Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War

by Thomas A. Timmes

  Agron dismounted, stood in front of his men and shouted, “Advance.” The tired warriors began to walk, slowly at first, but began to walk faster as the distance closed. A few were shouting now and began banging their swords on their shields. Agron was out front encouraging them, yelling, challenging them, belittling the Romans, reminding his men of their past victories. His army was stirring at last. He could hear the blood lust in their rising voices and see it in their jerky aggressive movements. They moved forward in fits and starts; each wanting to run, but waiting for the entire mass to break.

  Meanwhile the 100 Roman skirmishers unleashed their javelins into the Ardiaei’s waiting shields. Like an unspoken signal, the chains were now loosed and the entire Ardiaei army broke into a run hoping to cover the remaining 200 yards before the Romans could react.

  The archers waiting out of sight in the woods were mounted and ready. The four ballistae teams had fired test shots earlier and were ready to unleash a total of 12 arrows per minute as soon as they heard the signal to fire. When Servilius saw the Ardiaei start to run, he told the cornicen [trumpeters] to sound the cornu. Before the Ardiaei could cover another 15 yards, 50 archers rode forward, dismounted and were rapidly firing arrow after arrow into the exposed Ardiaei right flank. The ballistae were even quicker. The first four shots ripped huge holes in the lines of running men. Simultaneously, the 100 archers positioned on Servilius right flank began high angle rapid fire with deep penetrating arrows.

  The advancing Ardiaei faced missiles from the flank and overhead. If they raised their shield, they were vulnerable on the side. Their instincts and training made them keep going despite the punishing losses and sounds of falling men all around them. They lost about 300 men even before drawing Roman blood. Agron, running with his men sensed the disaster befalling him, but, at this point, was powerless to stop it. “How did I not see the archers in the woods,” he asked himself.

  When the Ardiaei were still 100 yards out, Servilius directed his archers to move away from his right flank on the run and reposition themselves to fire into the exposed flank of the advancing enemy. Similarly, the cavalry left their left flank position and rode to the rear of the Ardiaei, which was the signal for the ballistae teams to cease firing. Archers now fired relentlessly into the two flanks with devastating results.

  None of the Ardiaei broke away to attack the archers or ballistae as expected, but kept running straight for the Hastati whose hands held the deadly pilum, now cocked back into a throwing position. The Ardiaei expected the Romans to break and run, but they still stood fast. On order, 300 pila sailed forward and slammed into the attackers, then another 300; then the Principes threw their 600 while the Hastati drew their swords and shield met shield. The Romans fought aggressively using their heavy shields to butt and push opposing shields upward in order to deliver a quick stabbing thrust to the belly or groin.

  The Hastati held the line and fought well. Servilius ordered the Principes to form a massive wedge formation behind the Hastati and, on order, pass through the Hastati and divide the Ardiaei into two parts.

  The Hastati pushed hard and suddenly backed away from the Ardiaei. The Principes then drove through butting, stabbing, and pushing. (Their heavy shields were as much a weapon as their swords.) The Ardiaei separated down the middle and the Principes swung left. Servilius ordered the Triarii to follow the Principes and swing right. Archers crowded into the resulting melee and fired point blank. Servilius ordered Quintus Didius Sura and his cavalry to swing in behind the two shrinking circles and close them off.

  Without realizing it, Servilius had achieved a mini-Cannae and the Ardiaei was completely surrounded. When the last Ardiaei fell, the Roman Legionaries just stood there; breathing deeply; blood splatter covered everything; it had suddenly grown quiet except for the groans of the wounded. It was a great victory, but, at the moment, nobody had the energy to celebrate.

  Servilius built an altar and offered thanks to the gods. He had suffered 28 dead and 153 wounded. A sweep of the battlefield found 300 lightly wounded Ardiaei who were taken prisoner. The seriously wounded were mercifully executed. When Servilius stood in front of the Maniples and declared victory, the Legionaries cheered themselves hoarse.

