Hibernia (Veteran of Rome Book 2)

by William Kelso

  "Move, move, keep going," he shouted at the Legionaries as they came storming through the abandoned Hibernian camp. "Where are those damned wagons?"

  "There they are Sir," one of the Tribunes at his side called out. Corbulo blinked and then he saw it too. A convoy of burning torches was heading straight towards him. As the first overloaded wagon came rolling passed he saw the anxious crowded faces of the wounded men in the glow of the campfires.

  "Come on, come on," Corbulo muttered impatiently. A sudden roar erupted to the north and he turned his horse in the direction from which it had come. Anxiously he peered into the darkness as the roar grew in volume. That had to be Marcus and his Batavians. They must have made contact with the enemy. He looked up at the moon and muttered a short prayer. Then a second wagon rumbled passed and in the glow he caught sight of the Legionaries as they half walked and half ran alongside it.

  "Move it, move it," he shouted.

  A warning cry in the darkness to his left suddenly rent the night. A man screamed. Then in the faint light Corbulo caught sight of figures running and leaping towards him.

  "Here they come," a Roman voice cried out. Corbulo drew his sword and with hoarse cry he charged straight towards the running men. The two sides met in a whirl of movement, thuds and screams. Corbulo's horse shying away from a boulder, crashed headlong into a Hibernian, knocking the man to the ground. Corbulo slashed at the man but missed. Then close by a Hibernian came leaping through the air clutching a spear that was aimed at the exposed flank of his horse. Corbulo cried out in panic but just as the man was, strike Quintus came charging out of the gloom and sent the Hibernian spinning with an ugly cut to his neck. Corbulo looked around him wildly. In the darkness everything had descended into chaos and he no idea where his own men were. A party of Legionaries came rushing past a campfire with drawn swords before vanishing into the gloom.

  "To me," Corbulo roared as he caught sight of a line of torches, "To me, fall back." He thundered back through the Hibernian camp towards the convoy. Around him horsemen appeared in and out of the darkness racing to keep up with him. As he reached the line of moving torches he wheeled his horse round and stared into the darkness from whence he'd just come. Quintus appeared at his side and slowly his staff gathered around him. Nothing moved in the darkness ahead. Corbulo turned to look at another wagon as it trundled past with its human cargo. The Legionaries did not look up as they jogged past. Anxiously Corbulo turned in the direction of Tara. The last of the torches was close by and coming towards him.

  "That's the last one," he shouted, "When it's past us we follow. The HQ Company will form a rearguard. Follow my voice, follow my voice."

  ***

  Dawn found the Roman column strung out on a path heading due east into the rising sun. The rain had stopped and there was a fresh western breeze in the cloudy sky. Corbulo, surrounded by his staff, walked his horse alongside one of the wagons loaded with wounded. The men in the wagon were staring vacantly out over the rolling fields. A long single file of Legionaries trudged along the path on the opposite side of the wagons. The men's faces were blackened with dried mud and they were carrying their shields and spears. No one spoke but in the wagons the soft cries of the badly wounded could be heard. Corbulo looked tense. He'd lost one of the wagons when its axle had snapped. Some of the wounded had managed to stagger along with the help of their comrades but he'd been forced to leave many of them behind beside the wagon. Their desperate pleas for help had haunted everyone who had heard them but there was nothing he could do for them. The wagons were already dangerously overcrowded.

  Anxiously Corbulo turned to watch the horizon to the north. So far his plan was working, they had managed to break out and leave the Hibernian infantry behind but where was Marcus and his Batavians? With the light it would not be long before the Hibernian cavalry found them and if the Batavians were not there to protect him the whole column was going to be overrun and cut to pieces. Quintus nudged his horse alongside and gestured at one of the wagons up ahead.

  "That one's axle is about to break," he muttered.

  "Well what do you want me to do about it?" Corbulo grunted irritably.

