Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (39 page)

As Manius explained who he was - an emissary from Rome - and what he wanted of the
Suevi
, Ariovistus’ eyes got bigger and his face took on a distinctive red hue.  He was very angry and told Manius that the Romans were obviously insane and that the
Semones
would do what they wanted in their own land.  Manius stated that everything south of the river belonged to
Rhaetia
and Rome.

Ariovistus asked Manius where his army was to enforce his claim and, pointing to the Maniple, asked, “Is this the best you have.”  His companions laughed loudly at that.

Manius said that he had several thousand more and would assemble them on this field tomorrow morning and then use them to dismantle the bridges’ fortification if necessary.  “Here let me show you,” he said.  Manius then turned and told his horns to sound as he pointed to the distant woods.  Within 30 seconds, 1000 of the 2000
Hastati
exited the woods at Vill and marched single file into the open.  They were barely visible in the distance.  The other 1000
Hastati
remained hidden in the same woods.  Manius had rehearsed this with them while at
Tridentum
.  They were too far away for Ariovistus to see how they were equipped, but close enough to validate their existence.

In a threatening tone and with his eyes boring into Manius’, Ariovistus said, “Do not try anything foolish or your blood will be all over this field” and with that, he turned and walked back over the bridge.  Manius had his answer; the
Suevi
would not comply, but rather would fight to maintain their expansionist and trade restrictive policies.

Manius had his tent packed up and moved the group the two miles back to the open field next to the woods at Vill.  He, the Maniple and the 1000 from the
Hastati
remained in plain view of the bridge.  He wanted the
Suevi
to see that neither he nor his “army” were going anywhere.  He had his tent set up and everyone lit fires. By now it was getting dark.  Elitovius and the
Rhaetians
moved back closer to the bridge where they would remain for the night to provide early warning should the
Suevi
decide to cross the bridge in strength during the hours of darkness.  Manius did not want to be surprised if they decided to attack him immediately.  He expected that the
Suevi
would wait until morning and then send a small force across the river to attack his “army.”

Once on the other side of the river, Ariovistus gathered his advisors and tried to make sense of these strange visitors and their outlandish demands.  They all scornfully agreed that the Roman army they could see looked pathetic and would not present a challenge to his
Suevi
warriors.  No one wanted to disagree with Ariovistus whose violent temper matched his over sized ego.  The Council was insulted and offended that a group of weak looking amateurs could be so bold and arrogant in the presence of real fighting men.  Manius’ plan to have the
Suevi
underestimate him was working.  The
Suevi
viewed these Romans with utter distain and contempt.  Ariovistus pointed out that the Romans had somehow emboldened the
Rhaetians
and that by dealing forcefully with them tomorrow morning, the
Raeti
would be intimidated.

For some time now the Council had been discussing expanding over the Brenner and into Italy; the
Raeti
at
Bauzanum
would be their first objective; then
Tridentum
and the silver mines would be next.  The Council agreed that beating the Romans and intimidating the
Raeti
would fit nicely into their plans.

When it was totally dark, Manius sent Snake back to the bridge in command of a dozen archers and 15 picked men.  Their job was to burn the south end of the bridge when everyone was asleep.

When Snake and the men arrived at the bridge at midnight, Elitovius told him that the
Semones
had not bothered to provide any added security.  There were only three guards and they appeared to be asleep.  The raiders sat down to wait until the entire
Suevi
camp on the other side of the river was quiet.  At about 0100, Snake sent three men to the bridge to quietly kill the guards.  There was no noise as they accomplished their mission.  Snake’s men now crept forward and removed the pitch soaked brush and sticks from their packs.  They placed it on, over, and under the south end of the bridge.  When everything was in place, they lit it at multiple points.  It caught instantly.  The guards on the north end of the bridge came fully alert when they spotted the flames and began running to the fire to see what was happening; but stopped half way across when they saw the size of the force lighting the fires.  They quickly backed up and watched as the south side of the bridge was engulfed in the spreading flames.

The entire
Suevi
camp came alive as Snake and his men disappeared back into the darkness.  Most watched from their huts while a few ran to the bridge with buckets.  They managed to save the rest of the bridge, but the south tower and part of the span was beyond saving.  The bridge could now only be crossed in single file and with much difficulty.  The
Suevi
army, en masse, would not soon be crossing it to attack the Romans.

*******

Ariovistus was awakened by the cries of “Fire!”  He could see that the south side of the bridge was in flames and he knew immediately who was to blame.  These Romans dared to attack us!  He could not believe it and when he heard that several of the guards had been killed in the attack, he was outraged.  He ordered the
Suevi
dead removed and replaced with triple their number to ensure the remainder of the bridge was not burnt.

