The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest is one of the most serious Roman defeats in Germany and an event that, without any doubt, determined the direction of Roman German policy for several centuries to come. Recognizing the significance of this event for history, experts have repeatedly tried to restore its full picture. The main obstacle was the insufficient information content of the sources. The instructions of ancient historians - Dio Cassius, Annius Florus and Velleius Paterculus - were distinguished by their brevity and vagueness. In addition, until recently the location of the battlefield remained unknown. On this issue, experts expressed many, sometimes quite witty, ideas, however, in each case there was no decisive proof of the correctness of this or that point of view. The discovery of the battlefield in 1989 brings to an end the many years of searching. Archaeologists have a unique opportunity to correct and clarify the picture given by more than one generation of historians.
The general picture of events reconstructed by historians was as follows. In 7 AD Publius Quinctilius Varus took command of the Roman legions stationed in Germany. He first gained fame by suppressing a rebellion in Judea. The Germans soon felt his harsh temperament. The governor introduced Roman judicial institutions everywhere, imposed heavy fines and penalties, and forced the leaders of remote tribes to hand over hostages and pay tribute, regardless of the traditional regulations and orders of his predecessors. The Roman allies suffered especially under him, whom the tax collectors who flooded the province treated as subjects. Soon a conspiracy was drawn up against the governor, the main organizers and participants of which were trusted persons from his German circle. The conspirators were led by the Cherusci leader Arminius. Several years earlier, he had served in the Roman army as a commander of a cavalry, took part in several military campaigns, and was awarded Roman citizenship and equestrian dignity for his bravery. Back in 7 AD. to Germany, Arminius became close to other Cherusci leaders Segimer, Inguiomer and Segestes. Together they developed a plan to destroy the hated governor and overthrow Roman power in Germany. The conspirators' plan was to lure the governor and his army into a swampy, densely covered area known as the Teutoburg Forest. The performance was scheduled for the late summer of 9 AD. At first, the uprising broke out in the remote district of the Mars. Having received news of this, the governor left the traditional route along which the Roman legions annually returned from summer camps on the Weser to their winter camp in Alizon, and turned onto a country road in order to have time to suppress the uprising and return to winter quarters before the onset of cold weather. Along the way, he was joined by German auxiliary detachments, collected by the imaginary allies of the Cherusci. After several marches, the Roman army, which included three legions, six auxiliary cohorts and three cavalry ales, found itself in the very middle of the Teutoburg Forest. Here the first clashes with the rebel Germans began. Their numbers turned out to be much larger than expected. Moving quickly in their light weapons, the Germans made lightning attacks and, without waiting for retaliatory strikes, immediately disappeared under the cover of the forest. Such tactics exhausted the Roman forces and severely hampered the army's progress. To top off the troubles, rains began, washing away the ground and turning the road into a swamp, where the huge convoy accompanying the legions got stuck. Var tried to turn back, but by this time all the roads were already in the hands of the rebels. Arminius and the Cherusci, now no longer hiding their betrayal, went over to the enemy. After this, the position of the Romans became almost hopeless. The battle continued for three more days. In order not to fall alive into the hands of the enemy, Var and along with him the senior officers from the governor’s retinue committed suicide. Someone tried to surrender, part of the cavalry with their commander, leaving the remaining units to the mercy of fate, managed to escape. The rest were killed by the Germans. A huge booty fell into the hands of Arminius, part of which were the eagles of the XVII, XVIII and XIX legions, military equipment and many prisoners. The remains of the dead soldiers remained unburied until six years later, in 15, Germanicus, heading out on a campaign against the Bructeri, paid them his last debt.
Tacitus's indication of the topography of the Teutoburg Forest, located in the far reaches of the Bructeri, between the rivers Ems and Lippe (Tac., Ann. I, 60), has long served as a key for historians to reconstruct the battle. In 1627, the German historian Pidericius, and in 1631 his colleague Cluverius, suggested that the Teutoburg Forest corresponds to Osning, a ridge of hills bordering the Munster plain from the northeast between the Ems and Lippe rivers. Alizon, where the winter camp of the German legions was located, in their opinion should have corresponded to modern Paderborn. The camps located at Minden or Hamelin on the Weser were connected to Paderborn by a system of roads along which the Roman army advanced to the Weser line in the summer and returned back in the fall. The uprising forced Var to change his traditional route and delve into insufficiently explored territories somewhere in the northwest.
