“Well, it would have, had the cavalry not blundered the way they did. That’s the problem with auxiliaries, no matter how much we work with them they always lack true discipline and don’t think about the repercussions of their actions. Our legionaries would never have allowed themselves to be left so obviously out in the open and unprotected.”
“Yes, but unfortunately most legionaries can’t ride a horse to save their lives,” Severus replied. “Rome has the finest infantry fighters in the world, yet for some reason most of us lack basic horsemanship skills.”
“So what are your recommendations?” Germanicus asked.
“From what I see, we’ve got a great number of men to get back to our strongholds across the Rhine. To move the entire army as one unit will be cumbersome. We have two routes we can take. We can go north and take the sea back to friendly territory, or we can travel south to the Ahenobarbi bridges and cross there.”
“The bridges are in disrepair and need work done on them,” Germanicus observed. “I’ll send you with your legions to repair the bridges before crossing. It is doubtful in their current state they will hold up under the baggage trains. I will take the remaining legions to the sea to return home.
“One thing to keep in mind, Severus; the road to the Ahenobarbi bridges is well traveled. It may seem obvious to Arminius that this will be our course of action. Also the area around the bridges is mostly marshland. Be extremely careful. I foresee Arminius trying something while you repair the bridges.”
“We’ll be careful,” Severus answered. “I can detail soldiers to fix the bridges, build the necessary fort, and provide security easy enough. I worry more about your choice of traveling by sea at this time of year.”
They continued their walk of the perimeter, stopping to talk with individual soldiers on sentry duty.
“You’re certain this is the route they are taking?” Arminius asked his chief scout.
“Absolutely, oh great war chief,” the scout replied. “I saw the standards of four legions, the First, Fifth, Twentieth, and Twenty-First. They are all headed south, straight for the Ahenobarbi bridges.”
“What of the other legions?” Arminius asked.
“We’re not sure. We saw them heading north, though their exact movements are unknown.”
Arminius paused for a minute and then turned to Ingiomerus. “You see, Uncle? They are heading just where I thought they would. We do not have the forces necessary to attack both armies; however, we have more than enough to inflict serious losses upon those heading towards the bridges.” He took a stick and drew on the dirt. “We will follow them, maintaining about half a day’s distance away, in case they turn back and try to force us into an open battle. They will have to do major repair work on the bridges in order to get their wagons across. We will strike at them as they do so.”
“The marshy terrain will work to their disadvantage,” Ingiomerus observed. “Their heavy armor and weapons will slow them down and hinder their mobility.”
“It will get even worse by the time we’ve prepared the area,” Arminius said as he continued to draw his diagram in the dirt. He then signaled to one of his sub chiefs. “Take your men and start digging a runoff from this tributary here. Once the water is sufficiently diverted, it will increase the water levels in the marshlands, hindering the Romans that much more. When they are sufficiently incapacitated, we will launch our strikes against them.”
The sub chief smiled, yelled orders to his men, and soon vanished.
Arminius looked up at his uncle. “If we do this right, we may add four more legions to our list of the vanquished.”
Ingiomerus smiled and laughed darkly.
Chapter XII: At the Ahenobarbi Bridges
“This is absolute shit!” Valens swore as he sank up to his waist in the foul smelling swamp. The marshes surrounding the Ahenobarbi bridges were unusually flooded, which made working on the bridges themselves an even bigger chore.
“They don’t pick the best terrain for us to travel, now do they?” Magnus mused as he handed Valens a piece of timber to replace a sodden brace on the underside of the bridge.
“This is worse than that crap we had to slog our way through in Teutoburger,” Valens continued, taking the timber support from Magnus.
“What I don’t get,” Artorius said as he waded through the marsh with a coil of rope over his shoulder, “is the rivers are not swollen above their banks. There hasn’t been an excess amount of rain this summer, so there is really no reason for the area to be this swampy.”
“I know, it’s like we’re walking through a damn lake,” Praxus said as he and Decimus brought more timber up.
They looked over to see where the sentries were posted. They were nearly up to their knees in water, and all looked nervous about their predicament.
Praxus shook his head. “If we come under attack here, we’ll be in serious trouble.”
“If we do, I hope it comes after the fort is done,” Valens said, looking across the river to where other working parties were digging the ditches and building the palisades.
They continued to work on the supports underneath the bridge until they ran out of supplies. As they crawled out from underneath the bridge a war horn sounded in the distance. All paused, as if stricken.
“You have got to be kidding,” Magnus said.
The horn sounded again, this time accompanied by the sounds of battle cries.
“Afraid not,” Artorius said, as he reached for his helmet, javelin, and shield.
All soldiers had stacked their arms by sections where they could quickly be reached. Unfortunately, there was no dry place for them to do this, so most of their shields were soaked through the bottom half by the time they picked them up.
“Online…two ranks!” Centurion Macro shouted.
In spite of the difficulty in slogging through the swampy water, all soldiers were soon formed up, shield to shield, one rank directly behind the other. Artorius stood behind a soldier from Sergeant Ostorius’ section. He knew that in a defensive engagement if the enemy used missile weapons, his job would be to provide overhead cover for both himself and the soldier in front of him. The man in front would provide frontal protection.
Suddenly the Germans were in sight. They mostly carried slings, throwing spears, and a few bows. All were stripped practically naked. This was a harassment attack. As they surged forward, they unleashed a torrent of sling stones, arrows, and spears.
“Down!” Macro shouted.
As one, the soldiers in the front rank dropped to one knee, keeping their shields in front, linked together. The soldiers in the back rank raised their shields overhead, dropped to one knee and placed their shields over their own heads, as well as those of the soldiers in front of them. As Artorius dropped down, the water level was up to his chest. He heard stones and arrows skip off their wall of shields. He looked to his right and saw other units similarly engaged.
“Up! Javelins… ready!”
As the century rose to its collective feet, the Germans turned and ran back out of range.
“Damn!” Macro swore under his breath. “Is anybody hit?”
Decani immediately checked their men before replying back.
“We’re alright.”
“We’re good.”
“Nobody’s hit.”
“Here they come again.” Optio Valgus called out.
Another wave of missile throwers came at the century.
“Javelins… ready!” Macro shouted.
The Germans were closing fast. It would be a matter of timing: release their javelins and drop back down behind their shield wall before the Germans could unleash. The swampy terrain had to be factored in since it would impede movement and their javelin throwing abilities. Macro thought about all of these things in the few seconds before the Germans were within range of their javelins.