Chapter 97: A Perfect Victory

Chapter 97: A Perfect Victory

The Germanic warriors charged aggressively from the start, as if they wanted to wash away the shame of their defeat in the duel.

The distance between the two sides was so close that the Roman army had no time to throw their javelins before the battle began.

“Don’t lose heart. They are only half of our number!”

“Let’s smash the heads of the Roman scum!”

Ariovistus shouted with enthusiasm. He was anxious, but he still had confidence that he could win.

Even though they had lost miserably in the one-on-one duel, the Germanic army still had some advantages over the Romans.Upstodatee from n(0)/ve/lbIn/.(co/m

First of all, they outnumbered them by about two to one, and they also had more cavalry.

Although they had been harassed by the enemy’s archers with strange equipment, the Germanic cavalry still maintained around six thousand men.

On the other hand, the Roman cavalry was less than five thousand.

Not only that, but the Germanic warriors were armed with a determination to never lose.

Unlike other peoples, the Germanic tribes often brought their women to the battlefield.

They did this to create a psychological barrier that would make them fight for their lives even in unfavorable situations.

This time, their intention worked perfectly.

The Germanic warriors were armed with a spirit of protecting their own families.

Ariovistus divided his army into four parts.

He lined up his left wing, center, and right wing in a row, and placed six thousand cavalry behind his left wing.

His intention was clear from his formation. He planned to break through the enemy’s right wing with his left wing and cavalry, and then strike the Roman army’s rear.

Ariovistus would watch the situation from the center and deploy his soldiers where they were needed.

It was a standard and basic formation.

The Roman army’s formation to face the Germanic tribes was not much different from when they fought against the Helvetii.

They deployed eight legions horizontally and adopted the traditional Roman three-line formation.

Of course, it was not exactly the same.

Marcus knew beforehand what kind of formation Ariovistus would adopt.

That’s why he asked Caesar in advance to adjust the legion’s deployment a little bit.

Marcus split his 12th legion, which was currently the most elite, in half.

The Germanic army had concentrated their strength on their left wing to attack the enemy’s right wing.

In other words, their right wing was relatively weak in terms of power.

Marcus placed half of his legion on his left wing to attack the enemy’s right wing.

The leader of the attack force was naturally Spartacus.

He had won the duel and joined the Roman army’s left wing as ordered, commanding his soldiers naturally.

The other half took on the role of holding on at the right wing, where the enemy’s attack would be strongest.

Marcus personally led his soldiers who were equipped with new armor and strengthened their defense.

Because he divided his legion into two parts and placed them on both wings, he received support from the 11th legion to fill in the gap.

In particular, he deliberately placed Borenius and Pullo’s century on his right wing, whom he had been keeping an eye on beforehand.

And one of the most important roles, commanding the cavalry, was entrusted to Antony.

“The Germanic cavalry may not have a good commander, but their individual strength is not something to be underestimated. Remember that and command them well.”

“Leave it to me. I will deal with them as quickly and surely as possible.”

He had gained experience as an officer in the East and knew how to use cavalry in rotation.

On the other hand, the Germanic cavalry did not know how to utilize their mobility as a group.

Antony led the Roman archers and Gallic cavalry to face the Germanic cavalry who were coming to attack his right wing.

“Keep your distance! Don’t ever fight them head-on.”

Pipipipip!

Hundreds of arrows flew out. The sound of metal piercing through air tore through the air as they headed towards the Germanic cavalry.

Dozens of cavalrymen who were running at full speed fell off their horses as if they had agreed beforehand.

Chalalalak. The archers quickly reloaded their arrows.

Pupupupuk!

Dozens more cavalrymen fell down.

At this time, compared to the Roman army or the eastern kingdoms, the Germanic tribes belonged to a group that had poor armor.

Of course, they wore some armor according to their own standards.

But that was not enough to stop the composite bows that were fired by pulling back with both arms and legs by the Romans.

Ssak! Peuk!

Another cavalryman fell down, bleeding from his chest.

“Cough!”

“Don’t give up! Keep pushing and break through!”

The Germanic cavalry did not lose their coolness as they did when they first faced the swarm tactics of the archers.

If they stopped or changed direction awkwardly, they would only become easy targets.

The Germanic cavalry commander shouted with his teeth clenched, covering his chest and face with his shield.

“Let’s deal with those archers first and then strike the enemy’s rear! Keep running!”

This was the right answer when facing archers with regular cavalry.

It was impossible to hit and run as they pleased against cavalry that had similar speed.

When the cavalry charged with determination, there was not much the archers could do except run away.

But Antony was not someone who would not know such a basic fact.

He had placed the Gallic cavalry a little apart from the Roman archers from the beginning.

It was a perfect position to strike the flank of the Germanic cavalry who were running straight towards the Roman archers.

The Gallic cavalry, following Antony’s signal, charged at the left side of the Germanic cavalry who were rushing towards the Roman archers.

If they continued to charge towards the Roman archers, the Germanic cavalry would suffer a huge loss.

The cavalry commander made a quick decision.

Anyway, if the cavalry got entangled in a melee, the archers would not be able to continue shooting.

It seemed more efficient to first deal with the Gallic cavalry and then defeat the archer unit one by one.

“Troops, turn around! We will deal with the Gallic scum first before the Romans.”

But as if they had predicted the Germanic cavalry’s actions beforehand, the Gallic cavalry calmly turned their horses and retreated back.

