This update is a little late because i had exams but now i'm free and best of all VACATIONS, so hope i can make more updates from now on.
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CHAPTER TWO - BATTLE FOR THRACE
Roman Empire, near the Danubian border, 22th of June 1044 AUC
Lucius Cornelius Posthumulus, Dux Ripae, knew that there was nothing he could do to stop the barbarian horde to pillage the border region.
In theory he should had been able to gathered a force between eighteen to twenty thousand strong, but that was the paper strength.
In reality, his forces were a mere ten thousand men from the border legions and cohorts.
The Romans were outnumbered almost three to one and, to add insult to injury, most of them were ill-equipped. But each one of them was an hardener veteran. They would, and must, compensate their lack of numbers with discipline and courage.
The Emperor not knowing of the weakness of the border legions, had ordered the Dux to gather his men and to face the gothic forces on the field.
But Lucius knew that there was little chance that the romans could face and defeat the Vandals.
Knowing that he had sent a rider to the Imperial court in Mediolanum to explain to the Emperor the real situation of the Danubian forces.
Now all he could do was to pray to the gods that the Emperor would sent him reinforcements.
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Thracian Plain near Marcianopolis, 5th of August 1044 AUC
“It’s all lost” thought Lucius “The Emperor didn't sent a single cohort, and now we have to face those barbarians alone”
For the last two months he had avoided battle, he had allow the Vandals to pillage the countryside, but when the barbarians threatened to sack Marcianopolis, the Dux knew he had to make a choice.
So when the Vandals moved to sack the city, they had found the path blocked by the border legions.
And now the two forces were about to meet in the field of battle.
He had chosen his field carefully. His troops were stationed in a small hill, with a forest protecting his left flank. The right flank, however, was a totally different story.
The right was a complete open field, from were the Vandals could easily send their cavalry for a flanking attack.
To counter that possibility, he had stationed all his auxiliary cohorts there, hoping that their spears could hold the enemy. But we wasn't leaving the defense of his right flank to the auxiliary alone. So the auxiliary had covered the ground in front of them with caltrops.
Now if the Vandals tried to flank him they would get a really bad surprise.
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The Middle Roman Army photage from the History Channel program "The Roman Empire". Notice the use of the chi-rho in the roman shield and standard, it would still be almost two centuries before the conversion of the Empire, but the History Channel isn't exactly known for historical accuracy.
-Tribunus, order the legions to form a battle line, three men deep. The slingers and archers are to form a skirmish line in front of the legions, and the cavalry is to form a mobile reserve behind the legionnaires.
-We will do what is ordered and at every command we will be ready. – Replied the Tribunus, while saluting.
Lucius knew he had done everything in his power, he had chosen a good ground to face the barbarians, he had spent the last months reequipping the roman forces and know all he could do was to face the Vandals and hope that the legions could bloodied them so much that they would be force to retreat from roman territory.
But he knew that his men could held the line. They weren't normal soldiers.
They were the men of the border legions.
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For each ten recruits that went to the legions, two might survive their first year in the border. The legionaries in those units were all hard, veteran soldiers, that knew that if they held the line then, they had ONE chance the bleed the barbarians.
Each one of them was willing to die there, not to protect the Empire that had betray them so many times.
They were willing to die, for the pettiest reason a men can have.
They would fight and die for their pride.
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Gunderic and his solders about to charge against the roman line
The Vandals were the first to make a move.
Their leader, Gunderic, couldn’t stand idled in front of the enemy.
It had been war that had allowed him to acquire his fortune and position, and it was war that allowed him to keep it.
And he was confident in a victory.
All the Vandals were confident.
Why shouldn’t they be? They outnumbered their roman foes, almost three to one, and they had spent the last two months pillaging their territory.
They felt confident and invincible.
But the gods like to play tricks on men. They enjoy to make men fail when they are so close to achieve their goals.
Maybe Woden felt that they hadn't honored him enough.
Maybe Donar had remove his protection from them.
Or maybe Luka, the trickster, had decided to have some fun at their cost.
Who knows? Maybe they had no reason at all for abandoning the Vandals that day.
After all, sometimes, even the gods can be real assholes.
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The Roman line refuses to break against the Barbarians. In this image the Romans are wrongly depicted. The use of the spear has the primary weapon would still be one century away
The line held.
The Vandals had advanced in a Svinfylking formation hopping to break the roman line in one devastating strike.
That could had worked, if they were facing normal legions, but these weren’t normal legions.
They were the border legions.
