Legio XVII: Battle of the Danube (34 page)

Hludwig lay dead with a lead pellet lodged in his throat and the Teuton Army had disintegrated and was in full retreat.  Most turned to run to the settlement, others just scattered.  Bethica signaled her cavalry commander to initiate a pursuit.

Valerian braced for a fight.  About 5,000 disorganized Teutons were bearing down on his position.  He called the men out of their huts while the Teutons were still about 400 yards (365.7m) away and formed them up into their Maniples in a triplex acies.  Twenty-five Scorpio were on the right and left flanks.  As soon as the Teutons saw this battle array forming, they stopped running.  They were soon joined by about another 4,000 men who had broken from the battle and were running to the settlement.  There was no Teuton organization; no units; no leaders; simply individuals running to save their lives.

Valerian ordered his men forward.  The Scorpio took the confused and huddled men under fire as the Legion advanced.  Arrow after arrow thudded into their ranks.  Men were lifted off their feet and thrown backwards by the impact. The two Suevi Legions and Legio I Raetorum continued driving into the rear ranks of the mass of disorganized and desperate men.  The Teutons wanted to run, but turning their backs was as dangerous as facing the Suevi.  Legio XX trotted the last 100 yards (91m), threw their pila, and the Hastati hit them hard with their shield to knock them off their feet.  Short sharp jabs with the gladius dropped Teutons all along the line.  Roman discipline, battle formation, and the determination of the Legionaries pushed the Teutons until they could no longer back up.

The Teutons knew this was a death struggle and fought back desperately.  Yelling and screaming, they jabbed with their short spears; hitting shields or glancing off helmets.  Their swords chopped downward aiming for the helmet but hit shield or the edge of a helmet or metal shoulder piece.  In desperation, the Teutons grabbed for the Roman shields to pull them down to get to the man behind it, but it rarely worked.  The Roman gladius would dart out and deliver a quick jab or the Legionary next to or behind would thrust his sword at an exposed arms or torso.  The Legionary standing behind the lead fighter was quick to help the lead man.

The Teutons swung their swords violently against the Roman shield and elusive helmet for a few minutes and then their arms would tire to the point of muscle fatigue and they would have to back away if they could or be stabbed where they stood.

The Legionaries in the first line of the Hastati gave it all they could for about three minutes.  Holding the shield upright against multiple downward Teuton sword blows required all their strength.  Pushing the shield while warding off blow was difficult and tiring for the men’s left arm.  The right arm, wielding the deadly gladius, was always in motion and also soon began to tire.  Jabbing repeatedly; looking for openings; keeping your head low behind the shield.  Then the sound of the whistle; rotate!  Once a soldier rotated to the rear, each of the nine men in front of him took their turn at the front.  He knew it would be another 30 to 40 minutes before he was the lead man again.  He had time to get a drink, rest, and adjust his gear.  The life and death stress was enormous!

After about two hours of unrelenting battle, about 3,000 Teutons, the remnant of 20,000, were now pinned between Bethica’s Legions and Legio XX.  They began dropping their weapons and falling to their knees with their arms raised; begging for mercy.  When Bethica saw the huddled Teutons, she called a halt to the slaughter.  She could not condone the killing of helpless men.

Twice she slumped in the saddle and would have fallen off the horse had her body guards not steadied her.  She was growing weaker.  One of her guards rode over to Valerian and told him, “Bethica is wounded; you may have to assume Command.”  Valerian rode over to Bethica and could see she was pale and a bit of arrow was protruding from her shoulder.  He said, “I will have my surgeon extract the arrow.  Lay her down.”  Moments later, the surgeon appeared.  He gave her a pain killer to drink, cut out the arrow, washed and stitched the wound.  She passed out from the pain and shock.  Valerian felt that he should assume Command, but waited to see if Bethica would revive.

*******

The rider, who departed Augsburg on the 7th to inform Donar about the Suevi, arrived the next day at Munich and delivered his message.  After resting his horse on the 8th, he departed Munich on the 9th for a leisurely ride back to Augsburg.  He was in no hurry, but he was curious to find out if the Suevi actually fought or if they ran away.

