25.11.06
Germanicus' Campaigns, part 2
Continued from part 1.
The flame of war was kindled anew with Arminius' wrath about the capture of his wife. Germanicus apprehended this and intended to fall upon the different tribes before they could unite again. The following campaign has to be revised by the light of the new discoveries at Kalkriese because the Varus-battlefield now lies some 100 miles north of the place formerly favoured by researchers.
For a large army moving in hostile territory, supplies become one of the dire problems, and Germanicus must have had more than 50,000 men, legionnaires, auxiliaries and noncombattants who needed grain, beans, meat, leather and metal to repair their armour and lots of other things. It was one of the main reasons the legions went back to the Rhine into their winter quarters, because in Gaul the transportation ways on rivers and Roman roads were well established at that point.
During their campaigns, the army fed partly off the land, either by asking for tribute in form of vials, or by force. One way for the occupied country to deal with this is the Burnt Land strategy. Vercingetorix used it without success, Kutusov used it against Napoléon and made the French finally withdraw. It seems Arminius used it too - and it shows that despite a pro-Roman group among the Germans, he must have had a lot of support, for burning your crops and slaughtering your cattle means you'll go hungry yourself come winter, not only the enemy. And here the enemy even went to places with better provisions (Caesar kept his legions afield in northern Gaul but tried to get provisions from the provinces of Gallia Aquitania and G. Narbonensis).
Germania can also be like this
Ripening grain on former Cheruscian territory
Germanicus came upon the Bructeri busy burning their land, routed them and ravished the country in his turn. Among the spoils found was one of the eagles the German tribes had captured in the battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Since he came close to the battlesite, Germanicus decided to visit the place and honour the fallen. Some of the men with him were survivors of the desaster and pointed out the properly fortified marching camp of the first night which has not yet been discovered. Lack of money, I suspect; the area that needs to be checked for finds is very large and partly covered by a 100-130 cm thick layer of rotten sods used as fertiliser in Medieaval times.
The survivors also pointed out the place of the last stand, where Varus fell upon his sword, where the eagles were taken and other significant spots. That lets me assume at least one of the survivors must have been of a rank high enough to be in the staff (tribune, legate). Not many names of officers have come down to us from this battle, and the three legions involved, 17, 18, 19, are badly documented. Besides broken weapons, bones of men and beasts (mules, horses) the Romans also found some heads on pikes and remains of bodies on altars. The Germans obviously had sacrified the Roman officers to their gods. Germanicus ordered the bones to be buried in pits.
And that is the point where we can be sure Kalkriese is the site of the Varus Battle and not any of the other battles that took place under Germanicus (Long Bridges, Idistaviso). Not only are the coins never younger than the coinage issued used during Varus' time and often with his personal stamp, the arachaelogists have also found two pits with a ramble of bones, human and some animal, and those bones must have lain in the open for some years before they were interred.
Digging trench at the Kalkriese site
Those littles holes that look like river swallows made them are spots
where things looked interesting and pieces were removed.
Germanicus performed the funeral rites for the dead. Tiberius later upbraided him for having sullied himself by that act.
The Roman general was so furious that before returning to the winter quarters, he intended to teach the Germans a lesson. He marched upon the Cherusci in the northern plain, a land flatter than the Weser mountains which also belonged to Cheruscian territory, or the Wiehengebirge (part of the Saltus Teutoburgiensis in Roman times) on Bructeri ground that semicircles the Varus battlefield, but still woodcovered and interspersed with bogs. Arminius hid his men in the woods and managed to drag Germanicus' cavalry into an attack that soon turned into a route, as usual in direction of some swamps. But Germanicus arrayed his four (?) legions in proper battle order, and against a well disciplined Roman force the Cherusci stood no chance. Arminius managed an orderly retreat, though, and the skirmish ended without advantage to either side.
Next issue: The Battle of the Long Bridges ¶ 2:06 AM
Continued from part 1.
The flame of war was kindled anew with Arminius' wrath about the capture of his wife. Germanicus apprehended this and intended to fall upon the different tribes before they could unite again. The following campaign has to be revised by the light of the new discoveries at Kalkriese because the Varus-battlefield now lies some 100 miles north of the place formerly favoured by researchers.
For a large army moving in hostile territory, supplies become one of the dire problems, and Germanicus must have had more than 50,000 men, legionnaires, auxiliaries and noncombattants who needed grain, beans, meat, leather and metal to repair their armour and lots of other things. It was one of the main reasons the legions went back to the Rhine into their winter quarters, because in Gaul the transportation ways on rivers and Roman roads were well established at that point.
