Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (34 page)

The Legion moved out smartly on April 20; only the Roman sick and a
Cenomani
detachment of 2000 remained at the fort to provide security.  It was really unnecessary for the
Cenomani
to guard the fort, but it provided income for these men and helped ensure that Segovesus would continue to support the Legion.  Earlier, Manius asked Segovesus to have his men build winter wooden huts for the Legion inside the fort and to have them ready when the Legion returned in the fall.  Manius planned to spend the winter at
Brixia
.

Bellonii sat outside his hut cleaning the mud off his boots as the Legion marched by.  He had already sent one of his assistants to
Mediolanum
to inform the
Insubres
of the Legion’s plans and now he carefully watched their departure to assure himself that they were actually going.  He felt reassured as they disappeared into the distant woods that circled the village.

The Legion covered the 34 miles to
Bergomum
in two days and prepared a field encampment, as usual.  The Legionaries spent the evening cleaning their gear in preparation for the parade the next morning while the officers attended a dinner hosted by the village Chief in their honor.

It was 0200 and pitch black when Tribune Vitulus quietly led his men out of the fort at Clastidium and into the hostile countryside.  Anything that could make noise was tied down and wagon wheels were freshly greased.

The Etruscan Auxiliary unit had arrived on schedule about three weeks ago and had quickly assumed responsibility for the fort’s defense.  The
Triarii
used the time to get ready to depart.  The previous evening, Vitulus placed a series of guides on the road to lead the column eastward along the intended route and, thereby avoid getting confused in the dark.

The tightly grouped column marched into the darkness for about three hours before the first hint of dawn could be seen in the cloudless sky.  Vitulus felt fairly confident that they had gotten out of the camp without anyone seeing them.  In time, the
Insubres
would figure it out, but they would be miles away by then.

Earlier, Vitulus did his backward planning and figured that he had to depart
Clastidium
on the 18th of April to arrive at
Brixia
by the 27th.  It was 32 miles to
Placentia
, where he would stay for a day; 28 miles to
Cremona
and then another 32 miles to
Brixia.
  By marching 15 miles per day, he figured they should arrive at
Brixia
on the 26th
of April.

Once it was light enough to see, Vitulus pushed out his cavalry to screen ahead and on both flanks.  He kept his wagons in the middle of the column and used them to set the pace.  The men were allowed to remove their armor and adopt a more relaxed marching order. At least once a day, Vitulus would halt the column and simulate an enemy attack.  In time, his men learned to rapidly armor up and move into their battle positions without confusion or unnecessary movement.  He continually kept about 20 horsemen out in the countryside scouting the route and screening his flanks.  The rest of the cavalry traveled as a group at the rear of the column.  His 200 archers were sprinkled throughout the column.

The village leaders at
Placentia
and
Cremona
welcomed the
Triarii
to spend the night inside the walls, which meant the men did not have to dig an encampment.  It was a welcome relief.  The Roman colonists treated the Legionaries like long lost brothers and extended all possible hospitality.  Many drank too much wine and paid for it on the road the following morning.  But these were young men who recovered quickly; they laughed about their folly and longed to repeat it as soon as possible!

Vitulus identified with his men and was a popular commander.  They knew he had risen through the ranks and shared their hardships.  Vitulus frequently dismounted and walked along with the men while asking them about their families.  He did this to make a point, but he also used it to get a sense of their morale.

On April 26th, the column passed under the gate at
Brixia
and moved into their assigned position within the fort.  Within the hour, Bellonii heard that a new Roman unit had moved into the fort, but was in the dark concerning exactly who they were or where they had come from.

*******

Servilius fretted over the competence of the 500
Veneti
who would guard his fort at
Patavium
.  His men had trained them, but he still felt they fell far short of the standards of a Roman Legionaire.  But it was now time to leave and there was nothing more he could do.  The fort was fully stocked with provision and presented a ripe plum to any would be attacker.  For the most part, however, the area was safe.  The defensive wall around Mestre was only about half finished, but the village’s young men were now fully armed and reasonably trained.  Axius was a good leader and would put up a stiff fight if challenged.  Small bands of mercenaries were still passing through the area enroute to join Hannibal in the south, but now gave Mestre and
Patavium
a wide birth.

It was only 50 miles to Verona so Servilius departed the fort on April 26.  His orders were to meet
Praetor
Tullus at Verona on April 30.  Like all good Roman Commanders, Servilius continued training his men while enroute to Verona.

Insubres
at
Mediolanum

Bellonii’s young
Brixian
accomplice, Helitovius, had one task to complete before he would receive his Roman
sesterces
from Bellonii.  He had to ride his broken down farm horse the 35 miles to
Bergomum
and give a man in that village a scroll from Bellonii.  That was it!  He figured he could later convince Bellonii to give him two
sesterces
if he made up a good story about how he was almost robbed and had to fight his way to
Bergomum
.  It was worth a try even if it did not work.

