Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War (6 page)

M
anius had only one year remaining before he was eligible to retire.  That option, however, was eliminated in the early months of 225 BC when a general call to arms was issued throughout central and southern Italy.  This was a first for Manius.  The entire country was mobilizing.  Was this 387 BC all over again?

A 70,000 man Gallic Army was moving south from the Po and Adige River Valleys in the Cisalpine [Northern Italy].  The ever restless
Insubres
[in-SU-bray] and
Boii
tribes had hired
Gaesatae
[gay-SAY-tae] mercenaries from
Taurisci
[tau-RE-ski] [Slovenia] to loot Italy and rid themselves of Roman meddling in their affairs.  All of Italy was now at risk.

Everyone was surprised by this development since Rome had been at peace with the tribes of Cisalpine Gaul for many years.  Indeed, when a nomadic tribe crossed the Alps into Italy five years earlier, Rome sent an army, but found it was not needed. The
Boii
did it for them.

Manius knew his Legion was ready to fight, but he had his doubts about the non-Roman population that would be mustered in as Auxiliaries for this emergency.  They had little formal training or equipment.  He assumed that in battle, they would be placed on the flanks or held in reserve while the trained Roman Legions did the hard fighting.

He had worked with the Auxiliaries before and admired their bravery and willingness to fight, but he knew they did not have the physical conditioning, stamina, experience, armor, or knowledge of a Legionaire to fight effectively.  He expected they would die in greater numbers than his men if they were fully committed to the fight ~ and it strangely bothered him.

Manius had mixed emotions when the Legate announced that the Legion would be moving north from Rome to
Etruria
[Tuscany] in about two weeks’ time to engage the Gauls.  He did not fear for his own safety, but for that of his men.  He prayed to the gods, which he often did, that few if any, would be wounded or killed.  He thought of all the hours and days of difficult training the Maniple had undergone to prepare for this moment.  He knew they were ready and would give a good account of themselves.

Manius’ Legion and another were immediately assigned to Consul Lucius Aemilius Papus for the coming fight.  At last, he and his brother Gaius would be serving in the same Consular Army.  He wished they were in the same Legion, but this assignment would put them closer than they had ever been before.

Papus would command two Legions [equivalent to a US Army Division] through the Legions’ two Legates.  The Legions assembled on the outskirts of Rome and began to prepare for the arduous task that lay ahead.  Replacements streamed into the camp; mules, oxen and donkeys were quartered everywhere to transport the Legions’ gear.  The goal, rarely achieved, was to have one pack animal for every eight soldiers or roughly 570 animals per Legion.  Huge quantities of grain, fuel, and fodder were gathered and stored.  Commanders established the chain of command among the Consul’s staff and those of the Legion’s and practiced maneuvering the two Legions in concert.  Additional engineers, blacksmiths, and medical personnel were also assigned to the Legions.

The other Consul, Gaius Atilius Regulus, the
Plebian
Consul, was fighting with his two Consular Legions in
Sardinia
, which the Romans received in 238 BC as part of the settlement with Carthage following the 1st Punic War.  His task was to further Roman domination of the island by subduing the mutinous mountain tribes led by Carthaginian mercenaries.  The task proved easier said than done.  Now, the immediate threat to Rome took precedence.  Regulus was ordered to assemble his Legions and row at top speed [7-8 mph] the 180 miles from
Sardinia
to the Italian coast near
Liburnum
[Livorno/Leghorn].  Upon landing, he was to fortify his position and be prepared to march his two Legions the 15 miles north to
Pisae
[Pisa] to link up with Consul Lucius Aemilius Papus and his two Legions

It took Regulus three days to relocate his Legions from the interior of
Sardinia
to the two ports where ships were already at anchor.  The remaining ships would arrive in three days.  It took another two days to prepare all the animals and equipment for the movement by sea and four days to actually load the ships.  Once the Legions were loaded, it took the Navy just 24 hours to row from
Sardinia
to Leghorn.

Immediately upon landing, Regulus off loaded his cavalry and ordered them to find the Gauls.  He feared a surprise attack while his command was half on and half off the ships.  After an eight hour ride throughout the countryside, the scouts reported back that they found a hostile population, but no hostile army.  Greatly relieved, Regulus ordered the off loading to continue.  It took another five days to off load the men, animals, and equipment due to rough sea conditions, which forced them to frequently stop, wait, and then restart the effort.

Once safely on land, Regulus rested his sea sick men and reorganize his army.  Two days later, they advanced on Pisa in good fighting order.  In just 18 days, Regulus moved two full Legions and all their equipment and animals over 200 miles of sea and land.  It was quite an accomplishment.

