It is 11 September 9 CE (or AD if you prefer). In the Teutoburg Forest of lower Saxony, Publius Varus is leading the Roman XVIII, XIX, and XX legions in fierce combat against Arminius, a Germanic tribal leader. The battle has been raging since 9 September. Under the rule of Emperor Augustus Caesar the Roman Empire has been steadily advancing into eastern Europe, bringing the Empire into direct contact with the Germanic tribes who live east of the Rhine River. The Romans have tired to bring these tribes under their rule, but the Germanic tribes want nothing to do with the Roman Empire. They resist Roman authority, prompting Emperor Augustus to use standard resistance curbing methods: heavy taxation and crucifixion for the most defiant tribal members. Varus, who is leading three Roman legions against Arminius, is a particularly harsh ruler, even by Roman standards. He is renowned for his mass crucifixions of rebellious Germans.
Arminius is the son of a German tribal chief, and he and his brother had been taken to Rome as hostages to ensure the good behavior of their father. While in Rome Arminius was trained as a soldier and equestrian, given Roman citizenship, and ultimately given command of a legion that was engaged in subduing the Balkans. When Arminius returned home to Germania around 8 CE, he realized that if the Roman forces continued to press eastward from the Rhine, his tribes would be brought completely under the heel of Roman rule. Arminius decided that now was the time to prevent that from happening.
Varus has been lured into battle by false reports of an uprising of Germanic tribes. The source of the false reports was none other than Arminius, the “trusted” advisor to Varus. Acting on false intelligence from Arminius, Varus led his legions into the Teutoburg Forest, not realizing that he was entering into an ambush. It is possible that while Arminius was in Rome he learned of Hannibal’s double envelopment of Roman legions at the Battle of Cannae, which occurred two centuries ago, because he executed a mirror image of that stunning feat in Saxony. On 11 September Arminius brilliantly led his “barbaric” forces in the complete destruction of Varus’s three legions, inflicting the greatest military defeat in the history of the Roman Empire. Varus committed suicide to avoid the humiliation of capture and crucifixion.
What if Rome had prevailed in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest?
The Roman defeat in Saxony is one of the turning points in the history of Europe and the world. With the destruction of these legions, the Roman conquest of Germania was halted once and for all, with the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire firmly fixed at the Rhine River. A Germanic barbarian sanctuary was now firmly established in the heart of Europe. Ultimately this barbarian sanctuary would lead to the Empire’s destruction. Augustus and his successors were forced to build an elaborate series of forts and fortress settlements on the western side of the Rhine. Years ago on a business trip to Landstuhl, Germany, I toured the remnants of one of these forts. On my tour a USAF F-16 from Ramstein Air Force Base screamed overhead, reminding me that the US and NATO created an elaborate series of military bases to hold the barbarian Russians at bay, but I digress. The Romans were forced to keep at least two legions on permanent garrison duty along the frontier with Germania, as the tribes never stopped probing for any weaknesses that would allow them to destroy Rome. Ultimately they prevailed, conquering and destroying Rome in 476 CE, thus plunging Europe in the Dark Ages.
Some historians and philosophers, such as Benedetto Croce, trace the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany to the Roman defeat at Teutoburg. Croce theorizes that the Roman defeat cut off the German tribes from the meliorating influence of Roman law and manners. I’m not quite convinced of this theory, as I believe that any people, given the opportunity, can act like barbarians, but the Roman defeat most definitely altered the course of European history. Once Rome was destroyed by Germania, the strong central governing institutions that had kept Europe in order fell apart as well. It would take another thousand years before states such as Spain, France, England, all former Roman provinces, were able to establish central governments that could effectively rule their populations. A thousand years of chaos is a rather steep price to pay for one battle.