The most decisive battle in European history.

In the early autumn of the year 9 CE a battle took place in what is now Germany, a battle that is one of the most significant and decisive in history. The effect that the result of this battle had on the development of Europe and, therefore, of the world was profound. The greatest military machine that the world had ever seen lost about 10% of its fighting power in the space of a few days. This battle, and its consequences, have fascinated me for years. It is this battle about which I wish to write.

The battle is known as the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest. A Roman expeditionary force was ambushed and destroyed by an alliance of Germanic tribes.

I intend to write this piece by focusing on the questions of when, where, who, what, how and when as my guide. Some of these questions can be answered simply and clearly, answers to others will be blended into the text as I go.

I am not providing references or notes by the way. I could, but I am not, this is a blog not an academic paper.

When:

The battle took place in the early autumn, probably September, of the year 9 CE. So it will soon be the 2006^th anniversary of the battle. For the Romans the year was the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Camerinus (or, 762 Ab urbe condita – 'From the Founding of the City' – i.e., Rome). It was the 36^th year of the reign of the Emperor Augustus. What it was for the Germans is unknown.

Where:

The site of the engagement was the Teutoberg Forest in what is now Germany. For many years the exact location was unknown and many, many possibilities were touted. However, in the 1990's German archaeologists discovered the exact location, a site with many finds that shed a great deal of light on the battle. The location is Kalkriese, a hill with an altitude of 157m situated near Bramsche in the district of Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany.

Between the year 12 BCE and the year 6 CE the Romans had carried out several large scale campaigns against the Germanic tribes between the rivers Rhine and Elbe. The intention was to assimilate this area as new provinces within the Roman Empire. By 9 CE it appeared that many of the tribes within this zone were pacified and ready for 'Romanisation'. Rome had alliances with several of the tribes.

The area that the Romans called Germania was bounded on the west by the River Rhine, on the south by the River Danube, on the East by the River Elbe and on the north by the Baltic Sea. This area they called Germania Magna, or Greater Germany, to distinguish it from Lesser Germany just to the west of the Rhine. Lesser Germany was a part of the Roman Empire at this time, divided into the provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superior.

The use of the word Germania seems to have started around the time of Julius Caesar and refers to a group of tribes that had things in common, from the Roman perspective at least. In the same way that Romans grouped all the tribes of Gaul as 'Gauls'. The Gallic tribes were Celtic, but the Germanic tribes had moved in from much further east in waves of migration up to about 100 BCE. In fact, it may well have been a Gaulish term originally, for the tribes across the Rhine, that Caesar adopted.

There were many tribes in Germania, some large, and some small. By Roman standards they were most definitely primitive barbarians. The population was very thinly spread living in small communities consisting of up to ten or so long houses in clearings in the dense primal forest, or on the banks of lakes, rivers or marshes.

They lived by agriculture and animal husbandry. This was supplemented by some hunting, fishing and so on. Each long house was, in essence, home to an extended family, or clan, and was the centre of their farm.

Julius Caesar described the German tribes as follows:

“[The Germani] have neither Druids to preside over sacred offices, nor do they pay great regard to sacrifices. They rank in the number of the gods those alone whom they behold, and by whose instrumentality they are obviously benefited, namely, the sun, fire, and the moon; they have not heard of the other deities even by report. Their whole life is occupied in hunting and in the pursuits of the military art; from childhood they devote themselves to fatigue and hardships. Those who have remained chaste for the longest time, receive the greatest commendation among their people; they think that by this the growth is promoted, by this the physical powers are increased and the sinews are strengthened. And to have had knowledge of a woman before the twentieth year they reckon among the most disgraceful acts; of which matter there is no concealment, because they bathe promiscuously in the rivers and [only] use skins or small cloaks of deer's hides, a large portion of the body being in consequence naked.

They do not pay much attention to agriculture, and a large portion of their food consists in milk, cheese, and flesh; nor has any one a fixed quantity of land or his own individual limits; but the magistrates and the leading men each year apportion to the tribes and families, who have united together, as much land as, and in the place in which, they think proper, and the year after compel them to remove elsewhere. For this enactment they advance many reasons-lest seduced by long-continued custom, they may exchange their ardour in the waging of war for agriculture; lest they may be anxious to acquire extensive estates, and the more powerful drive the weaker from their possessions; lest they construct their houses with too great a desire to avoid cold and heat; lest the desire of wealth spring up, from which cause divisions and discords arise; and that they may keep the common people in a contented state of mind, when each sees his own means placed on an equality with [those of] the most powerful."

