Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (47 page)

About the time the first wave of attackers hit the 40’ ditch, the
Suevi
cavalry burst over the hill in full gallop on the Roman right flank.  They expected to pursue fleeing Romans, but instead saw a fort, ditches, and their own warriors running downhill.  They pulled up abruptly when they saw the short oblique ditches that lay to their immediately front.  Some horses broke left, hit caltrops and limped to a stop despite their riders angry urging.  Others turned right and hit their own men.

The
ballistae
crew saw the horses come over the hill, made quick aiming adjustment, and triggered the firing mechanism.  The release of the
ballistae
was inaudible above the din of the attacking
Suevi
, but the sound of wounded and dying horses was heard by many that day.  Some arrows missed the horses, but most flew with deadly accuracy.  The effects were immediate.  Horses and riders careened wildly over the field causing panic in their unpredictable paths.  In a few seconds, the
Suevi
cavalry was rendered useless and a number of
Suevi
infantry were trampled.

The
Suevi’s
arrival at the 40’ ditch was the signal to fire arrows from
ballistae
and archers.  In one minute, the archers’ unleashed 9600 barbed missiles into the men bunched up at the ditch.  The four
ballistae
in the center caused untold horror upon the now crouched and cowering men.  Arrows do not always kill; they wound five times as often.  Wounded men tried to crawl back up the hill to escape, but were stumbled over by the onrushing hoard.  By chance, it was at this moment that Ariovistus decided to ride up the hill on his horse.  The unexpected clamor perplexed him. He had also seen a
ballista
arrow sail over the hill and crash into the woods behind him.  He was concerned for his personal safety, but decided to advance.

As he crested the hill, he stopped.  What he saw was beyond comprehension!  Archers were thick on the wall and towers firing into his unprotected men.  Horses were crashing about without their riders.  Huge
ballista
arrows thumped into squirming masses of men.  This was not what he expected to see!

Suddenly, he was lying on the ground and his horse was falling besides him.  He rolled to avoid getting crushed and saw the huge arrow protruding from the side of his dying horse.  He got up and ran for the backside of the hill.  His body guards followed.  All were ashen faced.  They were seeing a
Suevi
disaster unparalleled in their history.  He stayed on the far side of the hill while dozens of thoughts raced through his minds.  Some of his aides bolted for the woods, but most stayed with Ariovistus.  After a few minutes, Ariovistus crawled back to the crest of the hill and peered over.  This could not be happening.  He watched with horror, but also a certain amount of fascination.

Once the
Suevi
cavalry was knocked out, the eight
ballistae
on the edges of the wall turned their weapons on the center of the
Suevi
mass surging toward the walls.  Many were now through the first ditch and running for the wall.  Each of the eight
ballistae
could only fire a few arrows before it was time to allow the Auxiliaries to take their place.  The
ballistae
crews and the archers had done their work and began pulling back to allow the Auxiliaries to continue the fight with rocks, spears, and swords.  Over 4000
Suevi
lay dead or wounded.  The survivors were demoralized, but their pride and honor kept them going.

A few
Suevi
warriors opted not to attack the wall to their front and instead chose the seemingly easier path to the side of the fort.  They quickly became the focus of the archers in the towers and changed their minds.

The 4000 Legionaries who stood just beneath the south wall received a steady stream of information from the men on the wall above them, but still knew little of the battle raging just 500’ away.  They were waiting for orders to swing around the fort and into the space between the front wall and the 40’ ditch.  Once into this position, they were to throw their
pila
, draw their
gladius
, and engage the enemy.  The
Triarii
and Rasce’s cavalry would block the
Suevi
on the other side and the archers were ready to move back on the wall to support the infantry.

The Auxiliaries threw their torches and the brush caught instantly.  This caused the
Suevi
to temporarily abandoned their attempt to scale the wall and were now were trying desperately to dodge the barrage of heavy rocks and spears descending on them.  Manius watched from the tower.  It was time!  He signaled Calvus, who was on the wall above the waiting 4000, to attack!  Manius then took out a red cloth and waved it back and forth in the direction of Rasce and the cavalry. Rasce responded immediately that he received the order.  The cavalry came out of the woods and lined up.  The
Triarii
was already massed at the gate and stood waiting for the order to march out and block the
Suevi
escape.

