Chapter 97: A Perfect Victory
The Germanic warriors charged aggressively from the start, as if they wanted to wash away the shame of their defeat in the duel.
The distance between the two sides was so close that the Roman army had no time to throw their javelins before the battle began.
“Don’t lose heart. They are only half of our number!”
“Let’s smash the heads of the Roman scum!”
Ariovistus shouted with enthusiasm. He was anxious, but he still had confidence that he could win.
Even though they had lost miserably in the one-on-one duel, the Germanic army still had some advantages over the Romans.
First of all, they outnumbered them by about two to one, and they also had more cavalry.
Although they had been harassed by the enemy’s archers with strange equipment, the Germanic cavalry still maintained around six thousand men.
On the other hand, the Roman cavalry was less than five thousand.
Not only that, but the Germanic warriors were armed with a determination to never lose.
Unlike other peoples, the Germanic tribes often brought their women to the battlefield.
They did this to create a psychological barrier that would make them fight for their lives even in unfavorable situations.
This time, their intention worked perfectly.
The Germanic warriors were armed with a spirit of protecting their own families.
Ariovistus divided his army into four parts.
He lined up his left wing, center, and right wing in a row, and placed six thousand cavalry behind his left wing.
His intention was clear from his formation. He planned to break through the enemy’s right wing with his left wing and cavalry, and then strike the Roman army’s rear.
Ariovistus would watch the situation from the center and deploy his soldiers where they were needed.
It was a standard and basic formation.
The Roman army’s formation to face the Germanic tribes was not much different from when they fought against the Helvetii.
They deployed eight legions horizontally and adopted the traditional Roman three-line formation.
Of course, it was not exactly the same.
Marcus knew beforehand what kind of formation Ariovistus would adopt.
That’s why he asked Caesar in advance to adjust the legion’s deployment a little bit.
Marcus split his 12th legion, which was currently the most elite, in half.
The Germanic army had concentrated their strength on their left wing to attack the enemy’s right wing.
In other words, their right wing was relatively weak in terms of power.
Marcus placed half of his legion on his left wing to attack the enemy’s right wing.
The leader of the attack force was naturally Spartacus.
He had won the duel and joined the Roman army’s left wing as ordered, commanding his soldiers naturally.
The other half took on the role of holding on at the right wing, where the enemy’s attack would be strongest.
Marcus personally led his soldiers who were equipped with new armor and strengthened their defense.
Because he divided his legion into two parts and placed them on both wings, he received support from the 11th legion to fill in the gap.
In particular, he deliberately placed Borenius and Pullo’s century on his right wing, whom he had been keeping an eye on beforehand.
And one of the most important roles, commanding the cavalry, was entrusted to Antony.
“The Germanic cavalry may not have a good commander, but their individual strength is not something to be underestimated. Remember that and command them well.”
“Leave it to me. I will deal with them as quickly and surely as possible.”
He had gained experience as an officer in the East and knew how to use cavalry in rotation.
On the other hand, the Germanic cavalry did not know how to utilize their mobility as a group.
Antony led the Roman archers and Gallic cavalry to face the Germanic cavalry who were coming to attack his right wing.
“Keep your distance! Don’t ever fight them head-on.”
Pipipipip!
Hundreds of arrows flew out. The sound of metal piercing through air tore through the air as they headed towards the Germanic cavalry.
Dozens of cavalrymen who were running at full speed fell off their horses as if they had agreed beforehand.
Chalalalak. The archers quickly reloaded their arrows.
Pupupupuk!
Dozens more cavalrymen fell down.
At this time, compared to the Roman army or the eastern kingdoms, the Germanic tribes belonged to a group that had poor armor.
Of course, they wore some armor according to their own standards.
But that was not enough to stop the composite bows that were fired by pulling back with both arms and legs by the Romans.
Ssak! Peuk!
Another cavalryman fell down, bleeding from his chest.
“Cough!”
“Don’t give up! Keep pushing and break through!”
The Germanic cavalry did not lose their coolness as they did when they first faced the swarm tactics of the archers.
If they stopped or changed direction awkwardly, they would only become easy targets.
The Germanic cavalry commander shouted with his teeth clenched, covering his chest and face with his shield.
“Let’s deal with those archers first and then strike the enemy’s rear! Keep running!”
This was the right answer when facing archers with regular cavalry.
It was impossible to hit and run as they pleased against cavalry that had similar speed.
