Death to Rome! Germanic warriors made hash of three Roman Legions in the Teutoburg Forest. Photo from “Battle Against Rome.”
The Natives have risen up in the face of invasion by an arrogant, aggressive empire. A strong force of Regulars has been sent forth to quell the uprising. The army is strung out in rough terrain. Disoriented and demoralized, they are struck by a howling horde of savages, who, once among their ranks, commence a gory slaughter. The army is broken, its remnants fleeing for their lives.
Braddock’s Defeat at the Monongahela, 1755? St. Clair’s Defeat, 1791? The Little Big Horn, 1876? Isandlwana, 1879? Adowa, 1896?
Varying in terrain, geography and armament — and somewhat in tactics depending on these factors — this scenario played out over and over again during the great wars of empire. But the granddaddy of all frontier ambushes occurred in 9 AD, in the Teutoburg Forest of Germania.
Three Roman Legions and their auxiliary cohorts were destroyed. The casualties are appalling — with an estimated 20,000 (!) Romans killed, including Commander Publius Quinctilius Varus, who fell on his sword (a gesture Arthur St. Clair should have considered, but more on that anon). Even if the casualty numbers are high, there is no question that thousands died hideously and Roman influence in Germany was severely curtailed, with world historical effects.
The Germans reportedly cooked defeated legionaries in pots and used their bones for rituals. More than 1,700 years later, British Grenadiers captured at the Monongahela would face death by burning at the stake. Frontier warfare was ever cruel.
Here’s a clip of a film on the battle. It opens to the strains of “The Gael” from “The Last of the Mohicans,” reinforcing the frontier resonance. The background text offers a very good summation of the disastrous Roman campaign and signal German victory.
The Teutoburg Forest: Lovely site for an ambush, wouldn’t you say?
Roman Legionaries go down fighting in a painting by the late, great Angus McBride.
Oscar Case says
What a bloody mess, but not unusual back in those days!
Lane Batot says
Any time I get to feeling a bit down on how things are going worldwide in modern times, I just read a little past history, and immediately feel more optomistic!!!
JimC says
My love for history has made me either the most optimistic pessimist or the most pessimistic optimist I know.
I always fall back to that McCarthy quote about the constancy of greed, folly and a love of blood, but I take perverse comfort from the recognition that it was always thus and will be until mankind goes into the gloaming.
Lane Batot says
I reckon if’n I’m gonna be an “optimist”, I oughta lirn how tah spell it furst!
John Maddox Roberts says
Excellent film. Do you know who made it? Of course, it has some inaccuracies. All the infantry wearing lorica segmentatas, for instance. Fragments of a segmentata have been found at the Kalkreise battle site, but in 9 AD most legionaries would have been wearing the mail lorica hamata. But the filmmakers were probably constrained by what was available in the costume providers’ and what the reenactors had. Most reenactors go for the mid-late 1st century look. It also gives a good impression that it was a long, running battle that went on for three days. It was a classical example of destroying an enemy army “en detail,” chopping it into separate bits and then bringing overwhelming force against each bit, one at a time. It was very sophisticated war-making and Arminius must have had great persuasive powers to get the German tribes to act in such a coordinated fashion.
JimC says
Looks like an outfit called VII Pillars Entertainment.
http://www.viipillars.com/913/the-battle-against-rome-the-battle-of-varus/
John Maddox Roberts says
Had a look at viipilars. They describe Arminius as “son of a leader of an Etruscan tribe.” I believe they mean “Cheruscan.”
JimC says
Man, that’s an oops