The Germanic culture was 'Heroic' and warrior based. The tribes were often at war with each other and the greatest honour was to fight in battle.

The terrain of Germania was either dense primeval forest, or swamp, marsh and bog. Tacitus described it thus:

“Their country, though somewhat various in appearance yet generally either bristles with forests or reeks with swamps; … “

So it was a wild and primitive land indeed for the Romans. But the policy of Augustus was that Germania from the Rhine to the Elbe would be incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Cassisu Dio wrote of Germania at this time:

“The Romans had a hold on parts of it, not whole regions, but merely those areas which happened to have been subdued … Meanwhile bodies of troops were in the habit of wintering there, and cities (poleis) were being founded: the barbarians were gradually re-shaping their habits in conformity with the Roman pattern.” Cassius Dio, 56.18.1

Who:

I want to start with the ordinary men who were there, about whom we can only know generalities and make speculations. I will then move on to the actors in the drama about whom much is known and try to set them in their proper context.

Publius Quintilius Varus had been posted to command over the territory between the Rhine and the Elbe in the autumn of 6 CE. I will write more about him later, but it is worth noting that he had completed three years already in this post and could expect to be moved on again soon.

He left the main base on the Rhine, possibly in the vicinity of Xanten, in the spring of 9CE. He had done this before of course. The Roman task force consisted of three Legiones, (the XVII, the XVIII and the XVIIII) plus, according to best modern estimates, 6 auxillia cohorts and 3 auxillia alae. There would also be a considerable number of 'camp followers' of various sort, including civilian administrative personnel, observers, personal following of Varus himself and, possibly, merchants and sellers of wares of various kinds.

This would give him a military strength as follows, in rounded numbers:

1. Three Legiones – 3 x 5,000 = 15,000

2. Six auxillia infantry cohorts – 6 x 500 = 3,000

3.Three cavalry ala - 3 x 500 = 1,500

Total military element 18,500

It is difficult to estimate how many more than this were also present, but if we assume about 10% that gives a total number of somewhere in the region of 20 – 21,000. It is also highly unlikely that military units were up to full strength. This is rare in any army.

There were also a number of German tribesmen present, groups of noble and such, acting in an 'advisory' capacity.

A legion in line of march would occupy about 1 kilometre, and a cohort about 100 metres. Cavalry would take up more, say about 1 kilometre. So in good marching order that gives a length of 6.6 kilometres for the whole battlegroup. Add in spacing and the all important baggage train and artillery and we are probably up to 10 – 12 kilometres. This is assuming they marched 6 abreast and were in very good order, and marching over good terrain.

This gives a rough idea of the scale we are dealing with here.

I find the history and development of the Roman military endlessly fascinating, I will try to rein myself in her, but some background knowledge is useful I think.

The Legions

To become a Legionary one had to be male, a freeman and a citizen of the Roman Empire. At this time the majority of the Legionaries were almost certainly from Italy itself. Over time, as citizenship spread, the ethnic base of the recruiting pool expanded greatly, but in this period the Legionaries would be mostly from the towns and villages of Italia.

Roman soldiers were professionals, and Legionaries signed on for 20 years with 5 years in the reserve afterwards. After 20 years they received their discharge and a grant of land or money. They served for pay, which was quite good at this time.

The potential recruit had to appear at a recruitment centre with letters of reference from his father and, probably, from the family's patron. He had to be young, mid to late teens seems to have been preferred, and of a good height. The preference was 6 feet in height. That is Roman feet, about 290 millimetres, giving an ideal height of 1.75 metres (about 5' 7”).

The recruits were interviewed, this was called the probatio. A part of the interview was to ascertain the legal basis of their claim to citizenship, so the recruits probably had a lot of documentation with them. They were also examined on their reading and writing skills as literacy was preferred. After this they were given a thorough medical examination and a fitness test. If they were accepted they were given a bag of money and relevant documentation and told to travel to a particular Legion. It is probable that recruits travelled in groups.

