Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (21 page)

“The people of
Brixia
are members of the
Cenomani
tribe.  The
Cenomani
reside in
Brixia
,
Cremona
, and
Verona
and have been staunch Roman allies since 225 BC.  They provided us with troops to fight against other Gallic tribes and even joined us against Hannibal at
Trebia
.  In this strategic and safe position, the Legion will prepare a full sized Legion field encampment and be ready to respond to emergencies at
Patavium
or
Clastidium
.   The
XVII
will maintain a low profile until the two forts are strengthened and fully supplied.  In the meantime, we will have to be ready to move quickly.  Either fort could be attacked:
Patavium
by
Illyrian
mercenaries and
Clastidium
by the Gauls.”

Manius paused, looked at each man, and continued, “I want you to be aware of one other possible threat to the
XVII
^.
  For months, rumors have been circulating that Hannibal’s two brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago, are both raising armies in Spain to reinforce Hannibal.  These brothers could cross the Alps like Hannibal did or sail from Carthage or Spain to
Genua
.  If that happens, the
XVII
will be in a good position to support other Legions coming up from Rome to block the attempted link up with Hannibal.”

“Navigating cross country from Pisa to
Brixia
is not going to be easy.  Most of the area south of the Po River is swampy.  Finding a suitable crossing site over the Po may be time consuming.  The cavalry, with help from local guides, has the responsibility to navigate the Legion through the wet terrain to find as much dry ground as possible on which to march and to prepare each night’s defensive position.  Legionaries get sick in the summer swamps, so I plan to pass through them in early February and cross the Po to the north side as quickly as possible.”

“With the exception of a 30 mile area adjacent to the north bank of the Po, any travel farther northward is restricted by north-south river valleys.  Once in the mountains, east-west travel is severely limited by a lack of roads, numerous ridges oriented north to south, and fast moving streams running through narrow gorges. There are no east-west roads.  It would be almost impossible to move troops and supplies east-west across those steep and heavily wooded ridges.   Movement of the Legion is pretty much restricted to north-south river valleys.”

“For security reason, I have enlisted the help of Elitovius a
Cenomani
from
Brixia
.  He will recruit and direct the activities of local agents to gain vital information for us on what the people in our areas are thinking and planning.  I expect Commanders to cooperate fully with him and to heed his advice.”

Calvus heard that Manius was going to issue orders to his force and he managed to get an invitation under the guise that it would help him devise relevant training programs at
Campus Martius
.  He listened intently to the orders and lost no time informing Farrid of the plan.

Farrid knew he needed to delay Manius’ timetable, as much as possible and then arrange for the destruction of the
XVII
once deployed.  Two things immediately occurred to him.  He could get his agents in the Roman Navy to build a reasonable argument to deny Manius’ request for ships to take the
Triarii
northward.  Secondly, he could try to arrange an ambush of the force marching to the port of
Aternum
on the east coast.  They only had 800 men and would be vulnerable as they marched strung out along the road. Their destruction would significantly reduce the strength of the
XVII
.

The next day, Farrid dispatched two agents by horseback to link up with Hannibal in the south of Italy and explain to him the wisdom of ambushing Servilius’ 800 Legionaries while enroute from Rome to
Aternum
.  He made sure his agents explained that the rationale for this action was ultimately to support his successful link up with Mago and Hasdrubal whenever they arrived in northern Italy.

It was now October; Hannibal had two and a half months to dispatch a relatively small detachment north to be in position to execute the ambush by mid January.  Farrid’s report indicated that the target would be departing Rome about 20 January for a February 1 scheduled sailing date.  Farrid suggested that Hannibal’s men initially occupy an area near
Aternum
to give them the flexibility to shift positions should the Romans change their intended route.  He anticipated the ambush would take place on or about January 25.  Farrid further promised to continue his efforts to identify the exact route the Romans would take.  Hannibal agreed to Farrid’s proposal and dispatched 3000
Ardiaei
[are-DIE-a] warriors under their commander Agron.

Agron and his men were tired.  Tired of Italy, tired of hardships and hunger, and tired of marching and fighting.  After a long seven years with Hannibal and away from their families, they were ready to go back home across the Adriatic.  Agron was a good commander and by sheer force of will held his men together and gave them hope.  They respected him and followed his commands, but he was wearing out.  His 51 year old body demanded more and more attention and rest.

