a revolution, he began to complain of all the dangers
he had endured in the service of Rome for the last
twenty-five years. ’A fine reward I have
received,’ he cried, ’for all my labours—my
brother’s execution,[319] my own imprisonment,[319]
and the bloodthirsty clamours of this army, from which
I claim satisfaction by natural right since they have
sought my destruction. As for you Trevirans and
all the rest that have the souls of slaves, what reward
do you hope to gain for shedding your blood so often
in the cause of Rome, except the thankless task of
military service, endless taxation, and the rods and
axes of these capricious tyrants? Look at me!
I have only a single cohort under my command, and
yet with the Canninefates and Batavi, a mere fraction
of the Gallic peoples, I am engaged in destroying their
great useless camp and besieging them with famine and
the sword. In short, our venture will either
end in freedom or, if we are beaten, we shall be no
worse off than before.’ Having thus inflamed
Montanus he told him to take back a milder answer
and dismissed him. On his return Montanus pretended
that his errand had been fruitless, and said nothing
about the rest of the interview: but it soon came
to light.
Retaining a portion of his force, Civilis sent the
veteran cohorts 33 with the most efficient of
the German troops against Vocula and his army.[320]
He gave the command to Julius Maximus and his nephew
Claudius Victor. After rushing the winter-quarters
of a cavalry regiment at Asciburgium[321] on their
way, they fell upon the Roman camp and so completely
surprised it that Vocula had no time to address his
army or to form it for battle. The only precaution
he could take in the general panic was to mass the
legionaries in the centre with the auxiliaries scattered
on either flank. Our cavalry charged, but found
the enemy in good order ready to receive them, and
came flying back on to their own infantry. What
followed was more of a massacre than a battle.
The Nervian cohorts, either from panic or treachery,
left our flanks exposed; thus the legions had to bear
the brunt. They had already lost their standards
and were being cut down in the trenches, when a fresh
reinforcement suddenly changed the fortune of the
fight. Some Basque auxiliaries,[322] originally
levied by Galba, who had now been summoned to the
rescue, on nearing the camp heard the sound of fighting,
and while the enemy were occupied, came charging in
on their rear. This caused more consternation
than their numbers warranted, the enemy taking them
for the whole Roman force, either from Novaesium or
from Mainz. This mistake encouraged the Roman
troops: their confidence in others brought confidence
in themselves. The best of the Batavians, at
least of their infantry, fell. The cavalry made
off with the standards and prisoners taken in the earlier
stage of the battle. Though our losses that day
were numerically larger, they were unimportant, whereas
the Germans lost their best troops.
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