Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (26 page)

The Commander of the four
ballistae
similarly conducted practice shots on the south field for his crews.  Each
Scorpio
was adjusted until all the arrows landed in the likely enemy assembly area that had just been cleared.  Like the archers, the crew then went out and retrieved their arrows.  Arrows were too difficult to make to simply waste.  Besides, if they were left lying on the ground, the mercenaries would become suspicious and may abandon that location.  The
ballistae
team did, however, implant two tree-like poles into the ground on either end of the field to denote the 500 yards range and help with the aiming.

At about 5:00 PM that evening, the two riders who were left to observe the village at Mestre returned.  They reported, “We saw about 5000 armed men throughout the village.  They were looting it and treating the people very roughly.  Our two men were tied to stakes in the center square, but were still alive.  We guess the invaders are
Gaesatae
mercenaries based on their clothing, weapons, and shield markings.”  A shiver went up Servilius spine when he heard the word, “
Gaesatae
.”  They were known for their brutality.  They were generally bigger and more muscular than his men.  They were professional soldiers and knew every trick in the book.  He did not like to admit it, but the
Gaesatae
were also more aggressive and skilled than his men.  He would not fight them on the open battlefield.

Appius and Marius were tied to stakes in the middle of the village and initially denied food or water.  They were not beaten, but knew they would eventually be killed.  When the thirst got too much, Appius said “
aqua
” to a passing
Gaesatae
.

When Bagaudas heard that the Romans wanted water, he said, “Give it to them.  I want them alive when we move against the Romans.”

Two days later, cavalry scouts informed Servilius that Darmo and about 200 of his villagers were headed to the camp.  Six hours later the villagers arrived and informed Servilius that about 5000 mercenaries were four or five hours behind them and headed this way.  Darmo added that he heard that their leader was a man named Bagaudas.  The Romans fed and quartered the frightened
Euganei
.  The camp was alerted to the imminent arrival of the
Gaesatae
and final preparations were made.

That night, Clausal sent out two of his best men to serve as listening posts at each end of the ditch.  They stripped off anything that could make noise.  They wore soft leather sandals, carried no weapons except for a short dagger, and blacked their faces.  Clausal told them to simply sit and listen; if they heard the mercenaries approaching the ditch, to leave immediately and return to the camp

The guards on the ramparts were doubled, but the rest of the camp slept knowing that the guards, the surrounding ditch, and palisade walls would keep them secure.  The night passed without incident until midnight when Servilius was awaken and told that the
Gaesatae
were passing by the camp about half a mile to the east and appeared to be headed to the hill that was identified earlier as a possible enemy base camp.  So far, the Romans were guessing correctly.  Servilius went back to sleep.  He felt calmer.

Appius and Marius were bound with their hands tied behind their backs and a lead rope around their necks.  They were led out of the village and walked along with the
Gaesatae
army
.
  Appius kept repeating to himself, “Keep my head and eyes down.  Do not make eye contact.  Be completely submissive.  Do what you are told.  I want a quick painless death.  I do not want to be tortured.”  At this point, Appius was not scared, but he was in pain from the ropes.  He knew he would die and he wanted to get it over with.

The next morning, Sura’s cavalry scouts confirmed the presence of a strong enemy force atop the hill.  There was no evidence of digging or defensive fortification.  Servilius guessed they would rest during the day, move forces to the ditch around 0200, and form up in their battle lines in the morning after breakfast.  Servilius hoped he could fight this battle with arrows only, but knew he had to be ready for anything.  He summoned his leaders and again reviewed their options to a variety of enemy initiatives.  The group always came back to three fundamental truths: the Romans were too weak to fight them in the field; the
Illyrians
were too weak to take the fort by storm; he could outlast them should they choose to conduct a siege.  Their best option was simply to do nothing more than they had already done.  The next step was up to the mercenaries.  The day passed without any movement on the hill.

When it was dark, Clausal again sent out his men to watch over the ditch and this night it paid off.  About 0230, the dogs started growling and shortly thereafter both scouts returned and reported that a large force was approaching the ditch.  Clausal informed Servilius.  The camp was up at 0400 and ate breakfast.  Darmo was told to keep his villagers quiet and not to move about.  Just as the sun was rising, Clausal assembled his archers and had them sit down in their 30-man lines.  The
ballistae
crew also readied their weapons and then relaxed.  It could be a long day.  Servilius inspected the walls, ditches, men’s equipment, archers, and
ballistae
.  He was more nervous than he had ever been before, but tried to appear outwardly calm for the sake of his men.

That morning, Bagaudas called for the two Romans.  Marius knew this was it.  Like Appius, he told himself, “Be submissive, do not move about, keep my eyes down.  Mother I love you.  Thank you for my life.”  They were both brought before Bagaudas and forced into a kneeling position with their heads down.  Appius thought, “Good, no torture.  It will be quick.”  Bagaudas drew his sword, walked over to Appius and swung the blade down hard.  He then moved over to Marius, who closed his eyes and held his breath.  He felt nothing.

“Taulas, come here,” growled Bagaudas.  “I want you to ride down to the Roman fort and deliver a message for me.  Take the two heads with you.  Tell them to give me all their supplies and we will not attack them.  Then tell them these two men died bravely, but the men in the fort will not die as painlessly if you refuse my offer.  Go now.”  Taulas mounted up, picked his way down the hill, and rode for the Romans.  He felt proud that Bagaudas picked him to do this.  He covered the distance quickly and was ready to repeat Bagaudas’ message.