The Gauls had not been inactive.  Their cavalry spotted and reported Regulus’ landing to the Gallic chieftains, Concolitanus [con-co-li-TANus] and Aneroestes [Ana-REStes].

Meanwhile, seventy thousand Roman auxiliaries comprised of tribesmen from the
Sabini
[Sabine]
, Samnis
[
Samnite
]
, Etrusci
[Etruscan],
Umbros
[Umbrians], and men from the
Campania Felix
[South of Rome] answered the general alarm to meet the common threat. They knew their land, houses, family, and farms were at stake.  Roughly a quarter of this huge force, 17,500 men from the Sabine and Etruscan tribes were organized into three Auxiliary Legions and placed under the command of an appointed
Praetor
, named Marcellus, who reported to Consul Papus. These Auxiliary Legions were provided with a cadre of Roman Centurions from the regular Legions to officer the Maniples.  Manius’ brother Gaius was one of the dozen Centurions chosen for this duty.

The plan was that the Auxiliaries would go north as a separate army, but operate in conjunction with the two Consuls’ four Roman Legions.  The remaining 52,000 auxiliaries were held back in strategic reserve to form a final defensive perimeter around Rome.

With Senate and
Comitia Centuriata
approval, another three Legions of former Legionaries were mustered in for the emergency and began an abbreviated process to prepare them for battle.  Mobilization units, to help muster them in, were activated and quickly accomplished the necessary training and equipment issues.  These 15,000 former Legionaries would march to join Consul Papus’ force in about three weeks time.

Papus was told to not engage the Gauls until all seven Roman Legions arrived on the battlefield.  He was ordered to fight before joining the other Legions only if the Gauls marched on Rome.  Finally, two reserve Roman Legions stationed in
Sicilia
[Sicily] and
Tarentum
[Tarento] were recalled to Rome for additional homeland protection.  Soldiers would now determine Rome’s future.

Papus’ two Roman and three Auxiliary Legions totaled 37,000 infantrymen with an attached 1600 cavalry.  They were now ready to move north and link up with Regulus’ army, who at this point was just beginning to unload his two Legions at Leghorn.  Regulus was ordered to dig in at Pisa and wait for Papus who would march the 220 miles up the
Via Aurelia
and arrive in about two weeks.  In another month, Papus’ force would swell by another 15,000 experienced former Legionaries.  Every bit of edible grain for the troops and fodder for the animals was gathered from around Rome and secured for the campaign.  It was a huge undertaking.

As Counsel Papus was about to march north, a scout arrived with news that the Gauls had moved from
Mediolanum
[medio-LAN-um] [Milan] in the west to the east coast and were pillaging and burning the coastal towns along the
Mare Superum
  [
Adriatic Sea].  Papus quickly decided to take his two Roman Legions to
Ariminum
[ARI-minum] [Rimini] up the eastern
Via Flaminia
, which was still under construction, and send the Auxiliary force up the western
Via Aurelia
to link up with Consul Regulus’ Legions at Pisa.  Papus was concerned that the Gauls might suddenly decide to move back to the west coast and then south to Rome.  If that happened, he wanted the Auxiliaries to be in a position to block and hold them until he and Regulus could converge.

Riders were dispatched to advise Regulus of the change in plans.  He was told to stay at Pisa and await the arrival of the Auxiliaries before taking the field against the Gauls.  The Gauls were considered too strong to attempt a battle without multiple Roman Legions.  Despite their enthusiasm, the Auxiliaries were no match for the Gauls.

The next morning, Manius departed Rome, but instead of heading north on the
Via
Aurelia
to Pisa as he expected, the Legions moved north east onto the
Via Flaminia
while only the Auxiliaries went north.  It would be another five years before this magnificent 15’ wide stone road was completed, but the
Via Flaminia
served the troops well even in its present state.  The foundation for the final road was in place; it was straight, level, dry and much easier than going cross country.  Manius guessed their destination was the coastal town of
Ariminum
to serve as a blocking force to prevent the Gauls from traveling down the east coast.

He estimated the distance from Rome to
Ariminum
at about 230 miles.  They were walking now at a pace of 20 miles a day, but he doubted the Legions could maintain that speed for more than two days.  Mentally, he slowed the pace to 15 miles a day and calculated they would arrive at
Ariminum
in 14 days.  He was only off by one day.  It took 13.

The rate of march was grueling even when slowed.  Unlike other Centurions, he chose to carry his own gear like his men and eschewed the perk of stowing his equipment aboard one of the many mule drawn wagons that accompanied the Legions.