Re-unification - WRE PBM write-ups thread

[econ21]

A Priest’s story

Something was not quite right, the scribe thought uneasily. Attalus’s account of the bloody massacres at Dal Raida had made that obvious. Attalus - a hero of the Empire - was clearly a broken man, wracked with self-doubt. So this was the inevitable outcome of the Pelegian heresies Attalus subscribed too - that so-called “free will”. How could the fool believe man was born without sin, after the horrors performed by his own hand? The insufferable self-righteousness of Placus Cerealis’s companions was no better. The Abbess and the Anchoress believed themselves to be superior to the mainstream Church hierarchy. They looked to the reckless Placus to be a matyr and inspiration for their own camp, the Donatists. The scribe feared that the taint of heresy had even spread to the Emperor. Had Asterius not broken with his destiny by ordering his men across the Rhine-Danube frontier? His free-thinking was endangering the Empire and, at best, would lead him - as it had done Attalus - to terrible and pointless blood-letting.

On reflection, it had all started to go wrong with the depletion of the border legions, the scribe decided. Andragathius had bequeathed to the Empire a network of border forts, backed by mighty, full-strength field armies. However, Asterius had not been able to resist plundering these resources to fuel his conquests in the East. He had sent Legio I Italia to storm Kydonia in 439 AD, replacing it with half of Legio II Italia. Likewise, Legio VI Claudia Pia Fidelus had landed outside Salamis a year later, with its senior sister legion taking over its border duties. This weakening of the border defences had encouraged various barbarians to declare war on the Empire, beginning with the Franks. Their assaults on the border forts had been half-hearted and typically ended prematurely, but their siege of Austaga Vindelicorum in 441 AD had stung Asterius into action. Legio II Italia, its bases divided between Gaul and Cisalpine Gaul, had been mobilised to respond.



The spark for the expansion of the Empire in the West: the Franks siege Augusta Vindelicorum.

The scribe looked down at the Cardinal’s testimony again. The Cardinal, an old mentor of the scribe, had sent him journals from a priest, Father Amelius, who had travelled with the army in their expedition against the Franks. The scribe read it carefully:

”Winter, Year of Our Lord 441: We march to the relief of our fort outside Augusta Treverorum. The Frankish cavalry impetuously try to attack over the Rhine, but we drive them across and then confront their infantry. For a time, their shieldwall holds back our legionnaires, but eventually our superior numbers tell. Nonetheless, it is a bloody victory - we lose 85 men; they lose 400.”



Tertius Atinius leads half of Legio II Italia to drive off Franks besieging a border fort.

The scribe studied the details provided by the Father Amelius on the strength of Legio I Italia. Only four cohorts of first line troops - their numbers made up by limitanei and assorted auxilia. How far had the Legion fallen from its from its glory days under Andragathius?

In 43 AD, the Lombards had declared war, so that the entire European frontier, from the Rhine to the Danube was now under-attack. A year later, in a momentous decision, Asterius broke the rules long set down for the limits of the Empire. He authorised his border legions to take the fight to the barbarians, crossing the frontier and occupying their border provinces. As justification, he cited the writings of a historian called Tiberius. Tiberius was a scholarly monk locked away in some remote Abbey, but his work highlighted the Dacian conquests of Trajan and also revealed that Campus Frisii had once been occupied by Rome. Asterius had used these findings as an excuse to order the annexation of the entire swathe of territory on the far side of the Rhine-Danube border, running from Dacia to Campus Frisii.

The scribe turned to a later entry in Amelius’s journal:

”Winter, Year of Our Lord 445: a terrible earthquake has struck the heart of Rome. At the same time, we hear that General Gundobad has stormed Vicus Alemanni. I know the Church warns us against superstition, but I cannot help but think that the two events are connected. Is the earthquake a warning against our new policy of expanding the frontier? What further calamities await us?”



A divine warning?

The scribe skipped further down the journal:

”Winter, Year of Our Lord 441: And so I too must pay the price for our reckless expansionism. They are now all gone - my dear, brave brothers. Slaughtered outside Vicus Franki, the capital of the Franks. Only Father Silvias and I survived the battle. What arrogance! What impetuosity! Our general, Tertius Atinius, was besieging the capital when a large Frankish army marched to its relief. We were outnumbered 2:1.



Legio II Italia awaits the combined assault of the Frankish garrison of Vicus Franki and a large relief force

Our men fought bravely, but were poorly led. We drove off the first wave of the barbarians, but then discipline broke down. The cohort on our left flank was allowed to pursue the retreating enemy and was engulfed by the second wave of barbarians sallying out from their capital.



Legio II Italia holds the relief force off, but the enemy garrison to its left has not yet been committed to the battle.

Great gaps appeared in our line and the enemy poured through. My brothers and I watched from amongst the archers in mounting horror, as the enemy surrounded our cohorts and broke through our lines. Then we saw the Frankish heir himself ride towards us. The archers scattered and ran, but Father Marcus was fearless and ordered us to stand our ground. He was the first to be cut down by the Frankish horse. Only the swift intervention of our own cavalry saved Father Silvias and I.”



The Franks cause havoc in the rear of the Roman lines.

”We marched onto the field with 1050 men - we left with 600. The Franks were even harder hit - entering with 2600 and leaving with less than 300. It was a heroic victory but their capital was not to fall for another year.”

The scribe shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. Was he wasting his time? How could he use this material in his history of the Empire? What chance was there that Asterius would allow the doubts of Attalus and Father Amelius to overshadow the tales of Roman triumphs in the East and against the Lombards in Dacia? Still, he could not stop reading:

”Summer, Year of Our Lord 448: a great flood strikes Rome. The Legion is now marching north into Saxon lands. I am to remain with Brother Silvias, ministering to the garrison in Vicus Franki. I am no longer in any doubt. We are over-reaching ourselves and God is punishing us for our rapaciousness.”



A second warning from the heavens?

Two years later, Father Amelius’s journal came to an abrupt end. The scribe turned to the postscript, penned by his mentor, the Cardinal:

”Summer, Year of Our Lord 450: General Honorianus informed me that his relief force arrived too late at Vicus Franki. The Franks besieging the city had already launched a devastating assault.”



The Franks attempt to reclaim their capitol.

”The garrison commander, Sextus Varus, defended the city heroically. The enemy ram was set on fire. Sextus personally led his bodyguard and auxiliary cavalry to rout the enemy outside the walls.”



Sextus Varus leads his cavalry, repeatedly smashing Frankish troops outside of Vicus Franki

”But it was too late. The enemy had scaled the walls in force and drove our men from them. Sextus was forced to return to the city by a side entrance gate and mount a last ditch defence of the forum. By the grace of our Lord, he was successful. But it was too late for Father Amelius and Father Silias. Survivors inform me they died bravely at the main city gates, trying to keep them open for the return of Sextus and his cavalry.

In other sad news, I learn that Tertius Atinius was killed by a godless Saxon mob in Campus Frisii. The city is still under our control, but the heathens have no loyalty to Rome and only Legio II Italia’s presence maintains order.”