcing a way through and over the enemy.
The Roman line widened as the extraordinarii fell back to protect the flanks. Their insane first charge had thinned their numbers, but Julius cheered as he saw Octavian was still there. His young relative was covered in gore and his face looked swollen and black with a spreading bruise, but he was snapping out orders and his men took up the new formation with something of their old polish.
On the open land, the Roman legions were unstoppable. Time and again, the Catuvellauni charged their lines and were thrown back. Julius marched over clumps of bodies that marked each failed attempt. Twice more, the Tenth and Third held charges by the vicious chariots and then a different note sounded amongst the enemy horns and the Catuvellauni began to retreat, a gap opening between the armies for the first time since the river.
The Roman cornicens blew for double time and the legions broke into a jog, their officers haranguing the men to keep formation. The wounded Britons were run down almost immediately and the exhausted stragglers fell to Roman swords even as they screamed. Julius saw two men supporting a third until they were forced to drop him almost at the feet of the pursuing Tenth. All three were trampled and stabbed for their courage.
As the sun moved, Julius jogged with the others, panting. If the King of the Catuvellauni thought they could outrun his legions, he would learn. Julius saw nothing but determination in the ranks about him and he felt the same pride. The legions would run them into the ground.
Even then, Julius checked the land for ambush, though he doubted the possibility. Cassivellaunus had seen his best hope was to hold the Romans at the river and would have thrown everything he had into those first assaults. However, Julius had fought too many battles to allow a surprise and his extraordinarii harried the enemy up ahead, while smaller groups peeled away to scout.
It was almost with disappointment that Julius heard a falling, mournful note from the enemy horns. Julius guessed at its meaning even before he saw the first Britons throw down their weapons in disgust. The rest followed.
Julius had no need to give the orders to accept the surrender. His men were experienced enough and he barely took notice as the Tenth moved amongst them, forcing them to sit and collecting weapons to enforce the peace. Not a single warrior was killed after the initial surrender and Julius was satisfied.
He looked around him and saw houses clustered together less than a mile ahead. The legions were on the very edge of the towns around the Tamesis river and Cassivellauni had surrendered in sight of his people before the running battle brought them into the streets. It was an honourable decision and Julius greeted the man without rancour as he was brought to him.
Cassivellaunus was a black-haired, fleshy-faced young man who wore a pale robe belted around his waist and a long cloak over heavy shoulders. His eyes were bitter as Julius met them, but he sank down onto one knee and bowed his head before rising, the fresh mud spattering his woollen clothes.
Julius removed his helmet, enjoying the freshness of the breeze on his skin. ‘As commander of the forces of Rome, I accept your surrender,’ he said formally. ‘There will be no more killing. Your men will be held prisoner until we have negotiated hostages and tribute. As of this moment, you may consider yourself a vassal of Rome.’
Cassivellaunus looked quizzically at him as he heard the words. The king looked over the Roman lines and saw their organisation. Despite a running fight of almost two miles, the formations were sharp and he knew he had made the right decision. It had cost him a great deal. As he looked at the Roman in his dirty armour, with blood-smeared sandals and three days’ growth of beard on his chin, Cassivellaunus could only shake his head in disbelief. He had lost the land his father gave him.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Vercingetorix planted his spear in the ground before the gates of Avaricum and rammed a Roman head on the point. Leaving his grisly trophy behind him, he rode in through the gates to where the tribal leaders had gathered in his name.
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sp; The walled town in the centre of Gaul had a population of forty thousand and most of those had come out onto the streets to point and stare at the High King. Vercingetorix rode through them without looking left or right, his thoughts on the campaign ahead.
He dismounted in the central courtyard and strode through shadowed cloisters into the main hall of government. As he entered, they rose to cheer him and Vercingetorix looked around at the faces of the Gallic leaders, his expression cold. With a stiff nod of acknowledgement, he walked to the centre and waited for silence.
