Part 6: TOWARDS THE BRITISH WAR
Rumours began to fly through the Second Italica that a new war was about to start [AD 207]. Soon the rumours became orders, we were to rendezvous in Gaul with other regiments coming from northern Italy and the Rhine frontier. The war was in Britannia.
Weeks of preparation ended with a march westwards [AD 208], we carried our own clothing, armour, shield and weapons, we shared out tools amongst ourselves. Everything else went on the squad's mule or in wagons. At the rendezvous point we realised the size of the expedition. Septimus Severus led the Praetorian Guard and was accompanied by the II Parthian legion, but there were vexillations (detachments of a few hundred men) that were arriving from legions scattered along the Danube and Rhine garrisons. We met comrades from the Third Italica and the Second Rescuers.
Within weeks we had boarded transport ships and crossed with our equipment into Britannia. It was remarkably civilized, though some of the natives were surly and distant. Callicrates called them savages, but I reminded him how savage those German barbarians could be … At the riverside fortress of Eboracum we camped in fields. Severus entered the city and for two weeks established an imperial government there, but he was eager for war. Riders from the north arrived, Caledonian tribesmen, suing for peace, but Severus dismissed them… he had not brought us here to talk. The tribes had been raiding across Hadrian's Great Wall ever since Commodus died [AD 192] and a number of governors had fought them, parleyed with them, bribed them… but the Caledonians had seen Roman weakness now could not be stopped. |
Arrival of the Caledonian messenger
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Severus left his young son Geta at Eboracum as master of the empire, ruling alongside his wife and several advisors. The local legion, the Sixth Victorius was understrength. It had lost hundreds of soldiers in the Battle of Lugdunum and had a mutinous reputation that meant British governors did not trust it to run at full strength. We were shocked to discover that the emperor had ordered our unit (one century) to transfer immediately and permanently to the Sixth Victrix. With my comrades I marched into the fortress, sullen and dejected. Our centurion had promised us that when war was over our families would be given money to transfer to Britain. The Sixth were a haunted bunch, watching us walk through the barrack yards with hollow eyes. A bearded legionary, sat outside the stables, spat derisively on the floor in front of us. I looked away, and we kept on to the headquarters building for our orders. Hell. What an army … |
The walls of the Roman fortress at Eboracum
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A marching load. Heavy!
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These soldiers had once been so mutinous [AD 185] that they sent 1,500 men to the emperor in Rome to demand that he dismiss his Praetorian Prefect! Amazingly they got what they wanted! A few years later they demanded their general stand as emperor, but he sensibly and immediately declined the risky offer. And later they mutined, killing the guards of British governor Pertinax in their efforts to assassinate him… Now Fortunatus, Callicrates, Demetrius and the others were stuck with this gang of malcontents and killers.
We were assigned our barracks, given one day to prepare, then we were off [summer 208], marching in column with the Sixth Victrix northwards to Hadrian's Wall. We crossed the Wall at Coria, moved up to Habaticanum and on up to the line of the old Antonine Wall. Each night we built a marching camp, the going was tough, the pace was fast and there would be death at the end of it all. |
Men from Legio II Pia Italica in their new barracks - would all return from Caledonia?