In the middle of the 19th century. The attention of historians to the reconstruction of the battle increases many times over. The number of works in the bibliography on the topic exceeded several hundred. The place of death of Var and his legions was considered to be Dorenschlücht (Delbrück), Detmold (Klüver, Klostermeyer, Schuchardt), Hiddessen (Wils, Stamford), Erlinghausen (Hofer), Habichtswald (Noke). The search was spurred by the discovery in 1868 of a silver treasure in Derneburg, dating back to the first half of the 1st century, and including luxuriously executed imports of Roman manufacture. Historians immediately hastened to connect this find with trophies captured by the Germans in the Teutoburg Forest and which became an offering in one of the local sanctuaries. This discovery was followed by others. In 1884, the German numismatist Julius Menadir discovered another treasure, including a Roman gold aureus coin, 179 silver denarii and 2 copper asses, dating no later than the last years of the reign of Emperor Augustus. A year later, Theodor Mommsen published a work in which, based on an analysis of this find, he argued that traces of the defeat of Var should be sought in the area of Barenau, in the upper reaches of the rivers Gunta and Hase, where Menadir's treasure was found. However, until recently, his assumption had no consequences.
A new awakening of interest in the topic of topography of the Teutoburg Forest occurred in 1987, when Captain I. A. Clunn, in the area indicated by Mommsen, discovered a new treasure of 160 denarii dating from the era of Emperor Augustus. The location of the find was 16 km away. northeast of Osnabrück, near the source of the Gunta, at the foot of the Kalkriese mountain. Interested in the find, the University of Osnabrück sponsored further study of the area. Excavations began in the fall of 1989 and yielded results almost immediately. Many coins were discovered, especially silver denarii from the Augustan era, remains of shoes and clothing decorations, brooches, elements of military equipment and weapons, also dating back to the turn of the 1st century. BC. – I century AD After several years of archaeological work that yielded new results, the international congress “Rome, the Germans and the excavations at Kalkriese” was held in Osnabrück in September 1996. The organizers of the congress saw their task as determining the identity of the finds and drawing a conclusion about their origin. After summing up the results of his work, the last doubts disappeared that, thanks to the efforts of archaeologists, we saw the place where the final drama of the death of the legions of Varus played out.
The location of the battlefield is the northern edge of the Viennese ridge, stretching from west to east from the Ems valley to the Weser itself. Today the plain to the north of the ridge is extensive agricultural land, but in ancient times the entire area was swampy and forested. The only reliable line of communication was the road that ran at the foot of Mount Kalkriese. Near the mountain itself, the swamps come close to the road, leaving a passage, the width of which in the narrowest part does not exceed 1 km. – an ideal place for an ambush. The topography of the finds indicates that the main events took place in the passage, on a section of the road approximately 6 km long. On the mountainside overhanging the road, archaeologists discovered the remains of a rampart. At first it was suggested that this was part of an ancient road embankment, but subsequent research made it possible to establish that in front of us are the remains of a fortification from which the Germans attacked the head of a marching column of the Roman army. The shaft stretches for several hundred meters along the northeastern slope of the mountain, before the road turns to the southeast, it is almost impossible to notice it from below. The Germans probably took full advantage of the surprise factor. It can be assumed that the battle began when the leading Roman troops passed a bend in the road and ran into a rampart built by the Germans. The Roman advance stopped, and then down the mountainside the Germans fell on the marching column and cut it in several places. Control over the battle management was lost, the troops huddled together, no one knew what was happening nearby. Some units tried to push forward to find out what was happening, while others, on the contrary, tried to retreat back. Not seeing their commanders, not hearing orders, the soldiers completely lost heart.
When Germanicus visited the site of the death of Varus' legions in 15, the battlefield appeared before his eyes covered with the remains of the bodies of the dead, which lay singly or were dumped in whole heaps, depending on whether the soldiers fled or resisted. The same goes for modern finds: they lie in separate fragments or piled up, depending on whether there was a stubborn battle going on here, or whether they were chasing the fleeing people. The bulk of the finds are concentrated along the road. There are many of them where the road turns beyond the ledge of the mountain, which indicates the stubborn nature of the resistance. Several lesions are found far ahead of the rest. Apparently, some units managed to break through the ranks of the attackers and moved forward along the road. Being cut off from their own, they were surrounded and died. Some of the soldiers made their way up the mountainside, where they tried to gain a foothold and repel the attack. The heaped nature of the finds speaks of a stubborn battle in which the soldiers sought to give their lives to the enemy at greater cost and fought to the last. Most of the rear detachments preferred to flee. There was a mountain slope adjacent to the road on the south side, so they mostly fled backwards. Some turned north to get as far as possible from the battlefield, while some fell into the swamp and drowned. Some finds were made quite far from the main battle site, which indicates the tenacity of the pursuers and the duration of the chase. Probably only a few managed to escape. The cavalry, which deserted at the beginning of the battle, reached Alizon; we know nothing about the rest.