‘A bare five thousand men stand between us and our land. Caesar has left to attack the painted people as once he came to Gaul. This is the time for which we have planned so patiently.’ He waited through the storm of talk and cheers that echoed round the chamber. ‘We will give them a warm homecoming by the winter, I promise you that. We will take them by stealth and by the dozen or the hundred at a time. Our cavalry will attack their foraging parties and we will starve them from Gaul.’
They roared at the idea, as he had expected, but still his eyes were cold as he readied himself to tell them the price they must pay.
‘The legions have only one weakness, my friends, and that is in their lines of supply. Who in this room hasn’t lost friends and brothers against them? On an open plain, we would fare no better than the Helvetii did years ago. All our armies together could not break them in the open.’
The silence was oppressive as the leaders waited for their High King to continue.
‘But they cannot fight without food, and to deny them forage we must burn every crop and village in Gaul. We must uproot our people from Caesar’s path and leave him nothing but a smoking wasteland to feed his Roman mouths. When they are weak with hunger, I will bring my men into fortresses like the one at Gergovia and they can see how many lives they lose against those walls.’
He glared round at the men of Gaul, hoping that they would have the strength to follow this most terrible path.
‘We can win. We can break them in this way, but it will be hard. Our people will be frightened at being forced off their land. When they cry out, you will tell them they once rode three thousand miles to reach here. We are still one people, for those who can see it. The land of Gaul must rise. The Celts must rise and remember the old blood that calls them.’
They stood in silence for him and beat their swords and knives together in a clashing noise that filled the space and shook the foundations. Vercingetorix held his arms up for quiet and it was a long time coming. His people stood with eager expressions and they believed in him.
‘Tomorrow, you will begin to move your tribes to the far south, leaving only those who are thirsty for war. Take your grain stores with you, for my riders will burn anything they find. Gaul will be ours again. I speak not as one of the Arverni, but from the line of the old kings. They watch over us now and they will bring us victory.’
The clash of metal began again and became deafening as Vercingetorix walked out in the shadowed cloisters to rejoin his army. He trotted his horse back through the streets and ducked his head unconsciously as he passed under the Avaricum gates.
When he reached his horsemen, he sat high in the saddle and gazed fondly at the flags of Gaul. Dozens of tribes were represented in ten thousand riders and truly, he felt one with the old blood.
‘It is a good day to ride,’ he told his brother Madoc.
‘It is, my King,’ Madoc replied. Together they heeled their horses into a gallop, streaming across the plain.
Julius sat on a hill with his cloak on the damp ground under him. A light rain was falling and through it they could see the galleys he had ordered sent round the coast to find where the dark river poured into the sea. With their shallow draught, they had been able to come all the way in to the ford and anchored just before it. Brutus and Renius sat with him, watching supplies being unloaded by teams of the Tenth and Third.
‘Did you know the captains found a bay further down the coast?’ Julius said aloud. He sighed. ‘If I had known of it, the storms that took so many of my ships would have battered in vain. Protected by cliffs and deep water with a sloping shore for the boats. We will know for the future, now that we have found it, at least.’ He ran a hand through his wet hair and shook droplets from the end of his nose.
‘They call this summer? I swear I haven’t seen the sun in a month.’
‘It makes me homesick for Rome,’ Brutus answered slowly. ‘Just to imagine olive trees in the sun and the temples of the forum. I cannot believe how far away from all that we’ve come.’
‘Pompey will be there, rebuilding,’ Julius said, his eyes hardening. ‘The senate house where I stood with Marius is no more than memory. When we see Rome, Brutus, it will not be the same.’
They sat in silence while each of them considered the truth of the words. It had been years since Julius had seen his city, but somehow he had always expected it to be there unchanged for when he returned, as if everything else in life was held in glass until he was ready to make it move once more. It was a child’s dream.
‘You will go back, then?’ Brutus said. ‘I had begun to think you would have us all grow old out here.’
Renius smiled without speaking.
‘I will, Brutus,’ Julius said. ‘I have done what I came for and a single legion will be enough to hold the Britons. Perhaps when I am an old man and Gaul is as peaceful as Spain, I will return here to carry the war to the north.’
