Raising Steam

by Peter Rhodan

  He formed his men in a three deep line facing them and was surprised when they opened fire while still mounted! Urging his men forward they began to advance on the small group of Roman horsemen but these worthies, instead of standing and fighting, simply danced away and continued firing. A quick, sudden charge achieved nothing as the Romans simply wheeled and rode away at a gallop until the Votandi stopped chasing them whereupon they turned and began firing again. More and more of his men went down, either dead or wounded and soon his initial numerical advantage had been whittled away and there were less of his warriors still on their feet than there were Romans.

  Coeda had been wounded in his upper sword arm but still grasped his spear and was looking grim. “We have to retreat Lord.” He hissed, breathing hard form all the physical exertion. Corotoc looked at him, back at the Romans and nodded despite the frustration he felt. “Back to the trees lads.” Coeda bellowed and the remaining Votandi broke and ran for the rocky ground they had struggled through earlier. Fortunately, the Romans could not shoot and chase them at the same time but then to his surprise they produced very long lances which had been strapped to their horses unnoticed and lowering these came charging after them.

  Hearing the pounding hooves getting closer Corotoc yelled at his men to run faster and somehow they made it into the rocky ground before the lance armed Roman horsemen could reach them, the small delay to swap weapons enabling the fleeing Votandi to outdistance them and escape. The Roman cavalry halted short of the rocks and then proceeded to re-attach their lances to their horses via the hooks Corotoc could now see attached to the horse harness. They then pulled the damned crossbows back up from the leather pocket things they had stuck them in earlier. These were attached to their saddles on the other side of the horse from the lances forward of where their legs went. The cavalry then spread out along the edge of the rough ground obviously intent on preventing the Votandi warriors from attacking the artillery in the flank or rear.

  Corotoc was trying to think of some other way to flank the Romans but Coeda pointed out that with less than twenty effectives left there was little they could achieve. Reluctantly Corotoc agreed and they led their men back through the maze of rough ground towards the main Selgovae army, picking up a couple of their wounded along the way. Coeda made a point of grabbing all the crossbows the dead Roman scouts had been carrying. He distributed these amongst the troops who quickly found the devices had a leather strap that allowed them to be worn on their backs out of the way.

  Before long they were back at the point where they could see both armies stretched out before them just in time to witness the failure of the next Selgovae attack. Knowing what to expect the tribesmen had concentrated on flowing through the gaps in the first ditch and then around the much shorter second ditches. The time it took to get around to the gaps plus the fact the Romans could concentrate their fire on those points resulted in this charge failing as well.

  The tribesmen got as close as javelin range to the Roman line in one place, but none reached it. In the end the Selgovae fell back once more to lick their wounds. It was hard to tell but to Corotoc it appeared that the Selgovae had lost maybe a third of their force already either dead or wounded. This time the Romans did not sit idly waiting for the tribesmen to get their enthusiasm up for another charge. Instead there was a blare of horns from the Roman side and the whole line moved forward. Those facing the shorter secondary trenches directly in front of their position waited till the units on either side had passed forward of their position then turned ninety degrees and marched sideways to fall in behind.

  As the leading two ranks reached the ditch they halted then the whole formation turned either left or right and began marching through the gaps in the long trenches and once they had passed that trench the column began alternately wheeling either left or right and marching outwards to form a new line in front of the trench with the order of units effectively reversed. It was probably the most impressive thing Corotoc had ever seen, the precision and the speed of the manoeuvre was simply amazing. The Selgovae leaders barely had time to organise their dispirited troops and begin advancing before the Roman army was reformed in the same long line, this time in front of the ditch.

  And that was not all. Over the ridge line came the Roman cavalry in their narrow columns to support the infantry. There were not that many in each column, certainly no more than two hundred or so each, but they looked impressive carrying their long lances upright and were obviously well rested. The Roman infantry then began another operation, the scariest he had seen yet. The first rank fired at the Selgovae who although shuffling forward were not really in effective range yet. Then while they reloaded the second rank marched through them and took up a position a couple of paces further forward before taking aim and firing in turn. The original first rank, once they had finished reloading their crossbows, marched through the former second while that rank began reloading and took their turn to fire again.

  The whole operation was accompanied by a trum, trum noise made by the drummers attached to the command groups behind the centre of each wing. Corotoc looked at Coeda who shook his head. “That’s not like any Roman army I ever seen.” The man spat.

  Corotoc agreed and turned to look at the Selgovae. They must have had at least three thousand warriors still, yet after the two unsuccessful charges you could almost feel their reluctance to face the Roman firepower again. There did not seem to be many of the leaders left amongst the warriors either. Certainly, he could not see Cluen or Cryllyn, who had both presumably dismounted to charge but even with both leaders on foot for the actual fighting, their positions should have been obvious and they weren’t. He hoped it was simply because they hidden in the mass of tribesman.

