Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (23 page)

Centurion Servilius knew that this was the first major test of his command and it could not be ignored.  A possible threat to the lives of his men and his mission lay about a day’s march east.  With growing awareness he realized that whoever they were they may be searching for him now or, at least, planning when and where to ambush him.

He collected himself mentally and gathered his leadership team of 12 Centurions to discuss possible courses of action.  “Going further south to avoid them would add days to the trip and is out of the question, “he said.  “The waiting ships might think we are not coming and disperse.  We have to arrive on time.  Similarly, we can’t get embroiled in a prolonged fight or suffer too many casualties.  We have to preserve the force for the mission and not squander our men and resources before we even start.”

Servilius needed more information to make sound decisions and decided to send out five teams of two riders each to gather more information on what they were facing.  He told his Cavalry Centurion, an unassuming man by the name of Quintus Didius Sura, “Have the teams proceed together in the general direction of the camp, stop for the night when it gets too dark to proceed safely.  Do not build fires.  Have them split up and ride out before first light. Try to encircle their camp so you can watch them from all sides.  If one of the teams sees them leave their camp, watch them until you can tell me who they are, in which direction they are moving, their approximate number, and their armaments.  Then report back to me immediately.  If they were planning to ambush us, that option is now off the table.  We know where they are.  If they now favor an open attack, they’ll probably leave their camp by mid morning to find us.”

He continued talking to Sura, “At first light, put out an arc of eight riders to see if anyone is lurking in the surrounding woods.  I don’t want to have to fight on two fronts.  Next, prepared a 20-man cavalry detachment to ride east with me before dawn while I look for a suitable site to offer battle if that’s where this is going.  We may not have a choice of whether to fight or not, but I want to fight on ground of my choosing.

Lastly, mount 50 archers and swing wide to the north to avoid being spotted by anyone scouting from their camp. If you located armed warriors and can tell if they’re hostile to us, put the archers in position to ambush them.  Your job is to delay them as best you can.  Make them stop and raise their shield as often as possible.  Drop off archers in the woods on their expected route, but keep the horses close by so they can rapidly remount, disappear, and repeat the ambush.  Their first volley should find flesh before they can react.  My intent is for you to slow them to give me time to find a place to fight and time to bring the troops to that place.

Servilius then turned to his Deputy and gave him his instructions, “Before first light, I’m going to ride east to find a proper place to fight.  While I’m gone, I want you to get the troops up by 0400.  Let them light their fires and cook their breakfast before you leave here.  Make sure everyone has a hot meal.  Force march the Command along the road heading east.  Rest the troops at 1000 for 30 minutes and allow them to eat a light lunch.  Then keep going until we link up.  Speed is essential.  When they meet the enemy, I want them fit to fight.”

“Here’s the plan for tonight,” he continued.  “I’m assuming that we’re being watched right now.  So, we’ll stay here on the road until it is totally dark and then move quietly about 200 yards into the woods.  That should confuse an attacker as to our exact location.  I will take the eight Maniple Centurions with me now while there’s still some light to find a suitable place to camp for the night.  Each Maniple will identify guides to take the Maniples from here to the site that the Centurions and I select.  We will form a circular defensive position, but there will be no digging and no fires.  The men will eat their rations cold tonight.  It’s important that we remain quiet and hidden.

The cavalry will set up their own encampment about half a mile away.  Four two-man listening posts will be established about 300 yards out from our encampment and rotated every two hours.  The dogs are trained to utter a low growl if strangers approach.  Pay attention to them.  I will be with Maniple number 1 if you need to contact me during the night.”

The cool December wind felt refreshing on his face as Servilius rode with the sun just beginning to glow low along the horizon.  He was full of nervous energy and had not slept all night.  Various scenarios kept running through his head.  At least now he was doing something and felt much better.  As the sun rose higher, he envisioned that his Command behind him was a beehive of activity: mounted archers were going forward, five teams of scouts were picking their way around the enemy camp, and the Legionaries were on the road and probably still grumbling about the cold night.  But at least they had a hot breakfast and would be fit for a fight.

Agron and the
Ardiaei

The
Ardiaei’s
camp that Servilius’ scouts spotted the day before contained about 5000 people with the women and children accounting for about 2000.  The other 3000 were
Ardiaei
warriors originally from Montenegro on the coast of the Adriatic.  Their leader was Agron, who took his name from his tribe’s now deceased king and whose mission to support Hannibal was approved and funded by King Agron’s ruling wife Queen Teuta.

Having fought and lost two maritime wars with the Romans in 229 and 219 BC, Queen Teuta was eager to help Hannibal with troops, money, horses, and other supplies.  Hannibal’s initial string of military victories further convinced her that he might be the one to humble the “mighty” Romans and allow her to take back the Adriatic.

Agron’s original force of 5000 landed on the coast of Italy in 216, when Rome was powerless to intervene, and just in time to participate in the Battle of
Cannae
.  Since then, his men followed Hannibal south and, over the next six years, engaged in numerous lesser battles, which nonetheless reduced his force through attrition, illness, and desertions to 3000.  In October, Hannibal ordered Agron and his men to attack a small group of Legionaries bound for the Roman port at
Aternum
.  When they left Hannibal’s camp, they took with them the spoils of war ~ women who were now slaves.

After winter and the completion of his current mission to ambush a small group of Romans, Agron hoped to secure enough ships to take his men back to their homeland.  However, as he discovered, Rome may have been thoroughly beaten at
Cannae
, but had an uncanny ability to rebound.  Once again, Rome’s navy controlled the Adriatic.  His only choice now was to lead his men north, up through Italy, around the top of the Adriatic, and back south through
Illyria
to Montenegro.  It was that, or return south and rejoin Hannibal, which no one wanted to do.  They all wanted to go home.

