The beginning of the year in the Consulships of Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus and Valerius Massalla Rufus saw the situation in Gaul in a very serious state. The Nervii, Aduatuci, Menapii and Eburones were all in open revolt; the Senones and Carnutes were little better, although not openly rebelling. Caesar being Caesar, he decided not to wait for winter to relinquish its icy grip, and marching from Samarobriva with four Legions, quickly crossed into Nervii territory, achieving total surprise and taking many prisoners before the startled tribe members could flee for their lives, so yet again the Nervii capitulated. Spring came, with Caesar convening his now-annual meeting of the tribal chiefs, and all tribes but the Senones, Carnutes and Treveri answered the summons. Once the council was over, Caesar struck again, marching rapidly south to face the Senones, whose chief Acco was caught completely by surprise, and through the Aedui, was forced to beg Caesar for terms. Again Caesar showed his clemency, demanding that 100 hostages be delivered into the hands of the Aedui, the only Gallic tribe that to this time remained more or less constant in their faithfulness. The Carnutes soon followed in the same manner as the Senones, asking Caesar for clemency, which he granted. With these local revolts back under control, Caesar now turned his full attention to avenging the loss of our Legions on Ambiorix and the Treveri.
Even with the death of Indutiomarus, the Treveri did not stop harboring their delusions of overthrowing Rome, and they finally managed to entice some of the tribes across the Rhenus, those much farther away than any we had punished earlier, to join them in their quest. Such were the tidings from our spies and scouts, and in response, Caesar sent reinforcements to us, in the form of the 7th and 9th, along with the heavy baggage of the whole army, while Caesar took the remainder of the army up into the country of the Menapii, who still had yet to submit to Rome. The last time we tried, we were forced to turn back because of a combination of bad weather and heavy forests, but Caesar was not to be turned back twice. Once again the Menapii chose to retreat into the depths of their forest, so Caesar laid waste to every sign of inhabitation that he found, sending his army in three columns deep into their countryside, ravaging everything. When the Menapii retreated into the marshy part of their land, Caesar simply built causeways, bridging the deeper parts, all in an overwhelming show of superiority, until the Menapii were finally forced to submit. Caesar left Commius, the Gaul that came with us to Britain, behind with a force of cavalry and strict instructions that when Ambiorix came running their way, they were not to allow the Menapii to give him refuge, or else they would face the wrath of Rome in all its terrible might.
Caesar was not the only one who was busy. Once the 7th and 9th arrived, Labienus contrived a stratagem of a similar nature that we used when we killed Indutiomarus, luring the Treveri into a battle of his choosing. Leaving five Cohorts of the 7th behind, Labienus and the rest of us marched out of our winter quarters, heading north as if to confront the Treveri. They were keen to attack the 10th when we were still alone, but the two Legions arrived before they could get organized, so the warriors withdrew to the north about 15 miles, in order to await the tribes from across the Rhenus that had agreed to come to their aid. Labienus marched us within a mile of their camp, our respective positions separated only by a tributary of the Mosa River that was steep-banked and difficult to cross. Labienus then held a council of war, to which the commanders of our Gallic cavalry were invited, where he announced that he had underestimated the strength of the enemy, was not going to risk losing two Legions and the half of another, and gave orders to march back to winter quarters the next morning. Once the meeting was over, Labienus then immediately held another meeting, with just the military Tribunes and the most senior Centurions from each Cohort, giving another set of instructions. Afterwards, the Pilus Prior subsequently called a meeting of all Centurions and Optios, to be held away from our Legion area in the vicinity of the forum. This was the first meeting of this type I was to attend, and I was extremely nervous as I approached, seeing the Pilus Prior standing in the torchlight. Keep your mouth shut Titus, I remember thinking to myself, you’re much too new to be anything but furniture at a meeting like this. I could see that there were other gatherings of a similar nature being held in the forum, small knots of men talking quietly. Standing there, I decided to move a little to the back of the small crowd, thankful that with my height I could see no matter where I was as I surveyed the faces of the men standing around the Pilus Prior. Hard men, all of them, some of them bearing scars similar to the Pilus Prior, yet all of them looking exactly what they were, professionals about to be given a job to do. I could feel a lump form in my throat as I looked with pride at the men around me, thankful at least that here in the back they could not see my moonstruck expression.