Thus, with the help of archaeological data, another dark page of history was revealed, which we inherited from previous generations of researchers. Those who started the project almost thirteen years ago can rightfully feel a sense of satisfaction from the work done. The efforts expended brought significant results, and the discovery itself became a kind of sensation in the scientific world. Although most of the work around Kalkriese has been completed, excavations are still ongoing in some places. They bring new and new results. Now we can hardly expect a sensation, but we still want to hope that new discoveries will follow in the future.
Publication:
Warrior No. 15, 2004, pp. 2-3
The tactics of ambushes and surprise attacks have been used by many peoples since ancient times, but very rarely in history can you come across cases where an entire army fell into a trap and died. This first happened in 9 AD in the Teutoburg Forest: the army of the Roman commander Quintilius Varus was almost completely destroyed by the Germans. Varus’s opponent, Arminius, brilliantly played the role of an imaginary “ally,” and in the battle he used the terrain, weather conditions, and even the fact that the Romans were trailing a large convoy, which hampered their maneuvers.
The background to the battle, as is often the case in major wars, is closely intertwined with politics. At the turn of our era, Roman troops occupied almost the entire territory belonging to the Germanic tribes. In 7 AD Quintilius Varus was appointed propraetor of the new province, who, however, behaved very carelessly towards the “barbarians”. Even Roman authors (such as Dio Cassius, a 3rd century AD historian who writes at length about the conflict with the Germans) accuse Varus of inflexibility, excessive arrogance and disrespect for local customs. Among the proud ancestors of the Teutons, such “party politics” naturally provoked an explosion of discontent. The leader of the Cherusci tribe, 25-year-old Arminius, was at the head of the conspiracy. He outwardly demonstrated in every possible way his readiness to cooperate with the Romans, and he himself was slowly preparing for an open clash with the conquerors, attracting other Germanic tribes to his side.
Reassured by the “loyalty and devotion” of Arminius, Varus began to make strategic mistakes one after another. Instead of keeping the main forces of the army in his fist, he dispersed the troops, sending several detachments to deal with robbers on the roads. At the end of the summer of 9, while in a summer military camp near the modern city of Minden, Var received news that an uprising had broken out in the south, in the area of the Roman fortress of Alizon (now Paderborn). The army of the Roman commander set out on a campaign, but at the same time Varus made two more fatal miscalculations. First: the Romans, clearly not counting on being attacked on the march, took with them a huge convoy with their belongings, wives and children (by the way, there is a version according to which Varus’s army simply relocated closer to the south, as was always done in on the eve of winter - however, this does not exclude the generally accepted point of view about the uprising of the Germans). The second serious mistake of Varus was that he was given to cover the rear... by the soldiers of Arminius. The Roman did not even pay attention to the warning of a certain Segestus, who warned against excessive trust in the “ally”.
Map of the German campaigns of Quintilius Varus and other generals of Rome. The location of the battle is marked with a cross.
However, Arminius himself still acted cautiously. Approximately halfway to Alizon, his troops gradually fell behind the Romans under a plausible pretext - the German leader was expecting the arrival of additional forces from other tribes. It should be noted that this was in fact the case, only the troops were not gathered at all to help Varus!
All that remained was to wait for an opportunity to attack - and this is important when we are talking about a very strong enemy. The three legions of Quintilius Varus, together with auxiliary troops, numbered, according to the most conservative estimates, 18 thousand people, not counting the already mentioned convoy with women and children. The Germans could oppose the Romans with excellent heavy cavalry and light infantry, but given the numerical superiority of the Roman troops, their weapons and training, no ambush would have helped. After all, forests and hills are not steppes, where cavalry, like , can easily escape from enemies. Cassius Dio, in his description of the battle, mentions that there were “more Germans” than the Romans, but does not provide exact data on the balance of forces.
German light infantry. A screenshot from the Total War series of computer games, known for their realistic reconstruction of ancient battles.
