Re: The Spite of Severus
IX: THE RELIEF COLUMN
Canis timidus vehementius latrat quam mordet
(A timid dog barks more violently than it bites)
Curtius Rufus
Every day the wounded were stronger and Talorcan was closer with the reinforcements from Inchtuthill. A report arrived from Angus's son Drest saying that Sennianus had advanced into Pictavia. This was good news, because it meant he wasn't heading for a junction with Vortimer. Drest had now received the levy from Dal Riada and was preparing to offer battle.
I had just begun to hope that our reinforced army would be able to meet Vortimer in the field when two blows of ill fortune struck in quick succession. Firstly another message from Drest arrived. Sennianus had withdrawn and contact with him was lost. While we were digesting the possible implications of this, our scouts from the road to Cataractonium came running in with the news that a large column of the enemy would arrive by the next morning.
In a hastily convened session of nobles we argued about the best action to take. I told Angus that we didn't want to get bottled up in the castra. Vortimer's legion was larger than that of Caratacus, he had more cavalry and experienced spatha-wielding Pedites as well as Milites spearmen. I said we should leave those who couldn't march to hold the castra while the main army harassed Vortimer's foragers and couriers. Then when Talorcan arrived we could unite and try to catch Vortimer by surprise.
Angus angrily dismissed all of my reasonable suggestions as dishonourable. He insisted that this ground that had been bought with Pictish blood was now sacred, and that not one pace of it was to be relinquished to these pretend Romans who were in fact just the same old hated Brigantes under another banner.
I considered leaving with my reduced followers, but that would mean losing all influence over Angus and the end of my ambition to be master of Eboracum once more, so I bit my lip and deferred to the old fool, hoping that Talorcan was not considering his own chances against Drest should Angus unaccountably die unrescued on his self-proclaimed hallowed ground.
The Romans arrived, cautiously exploring our perimeter. But we had pulled back entirely behind the walls with as many provisions as we could find in nearby Vinovia at such short notice. I found that enemy discipline was poor, so it was not difficult to sneak agents out by night to observe their encampments.
When my spies returned and delivered their reports I was almost speechless with surprise. Vortimer was not in command! He had sent a subordinate, Tribune Bolgios. The poor man did not even have the whole of Vortimer's force in hand. He had four vexillations of Scutarii and Stablesiani, three ordines of Milites Staionarii and two of Pedites Romani. It was still too large a force for us to sally against, almost double that of Caratacus, but I felt confident that if Talorcan arrived, we would have a chance of victory.
It was the afternoon of the seventh day of our investment when I heard the welcome news that Talorcan's column could be seen on the road from Pons Aellii. I took this information straight to Angus (it never hurts to be the bearer of good news). Angus was confident, he decided to sally at once with his whole army in order to join with Talorcan and hopefully bring on a battle. He didn't even feel the need to lead the column, preferring to let his slaves put on fresh woad so he would look more imposing for his victory speech.
As our column snaked out though the east gate, the enemy could be seen withdrawing. Angus was apparently disinclined to let them get away unscathed, so he instructed me to take the rear of the column out through the south gate and follow the retreating Romans.
And so it was that our army came to be in three isolated groups while the Romans were concentrated and ready to fight. Talorcan's army remained frustratingly distant. He had a hard climb to make before reaching Angus's deploying left wing. Angus himself had yet to join the column.
In our haste to catch the Romans, we were at first relieved to see that they had stopped withdrawing and were deploying in line of battle. But then, Angus's advancing soldiers provoked a further reaction, and a vexillation of Equites Scutarii came trotting forward from their right wing,
The men of Angus were scattered all across the field, with Angus himself still inside the walls. I galloped over to the men of our left (who I did not command) and bullied them into concentrating against the oncoming cavalry, then I rushed back to my own men to try to get them linked up with the rest of the army.
Gai Aumahr trotted up to face the cavalry while Elbharu and Chodaoer rushed up behind to fling their missiles. As the Picts of the left wing came together in a large clump, the enemy cavalry seemed to think better of their opportunistic charge and turned back. The Elbharu got a couple of volleys in as they withdrew and we saw several fall.
No sooner had this crisis passed than my own men came under threat as a vexillation of Stablesiani came forward from their left wing. My men were strung out trying to march around the wall. Expecting the rest of the Romans to attack, I was forced to halt them to avoid my Fleet archers and Dimba being cut-off. I sent the spears and axes forward to show a bold front while the sailors put in some serious volleys. Again, the Roman cavalry seemed to change their minds and cantered off.
In fact the cavalry hadn't entirely given up, two ordines of Milites were coming up in support, but now we were ready and they received a withering fire of arrows, crossbow bolts and javelins from our newly formed line.
I ordered everyone forward at once, the Milites turned and tried to march off, but we were running now and as we caught up with the Milites they broke and fled for their lives.
Angus came galloping up to me, a slightly comical sight with woad on only one side of his face. He took command without much grace, considering the service I had just done him. Tribune Bolgios had clearly lost his nerve and his army was marching off rapidly. Angus took this all in and, screaming with frustration, ordered an all-out attack. The whole army surged forward with no order and no formation, each man fighting to be first at the enemy.
The wildmen were soon out in front, perhaps through being “unencumbered”, and they pitched into the rearmost ordo of Pedites. The Pedites turned and fought back strongly, outnumbering the wildmen five to one and Angus was forced to gallop his bodyguard into the melee in order to save them. A good number of his pampered horsemen were brought down together with many wildmen whose tattoos were proving no match for Roman spathae, but then, perhaps overwhelmed by the sight of our entire army bearing down on them, the Pedites gave way and were soon ridden down.
Amazingly, the remaining wildmen didn't stop to celebrate their victory, they simply ran off after the next ordo of retreating Romans. Again Angus was forced to support them with his bodyguard. The next ordo proved tougher and the exhausted wildmen were quickly whittled down until only four were left after the remains of Angus's bodyguard had hacked its way through.
No more Romans were caught that day, and the exhausted Picts simply collapsed where they were to contemplate their unexpected victory. When the men of Talorcan finally came up, I could see that they were angry and ashamed to have arrived with the battle already won. I noted this, as it is always useful to have some lever with which to influence people should the need arise.
It took a little while for me to appreciate the enormity of the outcome of this battle. Vortimer's main force had been defeated by its own timidity and the road to Eboracum was open to us!
Last edited by Juvenal; September 03, 2008 at 03:29 PM.
imb39 ...is my daddy!