Raising Steam

by Peter Rhodan

  Finally, some sort of agreement must have been reached. The Imperial officers returned to their units and a little while later the whole force sat down on the ground, presumably as a sign of submission. Oween came pelting over to and rode past Corotoc’s position before yelling for Valerius. Shortly thereafter word came down the line that the First Legion would begin sorting prisoners, collecting the dead and their loot and generally cleaning up the battlefield.

  The Second broke up their line and headed back up the slope having obviously received different orders. The cavalry force broke up as well. A company or so remained watching the Imperials while another retired back towards where they had been initially stationed, Corotoc guessed they were on prisoner and dead clean up duties as well. The main body of cavalry split into the two cohorts, one heading off behind the now distant Germans and the other towards where the Imperial cavalry had fled.

  Corotoc looked up at the sun as it appeared through the clouds and realised with a start that it was now the middle of the afternoon. The battle had not seemed to take anywhere near that long. He had his men checking the German dead as they returned to the ditch and found a couple of injured but still alive ones he had his men help towards the rear. Back behind the ditch the healthy prisoners were being clumped together and the herded into a patch of ground where they could be watched in a group.

  Splitting up his company he organised work details of captured prisoners to start collecting the dead while others searched the bodies first. One of the aides from Valerius came by and said to use the ditch as a grave for the bodies. This meant some of his men had to get down in there and search bodies already in the ditch. He called for volunteers and offered a five denarii silver coin each to the first four men who did so, which got him four willing souls fairly quickly.

  Looking at the prisoners as they were organised to start piling the dead in the ditch he noticed one of them was clearly better dressed in a proper Roman outfit. Corotoc wandered over and indicated for the man to approach him. The fellow looked sullen but not broken. And was clearly not a German.

  “And you would be?” He asked in his somewhat accented Latin.

  The man looked to say one thing then shrugged and said “I am Sejanus Maximus, Tribune of the Second Allied Cohort.” And stood up straighter.

  “Ensign Corotoc, First Legion.” Corotoc replied. “Are you injured?”

  The man smiled. “Only my pride.”

  Corotoc smiled back. “Well no matter. I will have you taken to Valerius Claudius the Legate of the First Legion.” He turned to a couple of men standing nearby. “Manann, take this officer to the Legate please.”

  The man selected saluted and turning to the Imperial waved his arm in towards where the standards could be seen over the heads of the nearby men. “This way sir.” He said and led the man off.

  The day dragged on as they cleaned up the battlefield then in the early evening he heard how the cavalry had hidden a triple line of stakes in the scrub in front of their position and simply sat on their horses and shot the suddenly halted Imperial cavalry to pieces. Corotoc was impressed with the cleverness and planning that went into organising a victorious battle like this. The scouting meant Arturo knew what he would be facing, he guessed Combrosius would lead with the Germani and try to flank the Republicans with his seemingly superior cavalry and planned the battle accordingly. The choice of terrain meant that Combrosius had little flexibility in his own tactical choices if he wanted to beat the Republicans and thus he played straight into Arturo’s hands.

  Corotoc decided that he enjoyed being on Arturo’s side far more than being on the opposing side! There was certainly far more to becoming a successful general than he had assumed. Keeping the men supplied, not just with food but also arrows for instance. His men had shot their entire store of arrows, and the reserve that each company had and then they had been re-supplied from the Legion reserve in the supply carts over the ridge. Yes, this Arturo Sandus knew how to make war just as well as he knew how to fight battles.

  And now the supply century of the sixth cohort was organised to feed the whole legion and probably feed the prisoners too. It seemed to be Arturo’s way to treat prisoners like friends. Certainly, the Selgovae warriors serving in the Legions were steady enough and had fought well. Interesting. There was much to be learned from studying Arturo Sandus!

  Chapter 20

  Heading south

  The thousand strong infantry column followed the three hundred cavalry through the arched gates of Eboracum, flags flying and band playing. Arturo thought the band was still a bit thin in the brass section and the woodwind section was practically non-existent, but the drums were good. The small rump garrison manning the huge fortress had surrendered without resistance and after securing the military headquarters Arturo had led the parade across the river over the stone bridge and then through the town to the city centre.

  He was accompanied by Coel, Brennus and Julianus, Oween of course and his four bodyguards. The Dux’s command staff followed, three young ensigns for carrying orders and Hernann to keep an eye on them. One of them carried the red cross on white background personal flag of the Primarius.

  The population lined the street, being neither enthusiastic in their greeting of the Republicans nor sullen and unhappy but rather had an attitude of watchful ambivalence overall. Probably felt Arturo was just the latest in the long line of Imperial claimants that had started in Britannia, and usually from Eboracum. The centre of the town was impressive with colonnaded temples and basilica fronting the main square while there were several very large houses belonging to the wealthy or powerful on the other side of the main road. The rest of the city looked partially run down and abandoned like every other town in Britannia. Arturo decided to take up a position on the raised steps of an obviously disused temple. Only the Christian church, clearly a re-used pagan temple, appeared to be well maintained.

