It is a cold and wet morning, somewhere in early autumn, 16 AD. Arminius and his fellow horsemen
are hidden between the trees, looking over their fellow Cherusci warriors constructing
a rampart. Some men had tattered cloth wrapped around their limbs or torso. Many were exhausted,
and frankly, none expected to fight this soon again. After the onslaught at Idistaviso, many
prepared to flee deep into the woodlands to wait for the Romans to leave Germania. But Arminius
roused his warriors to fight against Germanicus one more time. This time, he altered his strategy
to fight on his terms. No more open plains, no more open battle. Surely, this time he would beat
the Romans as he had 7 years earlier inside the Teutoburg Forest. Then, in the distance, he saw
Germanicus and his army move towards him. This was his final chance; he had to make it count.
[After Idistaviso]
Though Arminius’ warriors suffered a pretty severe defeat at Idistaviso,
they were fast to regroup. Arminius suffered several injuries during the previous battle.
Initially, they wanted to flee into the woods and trek deeper into Germania’s heartland,
evading the Roman army until the campaigning season ran to an end. But Germanicus constructed
a mound adorned with swords of their fallen brothers. The Romans considered the mound
their trophy for their victory. Perceived as a brutal insult, this was one step too far for
the warriors. The tribal chieftains agreed to wage battle against the Romans one last time.
Arminius reasoned his previous defeats occurred because he fought the Romans on an open plain.
In comparison, harassing Caecina at the battle at Pontes Longi went well
until his fellow chieftains decided to encircle the Roman camp on sturdy ground.
The same happened at Idistivaso. Once again, he chose an area with solid ground to fight
the Romans. The Romans had no trouble fending off the scattered charging warriors thanks
to their disciplined formation. Now, right after the battle of Idistaviso,
Arminius and his warriors marched along the river Weser to find more suitable ground for fighting.
After a two-hour march downstream the Weser, they reached a plain around the River Aller and
an accompanying swamp, with dense forests around it. Arminius ordered his Cherusci and Angrivarii
to construct a rampart. The warriors did this similarly to the trap Varus’ men in the Teutoburg
Forest seven years before. The construction forced any approaching army to take their
chances traversing the swamp or climb the wall. His warriors stood by the constructed earthen
wall while Arminius hid his cavalry in the nearby grove.
If the Romans indeed decided to climb the wall, his cavalry was in a perfect position to flank
the struggling infantry. If they were to traverse the swamp, they would be even easier pickings.
Arminius forgot to take one aspect of this plan into account. After his victory at Idistaviso,
Germanicus ordered several scouts to trail the retreating Cherusci. These men now lay
at a safe distance, closely monitoring Arminius’ actions. When they saw what he was up to, sending
his cavalry into the woods and constructing the rampart, the scouts sent word to Germanicus.
The commander understood these were no actions of fleeing men. They wanted to meet him in battle
another time. He did not mind the chance of doubling his victories in the campaign.
As he arrived at the location, he was ready to execute his hastily thought out battle plan.
Tacitus describes:
“To Seius Tubero, his chief officer, he assigned the cavalry and the plain.
His infantry he drew up so that part might advance on the level ground into the forest,
and part clamber up the earthwork which confronted them. He charged
himself with what was the especially difficult operation, leaving the rest to his officers.”
Germanicus lined up his army with his archers in the front. Behind them stood three legions,
with Germanicus and his Praetorian Guard on their right flank. Another legion guarded the
rear of Germanicus. Behind them stood two units of cavalry. Far behind stood the reserves, four more
legions and the auxiliaries. They stood with their backs to the river and the swamp to their left.
Germanicus wanted to divide his forces. The main part of his army
was to attack the defensive wall, while he led a charge circumventing the fighting.
[Battle sequence]
Germanicus gave the signal, and the Romans charged. A few volleys of arrows did not put
a significant dent in the Germanic lines. The infantry charged forward to the wall.
The Germanic warriors pestered them with missiles and rocks as they tried to scale it. The infantry
was already taking significant casualties. Germanicus ordered their temporary withdrawal
and his slingers and archers forward. These began pelting the warriors behind the wall with rocks,
lead balls and launched arrow volleys. Scorpio’s, a Roman torsion siege engine
and field artillery piece, shot missiles at the warriors behind the wall as well.
After battering the warriors for a while, Germanicus ordered his infantry forward again.
This time with more success. A few of his men climbed the wall
and engaged in melee on the other side. The Roman infantry and warriors clashed. Brutal,
heavy fighting broke out. Finally, more infantry leapt over the wall. This was
the moment Germanicus had been waiting for. Together with his Praetorian Guard, Germanicus
charged at the earthwork. But right before they reached it, they swerved to the right and charged
into the forest. This took away all the momentum the hidden cavalry thought they would have.
Arminius and his Cherusci were shocked to learn the Romans knew where they were positioned.
