Legio XVII: Battle of Zama

by Thomas A. Timmes

  Lucia just looked at him and said, “I knew it wouldn’t last. Hello and goodbye! I can’t wait for you to retire.”

  “How long will you be gone?” asked Flavia. “There are so many things I want to show you. I want to talk to you. Your letters were so good, and I liked the poem you wrote me. Needs a little work, but it was fine.”

  To change the mood, which had turned quite dour, Manius said, “I have a few gifts from Sicily I managed to bring back.” He turned to a servant and said, “Please bring my bag by the door.”

  When the bag arrived, he reached in and pulled out a Marranzano mouth harp. “Titus you may be interested in this. I saw many of the local people playing it, and some of the Legionaries even picked it up. It’s a musical instrument. Here, let me show you how to hold it.”

  “Flavia, for you I have some really beautiful Aetna Lava Stone necklaces and a vase you can put in your room.”

  “Lucia, here are two very colorful Caltagirone vases they make on the Island. I’m surprised they survived the trip back to Rome. I also have some Aetna Lava Stone jewelry that I hope you’ll like. And finally, lovely wife of mine, I brought us a Sicilian bottle of wine.”

  The gifts from Sicily caught everyone’s attention. They were unique, beautiful, and succeeded in changing the mood.

  Dinner was pleasant, and the food tasted particularly good and familiar to Manius. He told them, “I normally ate soldiers’ fare, but occasionally ate the local cuisine such as Catanese pasta with fava beans and couscous from Africa. I wish I could have brought some back with me.”

  While they were eating, Titus asked his father, “Are you going to be with the soldiers tomorrow?”

  “Yes, all day and all night.”

  “I would like to go to the camp with you. I’ll stay out of your way, and won’t bother the Legionaries. I just want to walk around and see what they’re like. I want to listen to them talk and look at their equipment. Maybe I could eat with them and put on their armor. I’m really curious to know what it feels like.”

  Lucia jumped in, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Those men can be rough, and their language may be a little too colorful for young ears.” Manius looked at Titus.

  “This is something you really want to do?” he asked.

  “Yes, and since you’ll be leaving soon, it’ll give me a better idea how to visualize your life away from us.”

  Manius looked at Lucia, “I think he should be allowed to go. I’ll assign Cassius to look after him. It’ll be alright.”

  “Tell the men to clean up their language!” Lucia admonished. Titus was thrilled!

  Manius looked at Lucia and said, “Would you send someone to find out if we could visit the Levi household this evening. I’d like to see the old man. Also, try to get Joseph and Decima to be there.”

  “I’ll arrange it,” smiled Lucia. You’ll be surprised at how much our granddaughter has grown. Decima’s proving to be a good mother once she recovered from the shock of the first few sleepless months. Manius, something just occurred to me,” she said as her eyes widened considerably. “Didn’t you tell me when you returned from Innsbruck last September that you invited the Chief of the Cimbri/Teuton Tribe, Timur, and his wife Jennike, to visit Rome and stay with us? If I remember correctly, they’re supposed to arrive this August. You need to get that postponed.”

  Manius put his hand to his forehead and rocked back in his chair. “I completely forgot about that. I’ll get it changed. With what’s going on, their trip now would be too dangerous. What would I do without you! How do you remember these things?”

  The servant returned shortly from Livy and Rivkah’s villa, which was about a quarter of a mile away, and announced, “Levi and his wife, along with Joseph and Decima, will be expecting your visit in about an hour.”

  The short walk to Levi’s was refreshing, and gave Manius and Lucia an opportunity to talk. As they arrived at Levi’s villa, Lucia said, “It’s always so nice when you are home. The children love you, and so do I. You bring us a sense of peace and completeness.”

  A servant let them into the house, and Rivkah met them in the atrium (formal entrance hall). “Greetings Manius, it’s always a pleasure to see you. Thank you for thinking of us. Before we see Levi, I want to tell you that he isn’t doing well. He’s having trouble breathing and mostly stays in his chair. You’ll be surprised by his appearance. He’s a sick man. I’m worried for him.”