Arminius chose the moment to attack perfectly. The Roman army, tired on the march, was caught in pouring rain, and the soggy ground hampered the movements of the heavily armed soldiers. In addition, the column was greatly stretched on the march; individual units fell behind or got mixed up with the convoy. The Teutoburg Forest, through which the Romans marched, provided an excellent opportunity for an ambush attack. The Germans began the battle, as they would say in our time, with “artillery preparation,” loading a bunch of arrows from the forest onto the heads of the Romans, and then rushed into the attack from several directions at once. The Romans managed to repulse the first onslaught, and by nightfall they tried to set up camp and build defensive structures.
German attack in the Teutoburg Forest. From a painting by the artist A. Koch (1909)
But Arminius, it must be assumed, was not in vain that he closely collaborated with the Romans: all his actions betray a man who has studied military science well. The German leader understood that it was impossible to destroy a strong army of almost 20 thousand in one attack, so his warriors continued to harass the Romans with shelling and attacks from numerous ambushes, while simultaneously watching them.
Modern monument to Arminius in Westphalia (Germany).
As for Quintilius Varus, he probably understood that the Romans would not last long in the temporary camp: there was nowhere to wait for help, until detachments from other parts of the province arrived, the Germans would exterminate the entire army or starve it to death. Realizing that the campaign must be continued, the Roman feverishly tries to correct his own mistakes: he orders to burn most of the convoy, leaving only the most necessary, and orders the army to strictly maintain formation on the march in case of new attacks.
On the second day of the battle, the Romans, constantly fighting off the attacks of the Germans, managed to reach the plain and hold out there until sunset. But Arminius’s fighters were still in no hurry, waiting for their enemies to be drawn into the forest again. In addition, the German leader used another trick: he did his best to ensure that rumors about the plight of Varus’s army spread as widely as possible. By the third day of the battle, the German army not only did not decrease, but even increased: those of Arminius’s fellow tribesmen who had previously feared the Romans now hurried to join him in the hope of victory and rich booty.
The third day of the battle turned out to be fatal for the Romans. The troops of Quintilius Varus again entered the forest, where it was very difficult to keep the defense in tight formation. In addition, it began to rain heavily again. This time Arminius risked launching a decisive attack, and his calculation was justified: after a short (judging by Cassius Dio’s description) battle, Varus realized that the situation was hopeless and committed suicide. Many other commanders did the same, after which the legions stopped resisting - some of the soldiers died on the spot, some were captured. Only a small detachment of cavalry managed to escape. The Roman historian Lucius Annaeus Florus writes of mass executions of captured soldiers, but other sources mention that the Germans kept some captives alive as slaves and servants.
Combat mask of a Roman cavalryman who died in the Teutoburg Forest. Found by archaeologists near the town of Kalkriz, on the site of a battle discovered in the late 1980s.
The defeat of Var's legions in the Teutoburg Forest actually put an end to Rome's policy of conquest in Germany: from now on, the border between the empire and the “barbarians” ran no further than the Rhine River. The grief of Emperor Octavian Augustus is well known, who, upon learning of the defeat, put on mourning and repeated: “Var, give me back my legions!” Five or six years later, the Rhine Army of the Romans found the site of the battle and paid their last respects to the soldiers of Quintilius Varus, but the legions of Rome no longer dared to go far into the German lands.
Soldiers of the Army of the Rhine at the site of the defeat of Quintilius Varus. Modern illustration.
Interesting fact. The name “Arminius” was later transformed into “German”, and the very image of the German leader became among his descendants (today’s Germans) a symbol of the struggle with peoples who in ancient times were strongly influenced by Roman culture: first of all, with the French and the British. In addition, several other famous military leaders bore this name: for example, the Byzantine commander of the 6th century AD. or the Russian conqueror of Siberia in the 16th century, Ermak Timofeevich - that is, the same “Herman”, only in a colloquial version.
Russian Cossack ataman Ermak Timofeevich, conqueror of Siberia. Modern image.
Since the emergence of humanity, people have constantly fought with each other for power and wealth, for new lands and someone's political ambitions. But among the huge number of large and small battles, there are those that not only influenced the history of individual nations, but also changed the very vector of development of civilization.
These include the defeat in the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD). This battle immortalized the name of the leader of the Cherusci tribe, Arminius, who has been considered a national hero of the German people for more than three millennia.
Background of the battle
The beginning of the 1st century AD is a time that successfully captured more and more new territories, subjugating numerous tribes and nationalities. And the point is not only in the military power of the legionnaires, but also in the organization of strict state power and a bureaucratic apparatus on the annexed lands.
