XXI.
Civilis adventu veteranarum cohortium iusti iam exercitus ductor, sed consilii ambiguus et vim Romanam reputans, cunctos qui aderant in verba Vespasiani adigit mittitque legatos ad duas legiones, quae priore acie pulsae in Vetera castra concesserant, ut idem sacramentum acciperent. redditur responsum: neque proditoris neque hostium se consiliis uti; esse sibi Vitellium principem, pro quo fidem et arma usque ad supremum spiritum retenturos: proinde perfuga Batavus arbitrium rerum Romanarum ne ageret, sed meritas sceleris poenas expectaret. quae ubi relata Civili, incensus ira universam Batavorum gentem in arma rapit; iunguntur Bructeri Tencterique et excita nuntiis Germania ad praedam famamque.
21.
With the arrival of the veteran cohorts, Civilis was now the leader of a regular army, but he was not yet certain what course to take. Bearing in mind the power of the Romans, he made all his men take the oath of allegiance to Vespasian and sent envoys to the two legions he had previously defeated, and which had withdrawn to the Vetera camp, to propose that they take the same oath. Their answer was that they had no use for the advice of a renegade or of enemies. Their emperor was Vitellius, for whom they would keep their faith and use their arms to their last breath. A Batavian fugitive, [they added], must therefore not presume to act as arbiter in Roman affairs. Rather he should expect the punishment he deserved for his crime. When the reply was reported back to Civilis, he smouldered with rage and drove the whole tribe to arms. The Bructeri and the Tencteri joined him and, through emissaries, all of Germany was called to plunder and glory.
XXII.
Adversus has concurrentis belli minas legati legionum Munius Lupercus et Numisius Rufus vallum murosque firmabant. subversa longae pacis opera, haud procul castris in modum municipii extructa, ne hostibus usui forent. sed parum provisum ut copiae in castra conveherentur; rapi permisere: ita paucis diebus per licentiam absumpta sunt quae adversus necessitates in longum suffecissent. Civilis medium agmen cum robore Batavorum obtinens utramque Rheni ripam, quo truculentior visu foret, Germanorum catervis complet, adsultante per campos equite; simul naves in adversum amnem agebantur. hinc veteranarum cohortium signa, inde depromptae silvis lucisque ferarum imagines, ut cuique genti inire proelium mos est, mixta belli civilis externique facie obstupefecerant obsessos. et spem obpugnantium augebat amplitudo valli, quod duabus legionibus situm vix quinque milia armatorum Romanorum tuebantur; sed lixarum multitudo turbata pace illuc congregata et bello ministra aderat.
22.
To counter the menace of a proliferating war, the legates of the two legions, Munius Lupercus and Numisius Rufus, proceeded to reinforce the rampart and the walls. The buildings just outside the camp, that had developed into a sort of self-governing community during long years of peace, they demolished to prevent their use by the enemy. However, little thought was given to the transport of supplies into the camp and instead allowed looting of the stores they had, so that within a few days waste consumed what could have prevented want for a long time. Civilis, holding the center of the enemy army with the elite of the Batavi, filled both banks of the Rhine with hordes of Germans, to make the spectacle appear more menacing, while the cavalry dashed about in the adjacent fields and at the same time the fleet filed by going upstream. The besieged were confounded by the sight, on one hand, of the standards of the veteran cohorts, on the other by the images of wild beasts brought out of the sacred places in the woods and groves, as is the custom of each tribe so to march into combat: it was the mixed face of a war at once civil and foreign. The extent of the Roman rampart also boosted the besiegers’ confidence, for barely five thousand armed men protected a place built for two legions. But a multitude of camp followers, who had gathered there at the first sign of trouble, were available to assist in the defence.
XXIII.
Pars castrorum in collem leniter exurgens, pars aequo adibatur. quippe illis hibernis obsideri premique Germanias Augustus crediderat, neque umquam id malorum ut obpugnatum ultro legiones nostras venirent; inde non loco neque munimentis labor additus: vis et arma satis placebant. Batavi Transrhenanique, quo discreta virtus manifestius spectaretur, sibi quaeque gens consistunt, eminus lacessentes. post ubi pleraque telorum turribus pinnisque moenium inrita haerebant et desuper saxis vulnerabantur, clamore atque impetu invasere vallum, adpositis plerique scalis, alii per testudinem suorum; scandebantque iam quidam, cum gladiis et armorum incussu praecipitati sudibus et pilis obruuntur, praeferoces initio et rebus secundis nimii. sed tum praedae cupidine adversa quoque tolerabant; machinas etiam, insolitum sibi, ausi. nec ulla ipsis sollertia: perfugae captivique docebant struere materias in modum pontis, mox subiectis rotis propellere, ut alii superstantes tamquam ex aggere proeliarentur, pars intus occulti muros subruerent. sed excussa ballistis saxa stravere informe opus. et cratis vineasque parantibus adactae tormentis ardentes hastae, ultroque ipsi obpugnatores ignibus petebantur, donec desperata vi verterent consilium ad moras, haud ignari paucorum dierum inesse alimenta et multum imbellis turbae; simul ex inopia proditio et fluxa servitiorum fides ac fortuita belli sperabantur.
