Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (42 page)

Sleeping
Suevi
were instantly awake and started running away from the noise.  The leader of the 1000 managed to grab a few of the men to attempt a stand, but quickly decided against it.  While Andreas’ Maniple dealt with those who did decide to stand and fight, Andreas turned to his
Raeti
Commander, Lugano, and told him to have his men swing around to the south and get in front of the fleeing
Suevi
.  He then told Taluric to hold his
Cenomani
in place until he could sort out what was happening, but to be prepared to continue the attack through the Maniples.

The Centurion with the lead Maniple put his men in a line formation and continued to push the
Suevi
.  As the Romans advanced, they began meeting more and more resistance as the
Suevi
overcame their initial shock of the surprise encounter.  Andreas then told Taluric to push his men through the Maniples and take over the fight, which they did with alacrity!  The two Maniples moved to the rear and were happy for the break.  Within 20 minutes, Andreas could hear the
Raeti
entering the fight on the back side of the woods and knew it was almost over.  The
Cenomani
and
Raeti
cut down the last
Suevi
and it was quiet again.

*******

When Vocion’s men were in position in the wood line by Ranggen, he cupped his mouth and was about to yell “attack” when the woods south of him suddenly erupted with yelling and the sounds of battle, metal on metal.  He figured that the 1000 men he sent to the south woods the previous night had prematurely begun the attack on the Roman cavalry.  He swore loudly and promised to find out who did this.  He specifically told both Commanders the previous night not to attack until he initiated it.  He loudly yelled “attack” and his 4000 men exploded out of the woods running for the Roman cavalry.

Vocion’s other 1000 men on the north side of the field heard the initial commotion coming out of the woods to the south, but did not have time to figure out what it was.  Vocion had begun his main attack and so they too left the woods and raced into the field to get behind the Roman horse and trap them.

Having been on edge all night, as soon as Rasce heard the first sounds of battle, he yelled “mount up” and the entire 280 bolted straight for the hill to their rear.  They easily evaded Vocion and also the 1000 coming out of the north woods.  As they crested the hill, they saw Manius and drew up.  Manius said, “Well done Rasce” and told him to take up his position on the right flank with the archers and ballistae.  But he personally was anything but calm!  It appeared to him that he had just avoided an ambush and he could not understand how it had happened.  He had a battle raging in the south woods, a large group of men to his front, and another smaller group coming into the field from the north woods.  He assumed this was Vocion’s army, but was surprised that they were all here already.

*******

Manius had to act and act fast.  He spun around and ordered the three columns into a linear formation.  It encouraged him to see the speed of the transformation.  Centurions barked orders and the columns became a mass of swirling men.  In the blink of an eye, he was now looking at three thick lines of men facing the
Suevi
on the other side of the hill.  Each line presented a front of 500 with two men behind the man in front.  Once the Legion formed itself for battle, he ordered the
Hastati
to cross over the hill, but then stopped them when they were just over the crest.  The
Principes
and
Triarii
as well as the archers and
ballistae
,
maintained their position on the back side of the hill, out of sight.

*******

When Vocion’s men broke out of the woods, they initially ran straight for the Roman cavalry camp only to see them mount up and race away to the hill.  The men stopped their pursuit and looked about for new orders.  They appeared puzzled.  Most now faced the sound of battle coming out of the woods to their south, about the same distance away as the cavalry now on the hill.  Vocion too just stood.  He was perplexed.  Where were his 1000 men in the south woods?  He expected to see them running across the field to intercept the horses, but all he heard was the sound of battle.

In a flash, they were forgotten; up on the hill, Vocion could now see a thin line of soldiers begin to appear.  As they came over the crest, he could see that each man had two more walking behind him.  He immediately associated these men with the 1000 Romans who displayed themselves in the field opposite the bridge a couple of days earlier.  “These are the same men who taunted us,” he thought.  He started yelling, “That’s our enemy!  There on the hill!  They’re the ones who killed 500 of our men.  We’re not going to let them get away!  We outnumber them!”  The continuing noise coming from the woods annoyed him because he could not figure out its source, so he was easily distracted by this new sight and new opportunity to his front.