When they arrived at their Legion they were sworn in and entered a 4 month basic training period that was very intense. They trained with equipment that was double the weight of the real thing, to build muscle and endurance. They endured long rout marches, a Legion was expected to cover 30 kilometres a day. They learned how to pitch camp and dig ditches. Not dissimilar to basic training in more recent armies.

After basic training they joined their Legion. They became a member of an 8 man group called a contubernium, under the command of a junior NCO called a tesserarius. This 8 man squad was the group that the soldier would live with, work with, play with and fight with for his entire career, assuming he didn't get killed, posted or promoted. They were the men who would support him and to whom he developed loyalty in that face to face 'small group' way that modern armies are also very well aware of. If he failed, it was these men he was letting down.

The contubernium was a 'tent group'. They shared a tent in camp and a room in a barrack block in permanent forts.

Ten contubernia made up one century. A century was 80 men strong and under the command of a Centurion. Centurions were professional soldiers, they had started in the ranks and had at least 10 years service before promotion. They were the backbone of the Legion, experienced and professional. They had a second-in-command called an Optio, who was waiting for promotion to the Centurionate. In the century command group there was also a Signifier, who carried the centuries standard, or signa. There may well have been musicians too, a tubicen or a cornicen. The signa and the musicians were to do with control in battle, rallying points, transmitting commands and so on. The signa was almost sacred to the soldiers and would be protected in battle.

Each century had an artillery piece on the strength, a ballista. These were used in sieges, but also on the battlefield. It is believed they served in a group, and not in support of their specific century. Much heavier artillery was available for formal sieges.

The age range for the ordinary Legionaries would be late-teens to late forties maybe, older for the centurionate. There was no 'retirement age' for a centurion. There is evidence of centurions reaching 80 years old while in service.

Six centuries made up a Cohort, of 480 men. It is believed that the senior of the 6 centurions in a cohort commanded it as a tactical element in battle.

Ten Cohorts made up a Legion, of 4,800 men. Later in the Empires history, the first Cohort was was reorganised into 5 double centuries, but in this period it was like the others. The centurions of the first cohort were higher in rank than all the other centurions in the Legion and represented the promotion peak for the legionary. The centurion of the 1^st century, 1^st Cohort was the Primus Pilus ('first spear') and he was the most senior professional soldier in the legion. A wise Legionary commander would listen closely to this man’s advice.

At this level there was also the aquilifer, who carried the aquila, the Eagle Standard of the Legion. An aquila was issued, by the Emperor, to each Legion and this was a sacred object. To lose this was the most shameful thing that could happen to a Legion.

Above the Centurionate were 6 Tribunes. There were 5 Junior Tribunes (Tribunus Angusticlavii) under one Senior Tribune (Tribunus Laticlavii). During this period the junior tribunes were young aristocrats serving 2 or 3 years in the army as part of the well structured career path for the Senatorial class. They functioned as staff officers, but could also command detachments. The senior tribune was a young aristocrat who had been a junior, then he had held a few minor political posts in Italy, and then returned to the army for a further 2 – 3 years. These officers were in a different class to their men and could look forward to becoming Senators. They each had their own tent in camp and their own house in forts. The commander of the Legion was the Legatus Legionis. He would be a man in his late 30's who had completed all the steps in the career structure and had entered the Senate. If he had ambitions to become a Consul he had to have been a legionary commander. They served 2 – 4 years in this capacity. The higher command of the Legion, the commissioned officers, were not professional soldiers.

Later during the 1^st century CE the tribunate was restructured so it became a step in a strictly military career for the eques, the class of 'knights', who would command an auxiliary infantry cohort, then be promoted to serve as a legionary tribune, and then be promoted to command a cavalry ala. It would also open the possibility of higher levels of promotion for the centurionate.

The Legion contained within its ranks many specialists – doctors, surgeons, medical assistants, armourers, blacksmiths, farriers, builders, carpenters, stonemasons, engineers, architects, secretaries, clerks and so on. Some of these were highly specialised and existed as a separate group to the main body, for example the doctors and surgeons. Others were ordinary soldiers who specialised, due to their civilian background maybe, in some practical area. All specialists were immunes, that is immune from ordinary military fatigues, and received pay bonuses according to their specialism.

The Roman Legion was, in fact, the biggest concentrated pool of skilled labour under the control of the state, and they were used as such. All large scale building and civil engineering projects were either carried out by the army, or under their supervision.

