“I want you to send the last 1,000 men in the column to stand guard between the camp you are attacking and the Illyrian camp closest to you. This blocking force need only be 200 yards away from the rest of your men. Designate the bulk of your force to form a semi-circle around the two entrances. On your command, the men will light the torches they are carrying, run to the camp, and throw the torches over the wall. I expect the ensuing fire will drive them out the two entrances and into your waiting men. Complete your mission quickly and return to the south gate before the entire Illyrian encampment can react.”
“While you rehearse today and tomorrow, it’s important that every individual knows where he is to be standing when you reach the camp. When I ask your men tomorrow after the final rehearsal, ‘What is your position at the enemy camp?,’ I should hear only one of three responses. And they are ‘I am part of the blocking force.’; ‘I will be standing at one of the entrances.’; or ‘I will be standing by the wall around the camp.’ If the men are not ready, we will postpone the attack until the following night.”
“Praetor, we will be ready,” Gervasius assured him.
When the meeting ended, Gervasius left the tent and rode to his Legion camp. He had an aide summon his Commanders and staff. They had a lot of planning to do before his men could begin practicing the attack. After an hour, the major details were worked out. One group was assigned to make torches and soak them in flammable oil from the amphora stored by each onager. Second, a staging area was chosen and an order of march identified. Third, a list of equipment to be carried or left behind was prepared. Next, men were sent to mark an area outside the west wall that approximated the dimensions of the enemy camp, and finally poles were stuck in the ground in a circular pattern 150 yards out from a center point.
By 2:00 P.M., the unit marched out the south gate and went behind the west wall. They were lined up 10 abreast and began their rehearsal. At 5:00 P.M. they returned to camp to eat, rest, and prepare for another round. Then with darkness falling, they marched out the gate again, and conducted a night rehearsal which revealed a vast improvement over the earlier sessions. The following day, they rehearsed at 11:00 A.M. and again three hours later. Manius was invited to watch the final practice and question the troops. The Cenomani lined up in five rows of 1,000 men each, and Manius and Gervasius rode down the long lines of men. As expected, Manius periodically stopped his horse, pointed to an individual, and asked his question. Only one man showed any hesitation, and that was attributed to nervousness. Manius congratulated Gervasius. “You’ve done a fine job preparing your men. Attack the Illyrian camp tonight. Good luck.”
*******
Gervasius instructed his leaders to let the men sleep for the rest of the day. He planned to get them up at 10:00 P.M. and open the gate at 1:00 A.M. He instructed his two-man outpost in the wood line across the river to notify him immediately if there was any unusual activity in the camp targeted for the attack.
At 1:00 A.M. the gates were opened and the Cenomani filed out with the 50 archers leading the way. Each man carried an unlit torch as they waded across the river and began a quiet one-mile walk to the Illyrian camp. They had left anything that made noise behind in the fort. As it turned out, the Illyrians did not have listening posts in the field, so the archers approached the wall. As they had practiced, the Cenomani split their column to encircle the camp. There were only a handful of Illyrian guards by the wall and they were perfectly silhouetted by the night fires burning in the camp.
Multiple archers fired at each guard. Some arrows missed their targets and flew into the tents, but by then it made no difference. The Cenomani had lit their torches and were running toward the camp. As soon as the torches were over the wall, the warriors took their places by the entrances and around the wall. The torches immediately ignited the tents, and the Illyrians bolted for the exits or climbed over the wall. None took the time to grab their weapons. The fire jumped from tent to tent, and in no time, the entire camp was in flames.
The fleeing Illyrians had no idea they were under attack, and had not paused to grab their weapons. When they came face to face with the Cenomani, they faced one of two choices: die by the sword or die by fire. The dead stacked up around the entrances and along the wall. The heat was so intense the Cenomani had to back away. Gervasius recalled his blocking force, and the warriors re-formed their column formation and began trotting back to the river. They hadn’t lost a man, and they killed everyone in the camp.
