From the battlegrounds of Gaul,
The Fifth Legion fights.
For Rome,
For Caesar,
For Glory.
The year is
57 BCE
Chapter One
The Long March
"Augustus, have you heard Caesar is gathering an army to head north into Gaul!" His father told him as he cleaned the shop. "This is your opportunity to become a man, to serve Rome and become a hero!" His father continued, "That is why I have talked to the centurion at the Castrum, an old friend, and he has agreed to take you on"
Augustus looked up from his work, "You didn't even ask me?" he said shocked.
"What is done is done!" His father announced and walked out of the room.
It took Augustus an hour to take it all in, "I... I am going to Gaul" is all he could think.
The year was 58 BCE; there was a stir around Arretium. There was word that the Consul Gaius Julius was leading his campaign into Gaul, they were recruiting legionnaires from all major cities in the Roman Republic. Augustus was the son of a prominent merchant and so it was his duty to offer his service to the Republic. It was believed to be a great honour for a household to engage in military service.
As Augustus headed off to the Castrum to start his years of military service his father whispered to him. "Son, bring honour to our household". Those were the last "friendly" words he heard.
Augustus walked through the main gates of the Castrum, they were thick wooden gates reinforced with iron. The whole compound was surrounded by a stone wall and a moat filled with spike traps. He followed a group of other recruits into the Castrum, the centurion was waiting for them.
"MEN!" He shouted, Augustus straightened his back trying to stand tall.
The centurion was a beast of a man, his armour shone in the sunshine and his arms bulged with muscles. Across his chest were different insignias, each from a battle he personally fought in. His gladius hung at his side, the hilt was inlaid with a portrait of Mars, the God of war. To Augustus, the Centurion could have been Mars himself.
Before he spoke again the Centurion walked among the men, he pointed at the smallest and skinniest sending them out the gates. He nodded when he walked past Augustus, the centurion was only an inch taller than him. Around half of the recruits were sent packing. The centurion focused his attention on the ones remaining.
"The most important thing about the Roman Legion is UNITY!" His voice boomed around the stone walls. "Without the man beside you, you will be unprotected". "These men beside you will become your brothers in arms and you will die for them!"
He narrowed his eyes scanning the men standing in front of him, "Each one of you will become a killing machine for the Roman Republic. This is one of the highest honours a citizen can receive."
With his speech finished he barked at the men to get into line.
The first thing they practiced was marching. They started off without armour, Augustus found he could march with ease, but as the hours wore on men started to collapse. His legs started to burn and he ran out of breath quickly.
This training continued for two weeks and by the end of the two weeks everyone that stayed on could march for long distances carrying all their equipment. Then the sword drills began. These consisted of wearing full battle armour and duelling with other men along with practicing sword swings and holding the shield properly. Augustus excelled at the sword fighting but couldn't keep his shield up, it cost him a few duels.
That training lasted two months and sometimes in between the training they would have to pick up their equipment in a hurry and start a march, normally out into the countryside where they would create an encampment and then the next day they would march back. It was all very organised and Augustus never went without food or water, he also had a bunk in the castrum where he kept his stuff.
When the sword drills were finished formation training and battle-field discipline commenced. The men could fight, but not as a unit. They practiced forming a shield wall, marching as a shield wall and fighting as a shield wall. They also practiced opening gaps in the line and closing them quickly, these were in case the enemy flung boulders down on-top of them.
When all the training was finished there were only one hundred legionnaires left, over half of what had arrived in Augustus' group had been fully trained. They were told that they would be marching to the coast and getting a ship to Massilia in southern Gaul.
The marching took up most of the day and by the time they reached the coast it was night time, the ship was set to arrive in the morning so they made camp near the beach. In the morning they were loaded onto three roman warships and they set sail. The journey by sea only took a few hours, some of which consisted of men getting sick and when they docked in Massilia it was only the middle of the day.
They marched through the city and into the castrum where they joined onto their legion which was commanded by Caesar. Augustus got his first look at Caesar on the second day in the castrum, they had been awoken early, before sunrise, to do training drills and marching drills in preparation for the journey into Gaul. Caesar had arrived from the main city to oversee the drills. He wore sparkling gold armour and rode on the finest white horse Augustus had ever seen. He was an awe inspiring site.
