Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War Read Free Page A

well deserved reputation for its fighting ability.
    In his heart, he thanked the gods for the competence of his subordinate commanders particularly Tribuni Servilius and Vitulus who not only protected their respective outposts, but soundly defeated experienced and hardened mercenaries.  His own victories against the Suevi at Innsbruck he attributed to the courage of his Legionaries and the leadership of his centurions.  He recalled how he briefly considered that his Legion might dissolve and run when thousands of attacking Suevi topped the hill to his front.  But 5,500 stout Roman shields backed by courage, deadly pila [spears], stabbing swords, and eight Scorpios stopped them in their tracks and won a great victory for Rome.
     

The Battle of Cannae ~ 216 BC (10 years earlier)
“Never before, while the City itself was still safe, had there been such excitement and panic within its walls. I shall not attempt to describe it, nor will I weaken the reality by going into details... it was not wound upon wound but multiplied disaster that was now announced. For according to the reports two consular armies and two consuls were lost; there was no longer any Roman camp, any general, any single soldier in existence; Apulia, Samnium, almost the whole of Italy lay at Hannibal's feet. Certainly there is no other nation that would not have succumbed beneath such a weight of calamity.”
― Livy, on the Roman Senate's reaction to the defeat at Cannae
     
    In 216 BC, Tribune Manius Tullus was a part of the ill fated, last ditch attempt by Roman arms to defeat Hannibal.  Rome had already been soundly defeated by the Carthaginian and his mercenaries at Trebia in 218 and Lake Trasimene in 217, where Rome lost two legions.  Now, eight confident Roman legions and an equal number of Auxiliaries marched to Cannae to put an end to Hannibal and his invasion of Italy.
    Manius recalled with perfect clarity the intense 88 degree July heat that accompanied the huge force that marched away from Rome heading southeast to confront Hannibal.  As a senior Tribune, he was mounted upon a horse, but would occasionally dismount to walk alongside his Legionaries during the 15 day 230-mile march to Cannae .  As usual, everyone was carrying their body armor rather than wearing it otherwise men would be dropping from the intense heat captured by the metal plates.  The men always said you could actually cook chickpeas on hot body armor!
    Morale was good.  The army expected a difficult, but ultimately victorious battle primarily because they had a 2 to 1 advantage in manpower.
    Because of the large Roman Army that surrounded him, Manius was not overly concerned when he noticed Legionaries dropping out of the march unconscious or lying limply alongside the road.  Most appeared to be suffering from exertion and the intense heat.  He knew many would rejoin their Legions later in the day; still he grew more concerned with each new heat casualty that fainted or staggered off to the side.  He estimated that the equivalent of an entire Legion had fallen out.  He silently asked the gods to provide some cloud cover.
    He suspected dehydration was the culprit.  To confirm his suspicion, that evening at camp he wandered throughout the tired Army asking questions.  What he learned stunned him.  Men were drinking water at breakfast, but did not want to carry their heavy canteens during the march and left them on the wagons.  Manius blamed the Centurions for failing to enforce proper hydration.  He reported his findings to the Legion Commanders and orders were immediately issued to ensure the men carried their canteens and drank every two hours.
    It was a typically hot and dry August day when the two armies finally faced each other across a large dusty plain.  Hannibal had been at Cannae for several weeks already; more than adequate time to develop an innovative plan of battle that would surprise and defeat the Romans.
    The two armies looked at each other across