Manius and the other Legates were waiting at the gate to show support for the Cenomani’s accomplishment. Torches were lit by the entrance. When Manius saw Gervasius walk into the camp, he grasped his hand and offered his congratulations. His men had performed perfectly, so Manius told Gervasius that he and his men were excused from all routine duties for the next two days. Manius turned to Cassius and said, “Look familiar to you? I’ll put you in for an award. This was your idea.”
Dindar, like most other veterans of the army, knew that fires would occasionally burn down a camp. It was something that happened, but the men always managed to get out. Some would suffer burns, but rarely did any one die. The shouts of fire spread down the line of camps. Some of the men mocked their stupidity and carelessness. Dindar got up and looked, but could only see a bright glow in the distance. Like the other camps, it was too far away to see any detail. The Officer-on-Duty in each of the camps mounted his horse and rode to the burning camp. What they saw was unbelievable. Dead men were stacked deep by each of the two entrances and all around the outside of the now smoldering wall. They immediately peered into the dark for anything threatening. Someone had attacked and killed these men. The alarm spread quickly among all the camps, and Dindar was informed. The camp walls were soon lined with men prepared to repel attackers.
Dindar mounted his horse and rode cautiously to the burning camp to see things for himself. He was stunned and angry at what he found. He promptly ordered the two remaining camps to assemble by his headquarters and assume their battle formation. He ordered his cavalry and archers to go forward and probe the darkness in the direction of the river. They returned shortly and reported that they found nothing, and there was no noise or light coming from the enemy side of the river.
Dindar told his cavalry commander to post men along the river to watch for any activity while he stayed in his tent and angrily paced the ground. Before long, he was joined shortly by his Commanders Andis, Sali, Landi and Malush. “I assume that Bujar is among the stack of bodies by the entrance,” said Dindar. “I should have anticipated this. Those damn Cenomani must have come out from behind their wall, and attacked Bujar’s camp because it was separated from the rest. I underestimated the ingenuity and boldness of my enemy. A classic mistake. Tomorrow, we will move our camps back one mile and keep the cavalry close to the river at night. I don’t think they will try this again, but let’s be prepared.”
By 5:00 A.M. on July 6th, Dindar sent the men back to their camps. The rest of the day was spent moving the men away from the river. Dindar and the other leaders returned to Bujar’s burnt out camp. They rode around the perimeter looking for anything that would reveal the identity of the attackers. The fire had destroyed everything, and they found nothing, but the dead. They were able to determine the route the attackers had used based on the disturbed ground leading to and from the river.
Dindar called his leaders together. “We need to bury these men. It’s bad for morale and soon the entire area will smell. Malush, after your men set up their new camp, bring them back here and dig a trench; a couple of feet deep should do it. Get these men underground today.”
Around noon the next day, the scouts returned from Trento. Commanders Andis and Sali were with Dindar discussing last night’s attack when Dindar’s aide announced their arrival.
“Send them in. Let’s hear what they have to say,” said Dindar.
The senior scout gave the report. “Commander, we rode to Trento and met Commanders Aze and Lugius. They send you their
greetings and estimate that they will arrive here on July 11th.”
“How many men are with them?” asked Dindar.
“We were told that they started with 10,000 Taurisci and 20,000 Boii/Eravisci, but lost 6,000 men attacking a place called Bad Tolz.”
“Good report. Return to your unit,” he said dismissing them with a wave of his hand.
Andis spoke, “With Vendim at the north end of the lake and Bujar dead, I have no command left.”
“You can serve as my Deputy until Vendim returns. Maybe we can recruit a couple thousand Gauls once we move beyond this wall. Don’t worry, Andis, you will soon be back in command.”
“Do you propose to take any offensive action while we wait for Aze and Lugius to arrive?” Sali asked Dindar.
