Legio XVII: Battle of Zama

by Thomas A. Timmes

  At 5:00 P.M. the three riders returned from their trip south along the river and the process of reporting was repeated. The cavalry Commander began repeating the Detachment’s report to Dindar, when Dindar cut him off and said, “I want to hear it from them. Bring them here.”

  The scouts reported all that had happened including losing one man when his horse stumbled. “I suspect the Cenomani killed him.”

  “Could you tell the identity of the riders?” asked Dindar.

  “Sir, they spoke Cenomani and looked like ordinary horsemen.”

  “What about the bridge?” asked Dindar.

  “I can’t tell for certain, but if they want to prevent us from crossing the river, I suspect they burned it after we left.”

  Dindar turned to an aide. “Summon the Commanders and the Carthaginians.” In less than twenty minutes, the entire group had gathered in his tent. He told them what the scouts reported from atop the mountain and along the river. “It appears we are facing the Cenomani, but I think there are others helping them. Maybe the Veneti or Rhaetians? I find it hard to believe that there are Romans behind that wall, but I won’t rule it out. Any ideas?”

  “I believe the Romans are behind this,” retorted Mintho pounding his fist on the table. “Who else wants to stop us from joining Mago? No one!”

  “Assuming you are correct, how can we notify Mago that we are here, but face this obstacle?”

  “I think we should attack the wall straight on,” said Bujar, a Commander of 5,000. “Maybe it isn’t that big an obstacle. Maybe it just looks formidable and would fall with a little Illyrian push.”

  Sali, Commander of 10,000, conjectured, “Perhaps, we can get around the lake from the north end and come in behind the wall? If not with the entire Army, maybe a portion of it. They could attack from the far side as well as send riders to Genoa to tell Mago what’s happening here.”

  “That’s a possibility,” said Dindar nodding his head. He then looked at Mintho. “Tell me about the army coming from Ptuj and Posonium.”

  “My men were instructed to ask Sirium and Magimarus for 10,000 Taurisci and 20,000 Boii and Eravisci. They were to march to Salzburg, then Innsbruck, and come here maybe two to three weeks ahead of us.”

  “Today is the second of July,” said Dindar. “If they were two to three weeks ahead of us, they would have passed this way in mid June, which is impossible. This fortification we are facing wasn’t built in two weeks. They either went around the lake to bypass this obstacle as suggested by Sali, or they haven’t yet arrived. I suspect the latter. Whoever built this wall must also have plans to prevent being bypassed.”

  “When you lay it out like that, I think you may be right,” agreed Mintho. “We could send scouts up to Trento to look for them.”

  “That’s what I plan to do,” replied Dindar as he stood up. “Vendim, I want you and your men to go north to see if you can get around the lake. You are on a reconnaissance mission. I don’t want you to engage the enemy unless you’re sure you can easily beat them. If you encounter a force larger than yours, come back. If you manage to get all the way around the lake and it appears that you can successfully attack the enemy behind the wall, then do it. If we hear the sound of battle, we will attack the wall head on. If you can, send riders to Genoa to inform Mago of our situation. The rest of us will wait here. We have enough food and slaves to keep the men busy. Malush, I want you to give Vendim your 50 archers for this mission.”

  On July 3rd, five scouts with extra pack horses rode out of camp headed to Trento. They were told to locate an army of Taurisci and Boii/Eravisci coming from Trento. Two days later, Vendim’s 5,000 men started walking north. Once they got around the mountains, they were instructed to head west and go around the lake.

  The signal station on top of the mountain reported the five men riding north and the 5,000 men walking north on the road. Manius was informed within an hour and a half.

  The five scouts arrived at Trento on the 5th. They had been intercepted about five miles down the road by Boii cavalry and escorted to Aze and Lugius. The Boii cavalry Commander announced, “Commanders, there are five Illyrian riders here to talk to you, and they’ve got quite a story to tell.”

  “Bring them here,” said Aze anxious to hear their tale.

