Legio XVII: Battle of Zama (22 page)

Bethica continued, “It appears that they outnumber us, and it would be too costly to engage them.  I think I want to keep the Army together at this point to serve as a rear guard in case the mercenaries decide to pursue our people up the valley, which I strongly doubt they will do.  That many people in a relatively confined area though is a tempting target, and they would reap a large reward for their effort.”

“Councilmen and Davenhardt, subject to your objection, I propose we give 5,000 of our fulltime men to Manius and use the remaining 15,000 to protect our people by staying at Seefeld.  Nasua, stock the fort with 30 days of supplies in the unlikely event they decide to besiege us.”

Davenhardt added, “The Romans have 11,000 Legionaries.  The Cenomani and Raeti have each promised 10,000.  That adds up to 31,000 men.  Our warriors then bring the number to 36,000.  We are anticipating 50,000 mercenaries.  If they were fighting on an open field, those would be difficult odds to overcome, but the Romans and her allies will be fighting from a defensive position, which should more than compensate for the disparity.  I agree with the Queen, our first priority is to protect our people, and there is a very slight chance that the horde will try to follow them up the valley to Munich.  Five thousand men are all we can spare.”

Bethica looked at the Councilmen.  “Your comments?”

They looked at each other and nodded their heads.

“Andreas, you have your answer.  I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but it’s the best we can do.  Our 5,000 men will march south in two days under the command of Legate Odo.  Please explain our situation to Manius.”

“Thank you, Queen Bethica,” said Andreas. “I’m sure he will understand, and we thank you for the Legion.  I’ll expect them to arrive at Lake Benacus about June 13th.”  Then on a whim, he added, “If the mercenaries do not follow your people up the valley and instead cross the Brenner to join the Illyrians at the Lake, I would like to mention a future course of action for you to consider.  If you and the Council feel that your people are out of danger and you then wish to participate in stopping the mercenaries, you could lead your army across the Brenner to join us.  I say that because another factor to consider is that if they are not totally destroyed at the Lake, they will probably come back this way enroute to their home country.”

Andreas was thankful he passed up the second beer.  “If you do decide to join us, I would suggest establishing a blocking position at this end of the Brenner Pass.  I noticed that the last mile or so of the Brenner road passes through a very narrow gap not more than 30 feet wide.  A palisade, rampart, and ditch manned with brave warriors could stop them in their tracks, particularly if the high walls of the pass were manned with troops throwing rocks and logs.  A supporting attack coming from the other end of the pass would effectively trap them.  Innsbruck would be spared another round of devastation.”

“Queen Bethica, if you were to decide to join us,” he continued. “Do not come down the eastern side of the lake or you will be facing 50,000 mercenaries by yourself.  When I left Lake Benacus, a team of men was attempting to find a way around the western side of the lake, but I don’t yet know the results.  My advice would be to hold up at the northern end of the lake until we could coordinate with you.”

“Again, thank you for your hospitality, and I pray the gods to minimize the damage done by these marauding killers.  If you have nothing else for us, we’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you both for coming,” said Bethica warmly. “We’ll think about what you said.”

Once outside, Elitovius said, “That was brilliant, truly brilliant.  Aren’t you glad you didn’t have that second cup of beer!”

Couriers from King Timo arrived at Innsbruck the following day.  They heard that the Suevi did not plan to fight the mercenary army and that they were sending Manius 5,000 men.  A rider immediately departed for Trento to pass this information to Sethre and King Timo.

*******

Tomaeus was alerted that 10,000 Cenomani were approaching, and they were right on schedule.  He mounted up and rode to talk with Taluric, their Commander and an old friend.  As they rode to the blocking position, Tomaeus explained the defensive set-up and asked Taluric to have his men camp to the west of the river until the legion camps were built.  He then asked that Taluric’s men cut the trees and brush along the eastern side of the river all the way to the swamp.  “After they cut the foliage, have them gather it in clumps and place them about 50 feet apart.  We may want to light up the piles to see what the mercenaries are doing.”  Taluric confirmed his men would begin in the tomorrow and would probably take three days to complete the job.

Ten thousand Raeti warriors led by Lugano entered the camp two days later on June 3rd.  Tomaeus, as the ranking officer, again took charge.  He had Lugano march them to the southern end of the camp by the swamp, and had them start digging the ditch.  He assigned engineers to direct the effort.  Three days later, when the Cenomani completed clearing the brush on the far side of the river, he had them start on the ditch closest to the lake.  It was staked out, and Roman engineers guided the effort.  Twenty thousand men working together with a purpose can move a lot of dirt very quickly; the Cenomani ditch continued to move south and the Raeti ditch moved north.

Manius and the Legions arrived on June 5th just after the Cenomani starting digging.  Tomaeus directed Legates Calvus and Caile to put their men in the vicinity of the first two Legion forts closest to the lake.  Since the forts were already staked out by the engineers, they set up their tents in their approximate final location.  The men were allowed to rest for one day and then immediately began digging the ditch between the Cenomani and Raeti.  By June 7th, the ditch was completed and everyone was given a two day rest.

Andreas and Elitovius stopped at Trento to inform King Timo of Queen Bethica’s decision and continued south on the Trento to Verona road.  When they got closer to the Mincio River, they could see hundreds upon hundreds of wagons, livestock, and people traveling west.  They were focused on crossing the bridge over the Mincio and going on to Brixia to escape the coming Illyrian scourge.  When Andreas arrived at the bridge, he was greeted by Tomaeus and his engineers who were busy shoring up the trembling structure.  They arrived at the camp on June 8th to a beehive of activity and went straight to Manius’ tent to speak with him.  He listened intently to their report, thanked them, and asked them to brief the staff at the evening meeting.