  Those Legionaries too wounded to walk were put on wagons and moved the 200 yards to where the night’s encampment was being dug. His soldiers were exhausted, but Servilius was not taking any chances. While they worked, Servilius gathered his leadership team and began a walk of the battlefield. He reviewed everything that led up to the engagement, the actions of the Ardiaei, his preparation for the battle, and the outcome. His ballistae Centurion reported that 36 arrows were fired. The cavalry reported three horses were wounded and subsequently destroyed and one suffered a broken leg and was put down. One rider was killed when his horse fell on him. The archers suffered no killed or wounded. The Hastati had 11 killed, the Principes 9, and the Triarii 7. Agron was found dead with an arrow in his right eye.

  Prisoners talked the devastating effects of the hidden ballistae. The weapon terrorized them as did the storm of arrows hitting them on the flank and falling from the sky. Lack of food and water and over confidence, however, were the decisive factors in their defeat. The Ardiaei underestimated the fighting ability and weaponry of the Romans. Servilius indentified this as poor pre-battle intelligence. The single Ardiaei scout did not see everything and even failed to report accurately those things he did see. Servilius cited three reasons for Roman success: the troops were adequately fed and watered; Roman pre-battle intelligence was superb; and the use of surprise by concealing the ballistae and archers severely impeded the Ardiaei attack and hurt their morale.

  The next morning, the Legionaries gathered their dead and burned them according to Roman custom. Ardiaei dead were left on the field. Arrows and usable pila were gathered for reuse. Servilius sent his cavalry and mounted archers to the Ardiaei camp to announce the outcome of the battle, quell any resistance, and offer to escort the women and children to the port of Aternum. Servilius’ column was on the road by 0800 and arrived at the port four days later on December 22. He now had nine days to prepare his command to load the ships and get underway by January 1st.

  He made time to coordinate with a mixed Roman and Auxiliary unit to escort his wounded back to Rome as part of their normal supply convoy, which was scheduled to depart in two days. From the wounded, Servilius selected two men to brief Tribune Tullus in detail upon their return to Rome about all that had happened to “Mission Patavium.” Servilius knew Tullus would be most anxious to hear about any dead and wounded as well as how the Scorpio and mounted archers had fared during the engagement.

  After much discussion and a hefty bribe, Servilius convinced the commander of the Auxiliary unit to immediately send a cavalry detachment from his unit back to Rome to tell Tribune Tullus the news that Agron knew he was coming, but that Servilius’ early arrival prevented Agron from properly executing the ambush. That was a critical piece of intelligence that could not wait. Similarly, knowing Tullus’ concern for his men, Servilius drew up a list of the Legionaries that had been killed and a list of the wounded who were returning. He knew that Tullus would want to inform the families.

  The Auxiliary detachment made the 130 mile trip back to Rome in four days and delivered Servilius’ adumbrated message to Tribune Tullus. The killed and wounded distressed him, but casualties were a fact of war and had to be expected. He was angry that someone had leaked Servilius’ route to Aternum and the approximate date when he would be in the vicinity. He immediately suspected Calvus and decided that from now on, he would keep the specifics of troop movements to himself. The staff would have to trust him. The consequences of that kind of information getting to their enemies were too severe to take any chances. It was apparent that he had already shared too much critical information with too many people. This time his counter espionage measures had succeeded, next time it might not. He told himself to be more careful.

  The two wounded men selec
ted by Servilius to brief Manius were weary from the long trip back to Rome, but they planned to seek out the Tribune to pass on the good news of the battle as soon as they arrived. Manius beat them to it. He heard that the convoy of wounded was only a few hours out and rode to meet them. He made a point of taking Calvus with him so he would see the result of his handiwork. A few men had died during the trip, but the majority were in good spirits.