During their campaigns, the army fed partly off the land, either by asking for tribute in form of vials, or by force. One way for the occupied country to deal with this is the Burnt Land strategy. Vercingetorix used it without success, Kutusov used it against Napoléon and made the French finally withdraw. It seems Arminius used it too - and it shows that despite a pro-Roman group among the Germans, he must have had a lot of support, for burning your crops and slaughtering your cattle means you'll go hungry yourself come winter, not only the enemy. And here the enemy even went to places with better provisions (Caesar kept his legions afield in northern Gaul but tried to get provisions from the provinces of Gallia Aquitania and G. Narbonensis).
Ripening grain on former Cheruscian territory
Germanicus came upon the Bructeri busy burning their land, routed them and ravished the country in his turn. Among the spoils found was one of the eagles the German tribes had captured in the battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Since he came close to the battlesite, Germanicus decided to visit the place and honour the fallen. Some of the men with him were survivors of the desaster and pointed out the properly fortified marching camp of the first night which has not yet been discovered. Lack of money, I suspect; the area that needs to be checked for finds is very large and partly covered by a 100-130 cm thick layer of rotten sods used as fertiliser in Medieaval times.
The survivors also pointed out the place of the last stand, where Varus fell upon his sword, where the eagles were taken and other significant spots. That lets me assume at least one of the survivors must have been of a rank high enough to be in the staff (tribune, legate). Not many names of officers have come down to us from this battle, and the three legions involved, 17, 18, 19, are badly documented. Besides broken weapons, bones of men and beasts (mules, horses) the Romans also found some heads on pikes and remains of bodies on altars. The Germans obviously had sacrified the Roman officers to their gods. Germanicus ordered the bones to be buried in pits.
And that is the point where we can be sure Kalkriese is the site of the Varus Battle and not any of the other battles that took place under Germanicus (Long Bridges, Idistaviso). Not only are the coins never younger than the coinage issued used during Varus' time and often with his personal stamp, the arachaelogists have also found two pits with a ramble of bones, human and some animal, and those bones must have lain in the open for some years before they were interred.
Those littles holes that look like river swallows made them are spots
where things looked interesting and pieces were removed.
Germanicus performed the funeral rites for the dead. Tiberius later upbraided him for having sullied himself by that act.
The Roman general was so furious that before returning to the winter quarters, he intended to teach the Germans a lesson. He marched upon the Cherusci in the northern plain, a land flatter than the Weser mountains which also belonged to Cheruscian territory, or the Wiehengebirge (part of the Saltus Teutoburgiensis in Roman times) on Bructeri ground that semicircles the Varus battlefield, but still woodcovered and interspersed with bogs. Arminius hid his men in the woods and managed to drag Germanicus' cavalry into an attack that soon turned into a route, as usual in direction of some swamps. But Germanicus arrayed his four (?) legions in proper battle order, and against a well disciplined Roman force the Cherusci stood no chance. Arminius managed an orderly retreat, though, and the skirmish ended without advantage to either side.
Next issue: The Battle of the Long Bridges ¶ 2:06 AM
Comments:
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Thanks, Constance. I've always been fascinated by history, and writing historical fiction is the logical consequence of that. I once tried a Fantasy project but it went nowhere. ;)
Great stuff, Gabriele. I find history fascinating too. I was never sure if I wanted to write historical fiction before as I was worried about the amount of research that would be needed. However, I'm loving it now.
Real life seems to have a tendency to be more outrageous and interesting than anyone would have the nerve to make up :-)
I remember seeing a TV programme on the Kalkriese dig, where the archaeologist explained that if the bones had been buried straight away they would have been still articulated, and if they had been buried years and years later they would have been much more weathered. The bones they dug up from the pits were disarticulated but not weathered, and so she said they could only have been buried in a fairly narrow time period about ten years after death, give or take a year or two. Which fitted exactly with the written sources. Extraordinary.
I wonder how Germanicus went about feeding 50,000 soldiers? Seems to me the quartermasters must have been the unsung heroes of the Roman (or any other?) army.
I remember seeing a TV programme on the Kalkriese dig, where the archaeologist explained that if the bones had been buried straight away they would have been still articulated, and if they had been buried years and years later they would have been much more weathered. The bones they dug up from the pits were disarticulated but not weathered, and so she said they could only have been buried in a fairly narrow time period about ten years after death, give or take a year or two. Which fitted exactly with the written sources. Extraordinary.
I wonder how Germanicus went about feeding 50,000 soldiers? Seems to me the quartermasters must have been the unsung heroes of the Roman (or any other?) army.
Marie,
research can be almost addictive, can't it? I've a book about Kalkriese with assorted essays about Arminius in German history, and I also read the ones about Arminius in operas and plays though I don't need that for my novel. :)
Carla,
I tend to be a bit vague about the logistics because I have no idea how the Romans managed to keep their armies afield, not only in Germania.
