20 Then Antonius made his way among the companies, and when by his appearance and influence he had secured silence, he addressed them to this effect: “I have no desire to take away either honour or reward from soldiers who have deserved so well, but there is a division of duties between soldiers and generals: to soldiers belongs the eager enthusiasm for battle, but generals must help by foresight, by counsel, and more often by delay than by rash action. As I have done my full part to secure victory with my arms and my personal efforts, I will now help by wise counsel, which is the quality proper to a leader. For there can be no question as to the obstacles before us — night and the situation of this strange city, the fact that the enemy is within, and that everything is favourable for an ambuscade. Even if the gates were open, we ought not to enter except after reconnaissance and by day. Or will you begin a siege when wholly cut off from seeing what ground is level, how high the walls, whether to attack with artillery and weapons or with siege works and protecting sheds?” Then turning to one and another, he asked them whether they had brought with them axes, picks, and the other implements for storming cities. When they said that they had not, he asked: “Can any troops break through walls and undermine them with swords and javelins? If we need to build a mound, or protect ourselves with mantlets and fascines, shall we stand here useless like an improvident mob, gaping with wonder at the lofty towers and fortifications of others? Shall we not rather at the expense of a single night fetch up artillery and engines, and so bring with us the force to secure victory?” At the same time he sent the sutlers, servants, and the freshest of the cavalry to Bedriacum to fetch supplies and all else they needed.
[21] Id vero aegre tolerante milite prope seditionem ventum, cum progressi equites sub ipsa moenia vagos e Cremonensibus corripiunt, quorum indicio noscitur sex Vitellianas legiones omnemque exercitum, qui Hostiliae egerat, eo ipso die triginta milia passuum emensum, comperta suorum clade in proelium accingi ac iam adfore. is terror obstructas mentis consiliis ducis aperuit. sistere tertiam decimam legionem in ipso viae Postumiae aggere iubet, cui iuncta a laevo septima Galbiana patenti campo stetit, dein septima Claudiana, agresti fossa (ita locus erat) praemunita; dextro octava per apertum limitem, mox tertia densis arbustis intersepta. hic aquilarum signorumque ordo: milites mixti per tenebras, ut fors tulerat; praetorianum vexillum proximum tertianis, cohortes auxiliorum in cornibus, latera ac terga equite circumdata; Sido atque Italicus Suebi cum delectis popularium primori in acie versabantur.
21 But the soldiers found inaction hard; in fact they were near a mutiny when a body of horsemen who had ridden up under the very walls of Cremona caught some stragglers from the town and learned from them that six Vitellian legions and all the force that had been stationed at Hostilia, after marching thirty miles that day, had heard of the losses that their associates had suffered, and that they were now preparing for battle — in fact would soon be there. This alarming danger opened their obstinate ears to the plans of their general. He ordered the Thirteenth legion to take its position on the actual causeway of the Postumian Road. Immediately on the Thirteenth’s left the Seventh Galbian stood in open country, next the Seventh Claudian, protected, as the ground ran, by a ditch. On the right was the Eighth legion on an open cross-road, and then the Third, distributed among dense thickets. This was the order of the eagles and standards; the soldiers took their places in the darkness without order, wherever chance set them. The praetorians’ standard was next the Third legion; the cohorts of the auxiliaries were on the wings; and the cavalry covered their flanks and rear. The Suebian princes Sido and Italicus with picked troops from their tribes were in the front ranks.
[22] At Vitellianus exercitus, cui adquiescere Cremonae et reciperatis cibo somnoque viribus confectum algore atque inedia hostem postera die profligare ac proruere ratio fuit, indigus rectoris, inops consilii, tertia ferme noctis hora paratis iam dispositisque Flavianis impingitur. ordinem agminis disiecti per iram ac tenebras adseverare non ausim, quamquam alii tradiderint quartam Macedonicam dextrum suorum cornu, quintam et quintam decimam cum vexillis nonae secundaeque et vicensimae Britannicarum legionum mediam aciem, sextadecimanos duoetvicensimanosque et primanos laevum cornu complesse. Rapaces atque Italici omnibus se manipulis miscuerant; eques auxiliaque sibi ipsi locum legere. proelium tota nocte varium, anceps, atrox, his, rursus illis exitiabile. nihil animus aut manus, ne oculi quidem provisu iuvabant. eadem utraque acie arma, crebris interrogationibus notum pugnae signum, permixta vexilla, ut quisque globus capta ex hostibus huc vel illuc raptabat. urgebatur maxime septima legio, nuper a Galba conscripta. occisi sex primorum ordinum centuriones, abrepta quaedam signa: ipsam aquilam Atilius Verus primi pili centurio multa cum hostium strage et ad extremum moriens servaverat.