The Germanic cavalry, who had tried to slow down and change direction, ended up in a situation where they could do neither.

And towards them, the Roman archers poured out arrows again.

Ssaeak! Pupupupuk!

“Aaargh!”

“Aaah!”

Every time a chilling sound shook their ears, warriors fell with arrows in their backs and shoulders.

There are two main ways for infantry to counter archers.

Either they use bows with superior range or they defend themselves with shields and armor until the archers run out of arrows.

But the Germanic infantry did not have either option available to them.

Some infantrymen who could not stand the arrows tried to charge at the archers, but they were thoroughly mocked by their hit-and-run tactics and became honeycombs.

They could not break through the Romans who were holding on in front of them, and arrows were pouring down from behind and beside them endlessly.

The Germanic elite troops were also helpless and began to be pushed back to the center without any resistance.

As all of Germany’s forces were compressed into the center, eventually they became so crowded that they could not even swing their axes.

It was a perfect completion of a hammer and anvil tactic that reminded one of Hannibal’s Cannae battle.

Unlike the densely packed Germanic forces, the Roman army maintained a distance where they could freely swing their weapons and completed their encirclement.

Once it came to this, the numerical superiority did not mean anything at all.

Rather, the large number of people became a shackles that restricted their allies’ movements.

The Germanic army was slaughtered unilaterally without even being able to swing their weapons properly.

Fear filled the eyes of the Germanic warriors who were completely isolated.

They could not understand how they had been pushed into this situation.

“Uuuu, what is this... Why are there only Romans around?”

They were so close to each other that they could not even swing their weapons, but the enemy army held their spears and swords and slowly approached them.

This horror was indescribable.

Unfortunately, they did not have a commander who could give them orders at this moment.

Ariovistus, who had been attacked by the Gallic cavalry and the Roman archers, had retreated with his soldiers.

He had only dodged his body for a moment to avoid the attack, but in the meantime he had no choice but to watch his main force being surrounded by the enemy.

“Sir, our warriors! Our warriors are collapsing to the Roman army!”

“I see it.”

The subordinates could not bring themselves to say that they were being massacred.

Ariovistus, who had a stiff face, finally closed his eyes tightly.

He watched as his brave followers who had followed him until now, and the power he had built up by ruling Gaul for 14 years, were being slaughtered unilaterally in front of his eyes.

“Chief, it’s dangerous here. You have to flee, you have to!”

Ariovistus stood still and watched the sight of his subordinates spitting blood and falling.

Of course, if he stayed here any longer, he would end up the same way.

“To the east of the Rhine...”

A miserable voice that sounded like a murmur came out.

Ariovistus turned his head blankly.

He saw the corpse of Hermundt, who had been killed by Spartacus.

“...Let’s go back.”

This was not it.

This defeat was not the war he had envisioned.

“Hehe, hehehehe.”

He turned his back and staggered away, unable to hold back his hollow laughter.

Some Gallic cavalrymen who spotted him shouted loudly.

Ariovistus got on his horse without looking back and fled.

He did not utter the word retreat.

He no longer had an army that could hear such a word.

He just drove his horse eastward and then again.

The majority of the Germanic warriors who lost their commander were killed or surrendered and were captured as prisoners.

Soon Caesar led his cavalry and chased after Ariovistus himself.

Marcus also participated in the pursuit with Caesar by his side.

Half of the infantry stayed behind to take care of the corpses and wounded, and the other half began to chase.

The Germanic women who came out of the battlefield were almost all captured as prisoners.

Ariovistus’ two wives and daughter were also caught.

Ariovistus managed to escape to the Rhine, but unfortunately he could not find even a raft, let alone a boat.

Unlike the original history, he did not have a chance to escape because the Germanic main force had been annihilated.

“There you are.”

In front of Ariovistus, who was struggling to cross the river somehow, appeared the cavalry led by Caesar.

“Caesar...!”

Ariovistus glared at Caesar with hatred in his eyes.

Caesar gestured and Marcus spoke in awkward Germanic language.

“Surrender. Or you will die in vain.”

“Surrender? Me? Ariovistus? Become a sacrifice for your triumph?”

Ariovistus knew well what surrender meant, as he was familiar with Roman customs.

It meant becoming a spectacle that would be dragged around by a leash like a dog at their triumph.

“Don’t make me laugh! I am a proud warrior of Germany!”

He gave up on escaping and swung his axe at Caesar. But his archers who were guarding his side drew their bows at once.

Pupupupuk!

Four arrows pierced his body and Ariovistus fell to the ground with his momentum.

At the same time, dozens of spears from the Gallic cavalry rained down on his body.

Their resentment was so strong that they had been exploited by the Germanic tribes for more than 10 years.

Ariovistus was one of the chiefs of the Suebi tribe, which was one of the most powerful forces in Germany.

His end was so miserable that it did not match his reputation.

He was captured while fleeing after abandoning all his subordinates, and died with dozens of spears in his body.

The Gallic cavalry even trampled on his corpse with their feet.

Soon the Gallic nobles who had vented their anger for being oppressed for 10 years surrounded Caesar and Marcus and raised their hands in praise.

“To Caesar, the supreme commander of the great Roman army, glory be to the gods!”

“To Marcus Crassus, the representative of the great Roman Senate, blessings be to the gods!”

Caesar calmly raised his hand and accepted the praise of the Gauls.

This meant that the west bank of the Rhine was under Roman rule, and that Marcus had acquired the vast natural resources of Alsace.

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