Due to the dense forest, neither side truly had an advantage. Usually, stationary cavalry was
weak and at risk, but the Roman charge wasn’t as ferocious as it could have been due to the dense
vegetation. It was a messy and bloody fight. Germanicus himself fought among his men.
Tacitus writes, ‘in battle, he often engaged and slew an enemy in single combat.’
During the battle, he took off his helmet and rallied his men. He told them they would not take
prisoners. Despite the Roman cavalry performing subpar because of the difficult terrain, seeing
their commander fight on re-energised the Romans. Fighting took place on every front now. Arminius
chose an area with many natural obstacles, which convinced him would prove the downfall
to the Romans. Instead, as the Romans valiantly resisted his warriors, they ended up awkwardly
with the swamp to their right and wetlands in their rear. Germanicus’ warriors had the
earthworks and river in their back. Retreating was nearly impossible for either side.
Arminius rode between his warriors, attempting to increase morale and continue the fight.
The clash continued all day. But as afternoon turned to evening, and a day of heavy fighting
was behind him, Arminius’ wounds began getting the best of him. As it was getting dark,
Germanicus ordered one of the legions in reserve to construct a base camp to spend the evening.
By this point, both sides were exhausted. It became clear, however, the Romans fared much
better in battle. Exhausted and suffering from his wounds, Arminius estimated they would not
win the fight and ordered the retreat. Together with the chieftains, they fled through the woods.
Seeing their commanders run, the warriors deteriorated in a panicked rout.
As the Germanic warriors broke, they could run nowhere but into the swamp, river, or wetlands.
Either drowning or being cut down, they suffered heavy casualties.
This was a severe defeat to Arminius. But he managed to escape, which
was a bit of a blemish to Rome’s victory. Still,
Germanicus praised his men and raised an enormous victory trophy - a mound of weapons and armour.
In its aftermath, he sent one of his commanders with a minor army to crush the Angrivarii.
Fighting was not necessary, as they willingly switched to Rome’s side.
And other tribes were likely wavering in their loyalty to Arminius as well. By this time,
the campaigning season was running to its end. It had been the most bloody season in a long while.
Germanicus’ army had to traverse quite a distance to reach the safety of the Rhine fortifications.
His fleet could not carry all of them, so part of his army had to prepare for
a dangerous journey overland. Those who did sail with his fleet ran into other problems.
Germanicus received a costly reminder the Romans weren’t traditionally seafaring people.
The Marsi tribe reportedly described the aftermath of his naval adventure as ‘their shores littered
with corpses and debris.’ Germanicus miscalculated the Frisian tides, and many vessels sank, storms
flung soldiers overboard or men were left stranded on uninhabited sandbanks in the Wadden sea.
Germanicus himself was briefly stranded in the territory of the Chauci. He led raids against the
Marsi and Chatti. They reportedly wanted to ambush the stranded Romans. He successfully subdued
the tribes and recaptured the eagle of Quinctilius Varus’ legions, lost at the Battle of Teutoburg
Forest years before. When the weather calmed down, they finally returned to the Rhine fortifications.
Even after this disaster, he was convinced he would destroy Arminius.
Tiberius, however, was not eager to continue the costly campaigns north of the Rhine.
Instead, he recalled Germanicus, who celebrated his triumph in Rome.
Although the triumph was a glorious event, it also marked the silent
death of Rome’s vengeance against Arminius. Two years later, the Germanicus died, likely poisoned.
Arminius’ fortune did not fare much better. With the existential threat of Rome gone,
feuding among tribes rapidly escalated. Before too long, war broke out between Arminius’ Cherusci
and the Marcomanni, led by their King Marbod. But when the Chatti chieftain sent a letter to
Tiberius promising him to defeat Arminius for a rich reward, Tiberius refused, stating: ‘Rome
is revenged on her enemies in the open by military force, not in the dark by treason.’
Arminius ended up defeating Marbod. However, instead of solidifying his position,
it resulted in an internal power struggle between him and other chieftains like his uncle.
In 21 AD, his own men murdered the 37-year-old Arminius. They felt he was becoming too powerful,
which his ambitions to become ‘King of all tribes’ likely affirmed. Tacitus remembers him:
“Undoubtedly the liberator of Germany; a man who, not in its infancy as captains
and kings before him, but in the high noon of its sovereignty, threw down
the challenge to the Roman nation, in battle with ambiguous results, in war without defeat;
he completed thirty-seven years of life, twelve of power,​ and to this day is sung in tribal lays.”
Twenty-six years after Arminius death, the constant warfare among the tribes led the Cherusci
to request Roman Emperor Claudius to become their King. In a fascinating course of events,
confirming my belief that history is often more exciting than any good novel,
Claudius sent Flavus’ son to be their new King. This man, Italicus, was born to Armenius’ brother
who continued serving Rome loyally after his brother’s defection and rebellion.
Thank you for watching this video.