He summoned the tribal Council at 0300 and announced that tomorrow morning he would send 500 veteran warriors over the Inn River by boat to teach the Romans a lesson.  He was not particularly bothered that some in the Council said that the Romans appeared to have over a thousand men and that, perhaps, he should send more to ensure a victory.  Ariovistus said, “Did you not see how the Romans were dressed and armed?  No armor, small shields, swords too long for them to swing effectively and their horses looked fit only to pull a plow.  No, I don’t want to flatter them by sending more than we really need; 500
Suevi
can easily beat a 1000 of these Romans.”  Before the Council broke up, Ariovistus summoned one of his Commanders and told him to pick 500 men and attack the Romans tomorrow morning.  He added, “Kill them all and bring me the head of that arrogant one who sat in the chair.”

The same night that the bridge was burned, Calvus led
Legio XVII
out of the woods and followed their guides on the downhill trail leading in the direction of the bridge.  The heavy wagons were left in position and did not follow the Legion.  These were difficult movements under any circumstance, but particularly so at night.  Earlier in the day, 500
Cenomani
left their position at Axams and occupied the woods adjacent to the Legion.  At first light, they would move into the area just vacated by the Legion.  The Roman Centurions who officered the Cenomani were extremely pleased that their men executed these movements quickly and with minimal confusion.

Calvus put the Legion into a patch of dense woods at Igls about a mile south of Manius’ location, which put it about three miles from the bridge.  Manius wanted the Legion close by in case the
Suevi
decided to sent their entire army over the river that night to fight him.  He did not consider that option to be realistic, but did not want to take any chances.  The next morning, the Legion had eaten breakfast and was ready to move by first light to support Manius and the
Hastati
if something happened.  Fires were kept small and the thick woods masked the smoke rising in the air.  So far, the
Suevi
had no idea that a highly trained, extremely disciplined, and very dangerous Roman Legion was only three miles away.

The night passed cold and uneventful for all the Romans in the woods.  Before first light, the men ate their breakfast consisting of cheese, nuts, raisins, and bread dipped in diluted wine. Manius moved the 1000-men of the
Hastati
, the same men he had used earlier for a show of force, to a ditch about 200 yards south of his location and had them lay down and remain hidden.  The Centurion-in-charge was prepared to have them stand up and fight as soon as the “fleeing” “changed” Maniple reached his location.

The woods also concealed the other 1000 men of the
Hastati
and Snake’s 100 archers.  Manius kept his original “changed” Maniple in the field in plain view of the bridge in the same location where the 1000, now hidden in the ditch, had stood the day before.

His plan was to use the Maniple to draw the
Suevi
into a trap.  As the
Suevi
got closer, the Maniple would break and run to the rear, to the waiting men in the ditch.  He hoped the
Suevi
would eagerly pursue them and in the process lose whatever cohesion they had.  Once the
Suevi
were past the woods, the men in the ditch would rise up to face them and the archers would commence firing.  The 1000 men still in the woods would then advance into the open field behind the
Suevi
and close off any escape.  After the battle, Manius planned to move the entire
Hastati
back to Calvus and the waiting Legion as quickly as possible and await developments.  He anticipated that after the skirmish the
Suevi
would cross the bridge to inspect the battle field, but take no further action until they had a chance to think about what had just happened to their men.

At about 1100 that morning, the
Suevi
Commander of the 500 moved his men across the river by boat and began the 2-mile walk to the waiting Maniple in the distance.  The morning air was cool and the sky was overcast.  The
Suevi
warriors were relaxed and unconcerned.  None realized that this would be the last day of his life.

The Maniple had been sitting as ordered, but now rose and faced the oncoming
Suevi
.  As they watched the
Suevi
warriors, they felt naked without their customary armor, helmet,
gladius
, shield, and
pila
.  When the distance closed to 500 yards, the Maniple drew their unfamiliar Gallic swords to maintain the ruse and nervously eyed one another.  Their lives would shortly depend on running fast enough to stay ahead of the pursuing
Suevi
and not falling down.  The
Suevi
Commander was told to expect 1000 Romans, but could now see that their number was well short of that.  He figured the rest had already deserted and continued to walk towards the Romans.

When the distance closed to 100 yards, the
Suevi
drew their swords and began to taunt the Romans.  The Maniple held its position, but was feeling real anxiety as the
Suevi
got closer.  Their Centurion spoke soothingly and told them to hold their position until he gave the order to run.  At 30 yards, the men were clearly at the limit of their tolerance, but Roman discipline prevented them from obeying their instinct to run and save themselves.  At 20 yards, the
Suevi
suddenly stopped walking, but continued yelling and taunting the Maniple.