After two weeks of training and more contingents joining in from the other provinces the legion was ready to march north. Augustus had been under the command of a veteran legionnaire who had fought in the eastern countries and was still serving Rome. He had one more tour left before he could retire. Lucky him, thought Augustus.
They marched north, straight into Gallic territory; they were expected to be greeted by strong resistance. Augustus had heard that they were heading north towards the main Gallic fort of Alesia where they would hope to establish a control point for the area, but to get to that they had to pass through 100's of kilometres of hostile territory.
The first night was scary at times, during the night some Gauls had decided to congregate in the area around the encampment. They started making strange noises and shooting arrows over the walls into the tents, they were run off when the guards fired flaming arrows into the woods.
In the morning they set off marching again, during the march Caesar climbed off his horse, dismissed his guards and walked with the men. It was a real confidence booster and helped get through the sleepless night and long march.
There was some commotion and the legion was formed into battle formations, Augustus' squad was two ranks back from the front rank. Later Augustus heard that scouts who had gone on ahead had sighted a large Gallic army moving quickly towards them. The legion marched on; they were expecting an attack any minute. It was a nerve wrecking time.
An arrow flew out of the trees striking a legionnaires shield, the whole legion jolted and men prepared for the fight.
The clash of steel, the roars from great heroes. Augustus swung his sword down, and then sliced it to the left chomping into a leg. The battle raged on, the cries of the wounded echoed throughout the battleground and the screams as men lost legs and legs, Augustus was terrifying. It sent a chill down Augustus' neck. He had found himself a formidable opponent; a brute barbarian wielding an iron war axe. Augustus couldn't get close enough with his gladius to slash him and was just out of range of the war axe. The rest of the men were in combat so there was no one to help him. He dived out of the way of the axe, he thrusted his sword up, slicing the brute's leg and injuring his hip. He jumped up behind the brute. He was bent over holding his leg. Augustus didn't waste a second and jabbed at his back. Watching him fall, he resumed his killing spree.
When the battle was finished the legion set up camp on a large hill, it was easy to defend and no smart enemy would attempt an assault. As he was a legionnaire he had his own tent near the centre of the camp. All the recruits and mercenaries had their tents on the outskirts of the camp. Augustus was inside the tent washing his sword clean of blood and placing his armour on the rack when the tent opened. He looked around and spotted the centurion. He left down his sword and armour and stood to attention. "Legionnaire" said the Centurion in a deep, hoarse voice, "The Legate was impressed with that latest battle" he said, his face unyielding. "You've been promoted to Decanus; you're now leading your own group of men." He paused for a second letting it sink in, "Then fresh recruits straight from Rome" He turned and as he left the room he said "I'll have an advisor brief you in the morning, get some sleep" and he was gone.
When Augustus awoke the next morning an advisor greeted him. "Salve, I'm Tiberius" the advisor greeted him, and shaking his hand. The advisor was in light armour and carrying scrolls around his belt, he had a mark down his cheek from a sword. "Ah hello Tiberius, you must be the advisor the centurion sent?" Augustus asked inquisitively. "Yes, yes." he said quickly, "I'm here to brief you on your new position", Augustus nodded to this. "You will be taking the position as Decanus in the legion; you will be commanding a squad of ten men." Announced the advisor hurriedly, "These men are fresh from Rome; they need to be thought how to fight like legionnaires. It is your duty to train these men into fine legionnaires." " I shall make these men proud legionnaires of Rome!" Augustus replied with enthusiasm. "You shall meet your men in just a moment, follow me" The advisor said walking off into the outskirts of the camp. When the advisor finally arrived at a small grouping of tents he extended his arm, "Here are you men" and he hurried off.
"Right" Augustus announced "I am your new Decanus. I will be making you fine Legionnaires of Rome." He looked around at the men, "We are going to head out to the training yard to judge how skilled you are." The men followed Augustus to the yard. Augustus showed the men how to chop their sword, teaching them not to go wildly but to make well placed swings. The group was slow to pick up but after a few days of training they were getting places.