23.
A part of the camp rose on a gentle slope, the rest was accessible on level ground. Augustus had obviously believed that with these winter stations both German provinces could be kept under watch and in check and had never imagined a calamity so extreme as to see the Germans launch an unprovoked assault on our legions. So no effort was made to strengthen the position or the fortifications: the power of our arms was deemed sufficient. The Batavi and the Germans from across the Rhine, to make more manifest their courage in acting separately, took their positions grouped by tribes and began hostilities from a distance. Then, as their darts and missiles were ineffective and most stuck in towers and parapets, while they themselves sustained wounds from the stones aimed at them from above, with loud cries and a furious onset they swooped down on the rampart, most climbing by means of ladders placed against it, others on the testudo formed by their comrades. Some had already reached the top, but were thrust down by force of arms and were suppressed by volleys of spikes and javelins. Germans are high-spirited at the outset of an engagement and overbold [only] when they see they are winning, but in this case the passion for plunder made them persist in the face of setbacks. They even went so far as to use engines of war, a novelty for them, of whose operation they had no knowledge themselves: deserters and prisoners taught them to construct a sort of a bridge with timber, then to install wheels under it to move it forward, in such a way that some would stand on it and fight as if from a ramp, while others hidden inside undermined the camp rampart. But stones hurled from catapults demolished this crude apparatus and other engines shot flaming spears at those carrying forward gabions and siege shelters, and at the same time aimed their fiery weapons at the assailants themselves. In the end, since force was of no avail, the enemy changed strategy and decided to wait, well aware that the camp had supplies only for a few days and contained a large crowd of non-combatants. At the same time they set their hopes on disloyalty born of hunger, on the slippery faith of slaves, and on the hazards of war.
XXIV.
Flaccus interim cognito castrorum obsidio et missis per Gallias qui auxilia concirent, lectos e legionibus Dillio Voculae duoetvicensimae legionis legato tradit, ut quam maximis per ripam itineribus celeraret, ipse navibus <invadit> invalidus corpore, invisus militibus. neque enim ambigue fremebant: emissas a Mogontiaco Batavorum cohortis, dissimulatos Civilis conatus, adsciri in societatem Germanos. non Primi Antonii neque Muciani ope Vespasianum magis adolevisse. aperta odia armaque palam depelli: fraudem et dolum obscura eoque inevitabilia. Civilem stare contra, struere aciem: Hordeonium e cubiculo et lectulo iubere quidquid hosti conducat. tot armatas fortissimorum virorum manus unius senis valetudine regi: quin potius interfecto traditore fortunam virtutemque suam malo omine exolverent. his inter se vocibus instinctos flammavere insuper adlatae a Vespasiano litterae, quas Flaccus, quia occultari nequibant, pro contione recitavit, vinctosque qui attulerant ad Vitellium misit.
24.
Meawhile, at the news of the Vetera camp being under siege, Hordeonius Flaccus sent all over Gaul in search of auxiliary troops. He gave the best soldiers of his legions to Dillius Vocula, the legate of the Twety-second legion with orders to march with utmost speed along the bank of the Rhine. He himself was to go with the fleet, as he was in poor health and far from popular with the troops. They in fact complained openly that he had sent off the Batavian cohorts from Mogontiacum, had pretended not to know of Civilis’ doings, and was now encouraging the Germans to join forces with him. Vespasian, [they grumbled], had grown strong more with Flaccus’ help than with that of either Primus Antonius or Mucianus. Manifest hate and naked force could be beaten back in the open, duplicity and treachery were things of darkness, thus beyond their control. Civilis stood there facing them and prepared his army to fight. Hordeonius from the alcove of his bedchamber issued whatever orders were most advantageous to the enemy. Must the frailties of one dotard exercise command over such a vast array of brave men ready to fight? Why not rather put the hopeless bumbler to death and release their valor and good fortune from his evil influence? The indignation roused by such talk was further inflamed by a letter from Vespasian. Flaccus, unable to hide it, read it out before a general assembly, then had the messengers placed in chains and sent to Vitellius.
