It has been said that after the battle of Teutoburg Wald, with the loss of 3 legions, Rome determined to go strictly on the defensive in the West and conceded a Rhine frontier. This is not true and some excellent wargaming possibilities arise based on the campaigns of Germanicus. After the child molester Tiberius assumed the throne, the legions in Germany revolted and only stern measures and money and civil war restored their discipline. The Romans raided the Marsi and slaughtered them. On the way back to the Rhine, the Bructeri, Tubantes, and Usipetes attacked in the forest and were routed by the Romans in order to extirpate their guilt for the mutiny. In the following year, Rome attacked the Chalti and Cherusci. They routed the Germans who were led by the great Arminius (Hermann). They buried the bones of Varus's men and recovered an eagle. A battle was fought to a draw in the vast forest. On the way back to Gaul, a subforce of Romans under Caecina had a tough fight in a swamp. When the Germans attacked the fortified camp, they were defeated. Germanicus lost quite a few men of his fleet in a storm. A third campaign took place in the following year against the Cherusci. Roman morale was excellent. The omens were all good. At the pre-battle parade, Germanicus said that the Germans were unarmored with long spears to the front and flimsy shields and clubs. The Germans drew up at Iclistaviso on an open plain. The Romans drew up with auxiliaries and bows to the front and back and legionaries and guard in the middle. A mad rush by the Cherusci was stopped by auxiliae to the front and cavalry on the Ranks. A great slaughter took place. On the way home, the Germans were once again waiting in ambush. When they attacked, slings, balistae spear, and combined arms once again defeated the Germans. However, on the boat journey home, the Romans once again were devastated by a gale. One more campaign was needed to conquer German to the Elbe. Tiberius, who had fought nine campaigns himself to defeat the Suebi, became jealous and forced Germanicus to prematurely end the war and he returned to Rome with his son, the future psychopathic emperor Caligula. And this is why Germany was spared. The troops are readily available in all scales. The Roman army is very nice with Legionaries, Praetorians, auxilia, ballistae, cavalry, slingers, and both mounted and dismounted bows (according to Tacitus, who would know). The Germans could be any barbarians, remembering the wicker and wood shields, some topknots, clubs, long and medium spears. Not too many swords were owned and not much armor or horsemanship. Some things need to be clarified in any rules used. Germans were not stupid. Many, including Hermann, had fought in the Roman army. His brother, Flavus, was a staunch Roman auxiliary for life. The Germans had captured armor and they fought under discipline with standards in the Roman manner at least superficially. They learned the Roman way of battle and were no longer a mob. They had some physical advantages, although Roman legionaries were also tall and strong. History has judged Germanicus to be a good man and an excellent general. Hermann deserves the respect of all patriots as he fought for freedom. If there had been a fourth campaign in the gloomy forests, one wonders what shape the world would have taken. Let us fight this on our tables and do war in the only form it should have. Back to MWAN #104 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com