He arrived back at Augsburg in the late afternoon of the 10th.  He and his horse were worn out.  He was looking forward to his hut and getting some sleep.  As he drew near the garrison, he noticed that there was no smoke coming out of the chimneys and no one was walking around.  As he got closer, he could see clumps on the ground scattered throughout the settlement.  His nose told him what they were.

He drew up his horse sharply and searched for signs of life.  Nothing stirred.  He turned to the right and rode around the settlement.  The animals were gone and dead men were strewn all about.  “Twenty thousand men don’t just disappear,” he thought to himself.  He dismounted to examine one of the dead.  He saw a bloody hole in the man’s chest.  He walked over to his hut.  The door was ajar.  He walked in.  All his valuables were gone.  The women were gone.  He ran outside and mounted his horse.  He thought, “Maybe they are in the woods to the north or east.”

He galloped aimlessly; frantically searching.  After half an hour of riding in the fields and woods, he said out loud, “Nobody!  I’m all alone.”  Fear seized him and he drove his horse to the east and back to Munich.  He rode all night and arrived exhausted mid day on the 11th.  He found Donar eating lunch with his two top Commanders and loudly announced, “I went back to Augsburg. The whole garrison is gone and there are dead men all throughout the garrison.”

Donar could see the man was near collapse.  He got up and took the rider by the shoulders and said, “Sit down; give him some water!”  He watched the man drink.  Donar said, “Just slow down and tell me everything that happened.  You rode back to Augsburg; you could see the settlement in the distance.  Take it from there.”

The man took a deep breath and told Donar exactly what he saw.  He could not tell him about the many vultures that were descending into the woods south of the settlement because he never saw them.  Donar told his aide to find the man a place to rest.

Donar looked at his two Commanders.  Apparently those Suevi we first heard about, those mere farmers, had some help,” he said.  “This is what I was afraid of.  Mercenaries!  I can’t believe a garrison of 20,000 men is missing.  My first instinct is to march to Augsburg, but we still haven’t heard back from Landshut.”  He called his aide, “Send a rider to Landshut to see what’s going on there.  Tell him to take two horses and hurry.  Also, send 10 men back to Augsburg to find Thiuderiks and his men.”

He continued, “The patrols are supposed to start tomorrow; send them out today instead.  Tell the Commander who’s going south to be especially watchful.  We may be the next target.  Prepare the men for battle; check their gear; they may have to respond quickly.  Send a rider to Regensburg to inform Timur; no wait; I want to know the status of Landshut first, then we’ll tell Timur so he has the whole picture.”

*******

When Bethica stopped the slaughter, 3,000 Teutons were all that was left.  They knelt on the ground begging for their life.  They were in shock, overwhelmed, and fearful.  They had been surprised at every turn.  The Scorpio, Legio XX, the battle by the creek, the cavalry charge, death and devastation all around them.  Everything they had grown accustomed to in the last year was gone.  They were pitiable.  Thinking of the Romans slaughtered at Cannae, Valerian would have had no problem killing every last one of them.

Bethica opened her eyes.  Valerian bent low and said, “Do you wish to transfer Command?  You need to rest.”  She looked around.  Saw her guards and said, “Lift me onto my horse.”  Once seated, she asked weakly, “Where is Justus?”

Valerian said, “He’s on his way back to Bad Tolz.  He broke under the strain.  The Proconsul was afraid this would happen and authorized me to take Command of the Legion.  “Bethica, listen, Legio XX will take control of the prisoners, but we have another issue.   As we swept through the settlement, we discovered hundreds of young Suevi women in the huts that were held captive by the Teutons.”

Bethica said, “I will deal with that in a moment.” She was feeling stronger and called her four Legates together.  “Justus is gone,” she said, “and Tribune Valerian is the Acting Legate.  He will be addressed as Legate.  Justus is on his way back to Bad Tolz.”

“How many men did we lose?” she asked.

