Legio XVII: Battle of Zama

by Thomas A. Timmes

  Calvus put the whistle to his lips and blew. The shrill sound was picked up by other whistles all along the line, and the men rose up from their hiding positions. The Illyrians were caught completely by surprise. The men in the front began running south; the men at the rear of the formation turned and started running back up the lake road. Pila rained down by the thousands and were followed by logs and boulders. Odo’s men charged down the hill to block the escape north, and mounted scouts alerted Rasce to bring up his cavalry. They galloped the short distance to intercept men fleeing south, and then rode into the head of the column with their long spears, stabbing as they went.

  After throwing their pila and launching the logs and rocks, Legiones XVII and I Raetorum drew their gladii and charged downhill into the milling men. The impact of the charge pushed many into the lake or knocked them off their feet. The Illyrians who were still standing formed into small clumps and fought back. They were badly outnumbered and strung out along the road with little leadership and no formation. The killing went on for two hours until every Illyrian was dead.

  When it was finished, the men sat down, drank water, and tended to their wounds. Calvus estimated his combined force had lost 300 men.

  “I know the men are exhausted,” Calvus said to his assembled Legates, Vitulus, Lugano, and Odo. However, Manius is worried that the mercenaries may attack tonight and has given orders to force-march the Legions back to the camp. It’s going to take leadership to keep them moving. Leave the wounded, and don’t worry about stragglers. We need to get back. Talk to your men. Encourage them. Motivate them. In one hour at 8:00 P.M., we go, and we won’t stop until we’re back at the fort. Calvus estimated that they would arrive at 2:00 A.M. on July 19th.

  The signal detachments, along with their mounted couriers, had withdrawn from Gargnano to Salo to wait out the ambush and when it was over, they returned to resume their duties.

  Chapter VIII: The Assault 205 BC

  It took four of Maedoc’s Gauls to carry one 30 foot ladder, and there were 2,000 ladders. They were heavy, but sturdy, which was critical to support the weight of four to six men climbing at one time. The two groups of 5,000 men walked silently on each side of the road, and Maedoc stopped them when they were about 300 yards from the wall. Prepositioned guides led the column of men on the south side of the road in the direction of the swamp. Once they had walked about half a mile, the guide stopped, and the men faced left. The wall was not visible through the trees, but they knew it loomed ahead. The 5,000 men on the north side of the road turned their column to follow the first. When the two columns made contact, the columns shifted left and right to create enough space for each man to maneuver. The entire Gallic force was arranged in three long lines of 1,500 men each and stretched almost the entire length of the west wall.

  Hoping to surprise the defenders, Maedoc didn’t blow a trumpet or yell “Charge.” He simply started moving the men towards the wall.

  Despite the dark, Calvus had been pushing his men hard since 8:00 P.M. with only a few 5 minute breaks. Men fell out for a number of reasons, but the main body of troops pressed on.

  Rasce’s scouts rode a few miles ahead of the Legions as an Advance Guard, and other cavalrymen brought up the rear. Fearing his Legions could be ambushed by Mago’s men, Calvus had told Rasce that they were in enemy country and to proceed as they normally would through hostile territory.

  When the mounted scouts got within 300 yards of the fort, they could make out movement by the west wall. They sought the tree line and continued to slowly advance. At 200 yards, they heard a Roman trumpet blast out two calls: “Emergency” and “West Wall.” Then the shouting started. Within minutes, the onagri began firing pots of burning oil which soared gracefully through the night sky and erupted in a flash upon impact. The entire west wall was fully illuminated and it was clearly under attack. Ladders were going up, and men were beginning to climb. The scouts spun their horses around and raced back to tell Calvus.

  Even though they were two miles away, Calvus and the others heard the noise of the attack. Calvus spun around in his saddle and yelled, “Advance on the run.” The leading men began to trot, and like a long snake, the rest of the body followed. The three Legions had been walking a 4 MPH pace for hours and were now were being asked to run. The Legates, Tribunes, and Centurions dismounted and ran with the men to encourage them. “Only two more miles,” they repeated. “We’re almost there. Keep it going!”