Those Kalkriese finds are among the coolest archaeologial stuff ever, lol. Though Detmold, the former 'battle site' (with the big, ugly statue) is angry because they lose tourists.
research can be almost addictive, can't it? I've a book about Kalkriese with assorted essays about Arminius in German history, and I also read the ones about Arminius in operas and plays though I don't need that for my novel. :)
Carla,
I tend to be a bit vague about the logistics because I have no idea how the Romans managed to keep their armies afield, not only in Germania.
Those Kalkriese finds are among the coolest archaeologial stuff ever, lol. Though Detmold, the former 'battle site' (with the big, ugly statue) is angry because they lose tourists.
There's actually a book on supplying the Roman army I've been contemplating buying.
The Logistics of the Roman Army at War (264 BC - AD 235) by Jonathan P. Roth
BUT since it is about $180.00 over here, that's not going to happen anytime soon. Too bad, the excerpts sound very interesting. Do a Google search and you can find them floating around.
The Logistics of the Roman Army at War (264 BC - AD 235) by Jonathan P. Roth
BUT since it is about $180.00 over here, that's not going to happen anytime soon. Too bad, the excerpts sound very interesting. Do a Google search and you can find them floating around.
Oh, sounds interesting. Should try interlibrary loan for that one, some library in Europe should have it. :)
Thanks for the link, Constance! It does sound interesting, especially for anyone writing about Roman armies or armies based on Roman ones. Inter-library loan should be the way to get it, at that price :-)
(In some ways I'm pleased I write about the early medieval period - a warband of a few dozen or a few hundred has got to be a lot less of a logisitical headache than 50,000!)
(In some ways I'm pleased I write about the early medieval period - a warband of a few dozen or a few hundred has got to be a lot less of a logisitical headache than 50,000!)
Interlibrary loan in Wyoming isn't going to score me that book, I'm thinking. Romanophiles here are few and far between. Which is why I like to buy my reference material whenever possible. That and I like to write in the margins. :)
I think it's going to be easier to find where you guys are.
I think it's going to be easier to find where you guys are.
Carla,
a huge, 19th century momument of Arminius in pseudo-Germanic attire, extending his hand towards France. :)
Germany had won the war against France (aka Roman Gaul, lol) in 1872.
a huge, 19th century momument of Arminius in pseudo-Germanic attire, extending his hand towards France. :)
Germany had won the war against France (aka Roman Gaul, lol) in 1872.
Well, they say the one thing that never changes about history is geography :-) And that generals are always fighting the last war, though 1800+ years is maybe a bit extreme.
Here's a pic of the monument.
Btw, Herman is totally not the German version of Arminius, but for a long time the equation was made.
Btw, Herman is totally not the German version of Arminius, but for a long time the equation was made.
Thanks for the pic! I've seen it before but didn't know its location. I love the winged helmet (are they wings?), like something out of Asterix.
I always thought Arminius was the Latin and Herman was the German for the same name, so thanks for laying that urban myth to rest. What would the German equivalent of Arminius have been, out of interest?
I always thought Arminius was the Latin and Herman was the German for the same name, so thanks for laying that urban myth to rest. What would the German equivalent of Arminius have been, out of interest?
The correct form would be something like *Ermanamers, Irmanamerz. Old German had a weird sound at the end of some words, esp. names, something between a trilled r and z, which was represented by a special rune (my runic alphabet doesn't work in blogger) that is transcribed as R resp. rz/rsand different from the normal r. A sound no Roman could produce, I bet.
I've chosen Irmanamer and left out the additional s as not to confuse readers. Iris Kammerer, who also wrote a trilogy about that time, uses Ermanamers.
I've chosen Irmanamer and left out the additional s as not to confuse readers. Iris Kammerer, who also wrote a trilogy about that time, uses Ermanamers.
Thanks, Gabriele. I like Irmanamer.
By the way, is the Irman- part at all related to the Eormen- element that turns up in Old English names?
By the way, is the Irman- part at all related to the Eormen- element that turns up in Old English names?
I suppose so, Carla. There are few 1st century AD German names to be found, so I use AngloSaxon and Gothic names as models to make them up.
Verification: cuffdegx - could almost be a name, lol
Verification: cuffdegx - could almost be a name, lol
Thanks, Gabriele.
Yes, it only needs an extra 'i' before the last x and it could be a Gallic name, couldn't it? Cuffdegix the Gaul, long-lost cousin of Asterix.
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Yes, it only needs an extra 'i' before the last x and it could be a Gallic name, couldn't it? Cuffdegix the Gaul, long-lost cousin of Asterix.
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