  Joseph and Decima heard the talking and came out of the tablinum (study). They lit up when they saw Manius and Lucia. Manius immediately reached for his granddaughter Livia while greeting the adults. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was seven months old and smiled back at Manius. “She’s beautiful!” he announced.

  As they entered the study, Manius handed Livia back to Decima. Manius saw Levi and was taken aback at his sickly look. Levi smiled weakly at Manius and barely raised his hand in greeting. Manius pulled a chair closer to Levi’s and took his hand. Levi was pale and weak. Manius could tell he wouldn’t survive until he returned from the Cisalpine. Levi was only 62, but was dying. Manius talked to him quietly. He realized that now was the time to say all the things that you usually wish you would have said before a person passes. After about 20 minutes, Manius bid his mentor and friend a final farewell and returned to the atrium. He was deeply saddened.

  Manius went over to Rivkah. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, “He’s not going to make it, is he?” Manius answered softly, “It’s in the hands of the gods.”

  Manius joined everyone else where they sat talking in low voices; he was in no mood to socialize. He quickly explained his new mission to Joseph, but knew that Joseph would not accompany the Legions this time. He had begun his new career working for the Senate.

  “When you return,” said Joseph, “I’ll make time to interview the participants, so I can add the history of this expedition to the other two.” Manius and Lucia bid them goodnight and departed.

  Manius was well acquainted with life and death, but Levi’s impending death hit him in a way that he hadn’t previous experienced. On the way back home, Lucia did her best to comfort her husband on the way home.

  *******

  Manius briefs his staff

  The following morning, Manius arrived at the camp at 6:30 A.M. He needed quiet time to get his thoughts together and to attend to a few items. He summoned his two clerks. When they arrived, he said, “At this morning’s staff meeting, I want you to sit in the rear of the room and take notes. Whenever I task an individual to do something, I want you to write it down. Sometime later today, give that individual the written instruction. I’ll sign each letter. I don’t want there to be any confusion as to who is doing what. Have you had breakfast yet?”

  They both nodded yes.

  At 8:00 A.M. Manius stood and faced his staff in the meeting room. He was once again a Roman Praetor with no thoughts other than the task facing him. He looked for and saw Tomaeus, Rasce, Andreas, Servilius, Vitulus, Canutus, and Elitovius. “It’s good to be back in Rome, and it’s good to see all of you again. I know you and the men are all wondering about our new mission, so I’ll get right to it.”

  “In late March, Mago landed at Genoa with about 30,000 men and cavalry with the mission to reinforce his brother, or at least to tie up some of our Legions. Seven of our best Legions have already deployed to prevent his Army from moving south. We know Mago has sent men to recruit mercenaries from Illyria and from among the tribes north of them. Estimates are that Mago wants to hire about 50,000 more men.”

  “The Senate has ordered us to prevent these mercenaries from joining Mago. As you can see, our two Legions will be greatly outnumbered. We will need the support of the Cenomani, Raeti, and Suevi if we are to be successful.”

  “Sunrise tomorrow is at 6:00 A.M., and I want to be underway by 8 A.M. We’ll stop for the day at 4 P.M. I want to cover the 320 miles (500km) to our destination by marching 15-18 miles a day and resting every fourth day. That
pace would put us in our blocking position at the end of May or early June. I see no reason to dig a ditch or erect palisades at night until we pass Ariminum.”

  “The earliest date the mercenaries are expected to arrive at our blocking location is early July. That means we’ll have a month to prepare the battlefield. I would like the two Legates, Tomaeus, Rasce, Andreas, Servilius, Vitulus, and the Operations’ Tribune to remain here, everyone else is excused. We’ll restart after a short break.”

  Manius went outside and saw Modius standing by the door. “Go find Cassius and my son, and come back and tell me where they are. I want to see what they’re up to.”

  Modius was back within five minutes. “Sir, they’re over at the south end of the quad. I’ll lead you there.”

  When Manius arrived, he saw his son had put on a Legionary’s armor and helmet, and had a gladius strapped around his waist. “Titus,” he called out, “How does it feel? It looks good on you.”

  “Heavy, but I like the way it feels.”