When the cavalry charged with determination, there was not much the archers could do except run away.
But Antony was not someone who would not know such a basic fact.
He had placed the Gallic cavalry a little apart from the Roman archers from the beginning.
It was a perfect position to strike the flank of the Germanic cavalry who were running straight towards the Roman archers.
The Gallic cavalry, following Antony’s signal, charged at the left side of the Germanic cavalry who were rushing towards the Roman archers.
If they continued to charge towards the Roman archers, the Germanic cavalry would suffer a huge loss.
The cavalry commander made a quick decision.
Anyway, if the cavalry got entangled in a melee, the archers would not be able to continue shooting.
It seemed more efficient to first deal with the Gallic cavalry and then defeat the archer unit one by one.
“Troops, turn around! We will deal with the Gallic scum first before the Romans.”
But as if they had predicted the Germanic cavalry’s actions beforehand, the Gallic cavalry calmly turned their horses and retreated back.
The Germanic cavalry, who had tried to slow down and change direction, ended up in a situation where they could do neither.
And towards them, the Roman archers poured out arrows again.
Ssaeak! Pupupupuk!
“Aaargh!”
“Aaah!”
The cavalry commander gritted his teeth at the sight of his subordinates falling down screaming.
By the time they regained their posture and tried to charge again, the Roman archers retreated and pulled their bowstrings incessantly.
Command is all about experience.
The Germanic cavalry commander, who had never experienced such a situation, could not make an appropriate judgment.
Should he also divide his cavalry unit into two and deal with them like the enemy?
Or should he be prepared to be attacked on the flank by the Gallic cavalry and continue to charge forward?
A moment of hesitation on the battlefield leads to enormous damage.
While the commander was hesitating, the Germanic cavalry were accumulating damage from the shower of arrows.
“Uaaaah! You cowardly bastards! If you are warriors, face us fair and square and don’t run away!”
No matter how loudly he shouted, the Roman army naturally did not respond at all.
On the battlefield, calling someone cowardly meant nothing but praising their strategy as being too excellent.
Antony calmly reduced the number and morale of the Germanic cavalry and prepared to deliver the final blow.
Ariovistus felt his mouth dry as he saw his cavalry collapse in vain, contrary to his expectations.
His left wing, which he had concentrated his power on to break through the enemy’s right wing, was also strangely unable to exert their strength.
“What are you doing? You have to break through the enemy’s right wing while our allies are holding on! Push harder. Don’t give the Roman army a chance to breathe!”
He shouted and encouraged his subordinates, but he could not do more than his abilities allowed him.
Marcus, who already knew Ariovistus’s intention, firmly defended and did not rashly attack.
It was almost impossible to break through the defensive wall of the Roman army that was armed with new armor and held their shields tightly.
No matter how hard the Germanic warriors swung their axes, the Roman army’s right wing did not budge at all.
Rather, they counterattacked once in a while when the Germanic warriors showed a gap and reduced their numbers.
Marcus could feel in his skin that the Germanic warriors were getting impatient.
He called out the names of his centurions one by one and gave orders.
“Borenius! The enemy’s attack on that side will get stronger. Don’t be nervous and counterattack calmly. Pullo, support Borenius’s century so they can hold on!”
Borenius and Pullo, whom Marcus had been keeping an eye on, showed a splendid performance that made him even more greedy.
Borenius skillfully commanded his subordinates and did not allow any gap for the Germanic warriors to penetrate.
He maintained or changed his formation according to the enemy’s offensive, performing a faithful defense.
His personal bravery was also impeccable.
“Haahap!”
Borenius lightly deflected the axe of a Germanic warrior with his shield and stabbed his gladius right into his heart.
It was a skill that he had acquired through rigorous training, not innate strength or sense.
On the contrary, Pullo was so robust that he looked down on any ordinary Germanic warrior.
He crushed several enemies who ran at him head-on with ease and did not show any signs of fatigue.
The two centurions with such opposite characteristics complemented each other and commanded well, resulting in a great synergy effect.
With their new armor and their centuries led by them added to the 12th legion, an impregnable wall was completed that no one could break through.
‘I have to get those two for myself. I have to bring them to the 12th legion by any means.’
Marcus licked his lips as he watched Pullo stab his sword into the vital spot of a Germanic warrior who was charging at him.
In his head, he vividly imagined the combination of Spartacus, Borenius, and Pullo as the spearhead of the attack that would crush the enemy’s morale.