XXV.
Sic mitigatis animis Bonnam, hiberna primae legionis, ventum. infensior illic miles culpam cladis in Hordeonium vertebat: eius iussu derectam adversus Batavos aciem, tamquam a Mogontiaco legiones sequerentur; eiusdem proditione caesos, nullis supervenientibus auxiliis: ignota haec ceteris exercitibus neque imperatori suo nuntiari, cum adcursu tot provinciarum extingui repens perfidia potuerit. Hordeonius exemplaris omnium litterarum, quibus per Gallias Britanniamque et Hispanias auxilia orabat, exercitui recitavit instituitque pessimum facinus, ut epistulae aquiliferis legionum traderentur, a quis ante militi quam ducibus legebantur. tum e seditiosis unum vinciri iubet, magis usurpandi iuris, quam quia unius culpa foret. motusque Bonna exercitus in coloniam Agrippinensem, adfluentibus auxiliis Gallorum, qui primo rem Romanam enixe iuvabant: mox valescentibus Germanis pleraeque civitates adversum nos arma <sumpsere> spe libertatis et, si exuissent servitium, cupidine imperitandi. gliscebat iracundia legionum, nec terrorem unius militis vincula indiderant: quin idem ille arguebat ultro conscientiam ducis, tamquam nuntius inter Civilem Flaccumque falso crimine testis veri opprimeretur. conscendit tribunal Vocula mira constantia, prensumque militem ac vociferantem duci ad supplicium iussit: et dum mali pavent, optimus quisque iussis paruere. exim consensu ducem Voculam poscentibus, Flaccus summam rerum ei permisit.
25.
This action calmed the soldiers’ furor, and so they all reached Bonna, the winter quarters of the First legion. There the troops were even more hostile, blaming Hordeonius for the late setback, charging they had followed his orders to lead their forces against the Batavi on his assurance that the legions from Magontiacum would support them. It was by his own treachery that they were massacred when they received no assistance. These doings, they claimed, were unknown to the other armies and were kept hidden from the emperor, at a time when the prompt intervention of so many provinces could have easily extinguished so sudden a rebellion. [In response to these accusations], Hordeonius read to the army copies of all the letters he kept sending to all parts of Gaul, Britain, and Spain to plead for help and established the iniquitous practice of having official messages delivered into the hands of the legions’ eagle bearers and read to the troops before the officers knew their contents. Soon after he had one of the troublemakers put in chains, more to demonstrate his authority than because the soldier was the one cause of the disturbance. The army moved from Bonna to Colonia Agrippinensis, while reinforcements from Gaul were pouring in. The Gallic provinces at first made great efforts to help the Roman cause, but later, as the German forces increased, many states turned against us, spurred by the hope of freedom and by the desire of becoming masters in their turn, if they managed to rid themselves of bondage. The irritation within the legions was growing; the arrest of one of theirs had not intimidated them. In fact that soldier went so far as to accuse Flaccus of complicity in the revolt, protesting he was being eliminated on false charges because he had acted as emissary between Civilis and Flaccus and could now expose the truth. With admirable resolve Vocula ascended the platform and ordered that the man –then under guard and still bawling—be led out to execution. While the disaffected among the troops trembled, the best soldiers carried out the order. Then, as all clamored for Vocula to be their leader, Flaccus resigned to him the command of the army.
XXVI.
Sed discordis animos multa efferabant: inopia stipendii frumentique et simul dilectum tributaque Galliae aspernantes, Rhenus incognita illi caelo siccitate vix navium patiens, arti commeatus, dispositae per omnem ripam stationes quae Germanos vado arcerent, eademque de causa minus frugum et plures qui consumerent. apud imperitos prodigii loco accipiebatur ipsa aquarum penuria, tamquam nos amnes quoque et vetera imperii munimenta desererent: quod in pace fors seu natura, tunc fatum et ira dei vocabatur. Ingressis Novaesium sexta decima legio coniungitur. additus Voculae in partem curarum Herennius Gallus legatus; nec ausi ad hostem pergere * * (loco Gelduba nomen est) castra fecere. ibi struenda acie, muniendo vallandoque et ceteris belli meditamentis militem firmabant. utque praeda ad virtutem accenderetur, in proximos Cugernorum pagos, qui societatem Civilis acceperant, ductus a Vocula exercitus; pars cum Herennio Gallo permansit.
26.