For them retreat wasn't an option. And soon the Vandals found that the legions still had enough steel in them to stand and fight to the death.
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Lucius was tired.
He had spent all the morning in the front ranks, helping his men to stop the Vandal invaders.
Like he had thought the Vandals, had sent their cavalry to the right, were it had been destroyed by the caltrops and the auxiliary cohorts.
The battle had been hard, but they had manage to stand their ground.
But not without a price.
A price they had paid in blood.
Of the ten thousand roman soldiers that started the battle, near fifteen hundred had died. Another twenty-five hundred had been wounded and would not be able to stand their ground in the battle line in the afternoon.
They had payed a heavy price but the barbarians had paid a even heavier one.
The Vandal horde had suffered some four thousand deaths, and some eight thousand had been wounded.
But Postumus knew they wouldn't be able to hold the ground, in the afternoon, unless the gods intervened in their favor.
Now his forces were down to a mere six thousand men, and the Vandals still had some fourteen thousand men.
And they were preparing to avenge their fallen comrades.
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The Vandals marching against the roman position.
This time they would attack with a shield wall, having learn their lesson.
They would sacrifice momentum, for discipline.
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A roman soldier is always ready for war
The germans might scream battle-cries before a charge to frighten their enemies, but Lucius always thought the roman way was more terrifying.
-ARE YOU READY FOR WAR? - He asked his men.
-READY! READY! READY! - They answered.
-ARE YOU READY FOR WAR?
-READY! READY! READY!
-ARE YOU READY FOR WAR?
-READY! READY! READY!
"This" he thought "is the only battle cry a true roman soldier needs."
Then he proceeded to advance to the front line, ignoring the calls of his staff, for him to stay in the rear.
-If i am to die, then i will die has a true roman officer. - Was the only answer the Dux would give them.
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Lucius Cornelius Posthumulus, Dux Ripae of the Danube, photage from the documentary "Roman Generals"
The shields clashed against each other.
The Vandals, using their superior numbers, were forcing the romans to give up their ground, but their line was still holding.
Lucius was fighting with his men in the front line, when a Vandal warlord came into his sight.
The barbarian was wearing a finely forged mail shirt, and was armed with a battle axe.
And he was coming against him.
The axe smashed against his shield, with so much strength that for a moment he thought his arm would break, but a men doesn't rise from legionary to Dux Ripae for wavering in front of danger.
So he did what the drill centurion had thought him so many years ago.
Ignoring the pain and exhaustion, he stabbed the vandal leader. For a second he feared that the his stroke had been to weak, but then came the sweat reward, when his sword smashed through mail and leather to find the flesh beneath.
Lucius never knew what happened to the Vandal warlord, for right after he recovered his sword, he was pushed back by a centurion, with a scar in his face.
-Centurion what's the meaning of this. - He demanded.
-Sir, Tribunus Fabius Rufius asked for you to go to the rear.
-Did he told you why?
-A large force of cavalry was spotted some 2 miles behind us.
Postumus wasted no time, the moment the centurion said the word cavalry, he was already running to the rear to find out, what was happening.
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-Sir have spotted enemy cavalry in the rear. - Answered Fabius, when his commanding officer demanded to know what was happening.
-Do we have any reserves left.
-Every men we had here is already engaging the enemy in the front line. - Then he got an idea and continued. - He still have the injured men sir.
-What?
-Our best chance, sir, his to get any men that can still stand, and try to form a spear wall.
-Do it. -Lucius cursed himself for having to do it, but they needed every second they could get to bring some men from the main line to the rear.
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Praetorian Prefect Gaius Aurelis, photage from the TV Series "The Rebirth of the Roman Empire"
-May i ask why am i being greeted by wounded men. - The leader of the cavalry asked in latin.
-I'm sorry, sir - said Rufus while approaching the rider - we thought you were a column of enemy cavalry.
-Well that explains it, next time i will try to not forget the standards. - The rider said with a smile. - Would you mind to call you senior officer to come here?
-Dux Postumus, was forced to go to the front, sir. The enemy is about to break the line. May i ask sir who sent you?
-The Emperor, sent me Tribunus. And i have two thousand cavalry with me, with an extra three thousand infantry some five miles away.
I stopped to reorganize his thoughts and then continued.
-Tell the Dux to allow the the Vandals to pass through his line after i form behind the legions. We allow them to charge forward to met our cataphractarii.
Seeing the face of surprise in the Tribunus face, the rider told him to tell the Dux to be ready for his signal.