The conquest and subjugation of disparate and warring people was not a difficult task for Rome.
During the reign of Caesar Augustus, the power of the empire extended to the territory from the Rhine to the Elbe. A province called Germany was founded here, a governor appointed by Rome administered justice and managed affairs, and 5-6 legions were quite enough to maintain order.
Changing the situation
The Roman governor, the intelligent and far-sighted Secius Saturinus, managed not only to subjugate most of the Germanic tribes, but also to win over their leaders, who were flattered by the attention of a powerful power, to the side of the empire.
However, Saturin was replaced as governor by Publius Quintilius Varus, who arrived in the German province from Syria, where he was accustomed to a pampered life, servility and veneration. Considering the local tribes harmless, he dispersed the legions subordinate to him throughout the country and was more concerned about collecting tribute. It was his short-sighted policy that led to the fact that the Teutoburg Forest became the grave for thousands of selected Roman soldiers.
Var, not paying attention to the discontent of the local residents, introduced extortionate taxes and Roman laws, largely contradicting the customary law of the Germans, the norms of which were considered sacred.
Reluctance to follow foreign laws was brutally suppressed. Violators faced the death penalty and insulted free Germans
For the time being, the indignation and protests of the common people were invisible, especially since the tribal leaders, seduced by Roman luxury, were loyal to both the governor and the imperial power. But soon their patience came to an end.
The initially unorganized and spontaneous protest was led by the ambitious leader of the Cherusci tribe, Arminius. He was a very remarkable person. In his youth, he not only served in the Roman army, but also received the status of a horseman and citizen, as he was distinguished by courage and intelligence. Quintilius Varus was so confident in his loyalty that he did not want to believe numerous denunciations about an impending rebellion. Moreover, he loved to feast with Arminius, who was an excellent conversationalist.
Var's last campaign
We can learn about what happened in the year 9, when the legions of Varus entered the Teutoburg Forest, from the “Roman History” of Dio Cassius. According to historians, this area was located somewhere in the upper reaches of the Ems River, which at that time was known as Amisia.
In the autumn of this year, Var left his cozy summer camp and set off with three legions towards the Rhine. According to one version, the governor was going to suppress the rebellion of a remote Germanic tribe. According to another, Quintilius Varus, as usual, simply withdrew his troops to winter quarters, so a large convoy accompanied him on the campaign.
The legionnaires were in no hurry; their movement was delayed not only by loaded carts, but also by roads washed out by autumn rains. For some time, the army was accompanied by a detachment of Arminius, who allegedly intended to take part in suppressing the rebellion.
Teutoburg Forest: the defeat of the Roman legions by the Germans
Heavy rain and streams that overflowed into torrential torrents forced the soldiers to move in unorganized groups. Arminius took advantage of this.
His warriors fell behind the Romans and, not far from Weser, attacked and killed several scattered groups of legionnaires. Meanwhile, the lead detachments, which had already entered the Teutoburg Forest, found themselves faced with an unexpected obstacle of fallen trees. As soon as they stopped, spears flew at them from the dense thickets, and then German warriors jumped out.
The attack was unexpected, and the Roman legionnaires were not used to fighting in the forest, so the soldiers only fought back, but on the orders of Varus, who was trying to get out into the open, they continued to move.
Over the next two days, the Romans, who managed to leave the Teutoburg Forest, repelled the endless attacks of the enemy, but either due to Var’s inability to take decisive action, or due to a number of objective reasons, they never launched a counteroffensive. The weather also played a role. Due to the incessant rain, the Romans' shields became wet and completely unliftable, and their bows were unsuitable for shooting.
Defeat in the Dair Gorge
But the worst was yet to come. The end to the protracted beating of the Roman legions was brought to an end by a battle in the Dair Gorge overgrown with dense forest. Numerous German troops pouring from the slopes mercilessly destroyed the legionnaires rushing about in panic, and the battle turned into a bloody massacre.
The Romans' attempt to break out of the gorge back into the valley was unsuccessful - the path was blocked by their own convoy. Only the cavalry of legate Vala Numonius managed to escape from this meat grinder. Realizing that the battle was lost, the wounded Quintilius Varus committed suicide by throwing himself on his sword. Several other officers followed his example.
Only a few legionnaires managed to escape from the terrible German trap and go to the Rhine. The main part of the army was destroyed, and the same fate befell the women and children traveling with the convoy.