Vocion’s men in the north woods ran headlong into the field, but like the 4000 with Vocion, just stopped and stood when the cavalry rode away.  They too saw the Romans on the hill and then heard Vocion yelling commands.  They quickly aligned themselves alongside Vocion men and now presented a front of 5000 warriors to the
Hastati
’s 1500.  Vocion stopped his advance mid way to the waiting
Hastati
and tried to get his men to form a thicker column.  He felt that his flank extended too far to the left and would be unopposed and end up not engaged.  He wanted more men in the middle to overwhelm the Romans with manpower.  He knew his men could beat them.

Still, he did not like the looks of the long sharp spears they carried or their big shields.  He then heard a horn sound and the men on the hill began to strike their
pila
on their shields, making an ominous sound.  He had not forgotten Ariovistus warning not to engage the Romans by himself, but this was too tempting and easy a target.  They were obviously taunting him; daring him to attack.

Manius sat on his horse alongside the
Hastati
and carefully watched the
Suevi
.  They had successfully massed and were now on the verge of attacking.  The bulk of the Legion was still out of sight on the back side of the hill.  He began issuing orders.  He sent a courier racing over to Andreas with orders to break off his battle immediately and to attack the
Suevi
in the open field, on the run.  When Andreas received the order, he found his two Auxiliary Commanders and told them to form up in the field just out of the woods facing the
Suevi
.  “I want the
Raeti
on the west and Cenomani on the east.  Centurions, put both Maniples in the center with the archers.  Quickly now!”

Manius sent another courier to Rasce with orders to have the cavalry attack the
Suevi
rear as soon as they attack the
Hastati.
  Rasce told his men of the orders and rode up the hill to look at the field.  So far, he had heard, but not seen the
Suevi
.  The sight startled him.  Five thousand men stood about 250 yards from the
Hastati
and, from all appearances, were very eager to attack.  He quickly picked out an approach to the
Suevi
rear; backed off the hill and moved his cavalry closer to the top of the hill.

Joseph’s two friends and tent mates in the
Hastati
stood on the hill facing 5000 men determined to kill them.  Accius was in the front; Tertius stood behind him and a little to the left to allow Accius to draw back his
pila
when the order was given.  For most of the men in the
Hastati
, this was their first battle.  They trusted their training and equipment, but were scared nonetheless.  The veteran Centurion tried to calm his men by repeating the commands he would give and expressing his confidence in their bravery.  Joseph was back with the wagons and hated it.  He longed to be with the
Hastati
and among his friends.

Manius called for the three Tribunes in charge of the three lines.  He told the
Hastati
Tribune to have his men throw their
pila
when the
Suevi
were about 60’ downhill from their position and then to attack them on the run.  “Close the distance quickly and tell the men to use their shields to butt and punch.  I’ll pass the
Principes
through them as soon as the
Suevi
flanks weaken.”  Manius told the Tribune of the
Principes
to have his men come over the hill on the run when called, throw their
pila
, and to pass through the
Hastati
.  He told the
Triarii
Tribune to shift over to the right flank immediately, but to advance over the hill on the run when the
Hastati
attacks.  Manius said that his intent is that Andreas would attack the
Suevi
right flank and that the
Triarii
would attack their left.

*******

Vocion looked at his men.  They were ready and now slightly bunched in the middle.  The enemy on the hill remained unchanged.  He knew that attacking uphill gave the enemy the advantage, but was not concerned since they were few in number.  He was so focused on his front that he did not notice that the noise coming out of the woods to his south had stopped.  He also did not see the Auxiliaries filtering out of the woods and forming up along the wood line, slightly to his rear.  He was as eager to attack as his men, but he held them back.  He wanted to get within 100 yards before letting them run.  They started to walk.

At about 150 yards the tension was unbearable and his men just took off.  They were in no discernible formation; every man raced to be first.  Vocion did not hold back either.  He was out front with his men.  It felt good to run and yell!  He was no longer the leader; just another warrior running into battle.  It was glorious!

Andreas and the Auxiliaries began an easy trot just seconds after the
Suevi
began their dash at the
Hastati
.  The Auxiliaries had 300 yards to cover and were slightly to the rear of the
Suevi
.  At one point, Andreas even slowed the advance to a walk to reform his lines.  He estimated his troops presented a front about 250 yards across.  He used the slower moving Maniples as pace setters and aimed them at the center of the
Suevi
mass.

The air over the racing
Suevi
was suddenly filled with a cloud of hissing missiles.  The
Hastati
had unleashed their
pila
!  The
Suevi
in the front, the fastest and bravest, instinctively dropped to the ground and tried to cover their heads, but for the men in this 10 yard wide impact zone, there was no protection.