There was a small cavalry element attached to each Legion of 120 men. It is likely that by this period they functioned mainly as dispatch riders and had some reconnaissance duties.

In the year 9 CE the Roman Army had 30 Legions. This number was to remain very constant for the next 200 years or so. Each Legion was numbered and usually also had a name. The numbering did not represent any centralised scheme, but reflected maybe when it was raised initially, who raised it, where it was raised, and so on. There were, for example, two Legio IVs, Legio IV Macedonica and Legio IV Scythica.

When Augustus emerged as the victor of the Civil Wars and became the first emperor in 27 BCE there were in existence at least 60 Legions, it was Augustus who disbanded and merged to produce 30 Legions as a more manageable and affordable number.

The Auxillia

From its earliest days the Roman Army had used allied forces in a supporting role. The Legion was heavy infantry intended to function in formation in set-piece battles. The Legion needed other types of infantry, light infantry, missile troops such as slingers or archers, and, of course, cavalry. These formations were known, collectively, as the Auxillia and as the Legion itself evolved over time so, too, did the Auxillia.

When Augustus came to power he was left with the remnants of 1,000's of these formations. As with the Legions he reorganised these and set them on a permanent and more thoroughly organised basis.

By the early 1^st Century CE the Auxillia was a branch of the regular army and a very important one. The two main arms of the Auxillia were the infantry cohorts and the cavalry ala (wings). The infantry cohorts were identical in organisation to the cohorts of the legions themselves, coming under the command of a Tribune. The cavalry ala were organised into 16 Turmae of 30 troopers which were commanded by a Decurion, under the overall command of a Præfectus. This gives a strength of 480 troopers.

Over time variations on this organisational theme led too larger Auxillia units and specialised units combining cavalry and infantry being created.

The units were typically named after their type, area were they were first raised or their size. For example:

Cohors quinta Delmatarum - "5th Cohort of Dalmatae" - a unit of infantry initially raised from the Dalmatae of Illyria. Presumably the fifth one to be raised there. This unit is known to have served in Germany at some point.

Ala Augusta Gallorum Petriana - “The August Petrian Wing of Gauls” - a cavalry unit raised initially in Gaul. Known to have served in Britain.

There exist lists of these units now in various books and online.

The men who enlisted in the Auxillia were not Roman citizens and they served for 25 years. Upon discharge they received a Diplomata conferring Roman citizenship upon them and their descendants. In this way citizenship spread rapidly throughout the Empire.

The Auxillia were just as professional and just as well trained and equipped as the Legionaries. There was greater variation in uniform and equipment amongst the Auxillia however. Most of the Auxillia Cohortes were medium-heavy infantry, not dissimilar to the Legions. Some were light infantry and skirmishers, and some were specialised as missile troops, especially archers in this period. The cavalry came in many types, light cavalry for reconnaissance, and medium/heavy cavalry for shock action on the battlefield. Very heavy cavalry came much later.

The commanding officers of these units were increasingly drawn from the eques social class, ('knights'), or the Roman middle-class. And they could make a career out of this by starting as a commander of an infantry cohort. Being promoted to a tribuneship of a legion, and then onto command a cavalry unit.

The Auxillia units were attached to a Legion headquarters ('brigaded' with them) and came under the orders of the Legatus Legionis. It seems likely that Legionary Tribunes were placed in command of battle groups formed from the Auxillia as needed.

In the year 24 CE the total size of the Roman Army has been estimated at:

Legions 125,000

Auxillia 125,000

Praetorian Guard 5,000

255,000

With a population in the Empire of about 50 million at this time, that is a tiny proportion that could easily be maintained by volunteers, creating a very high standard of professionalism in the Roman Imperial Army throughout the 1^st and 2^nd Centuries CE.

All of the Roman troops that fought at Teutoberger were well trained and well equipped professionals, with a lot of experience amongst their centurions and decurions.

Very little is known of any individuals involved in this campaign. The Roman governor and commander of the task force was Publius Quinctilius Varus, who was about 55 years old at the time. He was born in Cremona in Italy in 46 BCE. He was a patrician and an aristocrat by birth, but his families fortunes had not been good and they were, in fact, a very minor and not particularly influential family at the time he was born.

A coin of Varus

A reconstruction of Varus head.

