Of savage tribes and glorious empires
Chapter 11 – Exodus
Two Belgae Sotaroas crept uphill through the high grass, their bows ready to hand. They were the leaders of a band of archers, that just killed a handful of Arverni light infantrymen. Their hands were dripping wet from the blood of their dead enemies, since they searched their clothes thoroughly for anything of value. When the group came near the top of the hill, the noise they heard from screaming men, clashing weapons and shattering shields grew deafening.
“Did you expect them to resist so vigorously?”, one of the Sotaroas asked. “No, they told us they were weak”, the other responded, turned around and beckoned his group of archers to catch up. By hand gesture he told them to form two lines. When they were ready, they sneaked to the top of the hill, stood up and for one moment just watched the spectacle that took place in the valley in front of them. At a sign, on the left and the right, thousands of Belgae archers raised from the high grass. Then one of their leaders said “Men, let’s finish this!”.
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In the year of 244 BC the Gallic tribes fought each other desperately. An Arverni army, commanded by Ivomagos d’Aler and Riankiadoc moc Drappes, laid siege to the city of Darioritum, capital city of the Veneti. Darioritum was a quite small town and expected to be captured easily, especially now that the main army of the Veneti was destroyed.
While Ivomagos and Riankiadoc brought war upon the Veneti, their opponents gave their best to make the Arverni’s life a living hell. Especially the tribes of the Pictones and Bituriges surpassed themselves and contracted an unmatched passion of plundering, pillaging and doing murder in the lands of the Aulerci. Outside Cenabum there was nowhere to go without being highly endangered.
In the south, Massalia just had successfully defended itself by destroying a complete army of the Principality of Mediolanum. Unfortunately the two hostile generals were among the few that could escape, so the client king of Massalia decided to hunt them down, before they could return with a new army. He knew, if they wanted to return to Mediolanum, they had to cross the wood at the border of Massalia. So there it was, where he set his trap.
Soon he was proved right. The two enemy generals had hired some Iberian mercenaries to protect them, but the Massalians still outnumbered them. When the enemy was near enough, the king ordered the assault. The light Iberians, though they fought bravely, stood no chance against the Massaliotai Hoplitai.
The heavier Iberian mercenaries were quite tough foes and even could challenge the Massalian heavy infantry. But outnumbered, also they had to abandon the field.
This time the enemy generals could not escape. The highest ranking of them was the first one to die. His aid soon fell too.
Almost at the same time, Ivomagos d’Aler had been attacked by an army of the Pictones, who tried to rescue their Veneti neighbours. They even managed to surprise Ivomagos, who had to fight them only with his heavy infantry and his Massalian archers. Riankiadoc, who besieged the city from the north, could not get there in time. Supported by some troops from Darioritum itself, the Pictones attacked. Ivomagos did not fear them, for they mostly had naught but light infantry. Only the king of the Veneti himself could deploy some heavy infantry. Furthermore Ivomagos arrayed on a small rise. Since it rained, he was sure, that the enemy would have much bother to charge uphill on the wet grass.
The Greek archers decimated the enemy from distance, so it was no big deal for the Arverni’s heavy infantry to slaughter the rest. Once again, the valour of the Greek troops in Celtic armies was proven.
The Arverni could win the day without taking much casualties, while the enemy was destroyed and had to give up the city.
Ivomagos entrusted Riankiadoc with the safeguard of the city, gave him light infantry and cavalry and left the city to occupy the harbour of the Veneti, which was even more important than the city itself, for the Veneti carried on commerce with the British tribes from there. Unfortunately they destroyed most of their ships before Ivomagos got there.
Now Ivomagos turned his eye westwards. He intended to attack the Pictones and their capital Lemonum, not only because he just destroyed one of their armies, but also to force them to withdraw their warbands from the lands of the Aulerci. But first they all had to overwinter anyway.
This winter was a very severe one, so ankle deep slushy snow still lay on the ground, when in spring 243 BC an army of Mediolanum attacked the city of Bibracte. The Mediolanian general Dumnacos oi Bragolos had besieged Bibracte for over one year now and could array an army of almost 19'000 men, mostly mercenairies from Italy or former loyalists to the tyrannical Archon of Massalia, who once had been executed by Belenos oi Lugos himself. Before winter came, the Mediolanian army was composed of over 22’000 men, but many died in this hard winter. They should’ve attacked in autumn, but Dumnacos was known to be a very terrible tactician.
The client king of Bibracte, Brycham moc Eporedemoros, could deploy an army of about 13’000 warriors, mostly Haedui Bataroas and Lugoae. Fortunately Bibracte was protected by a massive Celtic wall. Actually it once was the first Celtic city to have such a wall.
The Mediolanian army approached with a ram, a siege tower and several ladders. Fortunately they didn’t protect the siege tower, so soon it was set on fire. Also the ram soon burned, so the Mediolanians only had their ladders left.