  Nearly at their breaking point, Calvus stopped the advance 400 yards from the wall. Standing in the darkness, it was obvious that an attack on the fort was in full roar. He passed the word back for the Legionaries to lie down and rest, and Centurions moved among the troops telling them to drink water. Calvus summoned his three Legates who rode past the exhausted and sweaty men to plan their next move.

  *******

  Manius, like the rest of the Command, tried to sleep during the day, but the heat built steadily during the day and made sleeping difficult. At 8:00 P.M., the entire force manned the river wall in full battle armor. The men lay down on the ramparts and were in position should an attack materialize. When there were no Centurions present, the men grumbled and complained. Everyone was at their assigned position and ready to take instant action including the onagri, the scorpio crews, and the archers. Manius walked among the Legionaries and Auxiliary troops. He wanted them to see that he too was up and ready to fight.

  At midnight, he would lie down for two hours, get back up at 2:00 A.M., and stay up until dawn. It was important that the men knew he was sharing their hardship. The night of the 16th passed in silence as did the 17th and 18th. On the 19th, Manius had just put on his helmet at 2:00 A.M. to walk the ramparts when the trumpet sounding “Emergency” and “West Wall” shattered the stillness. As he ran to the west rampart, dozens of thoughts filled his head. About 9:00 P.M., he had received a message from Calvus announcing that the ambush was a success and he was force marching the men back to camp. Perhaps, the Centurion on duty had mistaken Calvus and his returning Legions for the enemy.

  Cassius thrust his shield in front of Manius as he leaned over the wall to see. He looked to the side and saw men with ladders. Just then he heard the distinctive sound of multiple onagri firing their pots of burning oil. On their own initiative, they had turned their machines to face the west wall and begin lobbing their clay pots high in the night sky. They fired shot after shot. Within seconds the areas was brightly lit and Manius could see the full extent of the attack. It appeared that the entire west wall was being assaulted by thousands of men. Ladders were already reaching for the parapets.

  As soon as the trumpet sounded, the four Legions inside the camp jumped to their feet. Their Centurions and Tribunes told them to race to the west wall. They ran down the river wall ramparts, around the Legion camps, up the west wall rampart, and took their assigned positions at the wall. After 330 yards at a dead run, they were all breathing hard and fully awake. The Centurions pushed them into position and formed their lines. The last two men of the four man files took hold of the forked poles. Mixed in among the racing Legionaries were the scorpio crews and archers. They had all practiced this multiple times, but never thought that they would actually do it for real. Legate Bricius, who had been withdrawn from the island three days earlier, and Caile spread their men out to cover the hole left by Legio XVII and I Raetorum. The reserve Maniples stood at the base of the rampart, and Manius’ 900 man reserve stood by V Etrusci’s camp.

  By the time the Legionaries reached the wall, the Gauls were already at the top of the parapet. Shields blocked their thrusting and hacking swords and the forked poles quickly found the ladders and began to push. It took four men to push a ladder clear of the wall. The Cenomani, Raeti, and V Etrusci maintained a relentless rain of pila upon the Gauls who still managed to set up more ladders and send brave men to climb them. Fighting raged all along the top of the wall.

  Manius climbed a tower to get a better view. At the first level, he tried to
avoid the hard working crews of the scorpio who were firing four rounds a minute down the length of the wall. They were targeting clumps of men preparing to climb the ladders. He looked out the aperture. He knew he had four Legions totaling 20,000 men inside the fort. Based on what he could see, he estimated the attacking force had no more than 10,000 to 12,000 men. He could see that his men were hard-pressed, but holding their own. The attackers showed no signs of fatigue. Cassius and Modius kept their shields around Manius as he climbed up to the second level with the archers. They too were delivering a relentless stream of arrows into the attackers. The Gauls had about 200 archers who kept up a steady stream of arrows focused on the men at the top of the wall. Most arrows slammed into the wall barely missing their own men or flew high and landed inside the fort. Occasionally, a defender was hit in the face.