He married three times, although the details of his first wife are unknown. In 14 BCE, Varus married   his second wife Vipsania Marcella Agrippina. She was great-niece to Augustus himself, and Varus became a member of the imperial family and a close friend of the Emperor. Vipsania died at some unknown point in time and Varus married again. He married Augustus' grand-niece Claudia Pulchra. She outlived Varus by 17 or 18 years, so she would have been with him in Germany, but almost certainly not with the battle-group.

He had very good links with the Imperial family by now, both by marriage and by friendship. Varus was appointed governor of the province of Africa in 7 BCE and later Syria 6-4 BCE. In Syria he became disliked for his very harsh methods and high taxes. After King Herod of Judea died in 4 BCE there was a Jewish uprising and Varus put it down harshly, occupied the Temple in Jerusalem, and crucified 2,000 rebels.

He returned to Rome in 4 BCE and remained there for some years, pursuing a Senatorial career and a working as a lawyer and judge. He had a good reputation as a lawyer, organiser and administrator.

In 6 CE the area of Germania between the Rhine and the Elbe was declared pacified and Varus was appointed governor and tasked to begin the process of 'Romanisation'. He would have traveled north from Rome with an extensive entourage. His family would almost certainly have traveled with him, and his personal clients and supporters. There would have been an entire army of administrators, secretarial and clerical staff too.

Only two other named Romans are known in connection with the Teutoberg disaster. One was a Legate on Varus' staff called Numonius Vala. The other was Marcus Caelius, senior Centurion of the XVIII Legion. More will be said about them later.

The Germans:

The Germanic peoples were a group of tribes that moved into the area of Germania Magna before 100 BCE. As interesting as that process was, I do not intend to write about it here. It appears that they were called the Germani by the Celtic tribes already there. A name that Julius Caesar adopted and so transmitted it into general Roman usage. They were a group of distinct tribes with a common material, social, political and economic culture. They were 'warrior' societies with a 'Heroic' culture. Some of the tribes were large and influential, some were smaller and many were very small. They were fiercely independent and rarely, very rarely, united together, but fought each other frequently.

These tribes lived in small, widely scattered, communities hacked out of the primeval wilderness in a land of forests, mountains, rivers and swamps. Life was simple and hard.

Warrior values were held in high esteem. All males were expected to become, and aspired to be, great warriors. When they fought all the able bodied men fought as a 'mob'. They fought as individual warriors attempting to achieve or emulate great feats of heroism on the battlefield. Only the wealthy had armour, most fought in their everyday clothes, and some fought naked. They used long, heavy swords and fought with long arcing blows from an overhead position. Because of this style of fighting they appeared very, very terrifying. Charging as a mass into combat with a range of blood chilling battle cries. However, they were no match for the Roman army and its discipline, training, organisation and well developed tactics. The Romans fought as a unit, using their shields both for offence and defence, and their short, stabbing swords flashing in and out between the shields and into the belly of the opponent, under the ribcage and up. It was a killing machine.

It was in this way that the Romans had pacified the area between the Rhine and the Elbe in the previous years.

The tribes were led by chiefs and chieftains who, while in principle not hereditary positions, in practice usually were.

The son of one of these chiefs was to play a major role in the events of 9 CE.

Arminius:

Arminius was born in 19 BCE or in 18 BCE, the son of Segimerus, who was the chief of the Cheruscan tribe. He was educated in Rome, where he had been held hostage as a child, and trained as a Roman military officer. He was granted both citizenship and equestrian status, a sign that he was regarded as thoroughly 'Romanised'. He commanded a battle group of Auxillia fighting in the Balkans around 4 CE. He had, then, Roman education, Roman military training and Roman military experience.

Sometime between 4 CE and 7/8 CE he returned to his home with the Cherusci. At some point he married Thusnelda, a Cheruscan princess and daughter of the Cheruscan nobleman Segestes. The marriage was opposed by the brides father and this led to a lifelong hatred of Arminius by Segestes that was to have repercussions later.

Segestes was in favour of the increasing Romanisation. An important part of the Romanisation process for the Romans was bringing the local rulers in on the project. Many tribes had begun to see definite benefits in Roman rule, despite the taxation. Arminius, however, was opposed to the presence of the Romans and he worked hard to unify the tribes to resist it.

There is a whole web of political intrigue here, I think, that is lost to us now. But Arminius must have been an intelligent and, perhaps, charismatic character. And he worked hard behind the scenes eventually getting agreement from the Cherusci, and their allies the Marsi, Chatti, Bructeri, Chauci, and Sicambri. Six tribes out of about 50 agreed to unite behind him.

