The Vitellian
legions formed without any disorder, for though the enemy were close
at hand, thick plantations hid the approaching force.
legions formed without any disorder, for though the enemy were close
at hand, thick plantations hid the approaching force.
Tacitus
It was decided to advance and encamp four
miles west of Bedriacum. Though it was spring, and rivers abounded,
the men were very foolishly allowed to suffer from want of water. Here
a council of war was held, for Otho kept sending dispatches urging
haste, and the soldiers kept clamouring for their emperor to lead
them. Many demanded that the troops stationed across the Po[297]
should be brought up. It is not so easy to decide what was the best
thing they could have done as to be sure that what they did do was the
worst. They were in marching order, not fighting trim, and their 40
objective was the confluence of the Po and the Arda,[298] sixteen
miles away. Celsus and Paulinus refused to expose their troops,
fatigued by the march and under heavy kit, to the assault of an enemy
who, while still fresh after covering barely four miles, would
certainly attack them, either while they were in the disorder of a
marching column, or when they had broken up to dig trenches. However,
Titianus and Proculus, worsted in argument, appealed to their
authority: and there arrived post-haste a Numidian orderly with a
peremptory dispatch from Otho, criticizing his generals' inaction, and
ordering them to bring matters to a head. He was sick of delay and too
impatient to live on hope.
On that same day, while Caecina was busy with the bridge-building 41
operations,[299] two officers of the Guards came and demanded an
interview. He was preparing to hear and answer their proposals, when
some scouts burst in with the news that the enemy were close at hand.
The officers' conversation was thus interrupted, and it was left
uncertain whether they were broaching a hostile plot or a piece of
treachery, or some honest plan. Caecina, dismissing the officers, rode
back to the camp, where he found that Valens had given orders to sound
for battle, and the troops were already under arms. While the legions
were balloting for the order in which they were to take the field, the
cavalry rode out and charged. Strange to say, they would have been
hurtled back upon the trenches by a smaller force of Othonians, had
not the Italian legion bravely stopped them by drawing their swords
and forcing them to go back and resume the fight.
The Vitellian
legions formed without any disorder, for though the enemy were close
at hand, thick plantations hid the approaching force. In the Othonian
army the generals were nervous and the men ill-disposed towards them:
their march was hindered by carts and camp-followers, and the high
road,[300] with its deep ditches on either side, was too narrow even
for a peaceful march. Some of the men formed round their standards,
others went searching for their place: on every side there was an
uproar as men ran about shouting to each other: the boldest kept
pressing on to the front, while the tide of the timid ebbed to the
rear.
Amid the confusion of this sudden panic somebody invented a story 42
that Vitellius' army had abandoned his cause, whereupon an
unwarrantable glee relaxed their efforts. It was never fully known
whether this report was spread by Vitellian scouts or whether it was
started on Otho's side, either by treachery or chance. Losing all
their thirst for battle the Othonians actually broke into a cheer. The
enemy answered with angry shouts, and most of Otho's soldiers, having
no idea what caused the cheering, feared treachery. At this point the
Vitellian line charged. They were fresh, and in good order, stronger
and more numerous. However, the Othonians, despite their disorder,
fewer numbers, and fatigue, offered a stubborn resistance. The ground
was encumbered with orchards and vineyards, and the character of the
battle varied accordingly. They fought now from a distance, now at
close quarters, and charged sometimes in detachment, sometimes in
column. [301] On the raised high-road they fought hand to hand, using
the weight of their bodies and their shields. They gave up throwing
their javelins and cut through helmet and breastplate with sword and
axe. Each man knew his foe; they were in view of the other
troops;[302] and they fought as if the whole issue of the war depended
on them.
It happened that two legions met in the open fields between the 43
high road and the Po.
miles west of Bedriacum. Though it was spring, and rivers abounded,
the men were very foolishly allowed to suffer from want of water. Here
a council of war was held, for Otho kept sending dispatches urging
haste, and the soldiers kept clamouring for their emperor to lead
them. Many demanded that the troops stationed across the Po[297]
should be brought up. It is not so easy to decide what was the best
thing they could have done as to be sure that what they did do was the
worst. They were in marching order, not fighting trim, and their 40
objective was the confluence of the Po and the Arda,[298] sixteen
miles away. Celsus and Paulinus refused to expose their troops,
fatigued by the march and under heavy kit, to the assault of an enemy
who, while still fresh after covering barely four miles, would
certainly attack them, either while they were in the disorder of a
marching column, or when they had broken up to dig trenches. However,
Titianus and Proculus, worsted in argument, appealed to their
authority: and there arrived post-haste a Numidian orderly with a
peremptory dispatch from Otho, criticizing his generals' inaction, and
ordering them to bring matters to a head. He was sick of delay and too
impatient to live on hope.
On that same day, while Caecina was busy with the bridge-building 41
operations,[299] two officers of the Guards came and demanded an
interview. He was preparing to hear and answer their proposals, when
some scouts burst in with the news that the enemy were close at hand.
The officers' conversation was thus interrupted, and it was left
uncertain whether they were broaching a hostile plot or a piece of
treachery, or some honest plan. Caecina, dismissing the officers, rode
back to the camp, where he found that Valens had given orders to sound
for battle, and the troops were already under arms. While the legions
were balloting for the order in which they were to take the field, the
cavalry rode out and charged. Strange to say, they would have been
hurtled back upon the trenches by a smaller force of Othonians, had
not the Italian legion bravely stopped them by drawing their swords
and forcing them to go back and resume the fight.
The Vitellian
legions formed without any disorder, for though the enemy were close
at hand, thick plantations hid the approaching force. In the Othonian
army the generals were nervous and the men ill-disposed towards them:
their march was hindered by carts and camp-followers, and the high
road,[300] with its deep ditches on either side, was too narrow even
for a peaceful march. Some of the men formed round their standards,
others went searching for their place: on every side there was an
uproar as men ran about shouting to each other: the boldest kept
pressing on to the front, while the tide of the timid ebbed to the
rear.
Amid the confusion of this sudden panic somebody invented a story 42
that Vitellius' army had abandoned his cause, whereupon an
unwarrantable glee relaxed their efforts. It was never fully known
whether this report was spread by Vitellian scouts or whether it was
started on Otho's side, either by treachery or chance. Losing all
their thirst for battle the Othonians actually broke into a cheer. The
enemy answered with angry shouts, and most of Otho's soldiers, having
no idea what caused the cheering, feared treachery. At this point the
Vitellian line charged. They were fresh, and in good order, stronger
and more numerous. However, the Othonians, despite their disorder,
fewer numbers, and fatigue, offered a stubborn resistance. The ground
was encumbered with orchards and vineyards, and the character of the
battle varied accordingly. They fought now from a distance, now at
close quarters, and charged sometimes in detachment, sometimes in
column. [301] On the raised high-road they fought hand to hand, using
the weight of their bodies and their shields. They gave up throwing
their javelins and cut through helmet and breastplate with sword and
axe. Each man knew his foe; they were in view of the other
troops;[302] and they fought as if the whole issue of the war depended
on them.
It happened that two legions met in the open fields between the 43
high road and the Po.
