Legio XVII: Battle of the Danube (35 page)

They searched the area looking for clues as to what had happen to the men.  They could see the ditch and small mound at the south end of the clearing and pits dug into the back of the mounds, but none of this made sense.  In the woods, they found evidence that a large group had been there; probably the ones who conducted the ambushes.  The searchers found that many of the Teuton shields had been penetrated, but could not find what had done it.  They concluded that Suevi farmers could not have done this without a lot of help.  This battle had been well planned and their men had walked into a trap.

They found Thiuderiks’ body.  Something small had penetrated his shoulder and chest, possibly arrows.  They made an estimate of the dead and concluded that they were looking at the missing 20,000 men.

On the return trip to Munich, they stopped at the Lech River to try to wash off the smell.  It was in their hair, clothes, beards, even the horses smelled.  They used river mud to scrub their hair and skin.  The horses were also rubbed with mud.  Their clothes got the same treatment.  As they sat on the bank waiting to dry, they could still smell death on them.

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Early on the 12th, three days after the battle at Landshut, the rider with two horses slowed to a walk.  He saw vultures of all descriptions and animals in the field north west of the settlement.  Then, he was hit with the unmistakable and overwhelming smell of death.  He did not want to get closer, but knew he would have to if he were to give Donar a complete report.

He steered his horse north towards clumps of bloated bodies.  He gagged several times as he looked around.  Most of the bodies were lying in the center of the field, but an almost equal number were lying closer to the tree line by the creek.  He rode through the trees and saw thousand more bodies along the edge of the creek.  He could see where the attackers had stood on the bank.  He saw an arrow he knew was not Teuton in a man’s back and dismounted to retrieve it.  The effort caused him to vomit.

He rode the two miles (3.2km) to the settlement and saw more bloated bodies and several burnt huts.  After an hour, he turned west and began the ride back to Munich.

He again saw the slower rider approaching him.  He stopped to talk to the man.  “Everyone is dead back there.  It smells terrible.  I wouldn’t go back if I were you.”  He then continued on to Munich and arrived on the 13th.

The other rider could not believe what he had just heard and had to see for himself.  While he talked to the man, he detected the strong odor of death coming from his clothes.  Three hours later, he came face to face with the greatest disaster he had ever seen.  He could not take his eyes off the carnage.  He rode to his hut and dismounted.  It was totally burnt to the ground.  He stood there and wept, for his friends, for himself.  He rode back to Munich a changed man forever.

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The 10 men reached Munich on the 13th, a few hours after the rider with two horses got back.  He had already delivered his report to Donar and the other Commanders and given them the arrow he had found.  They looked at it, but could not identify the marking.

The leader of the 10 entered Donar’s hut. He was surrounded by worried looking men.  Donar asked him, “What did you find?”

The leader said, “Sir, we found the garrison about 5 to 8 miles (8 to 12km) south of the settlement.  Thiuderiks and his men are all dead.  We found no survivors.”

“Who or what killed them!” asked an exasperated Donar.

“Sir,” replied the man, “After searching the area, we found nothing that would identify who Thiuderiks was fighting.  About 10,000 of the men were ambushed.  The rest were in a battle.  The shields of the men showed signs of penetration.  We saw a ditch with a mound of dirt behind it and dozens of pits dug into the side of the mound.  We only found Teuton arrows and weapons.  It appeared to us that Thiuderiks was facing a large force of skilled fighters and he was taken by surprise.”

“Thank you,” said Donar.  He then faced his Commanders. “I can only conclude that we are facing a sizable force of Suevi and their mercenaries.  Our shields offer little protection.  Our enemy is clever and planned these battles carefully.  I would guess we are facing at least 40,000 men, if not more.  The pits on the back side of the hills bother me.  I can’t figure that out.  Maybe they have some new weapon.”

“I need to tell Timur what has happened.”  He turned to his aide who had heard everything and said, “I want you to leave immediately for Regensburg.  Take extra horses so you can make better time.  Tell Timur exactly what the riders told us.  Don’t add anything and don’t leave anything out.  Tell him we are pulling out today and should arrive at Regensburg on the 19th.”

Donar looked at his Commanders and said, “I would guess that they are presently consolidating their Army and we are the next target; we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.  Give the orders to load the wagons, and get the men on the road to Regensburg.  We leave in two hours.  We have 75 miles (120.7km) to travel; bring all the supplies.  Send riders to recall the three 500 man patrols.  Tell them to return north to Regensburg as best they can.  We can’t wait for them.  Also send word to the bridge builders by Ulm to stop what they are doing and return to Regensburg.  Let’s start moving!”

He then called another aide and said, “Find my cavalry Commander and bring him here.”  When he arrived, Donar said, “By now, you know we are moving back to Regensburg, but I have a job for you.  I want you to keep Munich under observation after we leave.  I suspect our enemy is massing their troops and expects to attack us here.  I need you to watch them and keep watching them.  I need to know where they are going.  Once you see them, don’t let them out of your sight.  I want you to send couriers to Regensburg to keep me informed of their activity.  If they do not come to Munich after three or four days, then go find them.”

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Seven Teuton warriors ran into the woods when Legio V Raetorum ambushed their column.  Once in the tree line, they looked back and saw heavily armored men charging out of the woods.  They took off running as a group.  They shed their shields and swords as they ran.  They exited the woods, entered a cleared area, and ran for the river just visible behind the brush.  They drank from the Lech River and rested.  One man said, “Let’s go back to the huts and get some food.”  They all agreed since they hadn’t eaten since the evening before.