What his motivation was is unclear at this late stage. Maybe it was just liberation, but I think that it is possible that he saw himself as founding a dynasty of 'kings' over a super-tribal grouping and saw the opposition to the Romans as a way to achieve this.

He was certainly a member of Varus' staff by 8 CE and regarded as a loyal ally and, possibly, even a good friend by Varus. Varus, of course, had many Germanic people on his staff, or attached to it, as liaison officers with the various tribes, and maybe Arminius functioned as a sort of 'chief of staff' due to his education and experience. That is just my speculation, but he certainly had a great deal of influence with Varus.

What happened?

As previously described Varus took up his position as governor of Germania in 6 CE. As a governors tour of duty was usually 3 years he would have been looking forward to getting back to Rome at the end of the year 9 CE. He had had to carry out a few minor 'police actions' to keep some of the tribes in line, but otherwise it had been a trouble free period of office for him. We can only use our fantasy, based on information from other areas, as to what he busied himself with. As stated, he was to continue with the Romanisation of the new province. Every spring he would set out with his battle group, his followers, his staff, administrators, surveyors, merchants and such and move through his territory. He would be in close contact with the tribes and with the various project leaders engaged in establishing roads and settlements. There is some archaeological evidence that this process was further advanced than had previously been believed.

He would also be responsible for beginning the tax assessment system used by the Romans. He was known to be a cruel and rather greedy man, and it is possible that he exploited this a little too harshly.

By the late summer of 9 CE his column was in the vicinity of the modern German city of Detmold. He was preparing for the return march to the Rhine, and his soldiers would be looking forward to returning to their forts and winter quarters, and possibly some leave.

Arminius informed Varus at this time that a serious Germanic rebellion had started to the north-east of their current position, and that if he moved directly it could be stopped. This meant moving through dense primal forest and swampland. Roman military writers spent a great deal of time discussing the formation and disposition of the marching column, and with good reason. Ancient armies moved in one formation, but fought in another and time was needed to deploy from column of march to combat formation. Therefore, armies in column of march were very vulnerable to surprise attack. The ancient writers who discuss this topic go to great length to describe the make up of the column and the use of good flank and rear guards and good reconnaissance and intelligence. They also advise strongly against moving in column of march through narrow passes or dense woodland in hostile territory.

Varus disregarded all this well establish march doctrine when he took his column into the Teutoberg forest. For intelligence he chose to depend totally on his German advisers, particularly Arminius. The terrain was so difficult that good tactical reconnaissance or flank guarding was impossible. Interestingly Segestes, Arminius' father-in-law and political opponent, warned Varus of a trap. He chose to ignore this warning, possibly because he trusted Arminius and he would know that Arminius and Segestes were at odds.

I can only imagine the feelings of the Centurions when they received their movement orders. The whole situation must have screamed Danger AMBUSH at these professional soldiers. Varus must have been warned by his professional military staff, but he chose to ignore them. Maybe he wanted a glorious victory before the end of his governorship. This always meant a lot to Roman aristocrats.

The column would be at least 10 – 15 kilometres long, and when it entered the depths of the forest it would really begin to straggle. I can imagine soldiers struggling and swearing their way over very difficult going, while Centurions desperately tried to maintain some sort of formation. Supply wagons, a lot of them, drawn by bellowing oxen. Cavalry trying to probe ahead in terrible terrain. Civilian camp followers feeling really very afraid. Shouts, calls, swearing, creaking, bellowing, neighing.

And it was raining. It was raining very heavily.

As soon as the column entered the forest Arminius and his followers disappeared, and as soon as the column was committed to the forest, the attacks started. It is estimated that Arminius had about 20,000 warriors, including some mounted nobility.

For four days and nights the German tribes attacked. Hit and run, guerilla tactics. They had the luxury of being able to concentrate at one spot on the long column, attack, fall back and disappear. They also knew this terrain intimately.

And all the time it was raining.

The Roman infantry could not deploy in this terrible terrain, but I imagine that they put up a good fight, at least at first. The Roman archers could not use their bows, the rain made the sinew bow strings slack. If the legions had their artillery with them it would have just been an encumbrance. At night the Romans would not be able to make camp, light fires, or prepare food. The Roman tactical communication system based on the sight of the standards and the sound of the instruments would break down. The column was stretched out, and fragmenting, and the trees and the rain blocked sight and distorted sound.