  Haggith said to Aze and Lugius, “They must be with the Illyrian army I told you about yesterday while we ate dinner in King Timo’s residence. I told you that the Illyrians are probably two weeks behind us, but maybe not. We did lose a week attacking Bad Tolz.”

  The five Illyrians entered the tent, and one who was a native Boii, spoke, “Dindar, our Commander, sends his greetings. His army of 20,000 men is encamped about four day’s march from here at the south end of Lake Benacus. Dindar wants you to know that the Cenomani have built a defensive position on the west side of the Mincio River consisting of a high wooden wall that is blocking our westward movement. The wall is sparsely manned with Cenomani troops and extends south along the river for about a mile and a half. We sent riders south along the river, but did not find a way to cross it. Our riders were attacked by Cenomani cavalry at the Mantua Bridge. Unless you have questions for us, we will leave and inform Dindar that your army is a four days march north.”

  “Yes, you may go and tell him that Aze and Lugius send their greetings. We will see him on the 11th and talk about this wall.”

  *******

  Vendim and his men arrived at the top of the lake three days later, July 8th. They rested at Riva Del Garda while the cavalry escort went forward to view the route ahead. It looked like an easy walk through the flat countryside along the edge of the lake and then a gradual ascent up to the top of the cliffs. The cavalry scouts noted that the hillside was dotted with trees and brush that obscured their view of the crest. When they returned, they reported that the way ahead looked clear.

  After the cavalry Commander gave his report to Vendim, he added, “We won’t be much good to you going up the hill. I suggest that I have a few men follow the infantry up the hill while the rest of us wait here. If the top of the hill is suitable for horses, my men will come back and tell me so we can join you.” Vendim agreed and decided to spend the night at Riva before continuing.

  The signal station at Gargnano, across the lake from the mountain, sent a rider to warn the Suevi on the plateau that 5,000 men were coming their way. When Odo, was notified, he passed the message to his Legion. The defenses and the men were prepared. Odo’s plan was to allow the Illyrians to enter the area with the foot traps, throw their pila, and have the archers bring them under fire. He planned to fight at the wall for as long as possible, and then release the logs to roll down the hill. At this point, his men would withdraw across the plateau.

  Odo posted a few of his men along the cliff’s edge to watch the Illyrian camp at Riva. They saw the enemy army cross the Sarca River and the cavalry scout the lake. The Suevi held an obvious advantage; Odo knew where the enemy was located, their strength, and their intentions. The Illyrians lacked such vital awareness.

  Vendim broke camp at 8:00 A.M. His Advance Guard, comprised of 50 men and 25 archers, left 30 minutes earlier. His troops were in a column formation that stretched out alongside the lake as they walked towards the hill. Within 20 minutes, his lead element began the gentle ascent, but stopped when they suddenly saw men running towards them. They were from the Advance Guard and yelled, “Stay here!” as they continued running downhill. They found Vendim a few minutes later.

  Still out of breath, one of the men said, “Commander, when we got within 400 yards of the crest of the hill, we could see a defensive wall that went from one end of the hilltop to the other. There are troops behind the wall. A lot of them! We were sent back to tell you.”

  Vendim called for his Commanders and began riding to the base of the hill. He managed to push his horse part of the way up, then dismounted, and began walking. The hill was mostly grassy, but dotted with just enough trees and small brush to obscure his view. Finally, he spotted
his men at the edge of a clearing. In the distance, he could see the log wall running along the crest. “Let’s get closer, so I can see what we’re facing,” he said. The entire group began moving cautiously up the hill closer to the wall.

  Odo’s men watching the Illyrians from the cliffs could clearly see that most of the enemy was still at the bottom of the hill and passed the word to Odo, “This is merely a reconnaissance.” He summoned his archers, telling them, “Be prepared to fire on my command. I suspect that their commanders are in this group approaching us. Maybe you can hit a few of them!”

