Chapter 10
My immediate preoccupation abroad was with the Rhine frontier: Towards the end of Tiberius's reign the Northern Germans had been encouraged by reports of his general inactivity to make raids across the river, into what we call the Lower Province. Small parties used to swim across at unguarded spots by night to attack lonely houses or hamlets, murder the occupants, and loot what gold and jewels they could find; and then swim back at dawn. It would have been difficult to stop them doing this, even if our men had been constantly on the alert - as in the North at least they certainly were not - because the Rhine is an immensely long river and most difficult to patrol. The only effective measure against the raiders would have been retaliation; but Tiberius had refused permission for any large-scale punitive expedition. He wrote: 'If hornets plague you, burn their nest; but if it is only mosquitoes, pay no attention.' As for the Upper Province, it may be recalled that Caligula during: his expedition to France sent for Gaetulicus, the commander of the four regiments on the Upper Rhine, and executed him on the unfounded charge of conspiracy; that he crossed the river with an enormous army and advanced a few miles, the Germans offering no resistance; that he then grew suddenly alarmed and rushed back. The man whom he had appointed as Gaetulicus's successor was, commander of the French auxiliary forces at Lyons. His name was Galba, * and he was one of Livia's men. She had marked him out for preferment when he was still a youngster, and he had amply justified the, trust she: had placed in him. He was a courageous soldier and a discerning, magistrate, worked hard, and bore an exemplary private character. He had attained his Consulship six years before this. Livia, when she died, had left him a special legacy of 500,000 gold pieces; Tiberius, however, as Livia's executor, pronounced that this must be a mistake. The sum had been written in figures, not in words, and; he ruled that 50,000 was all the testatrix had intended. As Tiberius never paid a single one of Livia's legacies, this did not make much difference at the time, but when Caligula became Emperor. and paid Livia's legacies in full, it was bad luck for Galba that Caligula was unaware of Tiberius's fraud. Galba did not press for the whole 500,000, and perhaps it was as well for him that he did not, for if he had done so Caligula would have remembered the incident when he ran short of funds and, so far from giving him this important command on the Rhine, would probably have accused him of taking part in Gaetulicus's conspiracy.
How Caligula chose Galba makes a curious story.. He had ordered a big parade at Lyons one day, and when it was over he called before him all the officers who had taken part in it and gave them a lecture on the necessity, for keeping in good physical condition. `A Roman soldier,' he said, `should be as tough as leather and as hard as iron, and all officers should set a good example to their men in this. I. shall be interested to see how many of you will
*' Afterwards Emperor (A.D. 69). - R.G.
survive a simple test which I am about to set you. Come; friends, let us go for a little run in the direction of Autun.' He was sitting in his chariot with a couple of fine French cobs in the shafts. His driver cracked his whip and off they went. The already sweating officers dashed after him with their heavy weapons and armour. He kept just far enough ahead of them not to let them drop behind out of sight, but never let his horses fall into a walk, for fear that the officers would follow their example. On and on he went. The line strung out. Many of the runners fainted and one dropped dead. At the twentieth milestone: he finally pulled up. Only one man had survived the test Galba. Caligula said: `Would you prefer to run back, General, or would you prefer a seat beside me?' Galba had sufficient breath left to reply that as a soldier he had no preferences: he was accustomed to obey orders. So Caligula let him walk back, but the next day gave him his appointment. Agrippinilla became greatly interested in Galba when she met him at Lyons: she wanted to marry him, though he was married already to a lady of the Lepidan house. Galba was perfectly satisfied with his wife and behaved as coldly towards Agrippinilla as his loyalty to Caligula permitted. Agrippinilla persisted in her attentions and there was a great scandal one day at a reception given by Galba's mother-in-law to which Agrippinilla came without an invitation. Galba's mother-in-law called her out in front of all the noblemen and noblewomen assembled, abused her roundly as a shameless and lascivious hussy and actually struck her in the face with her fists. It would have gone badly for Galba if Caligula had not decided the next day that Agrippinilla was implicated in the plot against his life and banished her as I have described.
When Caligula had fled back to Rome in terror of a reported German raid across the Rhine (a lie humorously put about by the soldiers) his forces were all concentrated at one point. Great stretches of the river were left unguarded. The Germans heard of this at once, and also of Caligula's cowardice. They took the opportunity of crossing the Rhine in force and establishing themselves in our territory, where they did a great deal of damage. Those who crossed were the tribesmen called the Chattians, which means the Mountain Cats. The Cat was their tribal ensign. They had fortresses in the hill country between the Rhine and the Upper Weser. My brother Germanicus always used to give them credit for being the best fighting men in Germany. They kept their ranks in battle, obeyed their leaders almost like Romans: and at night used to dig entrenchments and put outposts out - a precaution seldom taken by, any other German tribe:, It cost Galba several months and considerable losses in men to dislodge them and drive them back across the river.
Galba was a strict, disciplinarian. Gaetulicus had been a capable soldier but rather too lenient. The day that Galba arrived at Mainz to take over his command the soldierss were watching some games that were being held in Caligula's honour. A huntsman had shown great skill in dispatching a, leopard and the men all started clapping. The first words that Galba spoke on entering the General's box were, `Keep your hands under your cloaks, men! I am in command. now and I don't permit any slovenliness.' He kept this up, and for so severe a commander was extremely popular. His enemies called him mean, but that was unjust: he was; merely most abstemious, discouraged extravagance in his staff, and exacted a strict account of expenditure from his subordinates. When. news came of Caligula's assassination, his friends urged him, to march on Rome at the head of his corps, saying that he was now the only fit person to take control of the Empire. Galba replied, `March on Rome and leave the Rhine: unguarded? What sort of a Roman do you take me to be?' And he continued! 'Besides, from all accounts, this; Claudius is a hard working and modest-man; and though some of you seem to think him a fool, I should hesitate to call any member of the Imperial family a fool who has successfully survived the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula. I think that in the circumstances the choice is a good one and I shall be pleased to take the oath of allegiance to Claudius. He is not a soldier, you say. So much the better Campaigning experience is sometimes not altogether a blessing in a Commanderin-Chief. The God Augustus – I speak with all respect - was inclined, as. an old, man, to hamper his generals by giving them overdetailed instructions and advice : that last Balkan campaign would never have dragged on as it did, if he had not been so anxious to refight from far in the rear the battles that he had fought at the head of his troops some forty years previously. Claudius will not, I think, either take the field himself, at his age, or be tempted to override the decisions of his generals in matters of whichhe is
ignorant. But at the same time he is a learned historian and has, I am told, a grasp of general strategical principles that many Commanders-in-Chief with actual fighting experience might envy him.'