Chapter V: Preparations for War
Germanicus looked across the table at the assembled host. The legates, chief tribunes, and senior centurions from eight legions were present. Along with them were the senior auxiliary infantry and cavalry commanders. An enormous map showing all the known routes past the Rhine bridges including the general location of all the major tribes lay on the table.
Next to Germanicus sat Caecina Severus, Legate of the Twentieth Legion, and appointed by Tiberius to be the Deputy Commanding General of the Army of the Rhine. Severus was fast approaching sixty; however, he barely looked a day over forty. He was a soldier of immense tactical experience and skill. He had served with both Tiberius and Drusus, and he had known Arminius personally. Arminius had commanded one of Severus’ auxiliary regiments, and his betrayal burned Severus deeply.
“Friends, brothers in arms,” Germanicus began, “today we plan the first major campaign in what will ultimately lead to our revenge for what has become the greatest act of betrayal in our time.” He paused to let his words sink in. “Our war is not just against Arminius and the Cherusci. He formed a coalition of what amounts to almost every major tribe within Germania for his attack in Teutoburger Wald. That coalition is fragile at best, many of the tribes have gone home and wish nothing more to do with Arminius. Nevertheless, all are guilty of this heinous crime, and all will pay for it. Every tribe will bleed until the rivers and marshes run red. Afterwards, those who do not submit and come back into the fold of Roman allies will face extermination.” He turned his attention to the map.
“The Bructeri and the Marsi will be our first major targets. The Marsi are a smaller tribe and under the protection of the Cherusci. Most of their territory is open farmland. Therefore, it will be easier to cordon off. The Bructeri are much larger. Their land to the east is mainly thick forests and swampland. Trapping them will be much more difficult.”
“One question, sir,” a voice asked. It was Flavius Quietus, Master Centurion of the Twentieth Legion. “If we move east against the Bructeri, then our rear will be exposed to attack from the Cherusci in the west. Even if they don’t engage us directly, they can still cut off our access to the Rhine bridges.”
“We’ve already planned for that,” Severus answered. “We will split our forces in half upon crossing the frontier. Four legions plus auxiliaries under Germanicus will cordon off and smash the Bructeri. The rest of the army, under my command, will march against the Cherusci and prevent them from flanking us or cutting off our access to the bridges. We will also take care of the smaller Marsi tribes.”
“Very good, sir,” Flavius answered.
“I do not expect you to run from a battle if it is offered by the enemy,” Germanicus said. “At the same time, I do not wish for you to go out of your way to try to force a major engagement. There are several Marsi settlements that will be in your sector. Your destruction of those will alert the Cherusci. Destruction of the Marsi will have two major effects. One, they will pay the price for their part in the Teutoburger massacre. Two, it will show that Cherusci protection is worthless and any tribes under their protection need to rethink their allegiance. Now, gentlemen, we need to hammer out the specifics of how we are going to do this.”
Soon every piece was set on the map board. All the major players knew their roles in the upcoming campaign. The Twentieth Legion would head west with Severus to attack the Cherusci and smash the Marsi. Severus relished the thought of a major battle against his old comrade and now enemy. However, he agreed with Germanicus, it was highly doubtful that Arminius would force such an encounter. Though they would not take part in the larger campaign against the Bructeri, there would still be plenty of work for his legionaries to do.
Weapons training had upgraded past the wooden stakes. The recruits would now face human, instead of wooden, opponents. Other legionaries from the century came out to provide sparring partners. Artorius did fairly well on his first endeavor. Usually most individual fights only lasted a matter of seconds, however Artorius lasted several minutes against his first two opponents before being cut down, and he actually beat his third opponent. He found that his lack of patience was his biggest challenge. He would sometimes get frustrated if he could not get the quick ‘kill.’ This would lead to his making a mistake, which usually ended with a rather painful jab to the face, neck, or stomach. He was glad these were not real weapons.
At the end of their training session, he walked over to where Sergeant Vitruvius was pulling a canvas tarp over the cart full of training weapons.
“Excuse me, Sergeant,” he said.
“What is it, recruit?” Vitruvius asked.
“I know that you’ve shown us the basics of individual weapons drill, yet I feel there is a lot more that we can learn from you.”
“Here, give me a hand with this,” Vitruvius said as he tied down one corner of the tarp to the cart.
Artorius helped him tie down the other three corners before continuing. “Everyone I know of says you’re the best there is at hand-to-hand fighting. I’ve noticed you do not have the visible scars that most of the veterans have.”
“That’s because I don’t like pain,” Vitruvius replied.
“What I’m getting at is I want to know what you know. I want to become the best there is in this legion,” Artorius said.
“Pretty high aspirations for someone who is still a recruit in training,” Vitruvius said. He took a second to think about it and then said, “Alright. I know your training will be over soon. Once you have become a legionary, then you come see me. The first Thursday after you swear the oath, we will meet here. Then I will start you on your lessons.”
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Artorius said as he turned to leave.
Vitruvius smiled. “You may not be thanking me later.”
A few days later, the recruits came to the practice field where instead of practice swords, there were long javelins placed in the cart. They were a little over two meters long, about half of which was a long metal shaft with a point on the end.
“The javelin, otherwise known as the pillum, is among the best shock inducing weapons in our arsenal,” Sergeant Vitruvius said, presenting the weapon to the recruits. “A service weapon’s metal shaft and point is made of a pliable metal that will bend upon impact. The purpose of this is to make it so that the weapon cannot be thrown back. If the enemy blocks your throw with his shield, the bending of the metal makes it almost impossible to extract, thereby renders the shield useless. These practice javelins are of the same weight as service weapons, however the metal ends do not bend. This allows us to retrieve and reuse them quickly.”
“Sergeant, why are these weapons not double the weight like our practice swords?” Antoninus asked.
“Because if you were to practice with a javelin that was double the weight, you would not learn to balance and throw a service weapon accurately. You would end up over compensating for the weight and most likely end up overthrowing your target.
“Now, when you prepare to throw, you will notice that the handgrip just past the metal shaft has a weighted ball at the end. Place your throwing hand there; heft it up to your shoulder.” He demonstrated as he talked through it. “It should feel balanced. When you throw, you take a few steps forward, cocking your arm back. Your last step should be with your throwing side leg. As you step, throw your javelin, keeping eyes on your target as you do so. This will help with your aim, ensuring greater accuracy.” He then took a few steps forward and with a low grunt cast his javelin at one of the wooden stakes. The practice spear stuck directly beneath the line marked at head level.