Soldier of Rome- Rise of the Flavians by James Mace

Author:James Mace [Mace, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ancient Rome, Civil War, Fiction, Historical, Legion, Vespasian
ISBN: 9781517461003
Publisher: Legionary Books
Published: 2015-09-28T23:00:00+00:00

For Antonius Primus, the sudden and unexpected truce came as a sign that the divines were favoring the Flavians this night. The utter exhaustion of his army, coupled with hunger and thirst, had tilted the odds back in favor of his enemy. And though he was prepared to order a withdrawal, the chances of extracting his army were remote. The Vitellians would have maintained the pressure, negating any chance of the Flavians making the long trek all the way back to Bedriacum. Defeat would have been total, with Primus’ entire army captured. Instead, this reprieve given to them by their enemies allowed his men a brief period of rest and replenishment.

“Mars and Victoria smile upon us this night,” he said to General Aquila, who for all intents and purposes was acting as his second-in-command of the entire army.

“It is still difficult to say who holds the advantage,” the legate remarked. “We had to commit most of our reserve auxilia cohorts to providing support for Seventh Gemina.”

“Whereas they have dispatched what appears to be almost all of their reserves against our Seventh Claudia,” Primus added. “Even if the gods do favor our enterprise, this battle will be a close-run affair. I do not expect either side to break the other, but hope that by morning I can parlay with General Caecina and compel him to put an end to hostilities. He has to know Mucianus approaches from the east. Unless he manages to rally every last fighting man from Italia, Hispania, Gaul, Germania, and Britannia in less than a month, he cannot possibly hold against our combined strengths.”

“A tactical draw might be the best either army can hope for at this point,” Aquila observed.

“Our forces are retiring back to our lines, sir,” Master Centurion Vitruvius reported, as he walked over to the commanding general. “It was the strangest thing I ever saw. Men, who just an hour before were trying to flay one another, were suddenly embracing their enemies as friends and brothers. Even as we departed, the Vitellians wished us well, hoping that we would all meet again in Elysium.” He donned his helmet and gave a grim assessment. “And now the killing must begin once more.”

Primus nodded and had his cornicen sound the commanding legates’ call on his trumpet. In the distance, the Vitellian wagons were being withdrawn. Centurions and other officers shouted orders for their men to reform and make ready to attack.

It was Aquila who thought expressed their shared thoughts aloud. “I wonder if history will ever again record such an inexplicable act of nobility between enemies.”

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