Legio XVII: Battle of the Danube (19 page)

Manius then looked at Canutus, his Operations’ Tribune, and asked about crossing the bridge at Jenbach.  “What do we know about this bridge?  Can it handle the weight?  Can we complete the crossing during the hours of darkness and then move far enough up the valley to be completely out of sight from the road at daybreak?”

The Tribune had already conducted a survey of the bridge with the engineer Tomaeus and was eager to respond.  He knew that Manius liked detail, so he planned to give him want he wanted.  “Sir, the bridge was constructed by the Suevi to handle the influx of refugees.  It was designed to accommodate heavy wagons to allow the people to cross the river and find homesteads on this side of the river.  It can bear the weight of the Legions.  It is 220 yards (201m) long.  As Davenhardt reported earlier, it can accommodate Legionaries marching six abreast.”

“Allowing for two and a half feet (.76m) for each man and another two and a half feet between marching rows, we can have 800 Legionaries on the bridge at the same time, not counting their mules.  It will take each group of 800 about 30 minutes to cross the bridge.  We have a total of 27 groups of 800 men, not counting specialty troops such as archers, Slingers, and cavalry.  We will only have 8 hours of darkness.  Sir, I estimate we will need 8 nights to get everyone across.”

Legate Caile asked, “Why not swim the mules across the river while the troops are crossing the bridge?  That would reduce the time needed to cross.”

The Tribune was ready for that question and replied, “Sir, the primary reason is that the banks are too steep to egress on the far side without making significant improvements to the bank, which would make our presence known.  Secondly, we would have to remove the load each mule is carrying and pass it on to the legionaries.”  He then paused to see if Legate Caile wanted to say anything.  When he was met with silence, he said, “The men waiting to cross the bridge will be kept busy improving the roads in the area and clearing trees for the refugees.  If there are no further questions, I recommend we allow eight nights to make the crossing.”

Proconsul Tulles asked, “Does anyone have anything to add?”  His question was met also with silence.  Manius said, “We will cross on eight separate nights.  Work out the details as to who will cross each night and where they will camp on the far side while waiting for the others to arrive.  Keep them reasonably close to the crossing site, but well out of sight; I do not want to separate the Army too much since we will be entering hostile territory and anything can happen.  Once the troops start crossing, they can begin improving the road leading to Bad Tolz.  This road will carry the weight of all our wagons when they rejoin us in November and December.”

Because of a variety of problems, it actually took the four Legions nine nights to completely cross the river.  The Legionaries did not mind one bit since they were not walking.  They worked on the south side of the river improving the road and clearing the trees for the Suevi refugees who later would occupy this same area.  Each night, their work force got smaller and smaller as more men made the nighttime bridge crossing.

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Rasce waited at the summit of the pathway until all 300 horses of Legio XVII were at the top and then sent them off as a group to rejoin the Legions at Jenbach.  He did the same for the 300 horses of Legio XX and the 300 assigned to the Auxiliary Legion.  Rasce remained at the summit for 12 days until all 900 horses and their proud and relieved riders crested the hill.

When Rasce and the last 300 cavalry detachment finally rejoined the main force, the last of the troops were crossing the bridge.  Rasce proudly reported to Proconsul Tullus that not a single horse had been lost on the hill.

*******

Once the first group of Legionaries had crossed the bridge, they set about creating an encampment on the far side about a mile into the valley.  As more men joined them each succeeding night, the camp grew in size and strength.  Eventually, they shifted their effort to improving the road going up the valley and clearing trees for the refugees.  When the last of the Legionaries, the support troops, and cavalry were safely across the river, the men packed up their gear and started walking north.  They were now within 40 miles (64km) of Bad Tolz and the going was relatively easy.  At this time of year, the valley was dry alongside the river.

Three days later they could see their new encampment in the distance.  Cut logs were stacked everywhere.  As they filed through a makeshift gate, they moved to their assigned areas and began settling in for a six-month stay.  The date was 29 November 207.

*******

Bethica did not stop the work her men were doing when she saw the approaching Legions.  She was overjoyed that the plan she had envisioned four months earlier was coming to fruition so quickly.

She had been spending her time between Innsbruck and Bad Tolz supervising the resettlement of the refugees and the establishment of the new Suevi Army.  At this point, she had about 15,000 men already sequestered and under arms at Bad Tolz.  She was able to easily equip most of them with the weapons and other assorted gear gathered from the battlefield around Ranggen.

As her Army was recruited, the men were sent to Bad Tolz to begin cutting the trees that would be used to build the camp.  In three months, these untrained farmers, under Roman and Suevi supervision, had begun cutting trees and learning the fundamentals of soldiering.  She also promised to compensate the families of the men joining the Army, but needed Roman funding to do it.

This entire experience with the refugees and building a New Army presented Bethica and her Council with extraordinary challenges.  The experience that she and Davenhardt had gained while in Rome was invaluable in creating a functioning staff and developing rudimentary procedures to address the myriad of difficult issues they confronted.

Feeding her new Army at Bad Tolz was one of the first issues and one of the most difficult to solve.  She initiated trade agreements with tribes to the east and west of Innsbruck to secure a steady supply of a variety of grain and corn for the Suevi and the Romans.  She handed out promissory notes and counted on Roman funding.

Fabricating 20,000 pila and strengthening shields for her Army was another challenge.  The material and workers were available, she simply needed to organize the effort and find a way to pay for it.  These difficulties were addressed one by one and would have been impossible without her Roman advisors, craftsmen, and sesterces.