Joseph who never strayed more than a dozen feet from Manius, stood at the base of the tower and heard Manius’ command to Calvus.  He had been feeling left out and not fully respected by his peers.  He was a trained Legionary, but had never participated in a battle.  He was curious to know what it was like and how he would react personally.  He made a snap decision.  He grabbed his shield and
pilum
and bolted for the gate to intercept Calvus.  “Sir,” he said, “Request permission to join the
Hastati.
”

Calvus said, “Yes,” while on the run and Joseph followed him.

Calvus ran to the gate and worked his way to the front of the waiting men.  He looked at them for a few second and yelled, “Are you ready?”  With one voice the Legionaries came to attention and growled their response.  Calvus drew his
gladius
and waved it forward as he led the troops out into the open.  As Calvus brought them around to the front wall and straightened their lines, the archers resumed their place on the wall and the Auxiliaries stepped back.  This would prove to be a costly mistake.

Joseph was wide eyed and tense.  He found his place near Accius and Tertius.  Joseph was now in the front line.  As he advanced, he tried to remember his training.  He told himself that this would not be a choreographed dance with ordered steps, but a wild and violent encounter.  In training, his instructors demonstrated how barbarians fight.  Unlike Romans who block with their shields and thrust with their swords, the enemy tries to batter you into submission.  He remembered holding his shield while the instructor simply overwhelmed him with repeated sword blows all over his shield and legs.  It was like a heavy rain pounding on him that he could not escape.  With practice, he learned to remain calm, trust in his shield, and to use it to push and batter his opponent.

The
Hastati
threw their
pila
and rushed forward with drawn swords.  For the
Suevi
who survived the
pila
assault, this was something they understood: man to man combat.  They rushed screaming at the Romans who butted them backwards with their shields and quick low thrusts with their
gladius
.  Despite their fierceness and bravery, the
Suevi
were no match for the Roman shield and body armor.  Joseph was in the thick of it and fought well.  He could see the man across from him.  He saw the sweat, the wild eyes, and dirty beard.  He pushed, butted, and thrust his
gladius
, which always hit something; he just did not know what.  His shield was constantly jarred by repeated sword strikes.  Once it was almost ripped off his arm by a violent downward pull.

Joseph heard the whistle to rotate, pushed hard with his shield, and stepped back.  He quickly moved to the right, backed up, and turned.  His shield slid over his back as he went to the end of his line.  His replacement immediately took up the fight.  Joseph was exhilarated, more so than he had ever been before.  His heart was pounding; he was breathing rapidly and wet with sweat.  He felt strong and aggressive.  He started yelling, encouraging his fellow Legionaries.  Within 10 minutes, he was once again face to face with a wall of Suevi.  His shield rocked with the blows.  It was hard to keep his footing with the Suevi pushing from the front and the sideways bumping from the Legionaries on his left and right.  He was grateful to the Legionary behind him who steadied him with his shield and free hand. Joseph was in constant motion pushing with his shield, blocking, swinging left, thrusting up and always stabbing with his
gladius
.  He was quickly becoming weary.  His shield arm burned with exhaustion and began to tremble.  His movements slowed.  The horns sounded.  The
Principes
were passing through and he let down his guard.

The
Principes
crashed through the
Hastati
and continued to push the
Suevi
across the front of the fort while the archers fired a relentless stream of arrow into the tiring warriors.  As Joseph gave a final push with his shield and began to turn to step back for the advancing
Principes,
he felt something hit the unprotected part of his shield arm.  It did not hurt, more of a burning sensation, and he quickly forgot it.  When he took up his new position behind the
Principes
, he felt lightheaded, weak, and stomach sick.  It was then that he saw his arm was cut to the bone and blood was pouring onto his shield.  Everything went black.

*******

Seeing that the
Hastati
and
Principes
were now driving the
Suevi
across the front of the fort, Manius ordered Servilius to move the
Triarii
out of the gate on the run and swing around to the front of the fort.  The jaws of the trap were swinging shut.  The
Suevi
would soon be pinned
between the
Triarii
on one side and the advancing
Hastati
and
Principes
on the other.  The
Triarii
came around the edge of the fort and aligned them just as the
Suevi
broke under the assault of the
Hastati
and
Principes’
.  They had time to throw just one
pila
before the
Suevi
ran in every direction, except at them. The fire from the burning brush in the ditch closest to the wall was almost out, but the thick smoke obscured the hundreds of
Suevi
who now chose scaling the wall as the safest escape route.  They chose well.