Rebels rarely stop empires, but a bloody nose can be enough to check them. Teutoburg, 9 AD

Posted on 7/22/21 at 10:42 am

Posted by fr33manator

Baton Rouge

Member since Oct 2010

123906 posts

Posted on 7/22/21 at 10:42 am

Battle of Teutoburg forest-invicta

Teutoburg Forest-9 AD

Teutoburg

Now I’ll tell the tale of Teutoburg, how fell the Roman legion,
Of the arrogance of Varus, and brave warriors of that region,
Of the rebels of Germania, who would not bend the knee,
Ending with the scene of Legionaries, hanging on a tree,

Give me your ear, and I’ll recall,
Of The time when Rome was bested by the Gaul

Under Caesarous ambition, Rome was destined to expand,
From North Africa to Britain, thus an empire claimed the land,
For the foe that was without, with Gladius was made within,
marches transformed into province, rebel’s sons became legion,

And so now, to set the stage, back when all roads led to Rome,
Sent as tribute, was Arminius, far from his Germanic home,
Raised from youth in Roman custom, to ensure the cowed’s compliance,
Earned the trust of tyrant Varus, but in secret formed alliance,

With the tribes in Gallic hinterlands, chafing under Roman boot,
Seditious seeds sown, and in Teutoberg, from trees would hang their fruit,
Necks of peoples trod upon, can only so long bide their hate,
Caesar crushed the serpent’s egg, Varus waited all too late,

While Legions quelled Balkan Rebellions, leaving Varus only three,
Arminius told of uprisings, set a trap in Germany,
Then by his ego, led the tyrant, like a lamb into the rout,
He disappeared, until they’d hear, their doom in a Teutonic shout

Green legions three, with Varus, he, drawn into primeval wood,
No scouts ahead, to warn the dead, like any clever general would,
On muddy ground the column wound, stretched through the trees just like a snake,
The screams of pain, mixed with the rain,
The sounds of Varus’s mistake,

Under the downpour of the lances, spears cut into ragged ranks,
And with the legions in disorder, they could not form a phalanx,
Thus surrounded, and astounded, by their foe, one step ahead,
Rebels knew the Roman tactics, so they piled up the dead,

With morning light, they fled the fight, outthunk, outnumbered, in retreat,
Mangled remainders of the legions, but their doom was not complete,
Marching into another trap, set there below, Kalkriese Hill,
But for escape, it was too late, the Germans moved in for the kill,

Abandoning his comrades, Vala, urged his cavalry away,
But rebel horsemen rode them down, so for their cowardice they’d pay,
With all hope lost, so ended Varus, as he fell upon his knife,
As sacrifice to pagan gods, many a survivor lost his life,

From branches in Teutoburg, bloody fruit hung from the trees,
Dripping as they slaked the soil, unlucky legionaries,
Back to Rome, so traveled Varus, body left behind and dead,
To Tiberius presented, tale told by his silent head,

Shamed so thoroughly the legions, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen,
Never more would be reformed, naught again in battle seen,
Although some vengeance was exacted,
‘Tween the Elbe and the Rhine,
Roman lands, would not advance, at Teutoburg, was their decline,

So now I’ve told, this tale of old, how rebel seeds, bear bloody fruit,
How the doom of Varus came, through German son sent as tribute,
I raise a glass unto Arminius, so remember now his name,
How just a spark,
Within the dark,
Can set alight,
A deadly flame,

As empires fall, so will they all, again, again,
But in the shades of Teutoburg, the dead remain.

Battle of Teutoburg Forest Wiki

TL;DR

In 9 AD, Varus commanded the XVII, XVIII and XIX legions of Rome into the Teutoburg forest, on the counsel of Arminius, a Germanic tribute who had been raised in Rome. In secret, he had plotted with rebel Germanic tribes and was leading Varus into an ambush. The legions were slaughtered and Rome’s further ambitions into Germany were quashed. Unlike other defeated legions, their numbers were retired in shame. One of the greatest losses in Roman military history and one of the great rebel victories

This post was edited on 7/22/21 at 10:51 am