That evening, Agron sat with his advisors to discuss the sighting of the Roman cavalry scouts earlier in the day.  Agron spoke first, “We have two possibilities: one, for some unknown reason the Romans know where we are and are now trying to discover our intentions, or, two, it was a chance encounter.  But whichever it is, we now know that a Roman force of considerable size must be nearby to have the capability to send out mounted scouts.  Now, since the entire Roman army is busy in southern Italy.  I need to know more about where these scouts came from.  Take a few of the remaining horses and go find them first thing in the morning.  Head west.  They haven’t passed us yet.  Let’s talk again when we know more about what we’re facing.”

Agron was perplexed.  He was told by Ambassador Farrid’s men that a small Roman force was to pass by on this road sometime around January 25
^th
.  It was now only mid December!  Unless there was a change in plans, this had to be another group of Romans unrelated to the force Farrid wants ambushed.  He thought to himself, “If this isn’t the target, I think I’ll just let them pass unless, of course, they have supply wagons with them.”

Only a single rider left the
Ardiaei
camp just as the sun was rising.  He rode west through the woods and parallel to the road.  Several times he dismounted to listen; once he picketed the horse and climbed a tree to look ahead.  Nothing!  Then he heard two horses making their way silently through the wood.  They were moving in the general direction of the camp he had just left.  This did not surprise him.  He sat quietly.  They were simply doing the same thing he was doing – scouting.  He pushed on, but now more cautiously.

After a few more hours, he observed about 20 horses with Roman riders in a field near the settlement of
Properi
.  They appeared to be just looking around.  He knew he must be close to the main body of troops.  Another few hours passed and he finally spotted them:  a long gray column in the distance.  He walked his horse deeper in the woods, picketed it, and found a tree that afforded him a long view of the approaching mass.  About 40’ up, he climbed out on a limb to get beyond the foliage while maintaining his cover.  He counted eight Maniples of Legionaries, about 20 horses, 150 archers, and four
ballistae
.  He counted the men in one of the Maniples: 100.  They were marching five abreast and appeared to be in a hurry.

For the trip back to camp, he swung wide to the north and pushed his horse to a gallop where he could.  After a few hours, he caught a quick glimpse of a large group of Roman horsemen just entering a thick stand of trees, but did not feel he could stop to investigate.  He had to report what he found.  As he rode, he kept reviewing the number of Romans he had counted and soon completely forgot about the Romans he just seen entering the woods.  He got back about 0830 hours.

Agron was relieved that the Romans numbered a mere 1000 men and only had 20 horses.  “So,” he thought, “the Romans did change their plan.  This must be the group that Hannibal wants us to destroy.  Well, they are here and so are we.  It is time now to focus on the reason we marched 300 miles to get here.”  His force, while having no cavalry or archers, was comprised of 3000 battle hardened swordsmen.  He did not particularly care about the Roman soldiers, but he did need what they were carrying in their supply wagon.  His band faced starvation if they did not replenish their stocks soon.  His scout failed to mention the
ballistae
and the group of horsemen entering the woods.  He did, however, tell Agron that the Maniples were marching fast.  That last item troubled Agron.  The only reason he could think of for the Romans to be hurrying was to get to a pre-selected fighting position.  He had to prevent them from reaching it.

The Battle of
Properi

Agron immediately ordered a call to arms and within 20 minutes, about 2800 able body men were on the road heading west.  Many left their beds, grabbed their arms, and were too rushed to eat anything.  Those too sick to go, stayed at the camp as a rear guard.  It was about 0900 and still cool as the trees blocked the sun’s warming rays.  They marched in no particular formation.  Most carried a small round shield, a long sword, and wore ample body armor.  A few carried Roman shields and wore Roman armor that they had scavenged off earlier battlefields.  Morale was good.  They knew they only faced about 1000 Legionaries and a few horses and felt that the Romans might just hand over the supply wagons rather than fight.  Agron decided he would offer the Romans the chance to buy their lives with the wagons as payment.

The sun rose higher in the sky and still no Romans.  He pushed his men faster.  Agron was beginning to wonder if the Romans had somehow slipped past him.  It was now about noon and his men were getting hungry, only a few remembered to bring any food.  Agron misjudged where he thought he would meet them.  He turned his head to call for a 10 minute break when he saw the woods to his right suddenly come alive and saw the first arrows slamming into his men.

*******

Servilius’ Deputy awoke the Legionaries at 0330, ordered them to light fires, and quickly cook their breakfast.  By 0430, the head of the column cleared the trees and was back on the road heading east.  The cavalry fell in on the sides of the column and threw out a protective screen to the left and right.  It was still dark.

The five teams of scouts spent a cold night about half a mile off the road in deep woods about two hours from the
Ardiaei
camp.  They had ridden well into the darkness the previous night.  At first light, they separated and made a wide arc to encircle the camp.  By 0730, they could see wooden huts, wagons, game drying on racks, fire pits, and smoke coming out of a few chimneys.  All five teams saw the lone rider enter the camp at the gallop, dismount, and enter one of the huts.  Thirty minutes later, the camp came alive with much shouting and men running as the
Ardiaei
entered the road and headed west.  At that, two of the five teams remounted and raced south to get on the road ahead of the advancing
Ardiaei
to report the news to Servilius.