There would be no stronger century than them to lead the charge that would open the battle.
As the right wing’s front line got stuck as planned, Marcus sighed and had some time to look around the overall situation.
Spartacus, who was in charge of the attack force on the left wing, was once again showing his dazzling performance and driving back the enemy.
Antony’s cavalry unit seemed to be able to completely disable the enemy’s cavalry in a short time.
And of course, all this situation was reported to Caesar, who was commanding the troops from the center.
Caesar was not the type of commander who, like Pompey, would create a situation where he could only win before entering the battle.
Rather, he was the type of general who would boldly engage in a fight if he saw a chance of victory, even if he seemed slightly disadvantaged.
He was confident that he could command better than anyone else once the two armies clashed head-on.
In fact, Caesar was an excellent field commander who had a well-organized army that followed his orders faithfully.
He could see through the complex and changing situation of the battlefield in an instant and give the optimal instructions to his legionnaires.
“Marcus, don’t move the right wing as it is now, but hold on. And Quintus, the left wing’s legion is advancing too fast. They need to sync with the center, so tell them to slow down a bit. Finally, the center will retreat slowly and lure the enemy in. I will direct them myself, so let the centurions pay close attention to prevent the front line from collapsing.”
The legionnaires who received Caesar’s order immediately relayed it to their cohort commanders and centurions.
After a while, the center of the Roman army slowly changed into a convex crescent shape.
The Germanic center army advanced forward without realizing that they had gone too deep.
On the other hand, the Roman right wing held on without any movement, and the left wing overwhelmed the Germans and gradually completed the encirclement.
Caesar monitored the situation of the battlefield and adjusted the gap between the center and the left wing.
By the time Ariovistus felt something was wrong, the Germanic army had already fallen into the net that the Roman army had spread.
The Germanic warriors who had gone too far had lost their formation and had no room to maneuver.
As a result, they exposed their rear and flank to the Roman left wing that had advanced forward.
Just in time, Antony’s cavalry, which had neutralized the enemy’s cavalry and returned, joined the battlefield.
Marcus had previously ordered him to send the Gallic cavalry to the left and have the archers attack the Germanic left wing that was attacking the Roman right wing.
Antony faithfully followed his order.
The soldiers of the left wing led by Spartacus began to launch a fierce attack on the Germanic center army.
“The enemy has fallen into our trap. Crush them mercilessly!”
The Roman army, which had already broken down the enemy and gained momentum, pushed them even harder.
“Uoooooo!”
The Roman army swept away the Germanic center army whose ranks had been disrupted.
The Germanic warriors were so crowded that they could not even swing their weapons.
The Roman army stabbed them with swords and smashed them with shields.
In the meantime, the Gallic cavalry that had rushed in fiercely hit the rear of the Germans.
The Germanic soldiers who were attacked from three sides except for the right wing fell into chaos in an instant and ran around.
“Hey, hey! Don’t push! Don’t come forward and go back to secure some space!”
“There are Gallic cavalry bastards behind us! We have to break through by advancing forward!”
“Stupid bastard, there are Romans in front of us!”
“Then go somewhere else, either left or right!”
The Germanic tribes who were pushed back by the attacks from their sides and rear continued to crowd into the center.
The elite troops who had been pouring out their attacks on the Roman right wing were not much different either.
The Roman archers who had circled around the battlefield began to shoot arrows from their rear and flank.
Pipipiping!
Every time a chilling sound shook their ears, warriors fell with arrows in their backs and shoulders.
There are two main ways for infantry to counter archers.
Either they use bows with superior range or they defend themselves with shields and armor until the archers run out of arrows.
But the Germanic infantry did not have either option available to them.
Some infantrymen who could not stand the arrows tried to charge at the archers, but they were thoroughly mocked by their hit-and-run tactics and became honeycombs.
They could not break through the Romans who were holding on in front of them, and arrows were pouring down from behind and beside them endlessly.
The Germanic elite troops were also helpless and began to be pushed back to the center without any resistance.
As all of Germany’s forces were compressed into the center, eventually they became so crowded that they could not even swing their axes.
It was a perfect completion of a hammer and anvil tactic that reminded one of Hannibal’s Cannae battle.
Unlike the densely packed Germanic forces, the Roman army maintained a distance where they could freely swing their weapons and completed their encirclement.
