German

Historical Overview Section

The Early Germanic tribes were pretty close to the Gallic teams in Rome's list of potentially tricky away European Championship fixtures, and their subjugation took well over a century. The Germans inflicted a couple of stunning victories in this time, including:

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in A.D. 9 (probably lasting from September 9 to September 11) when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius, the son of Segimer of the Cherusci, ambushed and destroyed three Principate Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus an administrative official who was assigned to establish the new province of Germania in 7 AD. Varus' opponent, Arminius (also known as Hermann), had lived in Rome as a hostage in his youth, where he had received a military education and had even been given the rank of Equestrian. After his return, he was a trusted advisor to Varus but in secret, he forged an alliance of Germanic tribes that had traditionally been enemies (the Cherusci, Marsi, Chatti, Bructeri, Chauci and Sicambri), but which he was able to unite due to outrage over Varus' measures. While Varus was on his way from his summer camp somewhere west of the Weser he heard reports of a local rebellion, fabricated by Arminius. Varus decided to quell this uprising immediately and take a detour through territory unfamiliar to the Romans. Arminius, who accompanied Varus, probably directed him along a route that would facilitate an ambush.... and surprise surpise, there was one there!

Three legions (Legio XVII, Legio XVIII, and Legio XIX), six cohorts of auxiliary troops (non-Roman allies) and three squadrons of cavalry (alae) were ambushed by Germanic warriors led by Arminius who knew Roman tactics and set up his troops to counter them. The Romans managed to set up a fortified night camp, and the next morning broke out into the open country but the repeated German attacks over several days caused heavy losses, with the Romns finally being wiped out when they marched straight into another trap that Arminius had set near Osnabrück where a narrow defile between the woods and swampland was blocked by a trench and an earthen wall built by the Germans. The Romans made a desperate attempt to storm the wall, but failed, and the Germanic warriors then stormed the field and slaughtered the disintegrating Roman force.

Upon hearing of the defeat, the Emperor Augustus, according to the Roman historian Suetonius in his Lives of the Twelve Caesars, showed signs of near-insanity, banging his head against the walls of his palace and repeatedly shouting Quintili Vare, legiones redde! ('Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!'). The three legion numbers were never used again by the Romans after this defeat, unlike other legions that were restructured — a case unique in Roman history.

The Batavian Revolt took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior (Southern Netherlands) between 69 and 70 AD as an uprising against Roman rule by the Batavi. The revolt took place at a time when Roman central authority was in dissarray, as civil war convulsed the empire and various army commanders sought to rest control of the Imperial Crown. The Batavian provinces supplied much manpower for some of the factions in this struggle, but when the conscription rate among the Batavian population got too high the Batavi revolted, again under the leadership of a soldier educated in Rome, Gaius Julius Civilis. During the revolt he managed to destroy two legions and inflict humiliating defeats on the Roman army.

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• Early Germans DBA Figure Gallery for this army - from Fanaticus

Army Lists

Sample army lists for this army
Codgers 2024
91 German Whittaker
Army Corps 1 Brilliant CinC Detached ( 6 )
2 German horsemen * Elite Medium Cavalry (2*9=18)
2 Batavians * Medium swordsmen impetuous (2*6=12)
2 Former Equites* Heavy Cavalry (2*9=18)
4 Former Legionaries * Heavy swordsmen armour impact (4*11=44)
1 Captured Roman Artillery Light artillery Integrated (1*7=7)

Army Corps 2 Ordinary Wing Comd Detached ( 0 )
6 Batavians * Medium swordsmen impetuous (6*6=36)
4 Light Infantry Light infantry javelin (4*4=16)

Army Corps 3 Ordinary Allied Unreliable Wing Comd Attached (-6 )
3 Usipi * Heavy swordsmen impetuous (3*8=24)
1 Usipi * Elite Heavy swordsmen impetuous (1*10=10)
2 Usipi Light Infantry Light infantry Bow (2*4=8)

Britcon 2022 (V4)
9AD
Brilliant
4 Chatti Heavy swordsmen impetuous Elite
2 Chatti Heavy swordsmen impetuous ------
3 Light infantry Light infantry javelin ------
4 German horsemen Medium cavalry ------
==
Ordinary
4 Chatti Heavy swordsmen impetuous Elite
2 Chatti Heavy swordsmen impetuous ------
3 Light infantry Light infantry javelin ------
==
Batavian Ally, Oridnary Included Allied
1 Batavians * Medium swordsmen impetuous ------
5 Batavians Medium swordsmen impetuous ------

200 AP list Bournemouth 2019
4 Warriors Elite
1 Javelin LF
2 Elite MCv
==
4 Warriors Elite
1 Javelin LF
1 Bow LF
2 Elite MCv
==
4 Warriors Elite
1 Javelin LF
1 Bow LF
2 Elite MCv

200AP winning list from C London 2016
Strategiist
7 Germanic Warriors* Heavy swordsmen impetuous Elite
4 light infantry Light infantry javelin ------
2 light infantry Light infantry bow ------
==
Ordinary Included
3 Germanic Cavalry Medium cavalry Elite
1 tencteri horsemen Light cavalry javelin ------
==
Ordinary Unreliable
4 Germanic Warriors* Heavy swordsmen impetuous Elite
1 Germanic Cavalry Medium cavalry Elite
1 tencteri horsemen Light cavalry javelin ------
2 light infantry Light infantry javelin ----

200 Points

• Strategos
• 1 HC Elite
• 8 Elite Hvy Swordsmen
• 3 LI Javelin

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• 3 Bowmen
• 3 Medium Swordsmen Ordinary
• Elite Allied Included Swordsmen General

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• 3 Cv Elite with General