He rode and walked the horse straight through the night and arrived at
Bergomum
12 hours later.  Despite his hunger and fatigue, he found the village’s water well, right where Bellonii said it would be, and walked to the third hut on the north side of the road leading out of town, as he had been instructed.  The man there said that he knew Bellonii and told him to quickly come inside.  He took the proffered scroll without ceremony and read it.  When he finished, he asked the young man, “Can you read?”

“No,” Helitovius replied.  The man then fished around in his hut until he found a much used piece of scroll on which he wrote something and handed it back.

“Take this back to Bellonii and you’ll be paid.  Go now.”

As he was being ushered out the door, Helitovius quickly asked him for a piece of bread.  If the other man heard him, he did not respond and closed the door.  Once outside, Helitovius looked around and saw a food market about 100 feet away with tables and stacks of produce.  He looked at it for a minute and got an idea.  He quickly walked his horse to the outskirts of the village and tied him to a tree.  Then he ran back to the market and at a dead run went through the market and grabbed a loaf of bread as he passed by the table.  He was followed by shouts, but easily reached the outskirts of the village before anyone could react.  It worked!

He ran to the tree where he tethered the horse just in time to see two men examining the horse.  He ran up to the men and said, “That’s my horse; what are you doing?”

The larger of the two said, “It was your horse and now it’s ours” and punched him violently in the face. His nose spurted blood as he hit the ground.  The pain was incredible.  The two men turned and began leading the horse away.  Despite the pain and a rapidly closing right eye, he managed to draw his dagger from his belt, ran up behind the large man, and stabbed him in the kidney, not once but twice.  The man screamed, partially turned, and fell to the ground with his hand covering the pain.  The other man, his eyes large with alarm, backed away and dropped the reins. Helitovius grabbed the reins, swung his knife at the man to move him farther away, and jumped up on the horse’s back.  The tired horse used what strength he had left and bolted for the road.  About 100 yards farther on, Helitovius slowed the horse to a walk, wiped the blood from his face, and began eating his bread.  Now he knew he would get two
sesterces
or there would be more blood and it would not be his!

*******

The
Insubres
Chiefs at
Mediolanum
were intrigued by Bellonii’s message.  It confirmed several things they already knew from communications with Farrid.  An under strength Legion of about 4000 men had marched from Rome to
Brixia
and were now marching to
Mediolanum
and would be near the town around the 27th of April.  Their purpose, according to Bellonii, was to put themselves in a position to thwart a Carthaginian invasion of northern Italy.  If this were true, then they had to do what they could to defeat or, at least, weaken this Legion.

The Chiefs agreed that they should muster about 5000 men immediately and ambush the Romans until a larger force could be marshaled.  The logical place to attack the Romans was on the road between
Bergomum
and
Mediolanum
at the village of Trezzo Sull Adda where the Adda River was squeezed between towering cliffs.  The Legion would be forced to wade the river and be vulnerable to a surprise attack from the cliffs.

The alarm went out and soon 5000 men were walking the 20 miles to the Adda River.  The
Insubres
Commander knew the Romans would first send over their cavalry to scout the surrounding area before marching the Legion across the river.  To avoid detection, he planned to hide the bulk of his army on both sides of the gorge, but well back from the cliffs.  After the Roman scouts were killed, his men would dress in their uniforms and signal the Romans the all clear to begin the crossing.  (What the
Insubres
Commander did not know was that the Romans had their own unique system of hand and arm signals and would have immediately spotted the deception.)

The
Insubres
Army sat at the crossing site for four full days before having to admit that something had gone wrong and that the Romans were not coming. They were bitterly disappointed, but not as alarmed as were the Chiefs back at
Mediolanum
.  There was now a Romans Legion somewhere in their area, but they did not know where.  Teams of horsemen were immediately dispatched to search for the missing Legion.

*******

Elitovius saw young Helitovius return to
Brixia
; it was getting dark, but he could still see his swollen face.  He watched as he went to Bellonii hut and heard the ensuing argument, which very quickly turned violent.  He heard a scream and saw Helitovius run from the hut and disappear into the darkness.  Elitovius approached the hut and peered through the open door.  Inside, Bellonii was lying on the floor covered in blood.  The old woman stood next to him crying.  Elitovius asked her, “Is he dead?”

“Yes,” she replied.  Elitovius then went to see Segovesus with the news.

In the ensuing week, Segovesus and Elitovius informed the village chief at
Bergomum
that they had a spy in their midst. 
Cenomani
justice was swift and final.  Helitovius would have gotten off for his midnight courier service since he really did not know what he was doing, but when he killed Bellonii, he became culpable and received the same swift fate.