Once it came to this, the numerical superiority did not mean anything at all.
Rather, the large number of people became a shackles that restricted their allies’ movements.
The Germanic army was slaughtered unilaterally without even being able to swing their weapons properly.
Fear filled the eyes of the Germanic warriors who were completely isolated.
They could not understand how they had been pushed into this situation.
“Uuuu, what is this… Why are there only Romans around?”
They were so close to each other that they could not even swing their weapons, but the enemy army held their spears and swords and slowly approached them.
This horror was indescribable.
Unfortunately, they did not have a commander who could give them orders at this moment.
Ariovistus, who had been attacked by the Gallic cavalry and the Roman archers, had retreated with his soldiers.
He had only dodged his body for a moment to avoid the attack, but in the meantime he had no choice but to watch his main force being surrounded by the enemy.
“Sir, our warriors! Our warriors are collapsing to the Roman army!”
“I see it.”
The subordinates could not bring themselves to say that they were being massacred.
Ariovistus, who had a stiff face, finally closed his eyes tightly.
He watched as his brave followers who had followed him until now, and the power he had built up by ruling Gaul for 14 years, were being slaughtered unilaterally in front of his eyes.
“Chief, it’s dangerous here. You have to flee, you have to!”
Ariovistus stood still and watched the sight of his subordinates spitting blood and falling.
Of course, if he stayed here any longer, he would end up the same way.
“To the east of the Rhine…”
A miserable voice that sounded like a murmur came out.
Ariovistus turned his head blankly.
He saw the corpse of Hermundt, who had been killed by Spartacus.
“…Let’s go back.”
This was not it.
This defeat was not the war he had envisioned.
“Hehe, hehehehe.”
He turned his back and staggered away, unable to hold back his hollow laughter.
Some Gallic cavalrymen who spotted him shouted loudly.
Ariovistus got on his horse without looking back and fled.
He did not utter the word retreat.
He no longer had an army that could hear such a word.
He just drove his horse eastward and then again.
The majority of the Germanic warriors who lost their commander were killed or surrendered and were captured as prisoners.
Soon Caesar led his cavalry and chased after Ariovistus himself.
Marcus also participated in the pursuit with Caesar by his side.
Half of the infantry stayed behind to take care of the corpses and wounded, and the other half began to chase.
The Germanic women who came out of the battlefield were almost all captured as prisoners.
Ariovistus’ two wives and daughter were also caught.
Ariovistus managed to escape to the Rhine, but unfortunately he could not find even a raft, let alone a boat.
Unlike the original history, he did not have a chance to escape because the Germanic main force had been annihilated.
“There you are.”
In front of Ariovistus, who was struggling to cross the river somehow, appeared the cavalry led by Caesar.
“Caesar…!”
Ariovistus glared at Caesar with hatred in his eyes.
Caesar gestured and Marcus spoke in awkward Germanic language.
“Surrender. Or you will die in vain.”
“Surrender? Me? Ariovistus? Become a sacrifice for your triumph?”
Ariovistus knew well what surrender meant, as he was familiar with Roman customs.
It meant becoming a spectacle that would be dragged around by a leash like a dog at their triumph.
“Don’t make me laugh! I am a proud warrior of Germany!”
He gave up on escaping and swung his axe at Caesar. But his archers who were guarding his side drew their bows at once.
Pupupupuk!
Four arrows pierced his body and Ariovistus fell to the ground with his momentum.
At the same time, dozens of spears from the Gallic cavalry rained down on his body.
Their resentment was so strong that they had been exploited by the Germanic tribes for more than 10 years.
Ariovistus was one of the chiefs of the Suebi tribe, which was one of the most powerful forces in Germany.
His end was so miserable that it did not match his reputation.
He was captured while fleeing after abandoning all his subordinates, and died with dozens of spears in his body.
The Gallic cavalry even trampled on his corpse with their feet.
Soon the Gallic nobles who had vented their anger for being oppressed for 10 years surrounded Caesar and Marcus and raised their hands in praise.
“To Caesar, the supreme commander of the great Roman army, glory be to the gods!”
“To Marcus Crassus, the representative of the great Roman Senate, blessings be to the gods!”
Caesar calmly raised his hand and accepted the praise of the Gauls.
This meant that the west bank of the Rhine was under Roman rule, and that Marcus had acquired the vast natural resources of Alsace.
< 97. A Perfect Victory > The End
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