Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (14 page)

When Marcellus looked up, his staff was cheering wildly for him.  At the same time, the surviving Gauls began to stream away from the battlefield, which was littered with Gallic dead.  This was a decisive Roman victory won by disciplined and trained Legionaries equipped with the right weapons and protective armor.  Besides about 10,000 dead Gauls, the Army captured another 3,000.  The battle had lasted about three hours.  The Roman cavalry pursued the fleeing remnants and killed many more.  The prisoners were herded into a hastily prepared enclosure and the Legions began to dig their nighttime encampment.  Meanwhile, the Roman wounded were treated and the Roman dead collected.

Timo Bosettius

Manius remembered the brave little boy who had charged the Roman line and went looking for him.  He found him still tied to the stake and, now, visibly shaken.  Manius figured he was probably dehydrated and hungry.  He went back to his gear, got water and some cooked beans, and gave it to him.  The boy was hesitant to take it and eyed Manius with suspicion.

Manius drank some of the water and ate a few of the beans.  Then the boy took and drained the water instantly and ate voraciously.

Manius sat down next to him and pointed to himself and said, “Manius Tullus.”

The boy pointed to himself and said, “Timo Bosettius.”

Manius again pointed to himself and said, “Roman.”

The boy said, “
Raeti
.”  Manius knew that
Rhaetia
was a fairly large area that encompassed most of the north east Cisalpine and even went over the mountains into the Inn River Valley and beyond.  He wondered how this young lad ended up fighting with the Gauls.

He got a translator and walked over to the area where the prisoners were held.  They had been disarmed by now and were totally subdued.  They were exhausted and the fight was out of them.  Most were trying very hard to be as inconspicuous as possible.

He called out, but kept his voice low, “Does anyone know the little boy who first attacked the Roman line?”  Silence.

He moved on and repeated his question several more times before a man stood up.  “I know him,” he said.  “Is he dead?”

Manius told the translator to tell him he is alive and well.  Then said, “Come with me.”

When the boy saw the man, he stood up. They spoke quietly to each other.  Manius said to ask the man how he knows the boy.

The man spoke,“Last year, we raided the
Rhaetian
settlement at
Tridentum
[modern Trento] and defeated them in battle.  Timo’s father is the King.  We took Timo with us as a hostage to ensure peace between us and the
Rhaetians
.  I’ve heard they want him back because his father is dying and the boy will be the next King.”  We didn’t mistreat the boy.  He wanted to fight the Romans.  Spare him and you will have an ally.”  The man had spoken wisely.  Manius told the guards to hold them both and went to find the Legate.

After the Legate heard the story, he talked to Consul Marcellus who agreed to spare the boy and appointed Manius to take him back to
Tridentum
upon completion of their mission.  Initially Marcellus was torn between sending a complete Legion as an escort for the boy or a smaller cavalry detachment.  The Legion would make a statement about the power and sophistication of Rome, but could also sufficiently frighten the
Rhaetians
into establishing defensive alliances with their neighbors to guard against Roman domination.  He eventually concluded that it was wiser at this time to show a little weakness and modesty to avoid spooking them into helping the Gauls. 
Rhaetian
neutrality, if not outright support for Rome, was the short term goal.

After the meeting, Manius took a roundabout way to get back to his tent and inadvertently passed through the
valetudinaria
[military hospital] area where hundreds of wounded and dying Legionaries were lying on the ground.  It was a gruesome sight.  Men were covered in their own blood and crying out in pain; ghastly wounds were everywhere.  His first impulse was to leave the area as quickly as possible; then he recognized a man from his old Maniple.

He approached his prone body and noticed a deep gash across the side of his right calf muscle.  His leg was almost severed.  At that moment, an attendant was helping him drink sour wine from a metal goblet.  Manius asked, “Does that contain any belladonna.”

“Yes Sir,” replied the man, “He should start feeling better in a moment.”

Manius bent low and touched the man’s forehead.  “Get better,” he said, and moved down the row of prostrate men.

Many had puncture wounds so he knew they would die slowly from internal bleeding or infection.  Other men had lost too much blood to survive; they would die more quickly.  He smiled at those still conscious when he made eye contact and touched many as he passed by.  Most seemed to be feeling the drug and were quiet, but a few called out loudly for their mothers.  Some breathed deeply and died in front of him.  He bent down and held their hand.

He felt compelled to continue walking among the wounded; he had never experience such compassion for these brave men who were dying so far from home.  A man off to his left asked, “Tribune, did we win?”  Then another said, “Were we as brave as the other Legions?”  Others joined in, “Is the Consul proud of us?”  Manius answered yes to all questions.

A thought flashed through Manius’ mind and he acted on it.  He straightened up and walked back to Consul Marcellus’ tent.  He was sipping wine when he entered.

“Sir, I just visited the wounded.  They are gathered about 50’ from here.  It would be good for them if they could see their Consul.  Sir, when you are ready, we can go.”