*******

Vitulus was concerned that, after landing at
Genua
on the west coast, his 800-man unit would be attacked while enroute to
Clastidium
or when they eventually marched to join the Legion at
Brixia
.  He and Centurion Servilius needed a plan to turn their 800-man units into fighting forces capable of holding their own.  After meeting with Manius to discuss the issue, they devised a strategy whereby the two halves of the
Triarii
would organize and fight like a miniature Legion.  They each developed a battle formation whereby they created a 100-man skirmisher line, a 300-man
Hastati
, 300-man
Principes
, and an initial 100-man
Triarii
.  Each Centurion planned to place his 100 horse cavalry detachment on one flank and his 200 archers on the other and spread them out to look even larger.  The Centurions doubled the normal 3’x 6’ fighting box for each
Hastati
Legionaire while keeping the 100-man Maniple checker board spacing for the
Principes
and
Triarii
.

Since the
Triarii
were the most experienced soldiers in a Legion, Tribune Tullus excused them from much of the Legion’s routine training so the two Centurions were able train their forces and build a sense of unity and team work.  The two
Triarii
halves would often engage in mock battle to refine their formations and fighting techniques.  They practiced all the maneuvers emphasized by Tribune Tullus for the
XVII
such as passing the
Hastati
to the rear of the
Principes
and reacting to an ambush.  By the time they were scheduled to board their respective ships for the trip northward, both Commanders felt their units were mini-Legions and ready to fight.

“Hearth Stone” December 210

Lucia’s concern with Manius’ long absence prompted him to institute a new concept into his deployment preparations that he called, “Hearth Stone.”  The staff assembled a list of wives, mothers and fathers, and girl friends for every member of the
XVII
and invited them to a daylong event to explain this new family-oriented concept.

One month before the Legion’s scheduled deployment, about 3000 family member of his command assembled on the outskirts of Rome in a field adjacent to the
XVII
assembly area.  The staff had spent a month preparing for this event and had to be augmented several times with additional personnel to meet Manius’ expectations.  The “Hearth Stone” idea was noticed by some in the Senate and Army and they too were in attendance.

The day long activities included a parade by the Legion, a demonstration of various military skills, briefings on where and what the Legion would be doing (consistent with security needs), and an introduction of Tribunes and Centurions.  A Tribune then explained to the family members the novel idea of transporting letters from family members to the individual Legionaries.  A system was also developed to return individual Legionaries to Rome in cases of extreme family hardship and emergencies.  While welcomed by the families, this idea was met with strenuous resistance by the Army and even within the Legion.

Manius’ wife, Lucia, used the occasion to introduce the future “Queen Rosa” to the Legion. For the last five months, Lucia had worked diligently with Rebecca to find and train a suitable bride for Timo.  Seven young women volunteered and three were selected for continued training and interviews.  Almost immediately, it was clear to all concerned that Rosa was the ideal candidate.  She was extremely attractive, 18 years old, highly intelligent, a quick learner, loyal to Rome, and eager to be Queen.  She was keenly aware that her feminine charms affected men and used them judiciously.  Among her peers, she was known as a fun loving, witty young girl with a virtuous reputation.  Her father was a Senator and very supportive.  Her mother was less supportive, but willing to make the sacrifice for the good of Rome.

Envoys travelled to
Tridentum
to announce that a Roman bride for Timo had been selected and to make arrangements for the wedding which would be in the coming spring.

Manius planned to maintain robust contact with his Rome-based Rear Detachment to handle operational, soldier, and family issues.  He insisted upon letters going both ways from the
XVII
to the families in Rome.  This concept had never before been tried, but Manius felt it would add to unit morale and be worth the extra effort.  Visiting dignitaries were highly impressed and planned to implement several aspects of Manius’ “Hearth Stone” concept throughout the Roman Army.  Some objected to the idea of soldiers departing the field to address family problems at home, but saw undeniable value in the rest of the plan.

The Rear Detachment was also responsible for scouring the
valetudinaria
and recovery centers to recruit veterans to volunteer for duty with the
XVII
upon their recovery.  These volunteers would join the Legion via the frequent resupply ships bound for the two forts that provided the Legionaries with food stocks such as beef, cheese, vegetables, grains, oil, salt, vinegar, beans, lentils, peas, pork, lamb, and vintage and sour wine.  Most of the other items required by a Legion in the field such as animal fodder and animal replacements could be procured from the local tribes.