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Clades Variana
(The Varus Disaster)
Dramatis Personae
The Setup
The First Dat and Ambush
The Second Day
The News Reaches Rome
Links About The Battle
The Battlefield at Kalkriese
The Ambush:
From Cassius Dio, "The Roman History", Book LVI:20
The shape of mountains in this region was irregular, their slopes being deeply cleft by ravines, while the trees grew closely together to a great height. In consequence the Romans, even before the enemy fell upon them, were hard pressed by the neccessity of felling trees, clearing the tracks and bridging the difficult stretches where ever neccessary on their line of march. They had with them many wagons and pack animals, as they would for a journey in peace-time; they were even accompanied by women and children and a large retinue of servants, all these being factors which caused them to advance in scattered groups.
Since the Romans were not expecting an attack, there were a very large number of camp-followers, accompanying and mixed in with the legions. The number of camp-followers has been estimated by some at between 5,000 and 10,000 men, women and children. During ancient and medieval times, it was not unusual for an army to be followed by a number of civilian camp-followers, including wives and children, servants and merchants either catering to the soldiers or seeking their protection. This was a normal occurrence for an army on the move, but not for an army going into battle. That the army had camp-followers is considered evidence that they were marching blindly, not suspecting that an ambush lay ahead.
Picture the situation: At the front of the column were Roman engineers who had to widen the paths and build bridges across ravines and swamps. It is highly probable that they would have widened the paths and built the bridges only wide enough for a single wagon of the baggage train to pass and no wider. To do more would have required time and that would have slowed down the formation considerably. So, following them would have been a narrow column of men, horses and wagons carrying supplies, women and children. With upwards of 30,000 people, this tremendous column would have stretched for miles.
The soldiers, not expecting battle, would have been encumbered with their own supplies and tools. They
probably wore their armor, otherwise they would have had to carry it. They may or may not have been carrying their weapons ready for use.
All the while scouts for the Germans are in the woods, watching and waiting for the time to strike.
From Cassius Dio, "The Roman History", Book LVI:20
Meanwhile a violent downpour and storm developed, so that the column was strung out even further; this also caused the ground around the tree-roots and the felled trunks to become slippery, making movement very dangerous, and the tops of trees to break off and crash down upon them creating great confusion.
While the Romans were struggling against the elements, the barbarians suddenly surrounded them on all sides at once, stealing through the densest thickets, as they were familiar with the paths.
The Germans struck during a violent storm and the surprise was complete. Not only were the Roman
formations in disarray due to the storm, but the camp-followers mixed in with their formations hindered their ability to rally and counter-attack. The Germans closed so that the fighting occured at very close quarter with sword and axe. In the rain, men and horses slipped or were were immobilized in the treacherous mud and cut down before they could find their feet. The sound of sword on sword or sword on flesh would have resounded through the rain, along with the cries of the wounded and dying. A large
number of casualties happened at the opening of the attack.
After a time, the Romans managed to break out of the ambush and reached ground that was open enough to set up a camp and hasty fortifications. The engineers and soldiers raised an earthen berm as was the custom in the Roman army for defense. Within the berm, the camp took shape while the wounded were tended and men grieved the loss of friends and family. At this point, the only thing they could do was to wait out the night.
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