Andreas and Elitovius went to Legio XVII’s encampment to clean up and rest.  That evening, they gave their report to the full staff.  It was delivered factually, accurately, and with no emotion or embellishment.

When they finished and answered a few questions, Servilius stood up to speak.  “Sir, an additional 5,000 Suevi here will make little difference to our defenses, but they would make a big difference if they fortified and manned that area at the top of the cliffs, I mentioned, while you were still on the march.”

Manius turned in his seat to face Servilius.  “You may be on to something.  Go on.”

“I propose that we send riders to intercept the Suevi Legion and redirect them to the north end of the lake,” said Servilius.  “I believe that the Boii, Eravisci, and Taurisci will come down the Brenner road to our position initially, but, at some point, a sizable force will try to go around the lake to attack us from the rear.  The Suevi at the top of the lake should be able to stop or delay them for some time.  Sir, if I may speculate?”

“Go on,” said Manius.

“I think Queen Bethica will eventually bring her army across the Brenner to join us.  She’s a fighter and will want to punish the mercenaries for all the destruction they will inevitably cause in the valley.  If she does, the mercenaries will have to move from opposing us to face her.  When they do so, we could cross the river and catch them between our two armies.”

“That’s a plausible theory, Tribune.  Thank you.  I agree that we need to redirect the Suevi to the top of the lake.  I want you to ride with the cavalry and a few engineers to direct them into their new position.  Servilius, after the Suevi are in their position, return here and show me the ambush sites north of Salo.  I believe this is a sound plan.  Any comments from anyone?”  There were none.  “Tomorrow, we need to start our detailed planning on how to hold this position.”

When the meeting ended, Servilius went up to Elitovius and said, “I think we have a problem, and I need your help.”

“What is it?”

“Walk up to the lake’s edge with me.  I want to show you something.”  When they got to the lake, Servilius pointed, “See that hut next to the lake with a stack of grain by the doorway?”

“Yes.”

“There’s 17 year old boy who lives there named Emil.  He was our guide to get around the lake.  Our interpreter, Postumus, said he and his mother arrived here from Ariminum where they had been slaves on a Roman farm.  Years earlier, after the battle of Telamon, their Boii village was raided and Emil and his mother were carried off.  His father was killed.  After many years, they escaped from the farm and made it up here.  Emil is bitter and very angry at all Romans.  He even hid the fact that he speaks Latin.  As you can see, everyone has evacuated to Brixia, except him.  I rode over there the other day and spotted him outside his hut.  I don’t trust him.  I think he’s watching us so, he can eventually join the mercenaries or Mago and tell them how we’re set up.  I suggest that he be taken to Brixia, under guard, and turned over to Segovesus.  We’ve got to get him out of here.”

Elitovius thought about it for a few moments.  “Brixia is in total chaos.  Roughly 200,000 people are streaming there from as far away as Verona and Bononia.  Segovesus and his Council have more than they can handle.  If we send the boy there, he will certainly escape.  Either we kill him now, or you must keep him here.”

“I see your point.  I’ll talk to Manius.”  Servilius walked to Manius’ tent, and explained the situation, and told him what Elitovius had advised.

Manius said, “Go get the boy, and bring him here.  Let Elitovius talk to him and then we’ll decide what to do.”

So Servilius led a small cavalry detachment to Emil’s hut.  They found him inside eating.  “Emil, I want you to come with me.  Leave your bow.  We have a horse for you.”  Emil looked puzzled at first, then turned defiant.  The Romans hadn’t drawn their swords, but their hands were on their hilts.  Emil knew something was afoot, but compliantly walked out of the hut.

Before mounting the horse, he yelled, “Where are you taking me?  And why?  Are you going to kill me like you killed my father?”

“Calm down, Emil,” said Servilius patiently.  “No one’s going to harm you.  We’re taking you to our camp; I want you to talk to another Cenomani.  His name is Elitovius.”

Emil mounted the horse and rode to the camp with the escort.  He could see thousands of men, but they weren’t all Romans which puzzled him.  He thought,
why are these men helping the Romans.  They’re butchers and murderers
.

Elitovius stood waiting near the entrance to the camp.  He and the boy walked off a ways for privacy and sat together on the ground.  Servilius and the guards watched from a distance.  After only a few minutes, they could hear Emil raise his voice.  Then he quieted down again only to erupt in another outburst a few minutes later.  After a while, Elitovius signaled for a guard to come, and requested some fruit and cheese for him and Emil.  They continued talking for an hour and a half.  Servilius eventually went off to do other things, but was curious as to what they could have discussed for so long.

Eventually, Elitovius found Servilius and related the details of his conversation with Emil.  “First, I asked him if he wanted to speak in the Boii language, Latin, or Cenomani, since I’m fluent in all three.  Emil informed me that is part of the problem.  He feels he has no identity.  He was raised speaking the Boii tongue, then learned Latin, and for the last five years has spoken only Cenomani.  He settled on Cenomani.”

“I explained to Emil that, yes, what the Romans did to him and his mother was terrible, but they did it for a reason.  They had come to his village after a terrible battle where they had lost thousands of men to Boii warriors, among others.  They were punishing the Boii for the battle, and his family got caught up in it.  They were wrong to take out their anger on his village and family.”

“I then told him that 50,000 mercenaries were coming into the area for no other reason than to loot, rape, and kill.  I clarified that the Romans are here to protect people like his mother and all the other generous Cenomani families that accepted him and his mother into their settlement.  I asked him if he’d noticed all the wagons passing by, and explained that those people are desperate to escape the mercenaries.  They see the Romans as their only hope.  I agreed he had a reason to resent the Romans for something that happened years ago, but to look at what they are doing today for him, his mother, and all the Cenomani people.  If the mercenaries cannot be stopped here and prevented from going on to Brixia and Bononia, everything that he has come to know will disappear.”