The Consul looked long at Manius and finally said, “Let’s go.”  When they arrived, Manius told the attendants to continue ministering to the wounded and not to let this visit get in the way.  Much to Manius’ relief, the Consul did the right thing.  Even though he did not bend down to talk to the men or touch them, he walked among them; they saw him and acted braver for the encounter.  As they walked away, the Consul thanked Manius and they parted.

The next day the 400 Roman dead were burned in a massive funeral pyre while the prisoners dug a large ditch to inter their dead.  The Roman leadership walked the battlefield and discussed lessons learned, both good and bad about tactics, equipment, troop training, discipline, and so forth.  The Romans took war seriously and always sought to improve their performance.  Simultaneously, Marcellus sent a strong 500-man cavalry detachment to
Acerrae
at top speed to prevent the
Insubres
garrison there from slipping away when news of the Roman victory would reach them.  He wanted as many prisoners as possible to showcase his victorious campaign and feed the voracious Roman slave markets, for which he would be handsomely compensated.

The cavalry commander was additionally ordered to send five carefully selected horsemen on to
Tridentum
to announce that the Roman Army had rescued Timo unharmed from the Gauls and, as an act of friendship, would return him in a matter of days to his father and people.  This advance party was carefully coached as to what to say, how to say it, and how to behave.  Cooperative Gallic prisoners were able to add vital information about the customs and traditions of the
Rhaetians
.

These “Roman Ambassadors” would create the all important first impression of Rome and her soldiers and it had to be right.  They were instructed to remain at
Tridentum
until the boy was returned and to use the time to learn as much as possible about
Rhaetian
politics, personalities, weapons, army, fighting tactics, armor, population size and locations, and attitudes about Rome.  The information gathered was to be briefed to Manius upon his arrival at the settlement with the future King.  Marcellus personally inspected the five men to ensure their appearance would put Rome in the best possible light.  Their horses, armor, weapons, and gift of 10 horses had to be impeccable.

The next day, the Legions departed for the fort at
Acerrae
with 1000 of the prisoners; the other 2000 were returned to Rome under heavy guard to be sold as slaves or work the Roman mines.  The garrison at
Acerrae
knew they had no choice and surrendered as soon as the Legions appeared.  While some managed to evade the Roman cavalry and scatter to the surrounding woods before the Legions arrived, most of the garrison remained at the fort thinking they would fight.  Subsequently, they were taken prisoner when the leadership decided to surrender.  The fort was demolished and another 1000 Gauls were taken prisoner.  Rome had enforced her will in the Cisalpine.  Her commerce was not to be hindered.

Flushed with victory, Marcellus declared his intention to march to
Ticinum
[modern Pavia] and then to
Mediolanum
[Milan] to further punish the
Ligurians
and
Insubres
by laying waste their home districts.  Having just defeated their combined armies, he knew they could offer no resistance.  The Legions marched to
Ticinum
and burned the entire town.  Two days later, the Legions entered
Mediolanum
and repeated their performance.  Expecting the worst, the towns’ people had fled long before the Legions arrived.

Marcellus did not disappoint them.  When the Legionaries finished their work, nothing remained of the huts, farming tools, or live stock.  It was a lesson they would not soon forget, but it was not the lesson intended by Marcellus.  A mere four years later, they eagerly rallied to Hannibal with the memory of the devastation of their homes and livelihood still fresh in their minds.

Before Consul Marcellus marched to punish the people of
Ticinum
and
Mediolanum
,he instructed Manius to take the boy immediately back to
Tridentum
.  Once again, Manius was in turmoil over the killing of civilians and knew he had to say something.  He returned to his tent to think through his position.  He felt it was bad policy and objected to the senseless slaughter of innocents, but planned to restrict his comments to the policy aspect.  When he felt calm and had mentally rehearsed his argument, he went to see Marcellus.

After warmly greeting Manius, the Consul agreed to discuss the upcoming punitive mission.  He listened intently while Manius spoke, asked a few questions, and then presented his rationale for the mission. Basically, Marcellus was convinced that the
Insubres
needed to be punished as a deterrent against future misconduct.  He said he appreciated Manius’ justification, but planned to continue with the mission.  Manius was deeply disappointed, but felt he had done all he could.  He realized that if he “fell on his sword” over this matter, he would lose all personal credibility and be unable to influence future decisions.  Manius then adroitly moved the topic to Timo.

The Consul told Manius to extend, “Warmest greetings to the
Raeti
People from the People and Senate of Rome and best wishes for a long life to the King and the future King.”  Manius was given a 20-man cavalry escort and provisions for 14 days.  He figured the distance from
Acerrae
to
Tridentum
at 125 miles and planned to ride east to
Cremona
, north to
Brixia
, home of the
Cenomani
[cen-o-MA-knee] tribe, west around
Lake Benacus
[modern Lake Di Garda], and northeast to
Tridentum
.  He planned for a five day trip there, two days at
Tridentum
, and seven back.  He was instructed to catch up to the marching Legions who would be nearing Rome.  Consul Marcellus did not want him to miss the Triumph that the Senate planned for the victorious Army.