Legio XVII: Battle of the Danube by Thomas A. Timmes Read Free Book Online Page B

Instead, their shouts were returned with hundreds of sharp barbed arrows that seemed to fly faster and hit harder than their own.  Immediately, soldiers started dropping as arrows easily penetrated the shields.  As each new stream of arrows raced through the clear sky, the men would stop and lay down until the arrows passed.  While this was happening, the two large Teuton infantry formations stationed at both ends of the column started running to where the Semnones were attacking the column.
    The Semnones’ troops rushed the 200 yards and climbed over the barricade of wagons.  The people fled in terror.  Those too slow were cut down.  The Teuton women were run down, captured, and raped on the spot.  Some were then killed while others were carried back to the wagons and thrown to the waiting men.  The Semnones adopted a festive attitude as they began rummaging through the wagons.  Items deemed valuable were crammed into pouches; anything edible was eaten.  In their search, clothing, bags, bedding were strewn all over the ground.
    The Teuton infantry saw the Semnones pillaging the wagons in the distance and continued running towards them.  The Semnones were too busy to notice that death was now about 150 yards away.  Suddenly, the cry went up among the Semnones and they scrambled to get out of the wagons and unto solid footing to face the enraged Teutons.  It was too late to try to organize themselves into a formation.  Semnones’ warriors were too spread out among the wagons.  It was everyman for himself.  Some opted to run for the woods; others stood to fight.
    When the distance closed to 50 feet, the Teutons threw their sharp 4 foot spears.  A cloud of these lethal weapons covered the Semnones striking their shields, arms, legs, and torsos.  The wounded Semnones screamed and fell.  Then the Teutons smashed into the outnumbered Semnones on the run and into the melee of swinging swords, shouting, and desperate men.  Minutes later, the second infantry column of 25,000 Teuton warriors impacted the fighting mass on the other flank.  The Teutons had more than a 2 to 1 advantage in manpower and the Semnones began to flee the battlefield.  When the Teuton archers saw that their infantry had arrived, they rejoined the fight.  Some of the Semnones fought to the death; others fled or dropped their weapons and begged for mercy.  Very few escaped.  The pillaging of the 460 wagons had lasted for 20 minutes and did enormous damage.  The battle lasted for an hour.
    The battle was over and the mourning began.  At least 250 civilians lay dead.  The Teuton Army suffered about 400 dead and many more wounded.  It had been a decisive Teuton victory, but there was no celebrating.  The Army had failed to protect the civilians.  No one was to blame and it could have been much worse.  The civilians slowly returned to their wagon to survey the damage and treat the wounded.  A trench was dug nearby and civilians and soldiers began to bury their dead.  Nothing could change what had happened.  The only option was to repack the wagons and search the dead Semnones for stolen valuables.
    Donar sent a rider to tell Timur what had happened.  The Semnones’ Army was totally destroyed in the east and west.  No one was left to defend their territory.
     
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    The Strike Force dismounted two miles (3.2km) from the Semnones’ settlement that hosted the Chief and his Council.  The 400 men slowly approached on foot and spread out to encircle most of the village.  The Commander gave the order to fire and the archers immediately began to knock down the few soldiers left to provide security.  The civilians ran for their huts and the woods.  They were not targeted.  As that was happening, the Assault Team of 20 men raced for the hut housing the Chief.
    The Chief heard the commotion and jumped up to look outside the door of his hut.  He saw hundreds of Teutons running randomly through the village and a small group