  Vendim led the group to within 300 yards of the wall. He could see that one side of the wall went right to the cliff’s edge, but the other seemed to just stop. He figured that there was probably some natural obstacle on that side, but then again, maybe it was a soft spot. The wall was heavily manned, but he couldn’t see any detail to tell him who they were. He assumed Cenomani. This position is too strong. Attacking up hill, against a fortified position that is strongly defended will need more men.

  “Let’s go back,” he signaled quietly. He had barely turned around when arrows began raining down on them. Some overshot, some fell short, but many were hitting their target. Men started screaming in pain and dropping. Vendim yelled, “Run!” Several more men were hit before they got out of range. Some of the wounded began crawling downhill, while others lay deathly still. Vendim walked rapidly downhill until he found his horse. “Take the men back to camp,” he told his Commanders.

  Once everyone was back, Vendim assembled his leaders and told them what happened. In a determined voice, he said, “I’m going to ask Dindar for 10,000 more men. I know we can take that position. If that’s all that’s preventing us from going around the lake and bypassing the wall, it will be worth it.”

  Vendim added, “I’m going to talk to Dindar myself.” He told his second-in-command to post guards at night and to have people watch the wall on the hill in case the Cenomani decide to come down and attack. “Be prepared to fight, but withdraw if there’s too many of them. I’ll be back in five days.”

  About two hours later, Manius, his Commanders, and staff were informed of what had happened.

  *******

  Two days after Tribune Tomaeus announced that the defenses of the Mincio were complete, Manius and his Commanders climbed a tower and watched Dindar and his Command Group studying the wall from across the river.

  When the Illyrians eventually rode away, Manius directed the Commanders to continue putting their men on the ramparts to rehearse for the attack that was sure to come.

  The Legates personally observed as the men took their place on the wall. The Centurions were responsible to ensure each man knew his place. Four Legionaries would line up behind the lead man at the wall. The two men in the rear were assigned the job to use the forked poles to push ladders off the wall. The Centurions then rotated the men forward. Each man at the wall would simulate using his pilum to strike at men coming up the ladders. They swung their shield as they would when fending off swords and spears to get the feel of the space to their front and men on their left and right. Extra pila were stacked all along the wall. When the training ended, the ‘Cenomani’ would resume their duty of standing watch atop the rampart.

  Early the following day, Manius was informed that Illyrian scouts were riding towards the mountains and four others were riding south along the river. He knew Rasce had his scouts posted along the river to watch them. This was expected enemy behavior. They were looking for a way around the wall.

  Shortly after that, Manius was summoned to one of the towers. The Illyrians were establishing four separate camps about a mile from the river. They appeared to be separated by about 200 yards and stretched out for a mile. Their southernmost camp was even with the end of the wall adjacent to the swamp. Manius thought, they’re getting into an attack position.

  On July 2nd, Manius was notified that Rasce’s cavalry screen along the river had engaged the Illyrian scouts by the bridge at Mantua and had captured a badly wounded man. He had a runner tell Elitovius to interrogate him.

  Two hours later, Elitovius gave Manius his report. “I talked to the wounded scout. He is part of an Illyrian army of 20,000 men from Scodia on their way to join Mago’s army at Genoa. He said his army is organized into four units of 5,000 men each. Dindar is the Commander and he has two men, Andis and Sali, who each command 10,000. He said the army is well supplied with food and other items looted along the way. Unfortunately, when he fell from his horse, he must have cracked his skull. He’s barely coherent now and won’t live much longer.”

  “Thank you, Elitovius.”

  Centurion Cassius and Modius normally stood silently by Manius’ side, and most of the time Manius wasn’t even aware of their presence. So when Cassius quietly said, “Sir, may I speak?” Manius was quick to give him his full attention.

  “Of course, what’s on your mind?”

  “I have experience with these Illyrians.”

  “Go on,” answered Manius looking intently at Cassius. He had learned to listen when he spoke.