  Manius leaned out to see around the tower. He needed to know if there were more men waiting to attack. He saw none, but he did see movement off in the distance. He hoped he was looking at Calvus and his two Legions. Then he saw a Gaul surrounded by aides and guards about 300 yards away from the wall. He appeared to be a Commander. Manius ran down the steps to the scorpio level and told the two crews to aim their weapons to the front, and when they were ready, to open the shutter. “I will point out the target!” he yelled above the din. The weapons were turned and arrows placed in the slide. The crew chief nodded to Manius. “Open the shutters.” The two doors swung wide. “There he is by the horse and that group of men. He’s standing in the middle.” The gunners estimated the range, adjusted their aim, and both weapons fired. The arrows flew straight; the impact lifted Maedoc off the ground and impaled him in the dirt. The other arrow impaled two other men. “Close the shutters,” called Manius. “Well done! You got him! Great shot!”

  Calvus, Vitulus, Lugano, Odo, and Rasce rode forward. They swung their horses west of the wall to stay out of sight. Once they were sure they were far enough west of the wall, they began a cautious approach. At about 200 yards, they could see the wall, the ladders, and the attacking men. The burning oil fully illuminated the area. Calvus studied it for a moment and turned to the two Commanders. “Bring your men through the woods to this point. I will put Legio XVII in the center of the road and spread them out. I Raetorum, I want you to go across the road past XVII and continue south. Tie in to the right flank of XVII. Odo, bring you men in from the north and sweep along the front of the wall going south. When I see your men attacking, I will attack with XVII and Lugano’s I Raetorum. Lugano bring your men in straight to the wall when you see XVII going forward. Let’s hope that the scorpio and archers can tell us apart from these attackers.”

  Within 30 minutes, the Legions were moving into the woods. Legio XVII stopped on the road and spread out. I Raetorum continued past them. Odo found a place to stage his troop out of sight of the wall and about 200 yards from it. It was about 2:45 A.M when Odo ordered his men forward. As they got close to the wall, they began calling out to the men on the walls. “We are Suevi! We are friends!” They yelled it until they reached the wall. The men on the wall could see their large Roman-like shields and pila. By then, the Gauls turned to face them, but were not organized to fight a linear battle.

  Maedoc had been killed and there was no one to organize a defense. They hadn’t expected an attack on their rear and had no plan to counter it. They were clustered around the ladders and had already taken severe casualties. Group of Gauls faced the Suevi and a hard fight ensued, but it was short lived. The Suevi had formed battle lines and steadily advanced. They rotated men and kept pushing.

  When Calvus saw the Suevi pull even with the wall, he ordered Legio XVII and I Raetorum forward. They had assumed their triplex acies formation and advanced on the run. The Gauls heard their battle cry and turned to face them. They tried to establish a battle formation, but the incoming pila shattered their line. Small pockets continued to fight while many others fled the area racing for the woods where they ran into the spears of Rasce’s waiting cavalry.

  Several dozen escaped in the darkness, but thousand lay dead and wounded near the wall and in the field. When the last pockets of resistance surrendered, Manius rode out of the fort and offered his congratulations to Calvus, his Legate, and the men. He ordered Calvus and Lugano to resume their positions on the river wall. It was 4:30 A.M. Manius turned to an aide, “Find Elitovius and tell him to interrogate the prisoners. I want to know who they are and where they came from.” The aide spun around and disappeared. The Legions spared about 2,000 attackers, but not out of kindness. They knew these men would bring a good price on the Roman slave market and they would all share in the bounty.

  Manius assembled his seven Legates and told them, “I don’t think this fight is over yet. I think Dindar has been waiting for his 5,000 men to attack our west wall and will soon launch his attack. Keep the onagri firing over the west wall as if we are still under attack. Bricius, I have decided to keep your men outside the gate of the north facing wall rather than sending you back to the island. Have your men yell as if the assault on the west wall is still ongoing. Odo, move your Legion inside the fort to the south gate facing the swamp. If Dindar attacks as I think he will, I want the Suevi to come out of the south gate and attack north alongside the wall. Bricius, I want you to lead your Cenomani around the north end of the wall and sweep south. When you come out of the fort, extend your men across the river and into the woods. Deploy them only on my order or the men on the wall won’t know who you are.”