But many reasons contributed to aggravate the seditious mood. The Gallic provinces ignored both the levy and the tribute. Because of a drought –-a rare occurrence in that climate—the Rhine was hardly navigable and supplies difficult to maintain. Army posts were placed all along the bank to prevent the Germans from fording the river and for this reason food became more limited and mouths to feed more numerous. In the eyes of the ignorant even the dwindling water level was seen as a portent, as though the rivers themselves, these ancient bulwarks of our empire, were abandoning us. What in time of peace was regarded as fortuitous or natural, was then called the work of fate and the gods’ revenge. When the army reached Novaesium, the Sixteenth legion joined it and its legate Herennius Gallus became Vocula’s associate to share in the responsibilities of command. Not daring yet to march on to meet the enemy, they set up camp at a place called Gelduba. There they tried to bolster troop morale by practicing battle formation, by erecting fortifications and ramparts, and by all the other forms of military training. To awaken in his army the desire to fight in the hope of securing plunder, Vocula led it into the nearest districts of the Cugerni, who had chosen to be Civilis’ allies. A part of the troops stayed behind with Herennius Gallus.
XXVII.
Forte navem haud procul castris, frumento gravem, cum per vada haesisset, Germani in suam ripam trahebant. non tulit Gallus misitque subsidio cohortem: auctus et Germanorum numerus, paulatimque adgregantibus se auxiliis acie certatum. Germani multa cum strage nostrorum navem abripiunt. victi, quod tum in morem verterat, non suam ignaviam, sed perfidiam legati culpabant. protractum e tentorio, scissa veste, verberato corpore, quo pretio, quibus consciis prodidisset exercitum, dicere iubent. redit in Hordeonium invidia: illum auctorem sceleris, hunc ministrum vocant, donec exitium minitantibus exterritus proditionem et ipse Hordeonio obiecit; vinctusque adventu demum Voculae exolvitur. is postera die auctores seditionis morte adfecit: tanta illi exercitui diversitas inerat licentiae patientiaeque. haud dubie gregarius miles Vitellio fidus, splendidissimus quisque in Vespasianum proni: inde scelerum ac suppliciorum vices et mixtus obsequio furor, ut contineri non possent qui puniri poterant.
27.
It chanced that not far from the camp a ship laden with grain had run aground in shallow waters. As the Germans were trying to drag the vessel to their side of the river, Gallus was provoked to action and sent a cohort to the rescue. The Germans also received support and as more reinforcements joined the fray, a regular battle was being fought. The Germans cut down many of our men and made off with the ship. The beaten troops, as it had become by then their custom, laid the blame on the legate’s perfidy, rather than on their own lack of spirit. They dragged him from his tent, tore his clothes, beat him severely, and demanded to know at what price and with whose complicity he had betrayed the army. The hatred of Hordeonius was revived: he was the real culprit and Gallus his lackey. In the end even Gallus himself, terrified by the threats of death, imputed the treason to Hordeonius. He was then put in chains and was only released on Vocula’s return. Next day Vocula had the ringleaders of the mutiny executed: so much contrast did that army offer of insubordination and passive submission. There is no doubt that the common soldier was loyal to Vitellius, whereas those of high rank tended to favor Vespasian: hence these successions of mutinies and executions, the mixture of blind furor and abject compliance. That is why men could not be kept in line, though they could be punished.
XXVIII.
At Civilem immensis auctibus universa Germania extollebat, societate nobilissimis obsidum firmata. ille, ut cuique proximum, vastari Vbios Trevirosque, et aliam manum Mosam amnem transire iubet, ut Menapios et Morinos et extrema Galliarum quateret. actae utrobique praedae, infestius in Vbiis, quod gens Germanicae originis eiurata patria [Romanorum nomen] Agrippinenses vocarentur. caesae cohortes eorum in vico Marcoduro incuriosius agentes, quia procul ripa aberant. nec quievere Vbii quo minus praedas e Germania peterent, primo impune, dein circumventi sunt, per omne id bellum meliore usi fide quam fortuna. contusis Vbiis gravior et successu rerum ferocior Civilis obsidium legionum urgebat, intentis custodiis ne quis occultus nuntius venientis auxilii penetraret. machinas molemque operum Batavis delegat: Transrhenanos proelium poscentis ad scindendum vallum ire detrusosque redintegrare certamen iubet, superante multitudine et facili damno.
28.