Suevi society relied primarily on cattle as a barter item, but bronze and copper items were also used to buy and sell.  The few gold items the people possessed were usually kept and not traded.  Since bronze and copper ingots were easier for the Romans to smuggle into Innsbruck than cattle, the Romans initially funded the Suevi Army with ingots.  This created a surfeit of ingots and their value dropped making everything more expensive.  Soon herds of cattle purchased in Raeti were coming over the Brenner Pass as humanitarian aid for the refugees.  Some did go to the refugees while most went to the families of the new Suevi soldiers and tradesmen crafting the pila and shields.

Making 20,000 pila based on the Roman model was relatively easy to do, but took time.  If her workers could turn out 85 pila a day or 2,500 a month for 8 months, the Army would have the required 20,000 weapons.  The work relied on wood carvers, metal workers, and people to assemble the parts.  When the delivery of metal fell behind schedule, everything ground to a halt.  The process was uneven at first, but became more reliable as the months flew by.  The stack of completed pila grew each day.

Building Roman style shields was another matter.  Even with Roman craftsmen, it proved too complicated and time consuming.  Roman shields are constructed of three layers of wood, usually, oak, birch or elder, glued together at right angles in a curved rectangular shape.  The shield is then covered with canvas or leather and weighs about 20 pounds.  Since Bethica had access only to oak, beech, and maple, she decided to make the Suevi shields with vertical strips of 5/8 inch oak and cover them with leather.  They would be rectangular, but not curved like Roman shields.  They would also be smaller and a little lighter, maybe 15 pounds.  After testing, she determined the shields stood up well to arrow and spear strikes.

She established a virtual five mile (8km) wall around the encampment at Bad Tolz to prevent unwanted visitors.  Suevi wagons carrying food items and other supplies had to drop their provisions well out of sight of the camp.  Troops and oxen then carried the items to the camp.  The new soldiers were restricted to the camp and guards were posted at multiple locations to ensure compliance.

Davenhardt’s quick mind combined with his keen problem solving techniques were indispensable.  Bethica’s leadership skills and uncanny ability to persuade other to cooperate and compromise ensured that the New Suevi Army was on its way to becoming a professional and highly trained force.  She looked forward to the next six-months and the improvements to her Army that would come about through closer association with Proconsul Tullus and his Roman trainers.

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The day after the Legions arrived at Bad Tolz, work began on digging the ditch and protective wall around the camp.  Defense was always the first priority. The Suevi had cut thousands of logs, which were placed at strategic points inside the camp as directed by the architect.  He had attended to every detail.  The drainage systems were staked out, streams identified for diversion to wash away human waste, and clay was packed on the ground in low places.  The Legionaries were practiced in building wooden huts, stables, barns, latrines, bath houses, hospitals, workshops, and all the other necessities found within a typical Roman encampment.  Sergius, Tomaeus, and the architect seemed to be everywhere at once as they inspected the work and made corrections.

The Legions already knew the location of their particular area within the camp and eagerly went to work with saws, hammers, ropes, and nails.  With over 41,000 strong young men working eight hours a day, the camp was secure, fully functional, and ready for winter within three weeks.  Particular attention was paid to the construction of the granaries and bath houses.

The granaries had to be well buttressed to handle the weight and the rooms kept dry and cool to prevent spoilage.  Special attention was paid to completely enclosing the room to keep out rodents and insects.  Iron grills were fitted over the ventilation openings and all cracks were sealed tight.  The grain was stored in sacks on wooden pallets to allow for air circulation.

Manius was constantly on the move either inspecting something or meeting with his Commanders.  The only time he had to think was early in the morning and late at night.  Invariably, his thoughts would turn to Lucia and his children, the Tiber River, fishing, and improving his growing estate.  Besides writing letters to Lucia, he began to write down his dreams for his life after the Army.  The list grew and grew and gave him a sense of peace and contentment.  One evening, Joseph visited to catch up on events, but the two ended up talking about their future plans and anticipation of the announcement of the birth of Joseph’s first child.  Manius, as well as Joseph, enjoyed the conversation immensely.

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The day after their arrival at Bad Tolz, Proconsul Manius Tullus summoned Rasce, his Cavalry Commander, “Rasce, I want you to consolidate the cavalry from among the Legions and initiate a training program to improve their fighting capability. At the same time, I want you to develop a plan for continuous surveillance of the area to our northwest, north, and northeast.  Go out a distance of about 20 miles (32km).  I am having watch towers built about five miles (8km) out from our perimeter where they can see off a good distance, but I want your men out there to assure me that the Teutons are not preparing an attack.  I know it will be difficult to train while conducting surveillance; just do your best.”

Then Manius added, “I also want you and the Scorpio Commander to begin working on creating a more mobile Scorpio, as we discussed back at Rome.  Among all your other high priority tasks, move this one to the top.  Keep me informed.”

The eight Legions were quartered in the camp in the same manner they were organized to fight.  Legiones XVII, V Etrusci, and I and II Suevi were grouped together and would train together.  Legiones XX, I Raetorum, and III and IV Suevi shared the remainder of the camp.

In early January, Manius initiated the training schedule that was developed in Rome.  Each Legion had an assigned training area within easy walking distance of the camp and for six days a week, troops were engaged in physical activity plus individual and unit training.  Manius and his staff made frequent inspections of these sites to ensure all the appropriate tasks for their future missions were practiced and mastered.