Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Getting Involved in a Land War in Germania
Generally speaking, the Romans pulled back on making further progress into northern Germany after the massacre at Teutoburg Forest late in the reign of Augustus. However, archeologists appear to have found a battle site just south of Hanover (in Lower Saxony) where a Roman legion squared off against Germanic tribesman in the mid 3rd Century A.D. Science Magazine has one of the more complete versions of the story.
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One of the great "what if" events of history. Had the 3 legions (and several cohorts of auxiliaries) not been decimated and Germania brought firmly into Roman control, how different subsequent events would have been. Each legion was about 6,000 men - at full strength - and the lost legions were never replaced. A most excellent example though of the break down in combat movements since camp followers were mingling w/ the troops.
Nice find; hadn't seen this story elsewhere.
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