He shivered suddenly and told himself it was the cold. It was strangely peaceful watching the efforts of the galley crews below while they were far above them. The hills around the Tamesis were gentle slopes and if it hadn’t been for the constant drizzle, it might have felt like a distant world of strife that could not come close to the men on the hill. It was easy to dream.
‘There are times when I want it all to end, Brutus,’ Julius said. ‘I miss your mother. I miss my daughter as well. I have been at war as long as I can remember and the thought of returning to my estate to tend the hives and sit in the sun is a terrible temptation.’
Renius chuckled. ‘One you successfully resist each year,’ he said.
Julius glanced sharply at the one-armed gladiator. ‘I am in the flower of my youth, Renius. If I accomplish nothing else in life, then Gaul will be my mark on the world.’
As he spoke, he touched a hand unconsciously to his head, feeling the receding hairline. War aged a man more than just the passing of years, he thought. Where once he had felt as if he could never grow old, now his joints ached in the damp and morning brought a stiffness that took longer and longer to pass each year. He saw Brutus had noticed the gesture and frowned.
‘It has been a privilege to serve with you both, you know,’ Renius said suddenly. ‘Have I ever told you? I would not have been anywhere else but with you.’
Both of the younger men looked at the scarred figure who sat hunched forward on his cloak.
‘You are growing maudlin in your old age,’ Brutus said with a smile. ‘You need to feel the sun on your face again.’
‘Perhaps,’ Renius said, pulling a piece of grass between his fingers. ‘I have fought for Rome all of my life and she still stands. I’ve done my part.’
‘Do you want to go home?’ Julius asked him. ‘You can walk down this hill to the galleys and have them take you back, my friend. I will not refuse you.’
Renius looked down to the bustling crowd on the river and his eyes were filled with yearning. He shrugged then and forced a smile.
‘One more year, perhaps,’ he said.
‘There’s a messenger coming,’ Brutus said suddenly, breaking in on their thoughts. All three turned to look at the tiny figure on horseback who lunged up the hill towards them.
‘It must be bad news for him to seek me here,’ Julius said, rising to his feet. In that moment, his contemplative mood was broken and the other two sensed the change in him like a sudden shift in the wind.
Their damp cloaks were crumpled and all three me
n felt the weariness of constant war and problems, watching the lone rider with a sort of dread.
‘What is it?’ Julius demanded as soon as the man was close enough to hear.
The messenger became clumsy under their scrutiny, dismounting and saluting in a tangle.
‘I have come from Gaul, General,’ he said.
Julius’ heart sank. ‘From Bericus? What is your message?’
‘Sir, the tribes are rebelling.’
Julius swore. ‘The tribes rebel every year. How many this time?’
The messenger looked nervously at the officers.
‘I think … General Bericus said all of them, sir.’
Julius looked blankly at the man before nodding in resignation.
‘Then I must return. Ride to the galleys below and tell them not to leave until I am with them. Have General Domitius send riders to the coast to Mark Antony. The fleet must be put to sea to cross to Gaul before the winter storms begin.’
Julius stood in the rain and watched the rider make his way down to the river and the galley crews.
‘So it is to be war once more,’ he said. ‘I wonder if Gaul will ever see the peace of Rome in my lifetime.’ He looked tired at the burden and Brutus’ heart went out to his old friend.
‘You’ll beat them. You always do.’
‘With winter coming?’ Julius said bitterly. ‘There are hard months ahead, my friend. Perhaps harder than any we have known.’ With appalling effort, he controlled himself until the face he turned to them was a mask.
‘Cassivellaunus must not know. His hostages are already on board the galleys, his son amongst them. Take the legions back to the coast, Brutus. I will go by sea and have the fleet waiting for you there.’ He paused and his mouth tightened in anger.
‘I will do more than beat them, Brutus. I will raze them from the face of the earth.’
Renius looked at the man he had trained and was filled with sorrow. He had no chance to rest and each year of war stole a little more of his kindness away from him. Renius gazed south, imagining the shores of Gaul. They would regret having unleashed Caesar amongst them.
The Emperor Series: Books 1-5 Page 131