22 The wise policy for the troops of Vitellius was to revive their strength by food and sleep at Cremona and then to put to flight and crush their opponents, who would be exhausted by cold and lack of food. But being without a leader, destitute of a plan, at about nine o’clock in the evening they flung themselves on the Flavian troops, who were ready and in their stations. I should not dare to state definitely the order in which they advanced, for their line was thrown into confusion by the soldiers’ fury and by the darkness. Some writers, however, have said that the Fourth Macedonian legion was on their extreme right, the Fifth and Fifteenth with detachments from the Ninth, Second, and Twentieth British formed their centre, while the Sixteenth, Twenty-second, and First constituted their left. The troops of the two legions known as the Rapax and the Italica had joined companies in every part of the line; the cavalry and auxiliaries selected their own positions. The battle lasted the entire night with varied fortune, uncertain as to its outcome, savage, and fatal now to one side, now to the other. Neither courage nor arms, nor even their eyes, which might have foreseen danger, were of any avail. The weapons in both lines were the same, the watchwords for battle became known, for they were constantly asked; the standards were confused as some band or other carried off in this direction or that those they had captured from their foes. The Seventh legion, lately enrolled by Galba, was hardest pressed: it lost six centurions of the first rank; some of its standards were captured; its eagle was finally saved by Atilius Verus, a centurion of the first rank, who in his efforts killed many of the enemy, only finally to fall dying himself.
[23] Sustinuit labentem aciem Antonius accitis praetorianis. qui ubi excepere pugnam, pellunt hostem, dein pelluntur. namque Vitelliani tormenta in aggerem viae contulerant ut tela vacuo atque aperto excuterentur, dispersa primo et arbustis sine hostium noxa inlisa. magnitudine eximia quintae decimae legionis ballista ingentibus saxis hostilem aciem proruebat. lateque cladem intulisset ni duo milites praeclarum facinus ausi, arreptis e strage scutis ignorati, vincla ac libramenta tormentorum abscidissent. statim confossi sunt eoque intercidere nomina: de facto haud ambigitur. neutro inclinaverat fortuna donec adulta nocte luna surgens ostenderet acies falleretque. sed Flavianis aequior a tergo; hinc maiores equorum virorumque umbrae, et falso, ut in corpora, ictu tela hostium citra cadebant: Vitelliani adverso lumine conlucentes velut ex occulto iaculantibus incauti offerebantur.
23 Antonius strengthened his wavering line by bringing up the praetorians. On engaging they drove back the enemy, only to be driven back themselves, for the Vitellians had concentrated their artillery on the raised road that they might have free and open ground from which to fire; their earlier shots had been scattered and had struck the trees without injuring the enemy. A ballista of enormous size belonging to the Fifteenth legion began to do great harm to the Flavians’ line with the huge stones that it hurled; and it would have caused wide destruction if it had not been for the splendid bravery of two soldiers, who, taking some shields from the dead and so disguising themselves, cut the ropes and springs of the machine. They were at once run through and thus their names were lost; but there is no doubt about their deed. Fortune inclined to neither side until, as the night wore on, the rising moon illuminated the lines with its deceptive l
ight. But this was more favourable to the Flavian forces, for the moon was behind them and so magnified the shadows of horses and men; while their opponents, deceived by the shadows, aimed at them as if they were the actual bodies, and therefore their spears fell short; but the Vitellians, having the moonlight in their faces and thus being clearly seen, unconsciously presented a mark to their enemies, who shot, so to speak, from concealment.