  The Roman line was now a good distance past the ditch and steadily advancing. The arrows were beginning to strike home regularly amongst the warriors although the front ranks were using their shields for defence, so the actual number of casualties was still low. The Roman cavalry came winding through the two gaps in the ditch and began forming up two ranks deep behind the centre of each wing, the command groups and musicians that had been positioned there moving to one side. The whole army was so well ordered and efficient it was like watching some huge machine and Corotoc felt a chill up his spine as he watched in awe. He had heard of how well trained the Romans were, but this was something that seemed almost uncanny.

  The Selgovae let out a roar and surged forward into the Roman arrow storm once more. This third charge lacked the enthusiasm of the earlier ones however with a lot of the aggressive, well known leaders, already out of action. In places the tribesmen came bounding forward but in others it was more of half-hearted shuffle hold their shields up to provide cover. The most serious looking group were led by a giant of a man with flaming red hair, one of the sub chiefs Corotoc had been introduced to but whose name now eluded him. He must have been hidden in the mass of warriors earlier but now he stood out as the force he led streamed forward in what became a wedge shaped advance as only those in the near vicinity followed at full speed. He must have gotten within spitting range of the Romans before he went down, along with most of those immediately behind him, as that whole section of the Roman line concentrated their fire on that charge.

  And his fall took the heart out of the whole effort. Over on the far side of the field Corotoc could see another group that had reached javelin range of the Romans but they failed to charge home as well. He thought he could recognise Cluedda from his helmet leading near the front but at that distance it was hard to be sure. The death of the big red head was followed by something almost akin to a sigh as the whole mass of warriors in that part of the field subsided backwards like a wave recoiling on a beach.

  Then there came the sound of trumpets from the Roman side and the infantry directly in front of the cavalry stopped advancing. As the units on either side continued to march forward opening a gap there was room the men who had stopped to left and right and file across behind their still a
dvancing fellow infantry. With the way clear there now came a long call on the horns and Roman cavalry began to walk then trot forward. There was a loud command and their lances came down in one motion and then they broke into a canter. There were only a couple of hundred in each group but even at the range Corotoc was watching from it was damned intimidating seeing them came bounding forward in almost a perfect straight line, shiny points glittering and pennons streaming.

  The Selgovae in front of them tried to stand for a moment then simply broke and fled. The panic became contagious and soon the tribesmen in the immediate area of the charging cavalry were all running for their lives. The cavalry sounded more horns and broke into a gallop and slammed into the fleeing infantry riding men down virtually at will. The collapse that accompanied the thundering cavalry charge, combined with the still advancing infantry loudly encouraged by their drums, was too much and the rest of the Selgovae host simply broke as a body and began streaming back up the valley they had marched down so confidently in the morning.

  Corotoc felt himself touched by someone and taking his eyes from the debacle turned to find Coeda looking worried. “We have to get out of here my Prince.” Corotoc looked around at the worried men of his command and nodded. He started towards where they had left the horses but felt his arm clasped by his companion. “No good my lord, the Romans will see us if we try to get to the horses. Best we simply head up into the mountains and move east. We can forage as we go. It will be hard but better’n that!” He waved to where the Romans cavalry were busy slaughtering the fleeing tribesmen. Corotoc nodded and they began struggling through the rocky, heather blocked ground to begin their long walk home.

  Chapter 11

  Aftermaths

  Arturo reigned in his horse at the top of the rise that had been the starting point of the Selgovae army that morning. The cavalry was still pursuing the fleeing warriors but there was clearly no chance that the bulk of the enemy would be able to rally this day. Over to the left he could see there was a force of six hundred or so still in an organised mass retreating into some wooded hilly ground and they were about the only viable combat forces left to the Brythons.

  Brennus pointed at them, “Do we go after them sir?”

  Arturo shook his head. “No. I think we’ve done enough today. Hernann, have recall sounded for the cavalry please.” The Frank rode off to where the trumpeters were. He turned to Brennus. “We will cease pursuit and start rounding up the prisoners. I want them all collected and under guard before night. The Selgovae will know this land better than our men and I'd rather not give them a cheap victory in the dark.”

  “Yes sir.” Brennus said and leading his command group, headed off for his troops. Arturo rode over to where Valerius was and gave him the same orders. While the army began to get itself organised once more he remained sitting on his horse atop the ridge surveying the carnage. This battle was easily the most sickening thing he had ever witnessed. It had been sickening enough to just watch the battle with men being shot full of arrows but even that had not been as bad as the hacking and slashing the cavalry indulged in as they pursued the fleeing warriors. The sheer heroism of the Selgovae warriors trying to close with the Roman line had been impressive but terribly sad at the same time. At least in space you could not hear the enemy scream or see them bleed for that matter. Except when you had to board a disabled ship of course, but even that wasn't so, so personal, as seeing limbs cut off and heads caved in. The gory live action right in front of him had been sickening. And the smell!