“No, not with only 10,000 men! But I do want to talk about how our combined army should attack the Cenomani position. I don’t want Aze and Lugius dictating to me how to use my men. I want to control the discussion and tell them the best way to attack.”
“I’ve already given it some thought and have a few ideas,” said Sali.
“Tell me,” said Dindar.
“My approach would be to force them to shift their men from place to place with diversionary attacks and keep them guessing where and when the main attack will take place. First, I would have our men build five rafts that each measure 10 feet by 10 feet. They would build these rafts out of sight of the three islands, up the beach a few miles in an area hidden by hills and trees. These rafts would be lashed tightly together to form a bridge that could be floated down to the islands when we are ready for them.”
“I would start the action at 1:00 A.M. with a diversionary attack against the southernmost part of the wall with maybe 1,000 warriors. They would throw torches and spears at the defenders, but not seriously try to assault the wall. They would draw the enemy’s attention and hopefully, cause the Commander to move more men to that part of the wall. Next, I would float the rafts down the lake to the islands. The darkness will hide them. The five rafts should span the 50 feet between the island and the land. I would use 1,000 men, with ladders, to run across the rafts and attempt to scale the wall. I would have another 4,000 on the shore prepared to reinforce the 1,000 men if they are successful.”
“I would space these two diversionary attacks apart by 15 to 20 minutes to allow enough time for the defenders to react. I would then send 10,000 men against the gate in the center of the wall. This is the secondary attack, which could actually succeed. After 20 minutes, I would send the main attack against the northernmost gate, the one closest to the lake where the bridge used to be. This attack would have 17,000 men, which includes the 4,000 that were opposite the first island.”
“I think that by hitting the two ends of the wall first, the enemy Commander will shift forces thinking either one could be the main assault. Then when the 10,000 men hit the very center of the wall, he will have to shift forces again. I want to create as much confusion as possible. Once the enemy adjusts to these attacks, the main attack will catch them totally by surprise and our men will be over the wall.”
“If Vendim can get around the lake and behind the wall, we could launch our attacks when we hear him begin his assault. The enemy would be fighting on two walls and I don’t think he has the manpower to do that. If Vendim fails to get around the lake, we can still attack this side as I described it. That’s my idea, Commander.”
“Sali, that’s a lot to digest. It’s complicated with a lot of moving parts. The troops would have to move silently into four different attack positions in the dark. The overall Commander, undoubtedly Aze or Lugius, would have to be able to order the four attacks in the sequence and timing you cited. I think our Illyrians could do this, but I don’t know the state of discipline of the other army. It is a good plan, so let’s continue talking about it. If I still like it when the other army arrives, I’ll let you explain it to them.”
“Andis, as my new Deputy, here’s my first order. Make sure the cavalry is patrolling down by the river tonight, and for as long as we’re here. We don’t need any more fires.”
As ordered, the Illyrian cavalry began to patrol along the river that night. The 50 horsemen stayed about 100 yards away from the tree line. They walked their horses in a circular route from one end of the wall to the other. Along the way, they would stop and talk to each other and made no attempt to hide their presence.
The two lookouts from each Legion in the fort lay hidden in the woods and spotted the cavalrymen as soon as they arrived. The presence of the horsemen was reported back to the fort. Individuals up the reporting chain were notified, but decided to take no action on the reports until the following day.
When Manius was informed about the cavalry patrols the following morning, he called together his Commanders and Legates to discuss the enemy cavalry. The consensus was that this was an expected defensive reaction to the night attack. Snake, the Commander of the archers, thought about it for a moment and said, “Commanders, at 100 yards my archers can’t miss! Let me put out 100 of my best men. We can definitely hit the horses and probably bring down a number of the riders as well.” Manius agreed.
At dusk, the archers went across the river with the lookouts. The plan was that the leader of the archers would blow a whistle, and the archers would fire and continue firing as long as the riders were in range. The horses were the primary target.
As soon as it was dark, the Illyrian cavalrymen returned and began their circular patrolling route. They were relaxed and only expected to lose another night’s sleep.