[24] Igitur Antonius, ubi noscere suos noscique poterat, alios pudore et probris, multos laude et hortatu, omnis spe promissisque accendens, cur resumpsissent arma, Pannonicas legiones interrogabat: illos esse campos, in quibus abolere labem prioris ignominiae, ubi reciperare gloriam possent. tum ad Moesicos conversus principes auctoresque belli ciebat: frustra minis et verbis provocatos Vitellianos, si manus eorum oculosque non tolerent. haec, ut quosque accesserat; plura ad tertianos, veterum recentiumque admonens, ut sub M. Antonio Parthos, sub Corbulone Armenios, nuper Sarmatas pepulissent. mox infensus praetorianis ‘vos’ inquit, ‘nisi vincitis, pagani, quis alius imperator, quae castra alia excipient? illic signa armaque vestra sunt, et mors victis; nam ignominiam consumpsistis.’ undique clamor, et orientem solem (ita in Syria mos est) tertiani salutavere.
24 When Antonius could recognize his soldiers and be recognized by them, he began to urge them on, some by shame and reproaches, more by praise and encouragement, but all by hope and promises. He asked the Pannonian legions why they had taken up their arms again; he reminded them that this was the field on which they could blot out the stain of their earlier disgrace, where they could regain their former glory. Then turning to the soldiers from Moesia he appealed to them as the authors and promoters of this war. He told them that it had been useless to challenge the Vitellians with threats and words, if they could not endure their hands and looks. This he said as he came to each division; but he spoke at greater length to the troops of the Third legion, reminding them of their ancient glory as well as of their later achievements, of their victory over the Parthians when Mark Antony was their leader, over the Armenians when Corbulo commanded, and of their recent defeat of the Sarmatians. Then he indignantly said to the praetorians: “As for you, clowns that you are, if you do not win to-day, what other general or other camp will take you in? Yonder are your standards and your arms, and, if defeated, death; for dishonour you have exhausted.” A shout arose from the entire army; and the soldiers of the Third legion, according to the Syrian custom, hailed the rising sun.
[25] Vagus inde an consilio ducis subditus rumor, advenisse Mucianum, exercitus in vicem salutasse. gradum inferunt quasi recentibus auxiliis aucti, rariore iam Vitellianorum acie, ut quos nullo rectore suus quemque impetus vel pavor contraheret diduceretve. postquam impulsos sensit Antonius, denso agmine obturbabat. laxati ordines abrumpuntur, nec restitui quivere impedientibus vehiculis tormentisque. per limitem viae sparguntur festinatione consectandi victores. eo notabilior caedes fuit, quia filius patrem interfecit. rem nominaque auctore Vipstano Messala tradam. Iulius Mansuetus ex Hispania, Rapaci legioni additus, impubem filium domi liquerat. is mox adultus, inter septimanos a Galba conscriptus, oblatum forte patrem et vulnere stratum dum semianimem scrutatur, agnitus agnoscensque et exanguem amplexus, voce flebili precabatur placatos patris manis, neve se ut parricidam aversarentur: publicum id facinus; et unum militem quotam civilium armorum partem? simul attollere corpus, aperire humum, supremo erga parentem officio fungi. advertere proximi, deinde plures: hinc per omnem aciem miraculum et questus et saevissimi belli execratio. nec eo segnius propinquos adfinis fratres trucidant spoliant: factum esse scelus loquuntur faciuntque.
25 This action gave rise to a vague rumour, which perhaps the general started with intention, to the effect that Mucianus had arrived and that the two armies had greeted each other. The Flavian forces then advanced as if reinforced by fresh troops; the Vitellian line was now more ragged, as was natural with troops who had no commander, but closed or opened out their ranks as courage or fear moved individuals. After Antonius saw that they were shaken, he assailed them in mass formation. Their weakened lines were broken and could not be reformed, because they were entangled among the supply-wagons and artillery. The victorious troops in their hasty pursuit were strung out along the sides of the road. The carnage was peculiarly marked by the fact that in it a son killed his own father. The story and the names I shall give on the authority of Vipstanus Messala. Julius Mansuetus of Spain, when enrolled with the legion known as Rapax, had left behind him a young son. Later, when this son had grown up, he had been conscripted into the Seventh legion by Galba. Now he happened to meet his father, whom he wounded and struck down; then, as he looked closely at the dying man, the father and son recognized each other; the son embraced his expiring father and prayed with tears in his voice that his father’s spirit would forgive him and not abhor him as a patricide. “The crime,” he cried, “is the State’s; and what does a single soldier count for in a civil war?” At the same time he lifted up the body and began to dig a grave, performing the last duties toward a father. The soldiers near first noticed it, presently more; then through the whole line were heard cries of wonder, of pity, and of cursing against this most horrible war. Yet not one whit did they slacken their murder of relatives, kinsmen, and brothers. They called the deed a crime but did it.
