Historica Wiki
Advertisement

The Battle of Colonia Agrippina occurred in 395 AD when the Germanic Franks attacked and captured the Western Roman city of Colonia Agrippina (present-day Cologne, Germany) from Stilicho's Legio X Gemina and the city's small garrison. The battle led to the near-annihilation of Legio X Gemina, and it opened the way for further Frankish incursions into Gaul.

Background[]

By the late 4th century AD, the Germanic confederation known as the Franks had been allowed by the Western Roman emperor Julian the Apostate to settle south of the Rhine at Toxandria. By 395 AD, the Franks had settled at Flevum in North Holland, and King Faramund awaited an opportunity to strike south into Gallia. The Empire's legions suffered from fatal overstretch as several migratory barbarian tribes poured across the divided Roman Empire's borders and ravaged their lands. After securing good relations with the neighboring Saxons, Faramund decided to launch an invasion of Gaul, which was insufficiently guarded. He and his father's former brother-in-arms Genobaud marched south with over 3,000 Frankish warriors and attacked the Roman city of Colonia Agrippina (Cologne), which was defended by Stilicho's Legio X Gemina and a partial-strength garrison.

Battle[]

Frankish cavalry Colonia Agrippina

Frankish cavalry storming the city

Genobaud's army led the assault on the unfortified city, while Faramund's larger force gradually arrived on the battlefield to reinforce the main Frankish body. Meanwhile, Legio X Gemina slowly marched towards the city, although they would have to cross the Rhine to join forces with Appius Caecius Buteo's garrison. Genobaud took advantage of the Romans' strategic disadvantage by launching an all-out assault on the city, while Faramund's army deployed at a crossing of the Rhine behind Genobaud's flank, preventing Stilicho from attacking the Frankish rear. Stilicho then resolved to cross a Rhine bridge into the city center, so Faramund marched parts of his army into the city to assist Genobaud with overwhelming the Roman defenders there. The city fell after a brief display of spirited resistance by Buteo's garrison, and the Franks then deployed at the end of the Rhine bridge. The Romans sent skirmishers to attack the Franks with javelins, and the Franks initially took considerable losses. However, Faramund's army crossed the Rhine from the other bank and followed the Roman rear as it joined the main body of the Roman army in attempting to force a crossing of the bridge. Genobaud's Franks repelled several Roman assaults before Faramund's main Frankish army attacked them from the rear. The ensuing slaughter saw most of the Romans be massacred; Stilicho and a few remnants of his army managed to escape on foot, but the vast majority of the Romans were butchered while trying to escape through two Frankish forces.

Advertisement