About 0730, the guards on the walls shouted, “Rider coming.”  Servilius sent for Darmo who spoke several languages and calmly walked up the dirt wall to see for himself.  A single rider stopped about 60’ from the fort and shouted that his Commander had a message for the Roman Commander.  He yelled, “All we want are your supplies.  In exchange, we will not attack you.”  He added, “Bagaudas wants to spare you and your men from a painful death.”

Servilius told Darmo to tell the rider that he wanted his two Legionaries returned unharmed and then he would talk about a meeting.  He then told an aide who was standing with him, to tell the
ballistae
gunners to load their weapons, aim at the horse, and await his command.

At the other end of the fort, Clausal had his men stand, form their lines, and fit an arrow.  His eyes were glued to Servilius.

Taulas replied that the two Legionaries died bravely and that his Commander wanted to return this.  He then untied a sack from his waist and threw it towards the Roman camp.  When it hit the ground, two heads rolled out.  Servilius called out, “
Scorpio
fire!”  Immediately, there was a snapping sound and a 6 foot long 3 inch thick arrow whizzed out, passed the ditches, and covered the 60 foot distance in half a second.  It passed almost entirely through the horse, which rose up, dumping Taulas, and fell dead to the ground.  Taulas jumped free of the horse just in time to avoid being crushed, got up, and began a desperate run for his lines when the second
ballista
arrow hit him squarely in the back.  Servilius then turned, found Clausal with his eyes, raised his arm and chopped it sharply downward.

Clausal ordered, “Prepare to draw your bows,” he paused for a second then continued, “Draw.”  A quick look to ensure everyone was aligned with the poles and, “Fire!”  200 arrows were immediately in the air; followed with another 200, then another 200 until after one minute 2400 arrows were landing in the ditch or still in the air.  The ditch was hit from one end to the other.  The effect was immediate.  There were screams of pain; men could be seen rising up and running.  Some ran towards the fort in their panic; others away.  Clausal kept up the fire until it was obvious that the survivors were out of bow range.  The archers started out for the ditch to kill survivors and see the results of their work and were only restrained with shouts from Clausal.  There would be time to inspect their work later.  He did, though, send out five men to capture a few prisoners.  Servilius would want to question them.

Because of the distance from the Roman camp to the
Gaesatae’s
position on the hill, Bagaudas was not sure what had just happened.  He saw the horse fall, but did not know why.  He also saw Taulas go down, but again could not see clearly enough to figure out what had just happened.  Younger men with better eyes could see hundreds of arrows arching skyward and men fleeing the ditch.  It was clear that that part of the
Gaesatae
plan had failed, but maybe the Romans would still come out to fight.  Bagaudas knew that the sight of 5000 men would ensure the Romans stayed in their camp, so he devised a strategy to appear weaker than he really was. 

When it got dark, he told his Deputy, Mandos, to march 3000 men around to the west side of the Roman camp and to stay in the tree line to avoid detection.  Tomorrow, he would form up his remaining 1000 men including what was left of the troops who survived the arrow storm in the ditch and offer battle.  If the Romans accepted and came out, he would signal the 3000 to charge out of the woods and storm the fort.  “Mandos, do not attack unless you hear from me, is that clear.”  Mandos nodded.

Servilius asked the two prisoners, who they were, the name of their leader, and where they were going.  They added little not already known.  They were, indeed, the dreaded
Gaesatae
, their leader was Bagaudas, and they were headed south to join Hannibal.  The two added that the reason for capturing Mestre was to secure enough food to enable them to continue their journey south, but that the Veneti had apparently hidden their supplies before they arrived.  Very little was found.  They continued, “Bagaudas guessed that the Roman camp was well provisioned, but would be difficult to capture.”  Servilius had his doctors treat their wounds, feed them, and then released them with a message for Bagaudas.  They limped off towards the
Gaesatae
camp.

Once they stood before Bagaudas, they repeated the message.  “The Romans want you to know that they have very little food and were planning to purchase their provision from the local villages.  Attacking their encampment will only cause you casualties and you will still fail to achieve your purpose.  Break off your attack and go south before you suffer more losses.”  Bagaudas did not believe a word of it.  He had just lost about 300 men in the ditch and probably triple that number wounded. If he left without first killing Romans, his men might think him weak.  “No,” he thought, “I’ll have to continue the attack.  Maybe the gods will smile on us tomorrow.”

When the countryside was enveloped in darkness, the 3000
Gaesatae
silently left the hill and took up their position in the wood line about 400 yards to the west of the Roman camp.  The men were experienced and knew how to keep quiet.  The “no cooking” order was a hardship, but spoils from the Roman camp would make it worthwhile.

The next morning, Bagaudas had his men eat breakfast and then moved them off the hill and towards the field facing the Romans.  He put his 1200 men into two thick columns and began the 300 yard march to the site he selected to form up.  From that position, he would be about 500 yards from the Romans.  The two
Gaesatae
columns easily covered the 300 yards, halted, and began to maneuver to reform into two battle lines.  They were now in the exact area envisioned by Servilius.