The Battle of Noviomagus was a major battle of the Gallic Wars which was fought in the winter of early 57 BC between the Roman Republic and the Germanic Suebi tribe near the town of Noviomagus (Speyer, Germany). The Romans crushed a much larger Suebian army, marking the decisive defeat of the Suebian invasion of Gaul.
Background[]
In 63 BC, the Germanic Suebi tribe, led by King Ariovistus, invaded Gaul at the invitation of the Sequani tribe, aiding the Sequani against a rival Gallic tribe, the Aedui. The Suebians contributed to the Aedui's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Magetobriga, but, in exchange for his help, Ariovistus bullied the Sequani into granting the Suebi tribe permanent territory to the west of the Rhine. Over the next several years, tens of thousands of Suebians migrated into Gaul, and, by 58 BC, the expansionist Roman Republic came up against the Suebi's territory during Julius Caesar's northward push from Helvetia (Switzerland). Prompted by a request for aid by the Aedui, Caesar resolved to drive the Germans out of Gaul and spare the Roman Republic from another humiliation vis a vis the Battle of Arausio. Caesar's general Mark Antony crushed Ariovistus' main army at the Battle of Vesontio in late 58 BC, while Caesar marched north along the west bank of the Rhine, securing major towns as he went. By the winter of 58 BC, Caesar had captured the town of Argentorate (Strasbourg, France), leaving the Suebi tribe with Noviomagus (Speyer) as its last stronghold on the left bank of the Rhine. Noviomagus was once the capital of the Gallic Nemetes, whom the Suebi had conquered. Caesar's Legio II Iovia made great use of Celtic allies; in fact, two-thirds of its ranks consisted of Celtic auxiliaries (swordsmen, cavalry, and javelinmen) and mercenaries (including the fierce "naked swords"), and only one-third consisted of battle-hardened Roman legionaries and siege engineers. As 58 BC turned to 57 BC, Caesar marched north from Argentorate to Noviomagus to confront the main Suebi army in Gaul, commanded by Lothar, whose army of 2,718 troops far outnumbered Caesar's 1,842-strong army, and which was composed of many experienced warriors, including a group of female tribeswomen.
Battle[]
Caesar's ranks had been depleted by winter attrition by the time the two armies met, but the Romans still had the advantage of better arms and armor. In the ensuing battle, the Roman and German battle lines met in a contest of brute force. The Germans fared well against the poorly-armored Gauls; the vast majority of the Gallic mercenary short-swordsmen and Celtic auxiliaries, as well as a significant number of "naked swords", were slain in battle. However, the Roman legionaries, aided by their superior armor and shields, were able to outfight the unarmored Germans, whose ferocity failed in the face of Roman experience and armaments. The Romans outflanked the Suebians on both sides, enabling them to annihilate their German foes. 83% of the Suebian warriors were killed in battle, and another 14% were pursued and captured in the ensuing rout from the field; this left only 3% alive, and none of them were able to reform into a cohesive combat unit. The Romans lost a third of their number in battle, but most of these losses were mercenary troops who were easily replaceable, and whose deaths were not mourned by their xenophobic Roman paymasters. Noviomagus' capture by the Romans enabled the Romans to enlist the support of Germanic auxiliaries, whose club levies would fight against their fellow Germans as Caesar mopped up along the Rhine.
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