  Quintus's face grew sheepish. "You need to show the men that you know what you are doing Sir," he said quietly, "They are looking to you for leadership. Show them that you know what to do even when you haven't got a clue. Sometimes leadership is about pretending that you are in command."

  Corbulo looked over at Quintus and for a long moment he remained silent.

  "You can be one annoying prick sometimes," he muttered as a faint smile appeared on his lips. Their banter was interrupted by a shout from one of the Tribunes. "Look Sir," the officer cried, "over there. Horsemen."

  Corbulo and Quintus turned in the direction in which the officer was pointing. Then Corbulo saw them too. A line of horsemen riding straight towards them about half a mile away.

  "Batavians or the enemy, come on man," he cried at the Tribune, "You have better eyes than me, what is it?"

  The Tribune was peering intently at the riders.

  "Batavians Sir, they are our men," he cried out.

  "Jupiter's cock," Corbulo muttered as he stared at the approaching riders in relief. "Marcus did it, I knew he would."

  The Legionaries too had spotted the riders and a few men nervously lowered their shields and readied their spears.

  As the Batavians came trotting towards him Corbulo caught sight of Marcus. His son's face was grim and streaked in sweat. Catching sight of the battle group standard Marcus veered towards it and seeing Corbulo he trotted towards him.

  "I carried out my orders Sir," he said stiffly and without a smile, "We took the enemy by surprise and scattered them but they are stronger than we thought. Their cavalry is on our trail. They will be here within the hour."

  "Good man, good man," Corbulo muttered awkwardly avoiding his son's gaze, "How many of them are there?"

  "I think about six or seven hundred mounted men. They are accompanied by slingers who run alongside the horses and I counted one pack of war dogs." Marcus turned to look at the slow moving wagons. "Did you get them all out?"

  "We did but we lost one along the way, a broken axle," Corbulo replied.

  Marcus nodded and sighed.

  "What about casualties?" Corbulo said glancing at the line of Batavian horsemen.

  "Thirty or so dead and missing," Marcus replied, "I lost some men in the confusion and in the darkness, you know how it is Sir."

  Corbulo grunted as he turned to look to the north. "I am going to bring the Legionary cavalry from the advance guard to reinforce you. When those Hibernians get here you and your men are going to have to keep them at bay. Nothing must hold us up. We need to reach Drumanagh before their infantry has a chance to catch up. If we are caught out here in the open its going to end in a massacre."

  "I know," Marcus replied.

  ***

  It was an hour later with the Roman column heading east across the green open rolling hills when the first Hibernian riders appeared to the north. A warning trumpet blast rang out as the Legionaries ran to form a line. Corbulo with his staff officers close behind came galloping down the Roman column.

  "Keep moving, keep moving," he yelled at the Legionaries, "Which arse gave that signal? The infantry is to keep moving. We can't stand still." Angrily he turned to one of the Tribunes, "See to it that every officer understands those orders. We keep moving; we don't stand still. Got it?"

  The Tribune saluted nervously and nodded before galloping away down the column. Corbulo turned quickly to stare at the Hibernians. The enemy was closing in at a rapid pace and in the distance he heard the unmistakable noise of barking dogs. He turned to his trumpeter.

  "Order the Batavians to intercept them," he said quickly.

  "Yes Sir," the soldier said hastily and bringing his mouth to his instrument he blew two short blasts. Corbulo glanced back down the column of wagons and marching men. The rear most wagon had started to lag behind. T
he cart looked desperately overcrowded and a string of walking-wounded were moving alongside it. Some of the Legionaries were pushing the wagon up the slope.

  "Oh shit," Corbulo muttered as he caught sight of the advancing Hibernian cavalry. The wagon and its occupants suddenly looked horribly exposed and vulnerable. What had happened to the rear guard, who were supposed to be protecting them?

