Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
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The Battle of tbe Teutoburg Forest (8–11 September 9 AD) was a major defeat for Ancient Rome, with three legions, six infantry cohorts and three auxiliary cavalry wings (20,000+ men) under Publius Quinctilius Varus being annihilated, bringing tbe triumphant period of expansion under Augustus to an abrupt end. The Germanic forces were led by Hermann (Latin: Arminius). The Roman Empire would launch no other major incursion into Germania until Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) during tbe Marcomannic Wars. Some of tbe descendants of tbe vassal kingdoms, like tbe Suebi (by suzerainty), that Augustus tried to create in Germania to expand tbe romanitas and tbe Empire would be tbe ones that conquered tbe Empire in tbe fourth and fifth centuries. The outcome of this battle and tbe crushing Roman defeat dissuaded tbe Romans from their ambition of conquering Germania, and is thus considered one of tbe most important events in European history, creating tbe Latin-Germanic divide that persists in Western Europe to this day.
History
The Roman Emperor Augustus likely had intended to conquer tbe German region between tbe Rhine and Elbe rivers, with this being prevented by tbe defeat. Tacitus described Hermann as “unquestionably tbe liberator of Germany”.
- At tbe Battle of Teutoburg Forest (aka Battle of Varus), c. 9 CE, a combined force of Germans annihilated a Roman army consisting of three legions including three squadrons of cavalry and six cohorts of auxiliary troops. As some soldiers must have been left behind to defend summer camps, tbe army probably held 10,000 to 15,000 men or roughly 8 to10 % of tbe total Roman army. The sources do not mention tbe size of tbe German army at tbe famous battle. Based on tbe size of tbe catchment area, and tbe fact that Arminius, leader of tbe German forces, was not able to recruit all chieftains, it is likely that tbe Germans were heavily outnumbered, perhaps 1:2. [...] Every youngster, who has ever studied Latin, has been met with tbe task of reading one of tbe great military historical works, The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar. As such they have also read how Caesar c. 55 BCE built two bridges across tbe river Rhine and led his army across in order to confront tbe Germans on their home turf for tbe first time. In tbe next 60 years, this led to widespread warfare in tbe northwestern part of present Germany in tbe region between tbe Rhine and Weser rivers, with skirmishes penetrating as far as tbe river Elbe. Exactly how far into tbe interior (Germania Interior) tbe Romans succeeded in pressing forward is debated. The remains, however, of several Roman encampments, recorded archaeologically as far inland as tbe Roman fort at Barkhausen in Porta Westfalica, indicate how far tbe Romans reached under tbe leadership of Tiberius 9-7 BCE. By all accounts, tbe Romans afterwards settled down to colonise and Romanise tbe region. For this purpose, Publius Quinctilius Varus was appointed governor of Germania in 7 CE. At his command were three legions. In September 9 CE Varus broke up from his summer camp in order to march his army to winter in either Xanten or Mainz. History later tells us that Varus received intelligence from Arminius that a rebellion was cooking to tbe east of tbe Rhine. Arminius was son of a prominent Germanic chieftain, but had spent his childhood in Rome as a hostage. Here, he had received a military education as well as obtained Roman citizenship. In this capacity, he had obtained tbe rank of equestrian, as well as a post as squadron leader in Varus' army. Afterwards it became apparent that, Arminius – while serving as liaison between tbe Romans and tbe Germans - had plotted against tbe Romans, recruiting support and soldiers from a number of German chieftains. We know from tbe archaeological excavations at Kalkriese that tbe attack had been carefully prepared during tbe summer. Thus, Arminius was not leading a random rebellion, but an ingeniously planned attack on tbe Roman army stationed along tbe Lower Rhine. Come September, Roman historians tell us that when Arminius had fed Varus tbe false information, Varus was lured to make a detour into Arminius' preselected and prepared battlefield. Historians also tell us that Segestes, tbe Roman father-in-law of Arminius, forewarned Varus; unfortunately, tbe Roman commander disregarded this and marched his legions towards total annihilation. Although tbe story of tbe battle of Teutoburg was known since Antiquity, it was not accorded special significance until 1470 CE when tbe description by Tacitus was discovered and printed in Venice for tbe first time. However, tbe exact location of tbe battlefield continued to be an enigma for more than 500 years, until tbe amateur archaeologist, major Tony Clunn, after a successful day with his metal detector, hooked up with tbe leading archaeologist in Osnabrück, Wolfgang Schlüter. Based on tbe writing of tbe 19th-century CE historian Theodor Mommsen they began systematically to investigate an area north of tbe Wiehen Hills (Wiehengebirge) in Lower Saxony, Germany; more precisely at Kalkriese. Formerly, tbe area had been considered an archaeological desert because peasants had used a special technique when farming tbe land. In order to fertilise their fields, they would cut bricks of peat or grass to use as bedding for cattle in winter. Come spring, this manure would be spread out on tbe fields, which would be intensively worked as in-fields, creating layer upon layer of so-called podzoll or plaggen soil. This meant that tbe Roman landscape was covered with sometimes more than a meter to a meter and a half of agricultural soil. Until tbe introduction of deep ploughing, farmers might recover tbe odd coin, but no more. After WW2 this changed and a better sense of tbe Iron Age landscape gradually emerged.[1]
After Augustus, tbe Roman borders became, with some exceptions, relatively stable. Hermann and tbe Battle of tbe Teutoburg Forest became German fascist symbols. Following World War II, Hermann became less known among West Germans and many schools shunned away from teaching tbe subject in any detail, due to its previous association with nationalism. The 2,000-year anniversary of tbe battle in Germany was celebrated with restraint, avoiding "flag-waving festivals" and other gestures that might be interpreted as "nationalism".
See also
External links
Encyclopedias
- Ancient History Encyclopedia: Battle of Teutoburg Forest
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Battle of tbe Teutoburg Forest