The next morning the horn was blown and all the soldiers were called to assemble in the yard the legion was preparing for a march. Caesar stepped onto a broken cart. All the men hushed as Caesar took his position; he was envied and loved by his men. "Today we will march north" he shouted "Into Gallic territory. We expect heavy resistance as we progress north, towards Alesia as this territory is heavily populated." Augustus hung on every word. "We will be capturing small towns as we head north, cutting of their supply lines. We expect these towns to fall easily, but some might resist. If they do, we have full authority to take them with force." Caesar continued, explaining his plan to take Alesia in the north, and that it would be a hard fight.
When Caesar stepped down the men started a march. The march was slow and the line was long, they passed through dense woods. They were watched by mysterious eyes in the distance, always being watched. The men twitched, expecting to be attacked any moment. After a few hours march the Tribune called out "Town up ahead, we've sent a messenger and he's been killed. You may loot and pillage this town." The woods receded and gave way to flat open plains, off in the distance Augustus could see a town and the smoke stacks from fires. The Tribune shouted some orders and men started to get into a battle formation, Augustus' troops were moved to the front, as they were recruits and the veterans were moved to the back. "When you get tired, move back and let the man behind you fight! We don't want tired arms attacking, while strong men do nothing!" the Tribune shouted as the formation was formed. Velites ran out through the lines of men to the front, passing by Augustus and his men. They were wearing wolf skin and carrying javelins and sharp, small spears. "How unprotected," thought Augustus watching them run ahead. He could see a Gallic army approaching from the town, the Tribune called out to slow to a light march and ready your swords.
The Gauls were nearing the legion. The Velites were running further away from the main army when the Tribune shouted for them to stop. They stopped and then walked, slowly towards the Gauls. They were five hundred metres away from the Gauls. Four hundred, three hundred, two hundred, one hundred, fifty, "FIRE!" screamed the Tribune and the Velites let fly their javelins and spears. Augustus watched as they hit the Gauls, killing a lot of them and injuring more. The Velites took out more javelins from sacks on their backs and continued the onslaught. By the time they ran out the Gallic front line had been nearly wiped out, blood stained the grass and the cries of dying men echoed around the fields. The Velites turned and ran back towards the army. They legion was still marching forward at a slow pace and met the Velites, they slipped through the ranks and went to the back of the army, reloading and getting more javelins. "Tighten the ranks!" the Tribune roared and the legionnaires lifted their shields and pushed together. They formed a wall of shields.
The Gauls started chanting war chants and mocking the Romans. Augustus started to sweat, expecting a fierce fight with these Gauls. Most of them had no body armour but came out with just a loin cloth. They covered themselves in various markings, to protect them. "No Gods can protect you against Roman steel" Augustus thought, as he eyed down his enemy. The Gauls started running, they were three hundred metres out and with barely any armour on they moved fast and slickly. They were screaming as loud as they could. "PILLA READY!" shouted the Tribune and all the legionnaires, expect the front and second row pulled out pillas. "Aim", the men aimed their pillas at the charging Gauls. "FIRE!" And a shower of pillas rained down on the Gauls. The front line was completely wiped out; the ground was covered dead men. But the Gauls kept charging, they ran over dead corpses and badly injured men.
The first wave of Gauls reached the Romans. They clattered into an iron wall. Some tried to jump over the wall but we stabbed in their attempt, the Romans mowed down the first wave and had just ploughed through as the second wave hit. It was made up of much fiercer, taller, stronger men, who wielded heavy axes. They smashed through the wall, but got cut down as they went further. Then other, smaller men poured into the gaps and attacked. Augustus was ten men deep and he was fighting, a heavy had burst through the wall and flung himself as far as he could get, which was four men deep and other smaller men had thrown themselves into the gap, pushing it back another four. The two men in front of him had been slain and he was fighting a small, unarmoured Gaul. He thrust his sword forward, slashing the Gauls arm; he hadn't expect it and dropped his sword, grabbing his arm. Augustus moved in for the kill, slicing the man's head off. He looked around for some of his men, seeing none of them he continued fighting. More small men were jumping into the gaps and Augustus was cutting them down. The line had been reduced by five men, but Augustus had been moving forward, he was trying to find his men as well as get into the action. He slashed one man, ducking under a sword from another and thrusting forward into the heart of another Gaul, all in one move. He was like a killing machine, dodging, sliding and killing. Soon his muscles began to ache and he stopped pressing forward. He slowly started to retreat, attacking Gauls as he did so. As he reached the back line there were water buckets to re-energise.