They hugged the river until it open up to a clearing.  In the distance, they could see the huts and also mounted horsemen riding throughout the settlement.  They guessed they were hostile.  They sat down again.  They were tired and feeling weaker by the moment.  Any exertion tired them.  A man spoke up, “I know we walked south to get here so I guess Regensburg is north.  It’s at least 100 miles (160.9km) away.  That would take us about seven days.”

Another man said, “We can’t walk that far without food.  We’ll die along the way.”

A third man spoke up, “We ran off all the Suevi farmers, so we’re not going to get any food from them.  We don’t even have anything to hunt or fish with and there’s no fruit on the trees yet.”

The first man to speak and the emerging leader of the group said, “I think we can all see that we’re facing hard times.  Let’s think about it.  How about if we wait until the cavalry leaves the settlement and then go back to see what we can find?  I don’t see any other options at this point.  We will leave here under the cover of darkness.  So let’s sleep now.”  Everyone agreed.

As soon as it was dark, the weary group of survivors, walked back to the clearing.  The moon provided enough light to see that there was no activity at the settlement.  The men started walking the three miles (4.8km).  When they arrived, they saw the bodies of the men who had stayed behind when the Teutons set off to attack the Suevi.  They looked in the huts and could plainly see that they had been picked clean of any valuables.  Even the barns were devoid of animal.

They did find what they needed most-food, and lots of it.  There was food in pots over the cold fireplaces, food on shelves and in cupboards.  They stuffed themselves.  They found back packs and loaded up as much food as they could fit in the bags.  Some men decided to carry two packs.  They grabbed water jugs.  The leaders said to arm themselves with shield, sword and spear.  They too were readily found.  He then said, “Whoever did all this may come back; if we don’t’ want to end up like these poor fellows, I suggest we head north.”  He led them about two miles (3.2km) north and into the woods.  They stopped for the night and they all slept.

As the sun rose the next morning, the men dug into their packs to find something to eat.  While they ate their cold breakfast, the leader said, “Regensburg is north.  That’s all I know, but we could end up wandering all over the place.  I think it would be better to walk west until we hit the Danube; then all we have to do is follow it down stream to Regensburg.  Are any of you skilled with a bow?  I ask that because we’re going to run out of food in about four days and we’ll need to hunt.”

Two of the men said they were pretty good.  The leader said, “Let’s go back to the settlement and try to find some bows.  Let’s start walking.”

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On 11 June, the leaders of the three groups of 500 men were told that Donar wanted them to go in the field today and not tomorrow.  They were told that one group would patrol east of Munich, another west, and the third was told to go south into Suevi territory.  They were told that  the two garrisons at Augsburg and Landshut had been attacked by the Suevi and suffered casualties.  Donar was worried that the Suevi were preparing to attack Munich.

Their mission was to scout their assigned areas looking for the Suevi Army.  They were instructed not to engage the enemy, but to observe and return to Munich.  Lastly, they were told to walk straight out for two days, spend three days patrolling, and return to Munich.  Bring enough food and water.  Within two hours, the men left the settlement.

The group that was going south was eagerly looking forward to the chance to do something worthwhile.  They had done some training, but it was getting boring.  They enjoyed walking and feeling the weight of their gear hanging from their bodies.  It was a pleasant June day, a little overcast with the temperature in the mid 60s F (15.5C).  They walked until it was almost dark and made camp.  That’s when the Leader said, “No fires.  We may be too close to the Suevi.  If they spot us, we’re done for.” The mosquitoes were the bigger problem, but the men came prepared.  They had a concoction of vinegar and pyrethrum daisy oils to rub on.

The plan was to walk another full day, stop for the night, establish a base camp, and the next morning to begin patrolling the area.  The Leader planned to break them up into 10 groups of 50 men each and send them out.

On 13 June, the Leader divided up the men, checked their equipment, and told them the general direction he wanted them to patrol.   He told them, “Come back here before it’s dark or we’ll come looking for you.  Come back immediately if you spot the Suevi.”  The entire group of 500 men left at 9:00 A.M.  The Leader of the 500 and a few other men stayed behind.

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Servilius was responsible to protect Expedition Headquarters and the Proconsul.  He had eight Maniples, one from each of the eight Legions.  They had trained together all winter and escorted the Headquarters and Proconsul to Dietramszell on 4 June.  Servilius deployed one Roman Maniple around the Headquarters’ tents; the other seven he spread out in a circle about 200 yards (182.8m) from the Headquarters.

Each Maniple constructed a small fort with a ditch and rampart, which were manned 24 hours a day.  He placed his five Scorpio in the northern facing forts.  He did not send out patrols because the 100 man cavalry assigned to his force did the patrolling.  Additionally, there were scouts near Munich observing the garrison.  He did, however, send out two men from each Maniple to strategic northward looking locations to serve as additional eyes and ears.  These men returned at dusk and another two replaced them the following day.  They were trained to observe and report the sighting of any enemy personnel by using the SALUTE acronym:  size, activity, location, unit, time, and equipment.  This technique ensured that they would be able to report the relevant details.

Between 8 and 11 June, the Roman cavalry scouts observing Munich were sending back daily reports of riders coming and going from Augsburg, Munich, and Landshut.  Servilius took the reports and provided them to the Operation’s Tribune, who included the information in his daily briefing to the Proconsul.  The increased communications among the garrison was attributed to the attacks on Augsburg and Landshut.  Manius was curious to see what the Commander at Munich would do.  He guessed he would evacuate and return to Regensburg.