A little to the right of the huts was a huge tangle of brambles, while to the left was a track, below which was a reedy swamp. Behind the huts was a tangle of vegetation leading to the forest proper. The soldiers would love marching through this, he thought to himself. Narrow tracks, brambles, bogs, this was not the terrain best suited for deploying complex formations.
Nor was it the most desirable territory to conquer. This was a land where poor people scratched a very modest living. Vegetation grew well in the cool temperatures and frequent drizzle, but while wheat and grapes were grown, yields were something of a hit or miss nature, with crops often spoilt by rain or mould. Apart from the tin to west, this was a poor country, and it was far from certain that four legions could be profitably stationed here.
Caratacus and Togodumnus were fools of the first order. They should have sworn loyalty to Rome, and invited the Roman senators to visit, preferably in late winter. One look at these miserable huts, and there would have been no invasion!
The next task was obvious: proper maps were required of the inner regions. He spoke to the chieftains and got what information he could, then he sent exploratores inland, together with local tribesmen who had volunteered their services as guides. He needed as much information as possible on what route he should take to march inland, and on where ambushes would be most likely. This was not going to be easy, but he could get as much information as possible to help him.
* * *
A week passed, during which time the legion became well-prepared to march, but little else happened, other than that a ship arrived with messages from the Princeps for Plautius, and, in addition to other mail, a letter from Vipsania.
My Darling Gaius,
By now I trust you will have embarked. You had better have embarked, because I believe the Senate will be in open revolt if Claudius cannot get his troops to invade. Little Boots might have manage to get away with collecting seashells, but I assure you, that won't work again.
Poor Claudius! He was so angry when Plautius' request came. He knows that if he went, the troops would laugh at his stuttering and would never embark. Then your letter arrived, so he told me, and he cheered up quite a bit. He still had to rely on Narcissus to convince the men, but I gather the last throw of the die would have been for the twentieth to lead the invasion. I am sure you would have got your men to sail.
On that note, you may tell the soldier whose farm was under threat that he now has a little more land. Claudius sent an agent out to reason with the landowner, and the landowner pulled out a knife and told the agent to get off his land, or else. Claudius also sent some Praetorians who were instructed to demonstrate what "or else" meant following an Imperial order. The landowner was executed for threatening an Imperial agent, and his sons have been conscripted to legions in Mauretania. The land has been confiscated, but a section immediately adjacent to your soldier's farm has been added to that farm. The Centurion let it be known in no uncertain terms that if he had to return to that region to settle the affairs of a loyal Roman soldier, he would be very angry, and he would also be rather unrestrained. I think all the neighbours received the message.
I have followed your advice about the corn however it also occurred to me that maybe corn was stolen, but not by Quintus. He may not know any more about this than we do, so I have arranged for an ex-soldier to go to Egypt and secretly keep an eye on what happens. I hope you don't mind my paying him.
I am afraid poor Polybius seemed to lose self-control. I know he was grieving, but there was nothing he could do, nor, for that matter, could anyone else. However, he refused to continue working properly, he was moping around doing nothing, and eventually he began answering back and becoming a real pain. I don't know what he finally did, but whatever it was it really annoyed Claudius, and he has now been executed. The fact that Claudius is under considerable strain probably didn't help in the slightest.
The one piece of good news is that Vitellius seems to be doing a good job as Consul. I now see what you meant; what I can't understand is how someone with that sense of duty and that ability could go around kissing shoes. I suppose it did endear him to Messalina, and I suppose that might have helped get him the Consular position, but all the same, if that is what is needed, then it seems to me that Rome is in trouble in the long term. I know you feel there might be some great enemy out there, but I rather feel the rot will come from within.
We are all praying to the household Gods to give you luck in your coming battles. I know you will conduct them with skill and flair, but all the same, I am sure it will never hurt to have some luck as well. Win quickly and come home soon.
Your loving Vipsania.
Gaius smiled at the last bit. He would write back and confirm one point: battles were inherently uncertain, and with all the skill in the world you still never knew enough about the enemy, or even what some of your own men would do. It was impossible to have too much luck!
The comment about Plautius' request to Claudius also struck home. Even he had not realized the seriousness of that request at the time. Plautius had done Claudius no favours for Vipsania was correct: Claudius did not look like a General. Men would follow Alexander because he seemed like a God: he never lost. Men would follow Julius because he generally won, and because he looked like a soldier. Poor Claudius did not stand straight, and his stuttering made it look as if he did not know what he was doing. Julius inspired men; Claudius made them laugh at him.
He had just completed writing a reply to Vipsania when a message arrived from Plautius. At last the legions would march inland.
* * *
The forest tracks were narrow, and were going continually up and down, giving lots of vantage points for hit and run attacks. The cohorts would have to march independently, where possible using parallel tracks. If the enemy wanted to make an impression, this was the time to do it, however for the Roman army there was no alternative but to march.
The march commenced with bands of exploratores. Their job was to seek out ambushing Celts and they could be relied on to detect a large force, but small forces could hide some distance from the path and make an attack on the rear of the legion. A few Celtic scouts were seen occasionally by the exploratores, but apart from one ambush on a small group of exploratores these Celts soon melted away into the forest, or fled into the swamps. The exploratores could only follow so far without being lured away from their primary role, and on the occasion that exploratores did pursue into the swamps, they were never seen again. Refusing to pursue was quite unsatisfactory, but there was little alternative if they were to remain as scouts for the following cohorts.
Finally the time arrived for the legion itself to move, and the first cohort began its advance. The track allowed four abreast for most of the time, but there were choke points where it had been agreed a century would spread into the forest on each side and remain stationary to provide flanking protection for the cohort, then these two centuries would combine with their cohort, and the next cohort would use a similar procedure. The legion would take a long time to pass a given point, and it was anything but silent, particularly with all the swearing that accompanied the movement of the artillery over unsuitable terrain. Even though it was partially dismantled, the parts remained very large.