Dumnacos once again proved, that he was a terrible tactician and let his complete army march to the walls. Of course they immediately were received by javelins and everything else that wasn’t nailed down and could be thrown.
The heavy Samnites were the first to try taking the walls, but the Bataroas could repulse them.
Watching his heaviest infantry being slaughtered, the Mediolanian general lost his nerves and let his whole army attack. What a chaos. There were not enough ladders for all of them, so his soldiers clustered and could easily be pelted with javelins and other missiles.
What a victory! Brycham moc Eporedemoros let hound his adversary and almost all his bodyguards have been killed. But by ill luck the enemy general could escape with the only 30 warriors that survived the massacre.
Mediolanum was far from giving up, so as soon as the snow had melted, they laid siege to Gergovia.
But there was something far more disturbing than that. Just when Ivomagos was ready to march against the Pictones, he receive a message from the northern territories. A huge crush of people had been detected. It seemed that finally the Belgae had concluded to march south.
Ivomagos was too far away to go there in time with his army, so the northern tribes had to manage this threat alone. But he had a cunning plan how to get rid of his family problems. Why not let the Belgae kill his adversaries? The messenger was sent to the city of Viennos and was ordered to bring a message from Ivomagos to Fergalos mocLannildot and Calpornos moc Ollovico, who watched over the young children of the deceased brothers of Ivomagos’ adoptive father. Ivomagos told them to go north to the city of Vesontio and to organise the resistance against the Belgae.
Since they could not leave their families alone, for they had to fear, that they would be murdered by Ivomagos’ henchmen, they headed out accompanied by their families and protected by a few slingers and spies.
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But the enemy was already closer than Ivomagos thought. The Belgae were known to be the wildest and most fearsome of all Celtic tribes. They colonised the lands in the north and even southern Britannia. All the time they fought wars against the Germanic tribes and remained victorious. Some said, that the Belgians even descend from those horrible Germans. During the last few centuries, there were three tribes of the Belgae that renderd themselves conspicuous.
The Nerves colonised the lands closest to the Germanic tribes. Therefore, they were considered to be the bravest and most frightening warriors among all the Belgae tribes.
The Bellovaces were the ones who claimed southern Britannia and became very rich through trade. Decades ago there was the great and famous tribe of the Remi, who also populated the territory which now belonged to the Bellovaces. The Remi have been assimilated by the Bellovaces, but still fought in their unique manner in their armies.
The Eubrones were the only tribe of the Belgae, which once could be defeated by a Gallic tribe. But only a few years after the tribe of the Treveri had subjugated them, they made peace and established trade. Since that day, the Eubrones were good friends and trading partners of the Gallic tribes and therefore did not participate in this war. When in battle, the Belgae fought in Celtic manner and equipment. But still there were some kinds of warriors, that distinguished themselves from the rest.
The Batacorii were a group of warriors that vaunted themselves on their gruff way of life. Though unarmoured, they still were well protected by their large high quality shields and made good melee warriors. These well trained and experienced warriors often carried some javelins with them, which they threw at the enemy before they charged.
Belgae Batacorii
The Milnaht were an extremely fierce kind of warrior. They still wore bronze helmets, sometimes even bronze weapons as back ups and protected themselves with large, bronze rimmed shields, for they almost always fought bare chested, even in winter. One could not tell stories about skilled and fearsome warriors without mentioning their name.
Belgae Milnaht
The armies of the Bellovaces were supported by Remi cavalry. The Remi were famous horsemen, brave and powerful. The Remi Mairepos were able to smash through even the closest infantry formations and used armour, shields and weapons of unmatched quality. No other Gallic cavalry could cope with them, but like any horsemen, they were vulnerable to pikes and spears. However, if there ever was a group of warriors, that could turn a losing situation into a victory, it was the Remi Mairepos.
Remi Mairepos
The Belgae always were a highly independent people, but now things have changed. In the north the Swêbóz had unified many Germanic tribes and emerged a very strong and capable military juggernaut. The Belage knew, that they could not withstand the Germans for long, since they heavily outnumbered them now. When the second Gallic war started, the Nerves and the Bellovaces decided to join the Principality of Mediolanum, who promised to let the Belgae keep the lands they conquered. So in spring 243 BC those two tribes left their lands and headed towards the territory of the Arverni with more than 300’000 men, women and children. A few weeks later, they reached the lands of the Treveri and Sequani.
Of course the Gallic tribes knew of the Belgae threat, for no one could keep such a great exodus secret. So the Treveri and the Sequani, supported by an army from the near city of Bibracte, armed every man between 14 and 55 years and marched against the foreign intruders. The Belgae also gathered their warriors and arrayed for battle, while their king and a small part of his army protected the women and children a few miles behind the battle zone. The armies of the Haedui, Sequani and Treveri met the armies of the Remi, Bellovaces and Nerves near the great forest, through which the borderline between their lands was drawn.