Results of the battle
The consequences of this battle are difficult to overestimate. The defeat of the Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest frightened Emperor Augustus so much that he even disbanded his German bodyguards and ordered the expulsion of all Gauls from the capital, fearing that they would follow the example of their northern neighbors.
But this is not the main thing. The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest put an end to the conquest of the Germans by the Roman Empire. A few years later, consul Germanicus made three campaigns across the Rhine to suppress the rebel tribes. But it was more an act of revenge than a politically justified step.
The legions never again risked establishing permanent fortifications on German lands. Thus, the battle in the Teutoburg Forest stopped the spread of Roman aggression to the north and northeast.
In memory of this battle, which turned the course of history, a 53-meter-high statue of Arminius was erected in the city of Detmold in 1875.
Film "Hermann Cheruschi - Battle of the Teutoburg Forest"
Many books have been written on the history of the battle, including fiction, for example, “Legionnaire” by Luis Rivera. And in 1967, a film was made based on the plot described. This is to some extent a symbolic picture, because it was jointly produced by Germany (then West Germany) and Italy. The importance of cooperation will become clear if we consider that Italy, in fact, is the heir of the Roman Empire, and in Germany during the time of fascism, the victory of Arminius, who was considered a national hero, was extolled in every possible way.
The result of the joint project was a very good film from the point of view of historical accuracy, which shows the battle in the Teutoburg Forest. It is attractive to viewers not only for this, but also for the talented performances of such actors as Cameron Mitchell, Hans von Borsodi, Antonella Lualdi and others. In addition, this is a very dynamic and spectacular film, and the filming of numerous battle scenes is worthy of admiration.
In 9 BC. stepson of Augustus Drusus crossed the Rhine and subjugated the lands up to the Alba (Elbe) River. Emperor August dreamed of creating a new province here - Germany (between the Rhine and Elbe). But the Romans failed to establish themselves here. The situation on the Parthian border worsened. In 4 AD Judea rebelled. North of the Danube King of the Marcomanni Marobod united a number of Germanic tribes into one union, and this caused new unrest in Rome. Placing the safety of the Empire above all else, the Romans did not wait for an open attack by enemies, but launched preemptive strikes wherever they suspected a danger to their borders. Preparing a blow against Marobod, another stepson of Augustus, Tiberius in 6 AD began recruiting troops among the tribes of Illyria and Pannonia. In response to these actions, local residents began to resist and revolted. For three years, 15 legions fought against the rebels and finally, due to the betrayal of one of the local leaders, they were able to suppress the rebellion.
In the autumn of 9 AD. were in Rome celebrations were held in honor of the victories in Illyria and Pannonia, but suddenly alarming news came from Germany. The Roman troops that crossed the Rhine and Visurgius (Weser) believed that they were on friendly territory. The Germans did not get along with each other; some of the nobility (including Arminius) asked for the help of the Romans. To the Commander of the German Legions Quintilius Varus and it never occurred to them that excessive taxes and constant extortions were beyond the means of the poor barbarians, and that Roman laws were completely incomprehensible to them.
Consequences
The Alizon garrison made its way through the German ring and joined other Roman units to the Rhine. All of Germany rejoiced, celebrating liberation from the Roman yoke. Ariovistus became a symbol of resistance to the conquerors and was recognized by the tribes as the king of West Germany. Octavian Augustus stopped trying to gain a foothold in Germany. The Romans cleared the areas beyond the Rhine for a time. According to legend, Augustus, in moments of despondency, often exclaimed: “ Var, Var, return my legions!» In fear of an imminent German invasion, Octavian announced a forced recruitment of soldiers into the new legions. German troops of the emperor's bodyguards were sent home. Octavian also ordered the expulsion of all Gauls from Rome. In Gaul itself, the garrisons of Roman fortresses were strengthened, fearing a general uprising of the barbarians. The badges and eagles of the destroyed legions were captured from the Germans only after the victorious campaigns beyond the Roman Rhine commander Germanicus(in the year 13 during a trip to the Elbe). After the defeat in the Teutoburg Forest, the border of the Roman Empire was firmly established along the Rhine. The Roman Empire on the eastern borders of Europe switched to positional strategic defense.
| unknown | 18-27 thousand |
Map of Var's defeat in the Teutoburg Forest
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest- battle in September 9 between the Germans and the Roman army.