  He had Coel organise his Legion in front of the temple with the cavalry off to one side in front of an open area that had perhaps been some sort of sacred grove but was now overgrown and derelict. The whole place had the same run-down, half empty look and feel similar to what Lugowalion had been like when he first gained control of it. Large numbers of the townspeople moved into the area in front of the Legion and after waiting a good ten minutes for them to pack into the area Arturo raised his arm in a gesture of salute common among the Romans.

  “Greetings people of Eboracum. I am Arturo Sandus, proclaimed by the army Dux Britannium, duly elected member of the Concillium Romanum for the province of Maxima Caesariensis and Primarius of the restored Roman Republic. This city and the entire province are now part the restored Republic. Republican law and taxes will now apply to all those living here and copies of the relevant information will be made available publicly as soon as they can be brought south from Lugowalion. In the mean-time simply go about your normal business and any disputes or crimes are to be brought to the military authorities.”

  He paused as his words had obviously had little effect on the silently watching population. “This is a new day for the city of Eboracum and the whole of Britannia. You will find trade encouraged and farming improved. Education will be restored along with religious freedom. We have come to improve your lives, not grind you down further with yet more taxes and demands but you have no doubt heard similar speeches before. Therefore, let me just say that the proof of my words will be in my actions and will be obvious very quickly.”

  He waved to the largely silent mass and went down the steps to the waiting command group. “I thought that went well.” He said sarcastically and they all dutifully smiled.

  “Give them time Arturo. They will come round.” Brennus offered.

  “Yes. I imagine they will. Right, so you will take the Second, Coel, and follow up the Saxoni. They appear to have taken over the fort at Brandunum. Lock them in there but don’t assault yet. No point in wasting our men unnecessarily. Valerius will be here with First in a few days and I w
ill forward his artillery and reinforcements as soon as they are organised.”

  He looked around. “I know you would rather I built the First and Second up to full strength with our new, ah, recruits but I really think that having garrisons at key locations is more important for the moment. With that in mind I will form a new Third Legion to be based here. And one to be based at Deva and another at Isca. And then one at Londinium. But that will all happen over a period of time. Preliminary accounts are that we have taken nearly a thousand Saxon prisoners on top of the twelve hundred regulars and nearly three hundred cavalry.”

  “We will add the equivalent one cohort to each of the First and Second, giving you each three infantry cohorts. At this stage they will get half and half Auxilia and Germans. I am holding two centuries from the Second here to form the foundation of the new Legions. Leave me another century to supervise your, ah, recruits which will be sent forward to you as soon as possible. Simply keep the Saxoni bottled up in that fort for now until the reinforcements arrive then see if you can get them to surrender.”

  He stopped and after a moment Coel nodded. “Good man. Hopefully the artillery will be able to gradually wear down a section of the wall which will encourage them to give up.” He looked around the men. “We have to grab this opportunity with both hands. I intend to be marching into Londinium before the word of our victory has time to reach the Prefect of Gallia.” His assembled officers all nodded at this, not in the least surprised. “Good. Let us be about it then.”

  Two days after the Second had headed south west chasing the Saxoni when the First finally turned up accompanied by the mass of prisoners. Three hundred of the captured Germans who had agreed to serve in the army were brigaded with one of the Auxilia cohorts and the extra century Coel had left behind and joined by the First’s artillery and fifty extra cavalry were sent off to reinforce the Second.

  The two other centuries left behind from the Second as a garrison for the town were joined by two from the First, three hundred more Germans and most of one of the former Auxilia units and declared to be the Third Legion, organised in two under strength cohorts and with a force of two short centuries of cavalry. Arturo took another century from the First, added equal numbers of Germans and the rest of the Auxilia boys and declared that the Fourth Legion. He added a short century of cavalry to round out that unit and then the rest of the acquired troops were added to the First.

  Leaving the Third to settle in at Eboracum he intended to take the First and the Fourth south west to secure the middle part of the island before moving on Deva. Whilst he was marching all over securing the loyalty of the remaining towns in this part of the island he sent orders for the Romulus to sail south and visit Isca. The newly added Germans and former Imperials would be trained on the march. Plus, it would give time for new supplies of manuballistas to come south to arm the new recruits with.

  What there was of the war chest Combrosius had carried north with him was sent to Dervent to be melted down into coins. His residence, well palace, in Eboracum yielded some valuable jewellery, gold goods and such that were either sold off or melted down. Interestingly, old Imperial coins, previously secreted away now began to come out to be exchanged for Republican goods as republican money began entering the area as a result of soldiers spending their pay.

  An intense young man arrived to open a branch of the Bank and the censors of Arcadius began to work their way south from Vindolanda and Neuvoportus. Plans were roughly drawn up of where the railway coming down from the north would eventually run and where the main station for the town would be located. Because the river was unsuitable for the new, big ships that they were building a party of cavalry with one of the First’s engineer officers went south along the river to find a good place with deep water for a new port to be built.

