This spot was at Kalkriese which is a village in Germany on the site where the final phases of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. The next day the Romans marched southwards where they would be blocked off by large earth and timber ramparts with Germanic soldiers defending them, the Romans would attack it but they were repelled causing their cavalry to flee and to be hunted down over the next few days. Almost four centuries later it would be later Germanic tribes that would destroy the Roman Empire.ĭuring the first day of battle the Germanic people would ambush the Romans in the midst of the forest and catch them out of battle formation however though nearly half of the Roman army survived the ambush, it was reported by Dio Cassius that Varus did not send out reconnaissance teams to scout the area. Modern historians have usually regarded the Battle of Teutoburg Forest to be “Rome‘s greatest defeat”, as well as one of the most decisive battles in military history, and lastly to be a”turning point in world history.” This victory for the Germanic tribes ensured that the lands east of the Rhine wouldn’t fall under the Roman Empires control, however, the Romans would carry out successful raids and campaigns there though they would never attempt to conquer them again. This defeat would also see Varus commit suicide after the three-day battle had ended. In this battle, the Germanic tribes would ambush and completely crush the three Roman legions as well as there auxiliary forces and 16,000 Roman troops had been killed although one source says that may be up to 20,000 had died. Arminius coalition of tribes consisted of Cherusci, Marsi, Chatti, Bructeri, Chauci, and Sicambri. In September of 9 AD, a 20,000-36,000 man force of Legio XVII, Legio XVIII, Legio XIX, 6 auxiliary cohorts, and 3 alaes entered the Teutoburg Forest led by Varus to destroy Arminius and his army of somewhere around 12,000-32,000. Varus knew that Segestes did not like Arminius because Arminius had his eye on Thusnelda who was Segestes’ daughter and she was already betrothed to another man. Varus however though, thought nothing of Segestes’ warning and shrugged it off as slander. Not all the Germanic chiefs were ready to give up the privileges they received from Rome, Arminius’ uncle Inguiomerus for instance, he decided to stay neutral while the herculean Segestes revealed Arminius’ treachery to Varus. Arminius ultimately united the tribes together and then lured Varus’ and his three legions into the Teutoburg Forest, it was there that the difficult terrain would favor Arminius’ lighter-armed and quick warriors. To make matters worse on the Germanic tribes, most of their warriors were just simple farmers going up against true-bred warriors of Rome who were trained in combat and the tribes had very few well-trained warriors to help combat them. To defeat the three legions wouldn’t be easy though as Arminius knew, they were better equipped, better disciplined, and their campsite dwarfed the tribe villages. Arminius met the chieftains of the tribes in private to plot the Romans demise. Although the Cherusci had received federated status within the Roman Empire it was very obvious to Arminius that his people were not treated equally though, he viewed it as the Romans taking Germania’s youth and sending them off to fight for Rome while the rest of people of the tribe had lost their wealth to the Roman demands and even going on to destroy the tribes land itself such as cutting down timber of ancient and sacred forests. Arminius took this opportunity to reunite with his family and met his father Segimer where they would then sit at Varus' table.Īrminius and Segimer’s goodwills were a trick to deceive Varus in order to throw off the Romans later. Varus collected tribute and carried out Roman justice and law to the tribe, and tribesmen also came to trade at the huge Roman camp. He built a camp on the upper Weser River, which was right in the middle of Cherusci territory. Varus’ army took the route along the Lippe River and from there they went north to the western regions of the Weser Hills. During the summer of 9 CE, Varus would march his three legions with supporting auxiliary from Vetera on the Rhine into central Germania. Varus knew Arminius, who was now an auxiliary lieutenant, would be valuable in his campaign due to his tribal nobility. Varus though, however, didn't do what Tiberius did, instead, he demanded tribute from them and treated them like slaves which led to revolt eventually. The tribes, for the most part, had been pacified during the Tiberius' Campaigns of 4-5 CE, Tiberius had achieved much more through diplomacy with the tribes than two decades of warfare did. The yellow legend represents the areas controlled by the Roman Republic in 31 BC, the shades of green represent gradually conquered terr