The Legates gave their report.  She repeated the numbers, “Four hundred and fifty dead from the two Suevi Legions and I Raetorum and 80 dead for Legio XX.  That’s the difference body armor makes.  I’m glad the count isn’t higher.  I want you Commanders to get our wounded and dead on the Teuton wagons in the settlement.  We will take them to Dietramszell where we will link up with the other Attack Group and the Proconsul.  Let’s not forget, there are still 20,000 Teutons in Munich that may be heading our way.”  She was fighting pain and dizziness as she spoke.  The pain killer administered by the surgeon was the only thing holding her up.

“I want the cavalry to patrol to the west immediately to look for Teutons, but stay out of sight.  Gather up any usable equipment.  Line your men up to march back south.  I want the two Suevi Legions to lead; I Raetorum will follow them; our dead and wounded will follow I Raetorum; Legio XX will provide rear security and guard the prisoners.  And now Legate Valerian, show me the Suevi women.”

Valerian took Bethica to the area by the stream where he had assembled the women.  They told Bethica what had happened to them.  She calmed them by saying they would soon be in Innsbruck and back with their families.  Valerian then showed her the abundant livestock and loot in all the huts.  She rode back to the field, reassembled her Legates and said, “I have a change of plans.  I want III Suevi to go to the settlement.  Gather up all the wagons you can find and scour the huts for items stolen from the refugees.  Put anything of value in the wagons and take all the livestock.”

“Legio IV Suevi, there are several hundred young Suevi female refugees by the river.  I want you to provide them with wagons if there are enough left and place guards around them.  Those women don’t need any more abuse. III Suevi has priority for the wagons.  Get the women on the road and ready to march south.  The women and wagons will follow the two Suevi Legions.  I want to leave here today, so do this quickly.”

Three hours later the Legions, wagons, women, livestock, prisoners, wounded and the dead started to march south.  It was mid afternoon on 9 June.  Besides the pain in her shoulder, Bethica’s neck muscles began to cause intense pain.  The jarring from the walking horse only made it worse.  She figured her neck was wrenched when the arrow twisted her head.  She used one hand to hold her neck steady.  That provided some relief.  She had never been in such pain.

Bethica planned to back track to Haag in Oberbayern, Wasserburg an Inn, and Rosenheim, a distance of 54 miles (86.9km).  She figured it would take four or five days.

When the convoy stopped for the night at Wasserburg, the men built a funeral pyre and burned the dead.  It was time.

On 13 June, the convoy closed on Rosenheim.  She summoned the Legate for IV Suevi and said, “As we discussed earlier, tomorrow, detach two Maniples to guard the convoy of women, loot, and animal back to Innsbruck.  When they arrive, tell the Council to place all the stolen property in a warehouse for safe keeping until we can determine the proper owners.  Then have the families who lost their daughters to the Teutons assemble on a field and allow the women to find their parents.  Place the animals in holding pens.  Unless the Council has an urgent need for the Maniples, have them rejoin their Legion.”

The next day, the convoy of women proceeded south; Bethica’s Legions and the prisoners turned west.  It was 30 miles (48km) to Dietramszell.  She estimated that they would arrive on 16 June.  Her arm was now in a sling and her head wound had scabbed over, but she could barely move her neck.

*******

The Teuton rider from Landshut delivered the message from Hludwig and departed Munich on the morning of 11 June.  He planned to take it easy on the return trip.  After four hours on the road, he was overtaken by a rider with two horses who yelled as he passed him, “Donar told me to go to Landshut to find out what’s happening with the Suevi.  I’ll see you there,” he said, as he disappeared down the road.

*******

The 10 men that were sent to Augsburg to find Thiuderiks arrived on the 12th, five days after the battle.  The air was filled with the smell of rotting flesh.  They rode throughout the empty settlement searching for some sign of the missing men.  On the south side of the settlement, they could see the grass had been trampled down and followed it to the hill.  There they found numerous Teuton arrows sticking in the empty hill.  They crossed over and the smell grew stronger.  Tracks led down the three valleys.  They split up to go down each and discovered the missing men about the same time.  Vultures and flies were everywhere.  The smell was unbearable.  The men in the side valley could see that these men had been ambushed.  Most of the dead lay clumped in the center of the valley with some on the far side as if they were trying to escape.