  As he stared at the wagon he heard the wild cries of the enemy horsemen as they rapidly closed in on the Roman column. Then a group of about a hundred Hibernian riders broke away from the main force and charged straight towards the rear most wagon. The Legionaries seeing the enemy surging towards them broke and scattered. Corbulo swore and was about to urge his horse towards the stranded men when he heard the thunder of hooves and a moment later a V shaped formation of Batavian and Legionary cavalry came galloping passed. Concentrating on the struggling and fleeing Legionaries the Hibernians were too slow to notice the sudden threat to their flank and too late they turned to face the Batavian charge. A volley of spears slammed into them and men went crashing and tumbling to the ground as a cry of panic and terror rose up from amongst the Hibernian ranks. Then the Batavian cavalry were in amongst their foes, slashing at the remaining riders with their long cavalry swords. The fight was over within seconds as the surviving Hibernian wheeled round and fled for their lives across the field.

  "Get those men back into the column," Corbulo roared as he pointed at the scattered Romans around the rear most wagon, "and get a proper company down here to protect our rear."

  "Sir look they are sending in their slingers and dogs," one of the Tribunes shouted. Corbulo turned and sure enough a line of figures was advancing towards him and in amongst them he could see and hear the war dogs.

  For a moment Corbulo was struck by indecision. He glanced at the Batavians and Legionary cavalry who had fallen in at the rear of the column. The slingers could be lethal and he knew what those dogs could do. Some of the Hibernian war dogs were big and strong enough to bring down a horse. The Batavians could rout both if they charged in formation but the presence of the main body of Hibernian cavalry made that unwise. As he stared at the approaching Hibernians he saw that the enemy cavalry were staying close enough to give their slingers the protection they needed. Corbulo frowned and scratched his cheek uneasily.

  "They will be in range soon Sir," one of the Tribunes shouted.

  Corbulo turned to look up the moving Roman column. "Get the Hamians down here, all of them, tell them to hurry," he shouted at one of messengers. The soldier nodded and galloped away up the line of wagons.

  Close by, a stone clattered onto a rock and came to rest in the grass. Corbulo cursed under his breath. The enemy were getting the range. "Protect yourselves boys," he cried as he peered helplessly at the advancing slingers. He could clearly see the Hibernians darting and jumping towards him and whirling their slings over their heads. Then a volley of stones came hurtling into the Legionaries and the air was filled with clangs and cries as the stones struck armour, shields and flesh. A Legionary toppled from one of the carts and tumbled onto the ground bleeding from a wound to his head. Close by, one the Tribune's heads suddenly jerked backwards as he was struck and he tumbled from his horse without making a sound. Corbulo felt a stone whizz passed his head.

  "This is fucking outrageous," he shouted, "Where are the Hamians?"

  Quintus raised his shield as he tried to cover Corbulo from a second volley of stones. "Here they come Sir," a Legionary shouted as he huddled behind the protective cover of his shield. Corbulo turned to look up the column and sure enough the Hamians in their exotic uniforms and armour were running towards him. "Get them in formation and tell them to take out those fucking slingers," Corbulo roared.

  Along the column the rear most wagons had come to a standstill as the Romans took shelter behind their shields from the hail of stones that was hurtling through the air. "Keep moving, keep moving," Corbulo screamed as he noticed the development. But despite his order the Legionaries refused to budge. Corbulo bit his lip. It was no use, the enemy had them pinned down. The barking of the war dogs was drawing closer and as he snatched a glance at the enemy he saw the dog handlers struggling to hold the dogs on their leashes.

  Suddenly a volley of arrows went flying through the air in the direction of the slingers and immediately the hail of stones slackened. Cries rose up from the Hibernian ranks as here and there a man was hit. Then like a blast of sparks from a fire a second volley of arrows hammered into the slingers mowing a swathe through their ranks. The Hamian archers had formed a tightly packed formation and were pounding the Hibernians with arrow after arrow and as he stared at the developing missile duel, Corbulo felt a rising respect for these oriental bowmen. They were by far the finest bowmen he had ever seen. With a cry the dog handlers released their beasts and the ferocious dogs bounded away barking loudly as the pack surged straight towards the Hamian's. Corbulo opened his mouth in dismay. The dogs would tear the archers to pieces if they could close the range. Snarling and yelping the pack of dogs raced towards the archers. Corbulo turned to look around him but there was nothing he could do. Then as the dogs closed in for the kill with just yards to go the Hamians lifted their bows and sent a ferocious close quarters barrage of arrows straight into the dogs. The result was carnage as animal after animal was mown down and killed. Corbulo stared at the scene in utter fascination. The Hamians had not taken a single step backwards.