Rufus run as fast as he could to the front ranks, to find Lucius.
The Dux was in the rear of the line, trying to incite his men, when a very tired Rufus approached him.
-What are you doing here Tribunus? Why did you deserted your place?
-The cavalry... isn't enemy...
-What are you saying men, speak louder.
Rufus stop for a minute to recover is breathe and proceed to tell Lucius that the cavalry in the rear were actually a relief column sent by the Emperor and that the commander of the column had a plan to break the Vandals.
-What did he told you, about his plan.
-He said that he would send a signal for the legions to open ranks and allow the Vandals to pass through them so that hey could face the imperial cataphractarii.
-Cataphractarii? The Emperor sent cataphractarii?
-Apparently yes, sir.
-Then lets waist no time. - Then he turned to the nearest centurion and told him to inform the rest of the men to be ready to open gaps in the line, to allow the Vandals to enter.
-What would be the signal, sir?
-I don't know, but i'm dammed sure we will know when we see it. Now go.
The following minutes, felt like hours to the men in the line.
Then the signal came.
And Lucius had been right.
The moment the Cornicen blew the cornum, every men knew what they had to do.
In one moment the legions were formed in a disciplined line, in the next, the vandals felt the pressure to disappear, and thinking the romans had been broken, they charged forward.
Only to find death at the hands of the cataphractarii and the Alan mercenaries the Emperor had sent.
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A roman cataphractarii in full battle armor
The cavalry had crushed the Vandal horde.
And the roman forces had achieved a great victory.
But at a terrible cost.
The danubian army, had lost more than half of his initial numbers. And even with the relief infantry sent by the Emperor, the number of battle-ready men wasn't enough to form a full legion.
Lucius was trying to rest, when the commander of the relief column approached him.
-I thanks for your assistance, where today.
-Not a problem, Dux Ripae. I'm sorry to trouble you but would you mind if i had a word with you?
-No problem at all.
-The Emperor sent me here for two reasons. -He paused, like if he wasn't sure of what to say next.
-I believe one of them was to help. So you can skip to the second one.
-The second reason, he to escort you to the Imperial court.
Postumus, stand silent when he heard that. To be called to the Imperial court, could either mean a promotion or the death sentence.
-Am i to be executed?
-I can assure you, that you won't. -The commander actually sounded shocked, that the Emperor would sent him to execute a Dux.
-Who are you, to assure me that i won't be executed.
The other men grimed, and the answered.
-How rude of me. I forgot to present myself. I'm Praetorian Prefect Gaius Aurelius, commander of the Equites Singulares Augusti.
For some unknown reason, Lucius, started to laugh.
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Notes:
Dux Ripae - literally means commander of the river bank, usually a subordinate of the frontier commander, he would only command the border army if the commander wasn't available. It's never directly refereed in the text but is oblivious that the rank of Comes rei militaris was vacant so that Lucius could take control of the border army.
Equites cataphractarii - the name comes from the Greek kataphraktos, meaning completely covered. The units were created to face their Parthian and Sarmatian counterparts. I saw records of Constantine defeating large numbers of cataphractarii during the battle of Turin and apparently there are records that claimed that it was Trajan that created the first unites, so i think is safe to assume Diocletian had this type of troops in his armies. In the Notitia Dignitatum there are four regiments of these kind in the west, so a total of two thousand men. I forgot to mention but Gaius brought only one regiment to the battle the rest of the cavalry force were Alan mercenaries.
Alans - A people from the northern Caucasus known to be excellent cavalry. They made a raid in Anatolia in 135 AD so its possible for Diocletian to have mercenary Alans in auxiliary regiments.
Vandals - A East Germanic tribe, or group original from southern Scandinavia. They were divided in two groups the Hasdingi and the Silingi.
Caltrops - Is a antipersonnel weapon made of three sharp nails or spines arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base. The name comes from the Latin calcitrapa.
Cornicen - Junior officer in the roman army that sounded the orders to the legions.
Cornum - Was an ancient Roman instrument, in the shape of a letter 'G'. It was used by the Roman army for communicating orders to troops in battle.
Svinfylking - was a version of wedge formation used by the Vikings and earlier Germanic peoples. The formation consisted of heavily armed, presumably hand-to-hand warriors and less-armored archers grouped in a triangle formation with the warriors in the front lines protecting the archers in center or rear.
P.S. I didn't had time to find every grammatical mistake or contradiction so if you find any of them please tell me so i can correct them.
P.P.S. The text is still a first version that will probably be modify.