  They cheered Manius when he rode up alongside the wagons. Manius purposely spoke to each man individually and gently prompted them with questions to get each to relate his account of the battle. He purposely did not make any patriotic speeches, but rather let them talk about their battle experiences. Manius was a good listener and these men had a need to talk. For some, it was their first engagement against another man who truly wanted to kill him.

  When the convoy arrived back at the camp, the wounded were in for a surprise. Manius had arranged for their families and friends to be there to greet the returning heroes. The wounded Legionaries had no idea. It was a grand and welcomed surprise and sent a very significant message to the rest of the XVII ~ our Commander cares about us!

  *******

  The women that were rescued from the Ardiaei camp presented Servilius with a vexing problem for which there was really no good solution. There were at least 1500 women, most of whom had been forcibly removed from their homes in southern Italy. Some had no families to return to; everyone was dead. About a half of them had children or were pregnant. Some wanted to return home; others elected to stay at the port; and about 30 begged Servilius to take them with him as cooks and laundry maids. After much debate, Servilius agreed. It was more mouths to feed, but not that many. They were young and would be able to keep up. They sought protection from men and the consequences of a lawless society on women. Travelling with the Legion was the best of several bad options.

  North to Patavium

  On January 4, after four days at sea, the three ships docked at Fossa Clodia, an island just off the coast. Each ship towed five flat bottom barges 20’ long and 10’ wide. It was an ungainly looking sea convoy and made for slow rowing. The sailors said the trip was relatively smooth; the Legionaries had a much different opinion and were happy to finally disembark. During the voyage, the crew kept a sharp eye out for Illyrian pirates, who despite their defeat by a Roman Navy in 219 would still occasionally attack easy targets.

  The off loading of the ships at Fossa Clodia and reloading onto the barges went smoothly in the calm of the lagoon, but still took two days to complete. Supplies were stacked; weapons and gear stowed; and everyone breathed easier because the weather was not any rougher. Then it rained for two days and even the lagoon was too choppy to ferry men or equipment to the main land. The cold rain made both man and beast miserable. Servilius and his Centurions managed to make one trip to shore on an empty barge during the rain to familiarize themselves with the terrain and to plan for the landing. Everyone waited for the weather to change to begin the next phase of the mission ~ land the force south of Correzzola.

  The sun finally shone brightly on the third day and it warmed considerably. Men, equipment, supplies, and animals began the slow poling trip to shore, about a mile away. The movement took three days of multiple round trips to complete. As the beachhead expanded, Servilius erected a palisade wall and laid out a proper Roman camp. As they became available, he sent out cavalry scouts to explore the area, select a route to Patavium, and look for friendly Euganei and Veneti. The ground was saturated and mud was everywhere. It was time to move to higher ground.

  During the short march north to Patavium, the ground dried considerably, which was a great relief to men and animals. Wagon wheels turned easier and men walked lighter. Servilius scouted ahead and found a suitable site for the night’s encampment, which would also serve as a temporary fort until the permanent one was built. It was on high ground and not far from the Medoacus River. He put the men to work on preparing the encampment as soon as they arrived. It was already late in the day. The next day, full of adrenaline and energy, Servilius dispatched his cavalry to begin actively patrolling the region; he also met with his engineers and directed them to search for a good site for the permanent fort while continuing to strengthen the temporary fort. He then set out with a small mounted escort to find the local people.

  About 15 miles north, Servilius saw a built up area with about 30 huts. There were a few people in the village looking in his direction, but were not indicating for him to come any closer. He did not want to frighten them with too many soldiers, so he held his position and sent two riders forward. The meeting seemed to be going well and soon the riders signaled for Servilius and the others to come to the village. Suspicious that this could be a trap, he circled the village looking for anything out of the ordinary. As more and more villagers came out of their huts, he felt more confident and finally rode into the village.

  The Euganei were as friendly and as hospitable as Manius said they would be. They were long time friends of Rome and had even sent troops to fight alongside the Legions in the Gallic War and most recently in the Battle of Cannae. There was some hard feeling over the loss of so many men at Cannae, but the Euganei were forgiving. After drinks and food, Servilius explained that he was there to build a supply fort at Patavium and that more ships would arrive periodically at Fossa Clodia with supplies.