[26] Vt Cremonam venere, novum immensumque opus occurrit. Othoniano bello Germanicus miles moenibus Cremonensium castra sua, castris vallum circumiecerat eaque munimenta rursus auxerat. quorum aspectu haesere victores, incertis ducibus quid iuberent. incipere obpugnationem fesso per diem noctemque exercitu arduum et nullo iuxta subsidio anceps: sin Bedriacum redirent, intolerandus tam longi itineris labor, et victoria ad inritum revolvebatur: munire castra, id quoque propinquis hostibus formidolosum, ne dispersos et opus molientis subita eruptione turbarent. quae super cuncta terrebat ipsorum miles periculi quam morae patientior: quippe ingrata quae tuta, ex temeritate spes; omnisque caedes et vulnera et sanguis aviditate praedae pensabantur.
26 When they reached Cremona they found a new task of enormous difficulty before them. In the war against Otho the troops from Germany had pitched their camp around the walls of Cremona and then had built a rampart around their camp; these defences they had later strengthened. At the sight of the fortifications the victorious troops hesitated, for their leaders were in doubt what orders to give. To begin an attack on the town with troops that were exhausted by fighting an entire day and night was a difficult undertaking and one of doubtful issue, when there were no reserves at hand; but if they returned to Bedriacum, their victory shrank to nothing, not to speak of the intolerable burden of such a long march. To fortify a camp even, with the enemy close at hand, involved the danger that the foe might by a sudden sortie cause them serious difficulty while their troops were scattered and busy with the work. But beyond all these things the Flavian leaders feared their own soldiers, who were more ready to face danger than delay; the troops detested safe measures and put all their hope in rash action. Every disaster, all wounds and blood, were outweighed by their greed for booty.
[27] Huc inclinavit Antonius cingique vallum corona iussit. primo sagittis saxisque eminus certabant, maiore Flavianorum pernicie, in quos tela desuper librabantur; mox vallum portasque legionibus attribuit, ut discretus labor fortis ignavosque distingueret atque ipsa contentione decoris accenderentur. proxima Bedriacensi viae tertiani septimanique sumpsere, dexteriora valli octava ac septima Claudiana; tertiadecimanos ad Brixianam portam impetus tulit. paulum inde morae, dum ex proximis agris ligones dolabras et alii falcis scalasque convectant: tum elatis super capita scutis densa testudine succedunt. Romanae utrimque artes: pondera saxorum Vitelliani provolvunt, disiectam fluitantemque testudinem lanceis contisque scrutantur, donec soluta compage scutorum exanguis aut laceros prosternerent multa cum strage. incesserat cunctatio, ni duces fesso militi et velut inritas exhortationes abnuenti Cremonam monstrassent.
27 Antonius inclined to meet his troops’ desires and ordered the investment of the enemy’s camp. At first t
hey fought at a distance with arrows and stones; but in this context the Flavians suffered the greater loss, for their opponent shot down upon them. Then Antonius assigned to each legion a gate or a part of the wall, that the division of labour might show who was brave and who cowardly, and thus fire the enthusiasm of his troops by making them rivals for glory. The sections next the road to Bedriacum the Third and Seventh legions took, the fortification farther to the right the Eighth and the Seventh Claudiana; the Thirteenth assailed the gate toward Brixia. Then there followed a brief delay while some of the soldiers gathered from the neighbouring fields mattocks and picks and others brought hooks and ladders. Then the soldiers, raising their shields above their heads, advanced under the wall in a close “tortoise” formation. Both sides used the familiar artifices of Roman warfare: the Vitellians rolled down heavy stones, and when they had separated and loosened the cover of compact shields, they searched its joints with lances and pikes until they broke up the close structure of the “tortoise,” and hurled their dead and mangled foes to the ground with great slaughter. The soldiers would have slackened their assault, for they were weary and ready to reject exhortations as idle, had not the leaders pointed to Cremona.
Complete Works of Tacitus (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 24) Page 201