  By the time the sun was setting behind the mountains to the west the battlefield had largely been cleared. Prisoners were used to carry the dead bodies of their fellow tribesmen to a makeshift mass grave in the ditches and then they were herded into a makeshift pen. Those whose wounds were too severe to have any chance of survival were put out of their misery and added to the pile. This was something else Arturo had a real problem with, coming from a society where just about anything could be fixed short of outright death. He understood the necessity of it a society without even simple antibiotics but found he simply could not even watch as brave men were simply killed because there was no hope of their recovery.

  That evening the senior officers gathered in Arturo’s tent. Their own casualties were tiny. Half a dozen of the scout cavalry had been lost in a fight in the rough ground on the flank when they ran into an enemy force trying to get behind the artillery. Another ten cavalry had been killed in the charge and fifteen wounded sufficiently badly to put them out of action for some time. A whole twenty men had been killed by javelins thrown by those few Selgovae who had got close enough for the javelins to reach the Roman line along with another fifty men wounded to various degrees. About twenty more had been wounded during the pursuit and that was it.

  No one in the tent had seen anything like such a one-sided fight in the open field. It was simply incredible, a stupendous feat, for which the hidden ditches had been the key, not only taking the Selgovae by surprise but stopping their charge right at the effective range for the bows. The ditches had been almost full of dead and wounded in places by the time the Romans advanced. Valerius nodded to Arturo. “You were right about the ditches.” He offered. They had argued about how deep the ditches should be. Valerius had been thinking in terms of traditional Roman vellum type ditches. Arturo had been thinking in terms of an animal trap. They had been dug at least twice as deep as a traditional Roman ditch. The dug earth carefully carried away and the ditches lightly covered with thin poles made from tree branches over which the turf had been re-laid.

  Arturo smiled. “They nearly filled it in in places.” He replied.

  Valerius nodded then consulted the notes he had written on the sheet of paper attached to a board using the new ‘pencil’ Arturo had caused to be made. The grey lead writing was not as clear as real ink but the ‘pencils’ were much easier to carry around. And a lot less messy. “By my staff’s count we have taken roughly six hundred prisoners who are fully fit, around two hundred more lightly wounded and three hundred and fifty seriously wounded but expected to recover fully. That leaves another two hundred odd prisoners with serious wounds they are expected to recover from but who will not be regaining full combat functionality.” The assembled Roman officers made noises of surprised happiness at the sheer numbers. “And a rough count of twelve hundred dead.” Someone whistled. Arturo quickly calculated that the Selgovae had lost something like forty percent of their available manpower. This was an undoubted disaster for the tribe.

  “Very well. We got lucky. They attacked us in a position of our choosing without scouting the ground before launching an all-out charge uphill into a prepared enemy. Remember all these things gentlemen and avoid making the same mistakes yourselves.” He paused and looked around at the assembled officers who all nodded in turn as his gaze crossed theirs. “We have had a great victory because you all followed orders perfectly. I know most of you were reluctant to spend the battle at the rear directing your troops rather than leading them from the front, but it is important you understand why. This battle was easy. Not all our battles will be this simple nor our opponents so stupid. If you are in the front lines you cannot see what is happening on your flank or even to your front beyond the enemy troops immediately in your face. Flexibility is more important for officers than heroics I am afraid.” He looked around at their faces once more. Some were nodding, while others looked thoughtful, although a couple simply looked blank.

  “Right, enough of that. We have had a victory that will be sung about forever and you should all be proud. Tomorrow the First will advance on the Selgovae oppidum with all the cavalry. The second will remain here to sort the prisoners out just as we did with the Scotti. Those who will not be able to fight in future I intend to release once a peace treaty is arranged as they are no use to us but killing them would create unnecessary ill will. Releasing them on the other hand will give us some kudos to balance the retaining of all the rest of our prisoners.”

 
; “Now let us get down to a serious examination of what went right and what went wrong and what we can learn about today’s battle for use in the future.” The men all looked surprised. Clearly post combat de-briefings were something new to this world or at least were new to the Roman army. Arturo sighed. So much he still had to impart to these people!

  Chapter 12

  Consequences

  Morghanna heard shouts and looking around saw the youngster riding flat out through the oppidum weaving around startled women and children and somehow knew immediately that her fears had been justified and disaster had befallen the army. He galloped up to where she stood calmly waiting with what she knew to be horrendous news, struggling to stop herself from shaking. The young man flung himself from his horse and stood in front of her smelling of sweat and panting furiously. “The king is wounded my lady. He is being carried north even now. Prince Cryllyn is badly wounded as well.” She kept herself motionless and a calm expression on her face as she nodded slightly to acknowledge his report. He paused but seemed relieved at her calm acceptance of this news. He visibly pulled himself together and calmed down a little. “We have been defeated lady. The Romans did not wait in their stone forts but came north and met us in the valley of the Liyth. They used hidden ditches to break our charges and their bows did terrible carnage amongst our men. We have lost a third of the army or more.” He wailed, obviously starting to suffer from shock now that his mission was complete.

  She clasped him on the shoulder. “Good lad to bring us the news so quickly. What of my brother?”