As a result of an unexpected attack by the rebel Germanic tribes under the leadership of the Cherusci leader Arminius on the Roman army in Germany during its march through the Teutoburg Forest, 3 legions were destroyed, the Roman commander Quintilius Varus was killed. The battle led to the liberation of Germany from the rule of the Roman Empire and became the beginning of a long war between the empire and the Germans. As a result, the German states retained their independence, and the Rhine became the northern border of the Roman Empire in the west.
Background
During the reign of the first Roman emperor Augustus, his commander, the future emperor Tiberius, by 7 BC. e. conquered Germany from the Rhine to the Elbe:
« Having penetrated with victory into all regions of Germany, without any loss of troops entrusted to him - which had always been his main concern - he finally pacified Germany, almost reducing it to the state of a province subject to taxes.»
When Tiberius's troops marched against Marobodus and were already close to his possessions, an anti-Roman uprising suddenly broke out in Pannonia and Dalmatia. Its scale is attested by Suetonius. He called this war the most difficult that Rome had waged since the Punic, reporting that 15 legions were involved (more than half of all legions of the empire). Emperor Augustus appointed Tiberius commander of the troops to suppress the uprising, and an honorable peace was concluded with Marobod.
Publius Quintilius Varus, who was the proconsul of Syria, was appointed governor of Germany in the absence of Tiberius. Velleius Paterculus gave him the following description:
« Quintilius Varus, who came from a family more famous than noble, was by nature a gentle man, of a calm disposition, clumsy in body and spirit, more suitable for camp leisure than for military activity. That he did not neglect money was proven by Syria, at the head of which he stood: he entered a rich country poor, and returned rich from a poor one.»
Details of the 3-day battle in the Teutoburg Forest are contained only in the History of Dio Cassius. The Germans chose a good moment to attack when the Romans were not expecting it, and heavy rain increased the confusion in the column:
« The Romans led behind them, just as in times of peace, many carts and beasts of burden; They were also followed by a large number of children, women and other servants, so that the army was forced to stretch over a long distance. Separate parts of the army were even more separated from one another due to the fact that heavy rain poured down and a hurricane broke out.»
The Germans began by shelling the Romans from the forest, then attacked closely. Having barely fought back, the legions stopped and set up camp for the night according to the established procedure in the Roman army. Most of the carts and part of the property were burned. The next day the column set out in a more organized manner. The Germans did not stop attacks, but the terrain was open, which was not conducive to ambush attacks.
On the 3rd day, the column found itself among the forests, where it was impossible to maintain a close combat formation, and the torrential rain resumed again. The wet shields and bows of the Romans lost their combat effectiveness, the mud did not allow the convoy and soldiers in heavy armor to advance, while the Germans with light weapons moved quickly. The Romans tried to build a defensive rampart and ditch. The number of attackers increased as more warriors joined the Cherusci, having learned of the plight of the Roman army and in the hope of loot. The wounded Quintilius Varus and his officers decided to stab themselves to death so as not to suffer the shame of captivity. After this, the resistance ceased, the demoralized soldiers threw down their weapons and died, almost without defending themselves. The prefect of the camp, Ceionius, surrendered, the legate Numonius Valus fled with his cavalry to the Rhine, leaving the infantry to their fate.
The triumphant Germans sacrificed captured tribunes and centurions to their gods. Tacitus writes about gallows and pits; at the site of the last battle, Roman skulls remained nailed to trees. Florus reports that the Germans were especially savage against captured Roman judges:
« They gouged out the eyes of some, cut off the hands of others, and sewed up the mouth of one, after cutting out the tongue. Holding it in his hands, one of the barbarians exclaimed: “Finally, you stopped hissing, snake!”»
Estimates of Roman casualties are based on the number of Quintilius Varus' units ambushed and vary widely. The most conservative estimate is given by G. Delbrück (18 thousand soldiers), the upper estimate reaches 27 thousand. The Germans did not kill all the Roman prisoners. About 40 years after the battle, a detachment of Hutts was defeated in the upper Rhine region. To their joyful amazement, the Romans found in this detachment captured soldiers from the dead legions of Varus.
Consequences and results
Liberation of Germany. 1st century
Since the legions of the empire, weakened by the 3-year Pannonian and Dalmatian War, were in Dalmatia, far from Germany, there was a serious threat of a German invasion of Gaul. There were fears of the movement of the Germans into Italy like the invasion of the Cimbri and Teutons. In Rome, Emperor Octavian Augustus hastily assembled a fresh army, ensuring conscription with executions of evading citizens. Suetonius, in his biography of Augustus, vividly conveyed the emperor’s despair: “ He was so crushed that for several months in a row he did not cut his hair and beard and more than once banged his head on the doorframe, exclaiming: “Quintilius Varus, bring back the legions!”»