  In the end he didn’t march for nearly ten days after arriving at the town. He headed south west, visiting all the towns in that general direction including Manucium where the army spent three days resting and he spent the time sorting out civilian matters. The good thing was no one seemed at all interested in disputing matters with him. The Christian priests were sullen and their flocks were unhappy with the new laws allowing religious freedom but after the crushing defeat of Combrosius no one seemed willing to challenge him.

  Chapter 21

  Big city blues

  The only Imperial Agentes En Rebus in Britannia, Licinius Fabius, looked down on Londinium from the rising ground to the north. It had been a long trip south from the disastrous battle and he was glad to finally reach civilisation, of a sort. To be fair, Londinium had probably been one of the least affected cities in the Empire from the malaise that had struck in recent times, particularly here in the west. Indeed, a lot of towns had almost ceased to exist in the last few decades as the people fled barbarians, tax collectors and the Roman army. Londinium had held up comparatively well. Yes, there were a few abandoned areas and quite a few abandoned buildings in the city, but it was a lot more alive than some other cities and towns he’d visited recently. The most rundown complex was the old legionary fortress on the north wall which apart from troops moving through on the occasional redeployment had been empty for centuries. The couple of hundred troops the Vicarius had raised were trying to refurbish at least part of the complex but a lot of the stones from the collapsed buildings had been reused for other purposes.

  It was late in the morning before finally reached the palace of the Vicarius in Londinium having trudged through the muddy and unkempt streets. He had fled the battlefield once he saw that the so called Palatini units were going to surrender to the Republicans rather than fight. He could not blame them he supposed. The collapse and rout of the Germans had demoralised them and the death of Combrosius combined with the arrival of Republican cavalry on their flank had provided a fairly good incentive to change sides.

  Word of the battle had not seemed to have reached this far south yet although he doubted it would take long. He had some trouble at the entrance to the palace with the suspicious underlings guarding access to the Vicarius but showing his seal as an Agentes En Rebus finally gained him entry. The Master of the Chambers came and took him through a couple of lavish spaces with impressive mosaics on the floors and wooden panelling on much of the walls painted with Christian scenes. They finally reached the room where the Vicarius currently was and the Master of the Chambers bowed him in.

  The room was obviously a library of sorts, as a lot of the rich and powerful liked to have as a sign of their superior cultural standing. Most of the scrolls looked to have been resting in their alcoves untouched for years though, given the dust and pristine shape to the vellum. The Vicarious was seated behind a desk made of a light coloured wood with an intricate inlaid pattern on the top composed of at least three other darker woods. The style of the panelling went well with the carving on the shelves the scrolls were held in.

  Vicarius Apollodorus was a fleshy man in his fifties, still healthy looking but obviously not an athletic person any more given his bulk. He affected traditional Roman values apparently as he was attired in a Toga, something you rarely saw outside the bigger Imperial cities these days. He rose as Licinius was announced. “Licinius?” He queried at the name and title in tone that sounded scornful. “You claim to be an Agentes En Rebus?”

  Licinius scowled. He was not used to having his rank questioned. “Yes. Here is my seal.” He answered shortly, holding it out to the man who peered at and nodded. Then the Vicarius settled his bulk back into the chair and motioned Licinius to sit while doing so.

  “I was not aware there were any of you fellows left in Britannia after Honorius abandoned us.” The man said at last. “What can I do for you?” He asked as Licinius brought a plain, hard looking chair over from near the wall and sat. The Vicarius had at least changed his tone a little and sounded more respectful now. Apollodorus put his elbows on the desk and clasped his hands under his chin as he waited for Licinius to get settled.

  The Agentes waved a han
d after sitting down. “It’s more what I can do for you. Combrosius marched north to bring this Sandus fellow to heel.”

  Apollodorus nodded. “I understand he received gold from Ravenna to hire Germani?”

  Licinius nodded not surprised that information had become general knowledge. “Yes. He managed to get nearly six thousand organised and willing to fight, plus his own three Auxilia units and three vexillations of cavalry although those were vey understrength.”

  “Impressive.” Apollodorus commented.

  “Not impressive enough. He marched north early to try and catch the self-proclaimed Dux unawares but not only was that Sandus fellow not caught by surprise but he somehow managed to get his own army east so quickly that he met us south of Vindolanda.”

  Apollodorus waved a hand at this. “I am not really very good with the geography up north, you understand, but I gather this was a surprise?”

  “Yes. We broke camp barely north of Caractorum and there they were lined up waiting for us a couple of hours north of our camp without anyone even suspecting they were so close.” He paused then continued his account of the battle. “The Republicans.” And he said the term like it was some sort of swear word. “Had maybe two thousand men and five or six hundred cavalry so we outnumbered them nearly four to one in infantry but only maybe a couple of hundred more in cavalry, but that included the couple hundred Catafractii Combrosius had managed to raise and arm.” He stopped again thinking on the numbers at the battle.