  “These men march and fight in the hot sun for hours with all that equipment. Do you think you could do it?”

  “Not now, but someday I could,” admitted Titus.

  “Cassius, how about letting him throw a practice pilum for a while, but without the armor. Let’s see how good his arm is.” Manius looked at the Legionary who had given his armor to Titus and said, “Thanks for taking care of my boy.”

  The man responded, “Sir, he’ll make a great Legionary someday; I can tell.”

  Manius walked back to the meeting room with the usually silent Modius. “Sir, you have a fine son there; he’ll be a Legate someday.” Manius looked at Modius and nodded.

  When everyone was seated, Manius said, “I’m sure everyone was hoping we wouldn’t deploy again so soon after returning from Germania, but the Senate has selected us for a critical operation. As soldiers of the Republic, we go when and where we are told. I want you to get a sense of the state of the men’s morale. If you think there’s a lot of unhappiness in the ranks, I’ll be happy to talk to them. In any event, tell your Centurions and Tribunes to do what they can to ensure the men are properly motivated. Also, the fact that we could be facing 50,000 mercenaries can easily spawn defeatist rumors. The men need to know that we’ll have the support of the same Auxiliary veterans who helped us defeat the Cimbri/Teutons.”

  “We think the Illyrian mercenaries will try to join Mago’s Army by traveling around the top of the Adriatic, and then follow the main route west through Venetiae, Verona, and Brixia, which is mostly Cenomani tribal territory. The northern group of mercenaries will probably travel west through the Inn River Valley to Innsbruck, which puts them in Suevi territory. From Innsbruck, they have no choice but to travel over the Brenner Pass and into Raeti territory. This route puts Bethica’s Suevi and King Timo’s people at extreme risk. Foragers and looters will denude the countryside of anything edible or of value for miles around their army.”

  “To my knowledge neither King Timo nor Bethica are aware of this impending threat. I want to send riders to alert them, and to solicit their support. I’ll come back to this in a moment. I think we all are familiar with Lake Benacus from our stay at Brixia. We marched around the southern tip of the Lake and up the eastern side on several occasions going and coming from Innsbruck. The part of the lake I am interested in as a possible choke point is the southern end. From a map study of the area, and from my own personal observation, the only place suitable to block the mercenaries is at the southern end of the lake. I’ll explain why.”

  “You may recall that our wagons had to use the bridge to cross over the Mincius (modern Mincio River) that drains the lake, but the troops could easily ford the river. About 1.5 miles south of the lake is a swamp that extends along the river for about two miles and inland for about three. Its numerous small streams feed into the Mincius, which adds to the river’s width and depth as the river flows south. At this point it is no longer fordable by troops. The lake, the river, and the swamp create a narrow choke point 1.5 miles long. My plan is to stop the mercenaries here.”

  “Tomaeus, I would like you and Tribunes Vitulus and Servilius to ride there with all speed and begin to survey the land, and determine the best place to build our defensive line. I envision palisades with a ditch, fighting ramparts, and towers running from the south end of the lake, along the river’s edge, to the start of the swamp. Also, identify a second wall farther west in case Mago decides to attack us from the rear. In between the two walls, lay in eight standard Legionary camps that will extend the entire length of the two walls. We’ll adjust the number of camps depending on the number of troops our allies supply. Study the area from the mercenaries point of view; what can they see and how would they attack us.”

  “The map shows three islands in the lake not far from the mouth of the Mincius and not far from either the east or west banks. I suspect we will have to fortify these islands as well, and probably build bridges to connect them. Look it over, and give me your recommendation when we meet up. When you get up to the lake, talk to the locals and find out everything you can about the lake and the surrounding terrain. When you complete your survey, ride back and join us on the march. I want you to brief me and the staff. Include some options, if there are any.”

  “Rasce, I want you to send riders to King Timo and Bethica to alert them that Andreas and Elitovius are coming to see them with an important message from me. They don’t need to provide any details other than that they are enroute.”