  “Sometime after Cannae, when Hannibal was still roaming freely, I was with a Legion that had a running fight with the Illyrian part of his army. One night, the Legate had us conduct a night attack against their camp. They had no listening posts around their position and only a few guards standing watch on their wall, if you can call it that. All they do is put sticks in the ground, tie them together and call it a wall. Most of us were massed by the gate while others threw torches over the wall to light up their tents. The entire camp was soon a blazing fire. They came running out the gate and right into our pila and swords. We killed 2,000 that night. The next day, we discovered a second gate on the other side of the camp. The other interesting thing we noticed is that their tents are highly flammable. They use some kind of grease to make them water tight. The reason, I’m saying all this is that we may have a similar opportunity here.”

  “Cassius, that’s very useful information. You may be right. Maybe we can repeat your experience, but this time we’ll also block the rear gate.” Manius kept Cassius’ story uppermost in his mind, wondering how he might exploit this weakness.

  That evening, Manius summoned Legates Calvus, Caile and his key Roman staff officers. When they were gathered in his tent, he said, “I want to tell you my thinking. I believe that it is in our best interest and that of the Republic to entice the mercenary army into attacking us. I know that sounds strange. Here’s why I say that. If they try to bypass our position here by going south along the river, I believe that they will eventually succeed. My concern is that the Cenomani, the Raeti, and the Suevi forces that have agreed to fight with us here will only go so far south and then return home. Once beyond Mantua, they may feel that this is a Roman fight and leave us. If that were to happen, our two Legions cannot fight 50,000 mercenaries!”

  He went on, “If Mago were to begin his move south at the same time that 50,000 mercenaries are on the loose in northern Italy, our seven Legions in Etruria would have no choice but to withdraw or be caught between two large armies. If Mago and the mercenaries joined forces, there is a very real possibility that we would be unable to stop them from joining Hannibal. If that happens, this war with Carthage will continue long into the future.”

  “By stopping the mercenary army here, we will avert a catastrophe and help end this war. I believe that the mercenaries will only attack us if they think our position is weak in terms of defenders. If they see our true capability, they won’t attack. It would be too costly. The mercenaries must not know our strength and should only see a handful of Cenomani on the walls. That doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about a nighttime raid or other offensive action if the opportunity presents itself. That’s all I have. I just wanted you to know how important it is that we stop them here.”

  Three days later on the morning of July 5th, Manius stood atop a tower and watched as 5,000 Illyrians began marching north towards the top of the lake. The camp
they departed was the one adjacent to the southernmost of the four Illyrian camps. That last camp was now separated from the nearest Illyrians by half a mile.

  Hurrying back to his tent, Manius summoned his Commanders. “I think the Illyrians have just inadvertently presented us with an attack opportunity. Five thousand men just left their camp and it appears they are headed for the top of the lake. I suspect they will attempt an assault on the Suevi position, but that’s not the opportunity I’m referring to.”

  “Their southernmost camp, which is opposite the end of our wall, is now isolated from the nearest Illyrian camp by about half a mile. I want to attack it. A couple of days ago, Cassius told me about an experience he had with the Illyrians after Cannae. He learned that their tents are highly flammable and their camps have only two entrances.” Manius then directed his comments to the Commander of the 5,000 Cenomani warriors. “Gervasius, I want you and your men to attack that camp tomorrow night. Before I give you my guidance, can your men do it?”

  Without any hesitation whatsoever, Gervasius answered, “Praetor, we are here in the service of our people. We will do anything we can do to prevent the enemy from reaching Brixia. I have commanded these men for four years. They are trained and tough. Issue your guidance. We are ready to fight.”

  “Excellent response, Gervasius, and I agree with you. Your warriors are fit and the pride of the Cenomani people. Today, I want you to take your men outside the west wall and practice what I’m about to tell you. If you are confident that they are prepared, tomorrow night you will attack.”

  “These are my instructions, said Manius. “Tomorrow night at 1:00 A.M. lead your men out of the south gate and wade across the Mincio. Send about 50 archers ahead of you by 100 yards. Their job will be to kill any listening posts and the guards posted around the inside of the walls. Move your men forward silently in a column formation with 10 abreast. Once you are within 100 yards of the camp, divide your column. Five files to the right and five to the left until you encircle the Illyrian camp.”