Caesar and Germania
"Although the country looks quite different, as a whole it is horrid for its jungles and ugly for its swamps“, Tacitus writes in chapter 5 of his work "Germania”. Indeed, the Romans do not seem to have any faith in this Germania. That is not only because of the country but also because of its inhabitants, whom Caesar considers highly dangerous and tough so consequently classifies them as more ferocious than the Gauls. Gaius Julius Caesar must have known this, because he extended the limits of the Roman Empire to the river Rhine in 55 BC.
The Romans first encounter the pugnacious Teutons in 113 BC.
The Cimbri, Teutoni and Ambroni left their native country in today's Schleswig and Jutland in 120 BC. Probably climatic changes triggered famines and force the tribes to search for fertile new settlement areas. Already the first battle of Noreia (Altmark, Austria)) proves the power of the Teutons. The Romans only escape complete destruction because a thunderstorm that the attackers interpret as a sign from their God Donar suddenly pops up and stops the almost decided battle. The Romans were to meet the Teutons in battle three times 109 BC, 107 BC and 105 BC until they defeat the intruders ultimately.
The Cimbri, Teutoni and Ambroni left their native country in today's Schleswig and Jutland in 120 BC. Probably climatic changes triggered famines and force the tribes to search for fertile new settlement areas. Already the first battle of Noreia (Altmark, Austria)) proves the power of the Teutons. The Romans only escape complete destruction because a thunderstorm that the attackers interpret as a sign from their God Donar suddenly pops up and stops the almost decided battle. The Romans were to meet the Teutons in battle three times 109 BC, 107 BC and 105 BC until they defeat the intruders ultimately.
Three years later in 55 BC Caesar regards the war with the Teutons as ended. Nevertheless, he wants to teach them a lesson to prevent them from further invasions of Gaul. He wants to prove that the army of the Roman Empire also can cross the river at will. When the Ubii ask Caesars ask for military help against permanent attacks of the Suebi, Caesar considers this as a "casus belli", a reason for war.
A deceitful quiet prevails over the following years. The peregrination of the Cimbri and Teutoni has shaken the Teutonic balance of power considerably in Middle and South Germany. Through this the Suebian tribes manage to penetrate these regions. In the first pre-Christian century the Roman conquest of Gaul is highlighted by Caesar's arrival on the scene. The Suebian tribe sovereign Arioivistus uses the unsteadiness among the Gallic tribes on left bank for an advance, an affront unacceptable to Caesar. At the first skirmishes the Romans are scared of the new, unknown fighters. In the first book of the "Bellum Gallicum" Caesar writes: "...a sudden fright affected the army such that spirit of everyone panicked a bit, which originated from remarks by the Gauls who declared doggedly that the Teutons would be of sturdy physiques, incredibly brave and extremely skilled in the use of arms”. Under Caesar`s forceful leadership the fright disappeared however, and Ariovistus was devastatingly beaten in southern Alsace near the banks of the Rhine.
In just ten days he sets up a bridge between Weißenthurm and Neuwied. For 18 days the army roams through the native country of the Ubii, carries out a punitive expedition to the area of the Sugambri and finally finishes the hostile attitude of the Suebi. Subsequently, Caesar leads his army back across the Rhine and has the bridge demolished.
Only once again, in 53 BC, Caesar puts a second punitive expedition against the Teutons into operation. Not far from Weißenthurm near Andernach and oppositeto the Rhine Island of "Urmitzer Werth" is the villlage of Urmitz. A 100 hectares neolithic fortification system, the most important embankment and moat installation on the Middle Rhine and the most important neolithic earth work of Central Europe is located here. Caesar orders the second bridging over the Rhine at this place. He then accepts the Rhine as the borderline between Romans and Teutons.
Within the following years the Romans confine themselves to building small fort inside Gaul. Otherwise they have confidence in their excellent road system which, in case of attack, makes speedy troop transfers to the hotspots along the Rhine possible. This, however, does not prevent the Teutons from sporadic attacks on Gallic territory. These encroachments increase and in 16 BC a military catastrophe happens. The Sugambri cross the Rhine, in all probability to the north of Bonn and destroy the 5 th Legion under the Governor Marcus Lollius. This disaster, the clades Lolliana, causes a fundamental reorganization of the Roman politics north of the Alps.
The imperial step-sons Drusus and Tiberius begin with the operations in the Alp region in 15 BC. 45 Alp tribes, among them the Raeti in upper Swabia and the Bavarian tribe of the Vindelici are enslaved Noricum which is friendly with Rome is peacefully occupied up to the river Danube.
Emperor Augustus (31 BC- 14 ACD) decides to create the Provincia Germania Magna, a large Teutonic province, by extending the existing frontline to the river Elbe, to remove the pressure from the Rhine border. A pincer attack out of the region of the North Rhine and simultaneously from the Middle Danube shall secure the Elbe as a northeast borderline. Beforehand the Alp tribes are subjugated, the Alpine passes safeguarded and today`s Austria, Noricum and Hungary, Pannonia taken into possession. Finally, Augustus plans the submission of the Marcomanni in Bohemia to establish a final north-south border. Capital of the new province is to be Cologne (Oppidum Ubiorum).
In 12 BC Drusus starts his offensive against the Teutons from the North Rhine and advances up to the Ems. He reaches the Weser in 11 BC and subjugates the region between the rivers Main, Lahn and Weser in 10 BC. He succeeds in getting to the river Elbe a year later. On the march back into the winter quarters on the Rhine his horse tumbles and Drusus breaks his lower leg. He dies of the complications in a camp between the Weser and the Rhine in the arms of his brother Tiberius on September 9, 9 BC. Tiberius takes the supreme command and accomplishes several successful campaigns in the Teuton territory. The rebellious Cherusci are subjugated in 4 BC. The region is thus regarded as a tributary province with that. Tiberius himself becomes a victim of family disputes in 6 BC and retires into a voluntary exile to Rhodes.
Then Tiberius returns to the Rhine in 4 AD and overcomes the last resistance of the Teutons. After that he starts with the last phase of Augustus' great plan. Two big march columns, from the city of Mainz up the river Main and from the area of Vienna, move in the direction of Bohemia. But the beginning of the campaign against the Marcomanni is stopped by a rebellion in Pannonia (Hungary). Tiberius moves forward in forced marches to Pannonia and Croatia where he is tangled up in battles lasting three years. When he finally ends it he gets the message of the crushing defeat of Varus in autumn of the year 9 AD.