As he did so he spotted one of his men, he was in the middle of the combat, fighting with a Gaul. He watched as he used moves he had practiced in training, thrusting forward, hitting with the shield, sliding under the opponent. He had the Gaul killed in a matter of seconds. He took his attention back to himself, picking up his gear and heading back to the lines.
He filed into the line, not pressing to move forward but not retreating. He made steady progress to the front of the legion where he was again fighting. It was a long fight and many times he had to retreat back for water. After four hours of fighting the Gauls ran out of men, the Legate brought the cavalry around in a flanking manoeuvre cutting of a retreat. The Gauls who hadn't already run were slaughtered. After a short rest the legion marched into the village, it was completely deserted aside from stray animals, the men still plundered it. The legion decided to make camp inside the village.
In the morning the legion marched again. They were still headed north, the trek would be a long one before they would reach Alesia and they expected many battles.
Unknown to the Romans there were many tribes of Gauls from different regions and often they fought, further north there was a migration occurring, after losing a war a tribe was forced off its land. They were headed south, the whole 20,000 of them and heading straight for the Roman legion. The Roman legion was 5,000 strong. There were 3,000 legionnaires, 500 auxiliary troops and 1,500 cavalry.
Augustus was moved back a rank and his squad was moved beside him. They were in the middle of the legion, iron helmets spread out around them. The clink of metal armour reverberated around the countryside scaring birds into flight and also warning Gauls of the legion's presence. Caesar decided to send forth a lone horseman to scout ahead, the horseman was lightly armoured and carried a gladius. His horse was a fast one and he darted off ahead of the legion and into the countryside. A few hours later the soldiers at the front spotted a lone horse which a drooped rider headed towards the legion. When it came close it was clear what had happened. A headless horseman slumped over the blood caked horse, blood ran freely down the horse and when the horse came to a stop, it gathered on the ground.
Caesar prepared the soldiers into attack formation, arranging the legionnaires holding the centre with auxiliaries on the right side and cavalry on the left. The land was relatively flat for a hundred metres and then, rather abruptly it became hilly and covered in brush. The legates noticed this and the legion trudged to a halt while Caesar planned what to do next. Augustus noticed this and he prepared his men. The legates rallied the troops and the march continued. Everyone was weary of what was to come.
Chapter Two
The March on Alesia
Through the trees natives were stealthily moving into position. The legion stopped marching, Augustus looked around. Trumpets sounded, archers poured through the ranks of the legion. As they passed Augustus he noticed that some were carrying fat, the smell was sickening. Another trumpet sounded and the archers stopped in front of the legion. He found it hard to look over the other men, so he resigned to watching the trees.
As he was watching the trees he noticed smoke rising from the front lines where the archers were. "By Mars, what are they doing with fat and smoke?" Then it clicked. He heard a shout and a thousand fire arrows flew into the trees. The hot dry undergrowth lit instantly, the whole hillside went up in flames. "Clementina have mercy on those poor profligates". Augustus kissed his medallion. Screams could be heard from the trees, another trumpet sounded and the men lifted their shields. The archers retreated back into the legion.
Augustus was watching the fire; he could see natives moving around. Suddenly they started running out of the trees screaming, some of them still on fire. With their swords held high over their heads they charged at the Roman lines. Most of them were too dazed to fight; the legion started marching towards the trees, cutting down any natives. The men that stayed in the trees were burnt alive and those that ran from the fire were cut down. With the minor nuisance cleared out of the way the legion marched onwards.
After hours of marching the legion grinded to ahalt, scouts had spotted a river and so it was decided that the legion wouldmake camp there. Augustus and his men helped dig the ditches around the campand then setup the stockade. With the grounds secured the men set up theirtents, they had a small group of three tents, one for Augustus and the othertwo divided between his men. With all the work done and the sun just settingthey went to sleep for the night.