The riders snapped their heads around to face the shrill sound of a whistle coming from the trees. Instead of seeing the source of the noise, they found themselves the target of hundreds of incoming arrows. The horses bolted from the impact and pain of the arrow strikes. Riders fell from their saddles or slumped over from their wound. Some horses were down; other ran off carrying multiple arrows. Some horses fell after running a short distance, while a few were remained unscathed and rode back to report the attack.
Andis was awakened. Before waking Dindar, he went to talk to the men and see the horses. He learned that the Commander of the cavalry detachment was dead in the field. He was seen falling from his horse. Andis reluctantly woke Dindar. He knew and feared his anger.
“Andis, this is an outrage. How many men and horses did we lose?”
“All but six horses were hit. The rest were killed or will probably have to be put down. The wounds are deep and will surely become infected. Most of the men survived and are still making their way back.”
“Andis, why were the men so close to the river? What were your instructions to them?”
“I told the Detachment Commander to always stay at least 400 yards back from the trees,” he lied. He had never given them any such instructions, but with the detachment commander dead, the lie came easily.
“These Cenomani are killing us with a thousand cuts! First it was Bujar’s camp and now this.” said Dindar angrily. “Tomorrow, get the men working on the rafts that Sali talked about.”
*******
Three days later, July 11th, two things happened. Vendim returned in the morning and Aze and Lugius came marching down the road in the afternoon.
Vendim was announced and entered Dindar’s tent. “Vendim, I’m surprised to see you so soon. This is going to be a splendid day. Your men are back, and the other Army is due to arrive today from Trento.”
Before Dindar could continue, Vendim exclaimed, “That is excellent news. With their 30,000 men and our 20,000, we will crush the Cenomani.”
Dindar looked at him in disbelief. Then realized he obviously didn’t know about the night attack on Bujar’s camp seven days ago. “Vendim, the Cenomani came out from behind their wall and attacked Bujar’s camp at night. They burned it down and killed everyone. We only have 15,000 men.”
Vendim stared at Dindar. “The entire camp was killed? How could that have happened?”
“Bujar’s security was
obviously too lax. I place the blame entirely on him. Let this be a lesson to you. Bujar underestimated the enemy and lost his life and entire command. If he had not died, I would have executed him. These Cenomani are clever and dangerous. Now, tell me why you are here.”
Vendim described the log wall and the defenders guarding the crest of the hill. “I need an additional 10,000 men to push them out of the way, and then I can continue around the lake and attack the wall from the west. I won’t need the 10,000 men after I defeat the defenders on the hill, so I’ll send them back. Then, you can lead the combined army in an attack on this side of the wall and my men will attack on the other; it should be an easy victory.”
“You may get your 10,000. You can present your argument to their Commanders Aze and Lugius when they arrive. I like the idea.”
The signal station on top of the mountain sent a message reporting the movement of a 25,000 man army coming south from Trento. Within an hour and a half, Manius had assembled his commanders to brief them on this latest development.
Lugius’ advance cavalry guard reported Dindar’s position and the location of his two 5,000 man camps to Aze and Lugius while the army was still marching alongside the mountains. The Commanders rode ahead of the marching men to meet with Dindar.
After the formal greetings were exchanged and refreshments served, Aze said, “The Carthaginian who recruited us said that you would have an army of 20,000, yet we see half of that.”
Dindar explained about the night attack against Bujar’s camp and its total destruction laying all the blame on Bujar. “I ordered him to put his camp two miles away from the river and to post security guards throughout the area. He disobeyed my orders and died because of it.” Sali, Andis, Landi, Vendim, and Malush knew that was a lie, but it was expected. The Commander was never to blame. “I also have 5,000 men at the top of the lake preparing to find an alternate way around this obstacle.” Dindar never mentioned the archers’ attack on the cavalry along the river.
Legio XVII: Battle of Zama Page 28