  "They are retreating Sir," one of the Tribunes shouted. Corbulo turned to look and across the field the remaining slingers were indeed beating a hasty retreat. Quickly he turned to the stalled wagons and the Legionaries.

  "Get those wagons moving, I want everyone on their feet, this is no time for a rest," he shouted. "Come on boys, we are going to make it. We're going home."

  Corbulo turned to stare at the Hibernian cavalry. The riders had made no further hostile moves as they shadowed the Roman column from a safe distance. As he watched them however Corbulo grunted in surprise as he suddenly saw the Hibernian force split into two groups of roughly similar size. His surprise turned into alarm as one group began to race away towards the front of the Roman column.

  "They are splitting their force," Quintus cried.

  Corbulo watched as the second group of riders remained behind as they shadowed the Batavian and Legionary cavalry. The two groups looked about equal in numbers.

  "They are going to try and slow us down," Quintus said, "Those riders at the front are going to make it difficult for our men to keep moving. They are going to pick us off one by one. They are using their superior numbers. Clever bastards."

  Corbulo turned to stare at the Batavian cavalry who were bringing up the rear. Then he cried out to the trumpeter.

  "Order the Batavians to attack the cavalry that is shadowing us. Order them to annihilate them."

  "They have equal numbers," Quintus called out in alarm, "It will be a straight fight. The Hibernians will see them coming. Can we afford to waste our men like this? We need the Batavians Corbulo."

  "Give the order," Corbulo snapped ignoring Quintus. A moment later the trumpet rang out and Corbulo turned to stare at the Batavian and Legionary squadrons. At first the cavalrymen did not seem to react, then slowly the horsemen started to turn towards the enemy and form into a V shape formation. Swiftly the walk broke into a trot and then as they closed with the enemy it became a charge. The Hibernians too had formed into a V formation and as the Batavians charged, they too charged. The two cavalry forces smashed into each other and the shock of the collision sent men catapulting from their steeds and crashing to the ground. Horses screamed in terror and collapsed to the ground crushing men beneath their weight. Grimly Corbulo stared at the fight as the two sides lashed and stabbed at each other with their spears and swords. From where he stood Corbulo heard the screams and yells of the struggling writhing mass of horses and men.

  "This is a mistake Corbulo," Quintus hissed, "We need those horsemen."

 
"Have a little more faith in our Germanic allies," Corbulo snapped, "I have never seen them being beaten in a straight fight."

  Quintus shook his head but said nothing as he stared at the vicious confused brawl. Then suddenly the Hibernians seemed to have had enough as en masse they broke, turned and started to scatter and flee. With a loud roar the Batavians set off in pursuit leaving the dead and dying behind in a mass of bodies, blood and gore.

  "Sound recall," Corbulo shouted and a moment later the trumpeter blasted out the signal. Across the field the ragged ranks of Batavian and Legionary cavalry reluctantly abandoned the chase and began to trot back towards the column. A few rider less horses cantered passed. Corbulo was staring at the Batavians as they came towards him. They had lost nearly half their number. Anxiously he cast about for Marcus and saw him on the extreme right of the line. He looked tired but unhurt. Many of the Batavians and Legionary cavalry were covered in blood and flesh wounds but here and there the wounds were worse and the riders half hung from their beasts as they clung on with the last of their strength.

  "Get the wounded from those horses," he cried, "and find some space for them on the wagons. Keep moving boy, keep moving."

  Corbulo turned as Marcus came riding up to him. The young man had been cut across his arm but the wound did not look deep.