The Belgae deployed their Remi cavalry of over 9’000 men at the left flank, supported by over 6’000 Sotaroas and 10’000 Gaelaiche. Their center was composed of 10’000 Bataroas, over 10’000 fearsome Milnaht, 8’000 Batacorii and almost 4’000 Iaosatae. The right flank was protected by the Nerves, who arrayed 12’000 Batacorii, 4’000 Curepos, more than 3’000 naked Gaesatae, almost 5’000 Milnaht and 5’000 Sotaroas and Iaosatae. Supportet by more light infantry, the Belgae mustered 89’000 warriors.
The Treveri, Sequani and Haedui arrayed almost 100’000 warriors, but many of them were too old or too young to rival the brutal warriors of the Belgae. When the battle began, the Haedui took the left flank, the Treveri formed in the center and the Sequani protected the right flank. In the early afternoon hundreds of Celtic battle horns raised their sound and with that the greatest battle of their time began, in which both sides fought for the right to exist.
On the left flank, the Haedui Sotaroas opened fire and their light infantry charged.
The fearsome Nerves answered to that with sending their 4’000 Curepos who should lighten the ranks of the Haedui with their javelins.
Then they sent forward their heavy Milnaht, who created a great bloodbath among the light Lugoae of the Haedui. Immediately the Haedui naked warriors, the Uirodusios, charged and could repress the enemy’s attack.
At the right flank, the Remi Mairepos charged and for a short time caused the Sequani light infantry to rout. But when they sent forth their spearmen, the Remi had to retreat. The Sequani light infantry stopped routing and returned into the fray.
While the flanks were heavily pressurised by the Belgae, the Treveri in the center managed to push back the Bellovaces’ Milnaht. They fought like heroes, but the heavy Soludros of the Treveri just were too well armed and armoured, while the Milnaht fought bare chested.
The fight continued until nightfall. When it was too dark to see anything, both sides retreated and reorganised. The Sequani had suffered many casualties, while the Treveri in the center had managed to push back the Bellovaces and fought a sanguinary battle against them. The Haedui at the right flank also sustained great losses, but could hold their lines against the horrible Nerves. This night, no one could sleep, for thousands of injured and crippled warriors cried themselves hoarse on the battlefield.
At dawn the battle continued. The Treveri had to thin out their lines in order to reinforce the flanks. So when the Haedui at the left flank began to totter under the Nerves furious charge, the Treveri sent their cavalry to support them.
They even managed to push back the Nerves and persuaded them.
But the Sequani at the right flank had suffered to many losses the day before, so they could not protect the whole flank and had to shorten their lines. Due to this situational condition, the Remi could hide themselves behind a small hill and outflank the Sequani. They sent about 5’000 archers on top of that hill and their Mairepos hid in the woods. For a moment the archers watched the spectacle that took place in the valley in front of them.
At a sign, on the left and the right, thousands of Belgae archers raised from the high grass. Then one of their leaders said “Men, let’s finish this!”. The Remi Mairepos surged forward and charged, accompanied by a dark cloud of arrows, in the Sequanis’ and Treveris’ rear. They rolled up the whole line of the Sequani.
With that, for the Arverni the battle was lost. The Haedui and Treveri immediately sounded the retreat. Their drawback was covered by the heavy infantry and their spearmen, so the Remi Mairepos could not hunt them down.
Of all tribes, the Sequani sustained the most casualties, since they were the unlucky first ones, whose line had been rolled up by the Mairepos. The Treveri in the center caused the Belgae the most damage, who also had suffered unexpectedly many casualties. All in all it was a close defeat. Without the Remi Mairepos, the Belgians could have lost the battle easily.
Immediately the Sequani and Treveri evacuated the city of Vesontio, moved away from their homeland and sought refuge in Bibracte and Viennos. When the message of their victory reached the ear of the Belgae leader, he sighed with relief. He was an old king of the Nerves and had organised the Belgae exodus. He didn’t expect to lose that much warriors in this fight, but now he felt lucky, for his people could claim new lands further away from the Germans. In the evening of that day, the whole people of the Belgae left the great forest and marched into uncertain future.
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Fortunately this all happened before Fergalos moc Lannildot and Calpornos moc Ollovico could reach Vesontio. When they met fleeing people of the Treveri and Sequani, and learned that just in that moment a great battle was happening, they decided to take advantage of this chaotic situation and turned east.
They fled trough the lands of the Helveti, who granted them safe conduct. Since they’ve been attacked by Mediolanum several times, the Helveti supported the Arverni whenever they could. A few weeks later Fergalos, Calpornos and their families reached the lands of the Rhaetii, where they supplied themselves with rations. Now they had to decide where to go with the children. Away from this horrible war. They all realised that they had to go far, far away, where Ivomagos could never find them. Now they had their own little exodus.
Known territory in 243 BC
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