Civilis’ strength, on the other hand, was greatly augmented by huge reinforcements from all parts of Germany. The alliance was guaranteed by hostages of the highest standing. He ordered the nations nearest the Ubii and the Treveri to ravage their country and another force to cross the Meuse and harass the Menapi and the Morini, together with the frontier districts of Gaul. Plunder was taken in both areas of operations, more brutally among the Ubii, because they, a tribe of Germanic origin, had rejected their nationality and called themselves Agrippinenses, the name used by the Romans. The cohorts of the Ubii were destroyed while operating in the district of Marcodurum, caught unprepared because [they thought] they were so far from the Rhine. This reversal did not prevent the tribe from raiding the German territory, which at first they did unopposed, but were later intercepted. [Indeed], throughout the war the Ubii proved more our friends than Fortune’s. Following the massacre of the Ubii, Civilis, now grown more dangerous and aggressive on account of his successes, pushed ahead the siege of the legions with increased vigor. Stringent vigilance was maintained to prevent any secret message of forthcoming help from getting through. He entrusted the siege machines and the conduct of the operations to the Batavi and had the German forces from beyond the Rhine, who demanded action, force a breach in the camp’s rampart. When they were driven back, he ordered them to renew the attack, for they had numbers on their side and their losses were easy to bear.
XXIX.
Nec finem labori nox attulit: congestis circum lignis accensisque, simul epulantes, ut quisque vino incaluerat, ad pugnam temeritate inani ferebantur. quippe ipsorum tela per tenebras vana: Romani conspicuam barbarorum aciem, et si quis audacia aut insignibus effulgens, ad ictum destinabant. intellectum id Civili et restincto igne misceri cuncta tenebris et armis iubet. tum vero strepitus dissoni, casus incerti, neque feriendi neque declinandi providentia: unde clamor acciderat, circumagere corpora, tendere artus; nihil prodesse virtus, fors cuncta turbare et ignavorum saepe telis fortissimi cadere. apud Germanos inconsulta ira: Romanus miles periculorum gnarus ferratas sudis, gravia saxa non forte iaciebat. ubi sonus molientium aut adpositae scalae hostem in manus dederant, propellere umbone, pilo sequi; multos in moenia egressos pugionibus fodere. sic exhausta nocte novam aciem dies aperuit.
29.
Not even darkness put an end to the assailants’ labors. They massed large piles of wood around the camp and made bonfires. In the course of their feasting, as they grew hot with wine, they would be swept off to battle by senseless temerity. Predictably, darkness made their missiles ineffective, whereas the Romans picked their targets at will from among the barbarian ranks, backlit by the fires, [especially] if anyone stood out for the badges he wore or for his audacity. When Civilis saw this, he gave orders to extinguish the fires and to plunge all in darkness and the uproar of battle. Then indeed there was nothing but discordant cries and blind butchery. Impossible to see where to strike and when to fend off a blow. If a shout was heard from any direction, all turned and made a thrust towards it. Courage counted for nothing: chance sowed chaos everywhere and the bravest often perished under the blows of cowards. The Germans were driven by blind rage, the Romans, being familiar with the dangers of battle, hurled heavy stones and iron–tipped stakes with calculated aim. When they heard the noise of men scaling the rampart or the placement of ladders brought the enemy within their grasp, they thrust them down with their shields, then used their javelins; many who managed to reach the top of the wall they stabbed with daggers. The night being thus spent, dawn revealed a new menace.
XXX.
Eduxerant Batavi turrim duplici tabulato, quam praetoriae portae (is aequissimus locus) propinquantem promoti contra validi asseres et incussae trabes perfregere multa superstantium pernicie. pugnatumque in perculsos subita et prospera eruptione; simul a legionariis peritia et arte praestantibus plura struebantur. praecipuum pavorem intulit suspensum et nutans machinamentum, quo repente demisso praeter suorum ora singuli pluresve hostium sublime rapti verso pondere intra castra effundebantur. Civilis omissa expugnandi spe rursus per otium adsidebat, nuntiis et promissis fidem legionum convellens.
30.
A two-story tower, moved forward by the Batavi, was approaching the praetorian gate, where access to the camp was easiest. But against it our men pushed out from the wall hefty poles and hit the tower with ramming beams shattering it to pieces, causing great losses among those above. A sudden and successful sortie was next made on the disordered foe. Meanwhile, the troops of the legions, with their superior skills and inventiveness, were assembling new instruments of war. Greatest terror was caused by a machine with a long movable boom suspended over the assailants, which, when suddenly lowered, swept up aloft one or more men past the nose of their comrades, then, by rotating the load around, discharged it inside the camp. Civilis abandoned any hope of a successful attack and resumed an unhurried blockade of the camp, trying the while to weaken the resolve of the legions by sending messages and making promises.