Only 2 legions of legate Lucius Asprenatus remained on the Middle Rhine, who through active actions tried to prevent the Germans from crossing into Gaul and the spread of the uprising. Asprenatus transferred troops to the lower Rhine and occupied fortresses along the river. The Germans, according to Dion Cassius, were delayed by the siege of the Alizon fortress in deep Germany. The Roman garrison under the command of the prefect Lucius Caecidius repulsed the assault, and after unsuccessful attempts to take Alizon, most of the barbarians dispersed. Without waiting for the blockade to be lifted, the garrison broke through the German posts on a stormy night and successfully reached the location of its troops on the Rhine.
Nevertheless, Germany was forever lost to the Roman Empire. The Roman provinces of Lower and Upper Germany were adjacent to the left bank of the Rhine and were located in Gaul, the population there quickly became Romanized. The Roman Empire made no further attempts to capture and hold territories beyond the Rhine.
New time. 19th century
Roman horseman's mask found near Kalkriz
Several thousand items of Roman military equipment, fragments of swords, armor, and tools, including signed ones, were found. Key finds: a silver mask of a Roman cavalry officer and coins stamped with a VAR mark. Researchers suggest that this is a designation of the name Quintillius Varus on special coins made during his reign over Germany and intended to be given to legionnaires. A large number of finds indicate the defeat of a large Roman military unit in this place, consisting of at least one legion, cavalry and light infantry. 5 group burials were discovered, some of the bones showed deep cut marks.
On the northern slope of Kalkriz Hill, facing the battle site, the remains of a protective peat rampart were excavated. The events that took place here are fairly accurately dated by numerous coins from the period 6-20 AD. According to ancient sources, during this period the only major defeat of the Roman troops occurred in this region: the defeat of the legions of Quintillius Varus in the Teutoburg Forest.
Notes
- The exact date of the battle is unknown. It is known that the battle took place in the fall of the year 9, September is recognized by the consensus of historians. The ESBE indicates the date of the battle as September 9-11. Since the basis for calculating this date is unclear, it is not used in the works of modern historians.
- Velleius Paterculus, 2.97
- T. Mommsen. "History of Rome". In 4 vols., Rostov-on-D., 1997, p. 597-599.
- Velleius Paterculus about Marobod: “ He provided refuge to tribes and individuals who separated from us; In general, he acted like a rival, hiding it poorly; and the army, which he brought to seventy thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry, he prepared in continuous wars with neighboring peoples for more significant activities than that which he carried out ... Italy also could not feel safe due to the increase his strength, since from the highest mountain ranges of the Alps, which mark the border of Italy, to the beginning of his borders there are no more than two hundred miles.»
- Suetonius: "August", 26; "Tiberius", 16
- Velleius Paterculus, 2.117
- Velleius Paterculus, 2.118
- One of the legionary badges was found in the lands of the Bructeri (Tacitus, Ann., 1.60), another - in the lands of the Mars (Tacitus, 2.25), the third - in the lands of possibly the Chauci (in most of the manuscripts of Cassius Dio the ethnonym Maurousios appears, only in one: Kauchoi ), unless we are talking about the same mars.
- Legions XVII, XVIII, XIX. Tacitus mentioned the return of the eagle of the XIX legion (Ann., 1.60), the death of the XVIII legion is confirmed by the epitaph on the monument to the centurion Marcus Caelius, who fell in the Bello Variano (War of Varus). The participation of the XVII Legion is a likely hypothesis, since this number is not recorded elsewhere.
- Velleius Paterculus, 2.117
- G. Delbrück, “History of Military Art”, vol. 2, part 1, chapter 4
- Dio Cassius, 56.18-22
- Velleius Paterculus, 2.120
- 27 thousand dead Roman soldiers are listed in the ESBE with reference to the works of historians in the 1880s, an estimate repeated by the TSB.
- Tacitus, Ann., 12.27
- Flor, 2.30.39
- Dio Cassius, book. 56
- The poet Ovid, in describing the triumph of Tiberius, which he himself did not observe, but judged from letters from friends, devotes most of the lines to the symbol of conquered Germany (“Tristia”, IV.2).
- Velleius Paterculus, 2.119
- Tacitus, Ann., 1.62
- Arminius was killed by those close to him in