“Here’s what’s going on,” the Pilus Prior said once we were all present. “Labienus had a council of war with all of us, including the Gallic cavalry commanders.”
We nodded; this was common knowledge and was standard for operating in the vicinity of an enemy. “But he held another meeting, with just the Centurions. The Legate's counting on there being sympathizers among the Gallic cavalry, and that what he said is going to reach the ears of those Treveri cunni across the river.”
He had our full attention now, and he knew it. Smiling grimly, the scar on his face made the corner of his mouth twist downward, giving it an appropriately sinister look, “But we have a surprise waiting for them. We’re going to break camp in about a watch, except we’re going to make it look like we’re doing it in a panic. He wants to give them the impression that the only thing we have in our minds is getting out of here and back to our winter camp.”
I could see the grins of appreciation and anticipation on the other Centurions and Optios as the Pilus Prior spoke. When we learned just what the Treveri had in store for them, I could feel a smile pulling the corners of my mouth upward as well.
The next pre-dawn saw all of us rushing around, making preparations to march at first light. Because there was little more than a mile between the two camps, Labienus was banking that the word of our hasty departure was going to be relayed almost immediately by one of the Gallic cavalrymen, and he was proven right. First Cohort of the 10th was selected as rearguard, and it was barely finished with the customary torching of the camp when the Treveri came thrashing across the river, where our boys were waiting, ready for the enemy. In further preparation for this, yet completely unnoticed by the Treveri, Labienus sent the baggage train out first, with only an ala of cavalry to guard it, while our order of march was carefully arranged so that when the cornu sounded, we could quickly move from our column into line and be in our proper battle order. The banks of the river were very steep, then past that the ground sloped upwards in the direction of our camp, thereby giving us the high ground. Waiting just long enough to make sure the Treveri were fully committed, Labienus had the order sounded to deploy in line, which we were expecting, although we still had to move quickly. I think it was fortunate that things had to move so quickly that I did not have time to worry about the fact that this was my first time not actually in the ranks but as an Optio.
The job of the Optio in battle is to patrol the back of the formation, where he has three main responsibilities. In a raw Legion that has never tasted battle, the Optio is sometimes the busiest man on the battlefield as he makes sure that none of the men in his Century lose heart and turn to run. His duties are very clear; do whatever he has to in order to ensure the cohesion of his Century, whether by threats, encouragement, or beating. If none of these work, and a man still turns to run, the Optio is under orders to cut the man down and kill him before his panic infects the rest of the unit. I was thankful that I was made Optio in my own Century and Legion, where I knew all of the men and that Cerberus himself could not make one of us turn our backs to the enemy. Therefore, in this first battle I concentrated on the second job of the Optio, which is to watch the formation carefully, making sure any holes in the front line are quickly plugged. Even that was not much of a chore with a Legion as experienced as we were by that time. Finally, the last job of the Optio is to keep an eye on the Centurion, and take his place as rapidly as possible should he fall. Being a Centurion is a risky business; that has not changed since the days of Cincinnatus, and it is the only reason why any of us with more ambition have a reasonable hope that we might one day attain that prestigious rank. Of course, while it was not something that I dwelled on, it was not lost on me that I was aspiring to attain the very post that was only open to me because so many men in that position were cut down. However, I think all of us who strive to attain the rank of Centurion harbor the secret belief that we are the only one out of all the people in the history of the world who might truly be immortal, being one of those lucky few who actually make it to the rank of Centurion and live to be my age. I now know that I am most certainly not immortal, as I also know just how much luck played a role in my story. However, I like to think that my skill in battle, and my love of the army life had something to do with it as well.