  Figure 15 Padua (Patavium) and Mestre at “A” (Google Maps)

  He told the village chief, Darmo, he was interested in hiring about 1000 men to help construct the fort and an additional 500 to guard it when he left.

  Servilius intentionally limited the amount of information he shared with Darmo.

  “I can supply only 50 men; you will have to travel about 25 miles north east to the Veneti settlement at Mestre to get the rest of the men you need,” said Darmo. Servilius thanked him for his help and asked him to get the 50 ready as they would begin constructing the fort within the week.

  The following morning, after inspecting the defenses of the temporary fort, Servilius and his escort set out for Mestre. The ride was pleasant and the air was quite cool. Horses and men saw the steam in their breath until the sun rose fully.

  It was a cloudless sky when they topped a low ridge overlooking Mestre and the Adriatic, three miles to the east. The horses were able to trot for most of the three hours and now needed time to graze. Servilius and his escort obliged them by dismounting. The men also ate some hard tack biscuits and drank sour wine.they had packed for the trip.

  Bagaudas and the Gaesatae

  Mestre was much bigger than Darmo’s village and laid out in a manner seemingly designed to please a fastidious Roman. Servilius estimated there were at least 3000 dwellings, but the actual number could be a lot more. They stood on the hill in plain view of the village waiting for something to happen. In time, they could see a group of riders, about 30 men, with horses far superior looking to their own, leave the village and begin the easy climb up the hill. As they got closer, it was obvious that they were mostly unarmed. Nonetheless, to be safe, Servilius ordered his men to mount their horses and be prepared to fight, but to not draw their weapons.

  The villagers halted about 50’ away. The leader of the group, Axius, raised his hand in greeting and in broken Latin asked their business. The other Veneti eyed the Romans with foreboding, but not hostility. Some pointed and even rode over to the Roman soldiers to look at their equipment and weapons. They were not afraid and seemed friendly, but the Legionaries were extremely nervous and suspected a trick. Servilius briefly explained their mission and need for workers.

  He did not mention that eventually he would need Veneti soldiers to guard the camp. The two sides were now thoroughly mixed. If this were a trick, it would not go well for the Romans. It was at this point that a few of the Roman cavalrymen, particularly the astute Commander, Quintus Didius Sura, noticed that three of the “Veneti” looked different than the rest. They had weapons! Their weapons were noticeably different than the Romans’
and their shields had strange markings. They also did not speak and appeared tense.

  Meanwhile, Axius explained to Servilius that he was the Chief’s son and would gladly support building a fort at Patavium. He said that they already had a sizable colony of Veneti in the general area and wanted to further develop the region. The problem was that Patavium was subject to invasion from itinerant bands of mercenaries from Illyria and probably would not be safe until Hannibal was defeated or ejected from Italy. The fort would provide security to his people and, therefore, fit in into his plans very nicely. Servilius began to pick up subtle signal from Axius. The way his eyes darted furtively and an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Something was not right!

  Axius invited Servilius to come down to the village to meet his father. When Axius saw the hesitancy on Servilius’ face, he quickly suggested that, perhaps, a few Romans come to the village first to ensure it is safe for the group. Axius mounted his horse and Servilius asked if two men would volunteer to ride with the Veneti to the village. Axius understood the Roman’s need to protect his men and for reasons that would later become clear was greatly relieved that the entire group did not follow him down. Two Roman cavalrymen volunteered.

  The two soldiers were Appius and Marius. They graduated from basic legionary training together and were immediately assigned to Legio XVII. Since they had experience with horses, both were subsequently assigned to the cavalry and could not be happier. As Marius liked to say, “Riding sure beats walking.” When Centurion Servilius asked for volunteers to check out the Veneti village, they both eagerly spoke up. It looked a great opportunity for an adventure.