The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in the Teutoburg Forest of Germany in 9 AD, when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by the Cherusci chief Ariminus ambushed and decisively destroyed three Roman legions under Publius Quinctilius Varus. The loss at Teutoburg Forest was Rome's greatest defeat, and it was a turning point in history, as Roman occupation and colonization in Magna Germania was brought to an end, and the Romans never again made attempts to conquer lands to the east of the Rhine, apart from Germanicus' punitive expeditions from 14 to 16 AD.
Background[]
In 9 AD, after a busy summer campaign north of the Rhine, the Roman commander Publius Quinctilius Varus was moving his troops to winter quarters in Roman territory south of the Rhine. However, he did not know that his right-hand man, German-born Arminius, had built an alliance of tribes against him. A noble of German birth, Arminius was raised in Rome and served in her legions, becoming familiar with all of the Roman Army's strengths and weaknesses. Varus ignored fateful warnings from his local allies about Arminius' plans to betray him.
Varus had news that a tax collector and his staff had been murdered by the Germans, so he decided to embark on a punitive expedition against the Germans. After suffering some early defeats and raids, Varus sent for his entire army, consisting of Legio XVII, Legio XVIII, and Legio XIX. As the Romans were led into the forest by loyal Germans, the Germans disappeared. The Romans advanced along a forest track without advance guards or flank guards, and their progress was slow because the Romans had to constantly fell trees, giving the tribes time to gather. After it started to rain, the archers couldn't keep their bows dry and their shields became soaked and too heavy to carry, and the Roman carts got stuck in the mud. When the Germans attacked, the Romans were in a hopeless position.
Battle[]
The fighting at Teutoburg Forest
The long line of march, some 12.4 miles long, was attacked by Germanic warriors with light swords, large lances, and narrow-bladed short spears, and they surrounded the entire Roman army and rained down javelins on the legionaries. The Romans were defeated in detail, and the Romans attempted to break out from their night camp the next morning, suffering heavy losses in the process. The Roman archers could not use their bows, as their sinew strings became slack due to wetness, and their shields and armor became waterlogged and heavy. As the Romans undertook a night march to escape, Arminius ambushed them again, and the Romans failed to break through an earthen wall built by the Germans. The legate Numonius Vala attempted to retreat, only to be overtaken by the Germanic cavalry and killed. The Germanic warriors then charged and slaughtered the disintegrating Roman forces. 20,000 Romans were killed in Rome's worst military defeat.
Aftermath[]
Varus committed suicide when he saw that all was lost, and most of the Roman officers fell on their own swords due to the dishonor of defeat. Many officers were placed in wicker cages and burned, or they were cooked in pots and their bones used for rituals; many common soldiers were enslaved. After their victory, the Germans made a clean sweep of all Roman forts, garrisons, and cities east of the Rhine, and the remaining two Roman legions in Germania, under Lucius Nonius Asprenas, prevented the Germans from crossing the Rhine bridges into Gaul until Tiberius could be sent to Germania with reinforcements. Upon hearing of the disaster, the Roman emperor Augustus angrily shouted, "Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!" From 14 to 16 AD, during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, his adoptive son Germanicus led a punitive expedition in Germania which avenged the defeat at Teutoburg Forest by ravaing the German lands and inflicting several defeats on Arminius' alliance. However, the Romans never again attempted to conquer lands to the east of the Rhine, as it would be too much military effort for too little financial gain.
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