As the days passed morale would have fallen, as the losses mounted and the warriors kept attacking. Never knowing if they would attack here, or there. Officers would fall, and standard bearers. The otherwise superb army medical system would break under the strain.

Eventually, the cavalry element attached to the task force made a break for it, and Numonius Vala, a legate mentioned earlier, abandoned his post and went with them. Many of the cavalry troopers made it back to safety, but Vala was caught by Germanic cavalry and killed.

On the fourth day the tired, depleted, thirsty, hungry column entered an area where the forest opened up a little, with a swamp to the north. Here Arminius had built a series of wicker walls to give cover and provide rallying points for his men. He had created a killing ground for the final blow.

The majority of Romans died here, their last stand. Some did make it to safety, but not many. Varus committed suicide, probably by the traditional Roman method, falling on his sword.

We know that the Germans took many prisoners who they then tortured and executed in a variety of terrible ways. They also took the three Legionary Aquila, or Eagle Standards.

Eventually, survivors reached the Rhine, and within days of that the news reached Rome. The Roman state went into panic mode. There was now no major Roman force between Rome and the Rhine. Emperor Augustus went into shock and it is said that he would, from time to time, ever afterwards bang his head on the wall and cry out 'Quintillius Varus give me back my Legions!' He commemorated the anniversary of the disaster for the rest of his life.

Because it was a disaster. Three Roman Legions had been destroyed and a province lost. The three legionary numbers were never used again, with one very brief exception during the reign of Nero.

However, despite Roman fears it was not Arminius' intention to invade Rome. Almost immediately after his stunning victory his tribal alliance began to fall apart. He faced opposition from his father-in-law, who led a group opposing any ambitions Arminius had. But, he hung onto some power for a while, and even fought a short war against another breakaway tribe.

The Romans, meanwhile, carefully prepared their revenge. They rebuilt the forces destroyed in the Teutoberger forest, and more. Shortly after Augustus died and Tiberius became Emperor on 19^th August 14 CE, the Romans launched a large raid into Germania led by the Emperors nephew, Germanicus (father to the future emperor known as Caligula). They defeated one tribe in battle and successfully repulsed an attempted ambush.

In the year 15 CE Germanicus led a major invasion of Germania at the head of a Roman army of about 70,000 troops, plus fleet support on the rivers. They carried out two major campaigns that defeated several tribes, they also captured Arminius' wife, Thusnelda. It was during these operations that the site of the ambush in 9 CE was discovered. They found mounds of bones, stripped of any useful weapons and equipment. They found extensive evidence of torture and bloody executions. Germanicus ordered the site cleaned up and bones to be recovered and identified if possible, and then buried correctly.

Although the Germans usually avoided set piece battle, by constantly probing and attacking, in 16CE Germanicus successfully forced Arminius to take the field in command of a very split and fractious confederation of tribes. The eventual battle took place at Idistavisus, near Minden in modern Germany, with a force of approximately 50,000 Romans (four Legions plus Auxillia) against a similar number of tribal warriors. It was a total defeat for Arminius and the Germans lost 20,000 plus, the Romans maybe 10,000. The lost legionary Eagles were recovered.

Germanicus withdrew to winter quarters on the Rhine and all further military operations in Germania were stopped, due to the excessive cost for little return. Rome would never again attempt to conquer Germania Magna. Arminius fled the battlefield. He was assassinated in 21 CE by his political enemies who believed that he was becoming too powerful.

Arminius' wife, Thunelda, remained in Rome for the rest of her life. She was pregnant when she was captured and had a son, Thumelicus. The Roman historian Tacitus is known to have written the story of this son, but it has been lost to us.

And that is the significance to European history of this battle, or ambush. From that point two cultural streams came to dominate in Europe, a southern Romance one, the legacy of Rome, and a Northern Germanic/Scandinavian one. This split has reverberated down the 2000 years since then in so many ways.

Marcus Caelius was primus pilus of the XVIII Legion. His tombstone was discovered in 1620. We tend to forget this fact, but the ancients painted their statues and stone work. An ancient city would, in fact, have been a blaze of colour, rather garish to our eyes.