  “Andreas, I want you to ride north with Elitovius and meet with the Cenomani Chief, Segovesus. Elitovius, since you are a personal friend of Segovesus, use your influence with him to secure his cooperation. The Cenomani tribal area extends from Verona to Brixia to Bononia (modern Bologna), and will be severely impacted by the horde of mercenaries if they break through our defenses. As you know, three years ago, he gave us 2,500 warriors led by Taluric when we fought against the Suevi. Ask him to provide 10,000 warriors, and to send them to the southern end of the lake by the end of May. He should also consider planning an evacuation of his people. I would suggest that he lead his people northward rather than towards Rome to stay clear of Mago and our seven Legions. One more thing, ask him to block all west-bound travel beyond Bononia. I would like to keep our presence a secret from Mago for as long as possible. If Mago finds out that we are blocking the arrival of his mercenaries, he will probably send his army to dislodge us. This is important!”

  “After you talk to Segovesus, I want both of you to ride to Tridentum (modern Trento) and talk to King Timo. Tell him that we suspect the northern mercenaries will come down the Brenner Pass after passing through Innsbruck. If they follow that route, his tribal area will undoubtedly suffer severe pillaging and looting. I don’t believe his Army is big enough nor has the experience to face these mercenaries. Ask him for 10,000 men and for Lugano to lead them. Suggest to him that he consider evacuating his people west towards the Reschen Pass.”

  “I then want you to go to Innsbruck to alert Bethica. Tell her that even though she has a good army with experienced fighters, the Suevi will suffer heavy losses if she chooses to fight. I suggest she evacuate her people and army north towards Munich. It’s probably not feasible, but ask her to send us 10,000 men. Also ask her to send riders to Timur at Regensburg to alert him to what is happening, and that his trip to Rome to be my houseguest must be postponed until this threat has passed.”

  “Rasce, provide a strong cavalry escort for Tomaeus and Andreas with sufficient pack horses to sustain them during the trip. Leave tomorrow morning when the Legions begin to march.”

  “Tribune Canutus, it’s nice to see you again. As one of the best Operations’ Officer in the Army, I’m surprised some other Legion hasn’t managed to steal you away. I have a few things for you do here in Rome before you ride to join us. The seven Legions in Ariminum are being supplied grain directly from Rome. I want you to talk to whomever is managing that for them, and explain that we will
also need grain and supplies. The clerks in the back of the room can give you a copy of the senate’s order directing our mission. That letter establishes our priority and identifies funding.”

  “Our supply wagons can accompany the Legions’ wagons to Ariminum. At that point, our wagons will be met by four Maniples, two from Legio XVII and two from V Etrusci along with cavalry scouts, who will escort them to our location at Lake Benacus.”

  “I have one more item for you. I would like you to get 10 onagri (small catapult) with their four man crews, wagons, and oxen to haul them. They can accompany the grain wagons. We may need those catapults with their 200 yard range. Make sure they bring their buckets as well as slings; I envision hurling more flaming oil than rocks. With that in mind, we will need at least 100 amphorae (690 gallons) of flammable oil and 2,000 breakable clay pots.”

  “Since we will be fighting behind a wall against an attacking army, we will need many more pila than we usually have on hand. The same applies for scorpio arrows. I want you to try to get as many as 50,000 additional pila and 10,000 more scorpio arrows.”

  “Looking at the map, I think the best route to follow when the supply wagons leave Ariminum is to travel westerly to Bononia and then north to Mantua. There is a bridge there to cross the Mincio. From there, the lake and our blocking position will be due north. A word of caution; Bononia is close to Boii territory and could be dangerous. The escort will have to be extra alert in their area. They fought us in the Gallic Wars and were the object of a punitive raid in response. Nonetheless, they have consistently aided Hannibal with men and material. I suspect that most of their remaining warriors have already left the area to join Mago, but you could still encounter some hostility.”

  Onager

  “I know that each of you is familiar with the Via Flaminia, but make sure our new personnel know what’s facing them when we cross the mountains. I’m referring to the fact that once we start our ascent, there is little or no flat ground to establish a proper camp. The men will have to sleep on the steep road; and we all know how annoying that can be! Make sure that the wagons carry extra fodder for the animals.”