  *******

  Lugius was awakened at 2:15 A.M. by a highly excited aide. “Our men by the river just reported hearing the sounds of battle on the west side of the Cenomani camp. They reported seeing objects being catapulted to the west and lighting up the sky. The Illyrians must be attacking.”

  “Vendim’s a day early! At least the men are prepared. Summon my leaders and send a rider to get Dindar. Quickly!”

  Fifteen minutes later, the Commanders were standing outside Lugius’ tent and straining to hear the noise coming from the enemy camp. Despite the distance, the sound carried to them. They could hear a great clamor and see the glow in the night sky.

  Dindar said, “Vendim is attacking.”

  “It sounds like it,” said Lugius, “but he’s a day early. Our men are not in position, and your man Malush and Commander Sisak are not yet back from the lake. What could be holding them up? We’re missing 10,000 men!”

  Dindar said, “They should be coming in soon; nonetheless, we have to attack now. This is our opportunity. The Cenomani are fighting Vendim in the west. If we attack them now on the east wall, we will take them by surprise.”

  Lugius thought for a moment. “What do you other Commanders say? Should we go now or wait until Malush and Sisak return?”

  Aze, the Taurisci Commander said, “I say we attack. If Sisak arrives in time, he can join the assault.”

  Dindar said, “Malush’s men were to attack the island. We’ll have to let that go. I will still send Landi’s men against the south end and the center gate. Sisak was supposed to join him, but my 5,000 Illyrians will get over the wall without him.”

  Lugius added, “Without Sisak, I still have 24,000 Boii/Eravisci warriors and 5,000 Taurisci. Dindar, I will send the 5,000 Taurisci with your 5,000 men to attack the center gate. You may need the help. The 24,000 will go against the north gate as planned. Dindar, put 1,000 of Landi’s men at the south gate to create the planned diversion. I’ll wait 20 minutes after they attack and then send the 33,000 warriors against the center and north gates. We’ve rehearsed this. There should be no confusion. Get the men up and start marching them to the wall. We attack at 5:00 A.M.”

  The sleeping men were roused from their slumber and told to prepare for battle. They could hear the fight and see the glow in the distance. By 3:00 A.M., the three columns began walking the three miles to the wall and arrived at 4:00 A.M. As they drew nearer, the sounds of shouting men grew louder. One thousand mercenaries were opposite the south gate, 9,000 wer
e opposite the center gate, and 24,000 were massed to attack the north gate. The Commanders arranged them in lines of 2,000 men each. The first two lines carried the ladders and would brace them. The following two lines were told to hold their shields up to protect the men holding the ladders, and the rest were told to climb and fight.

  Mintho, Haggith, and the other Carthaginians went forward with Lugius, Aze, and Dindar into the woods by the river, but planned to ride back about 100 yards away from the river once the attack got underway. They were fully confident that the assault would succeed, but also knew that once it started, the area within 100 yards of the wall would be a killing zone. The air would be thick with arrows. It was wiser for them to stay away.

  At 4:45 A.M., Lugius order the 1,000 men to go forward against the south gate. They charged out of the trees yelling their battle cry and splashed across the water. They stood on the mound and threw their torches over the wall and pelted the parapet with spears and arrows.

  The Cenomani Commander, Gervasius, could see that the attackers had no ladders and couldn’t cross the ditch, which was filled with sharp stakes. He passed the word for the men to save their spears and let the archers take the attackers under fire. The towers opened the shutters facing the river, and archers and scorpio began firing. Gervasius mounted his horse and rode to see Manius. When he found him, he said, “The attack at the south end of the wall is nothing more than a diversion. I suggested that my Legion follow the Suevi when they go out of the south gate to sweep north along the wall. My Cenomani could cross the river and come up behind the enemy attacking the center gate. We should be able to take them by surprise and crush them between the Suevi and my men.”

  “Good idea, Commander. Maintain a small force on the wall and prepare your men to follow the Suevi.” Manius then found Odo and Caile and explained the new plan.