Total War History: Battle of Adrianople (Part 3/4)

The Imperial Army marched towards the Gothic Camp. Light cavalry units would have swarmed the front and ensured that the way was clear. Units of mixed skirmishers and light infantry would also presumably have been sent in front as a screening force. Heavy cavalry such as the Klebenari and Imperial Guard Horse may have taken positions ahead of the massive infantry columns. Their impressive, shining armor surely meant to instill fear in the enemy. At the head of each column were the most honored troops who would lead the force and swing to the right as they deployed on the battlefield. Skirmishers and ranged units probably occupied the center under the protection of heavy infantry groups and additional flanking cavalry contingents. When the Roman scouts had previously located the Goths, the barbarians seemed to be unprepared. Now, however, the great clouds of dust kicked up by the approaching Imperial Army was sure to have alerted them. Luckily, the wagons which were used to carry supplies could also double as defensive emplacements. Suitable high ground was located and the Goths rounded up their wagons and set about reinforcing it into a fortified position. Messengers were then sent in all directions to call for the immediate aid of the imperiled band. The Roman Army had left Adrianople early in the morning. They marched eight hours through the broken, hard, and dry terrain of the Balkans. To speed their march, the Romans had left their baggage behind. This included most of their food and water. Soldiers wearing armor would have been boiling as the sun rose higher and higher over the dusty roads. Leading elements were only just arriving at the site of battle at around two o'clock in the afternoon. Ahead of them lay the massive wagon circle. Despite his troops being tired, thirsty, and hungry, Valens ordered their immediate deployment. His haste was in keeping with the strategy of committing to an immediate fight. While sources do not confirm this, Gothic troops were certainly still scrambling around preparing for battle. Horses galloped into position, men ran to form into their ranks, and non-combatants continued to prop up more defenses. We can even imagine that the camp may have looked something like a disturbed anthill from a distance. It seems that Valens wanted to capitalize on this and once again gambled on aggressive action. Roman trumpets sounded battle orders. The legions moved out under the guidance of their officers who had been briefed at that morning's strategic meeting. Leading elements of the Roman cavalry, accompanied by Valens, advanced to the honored right flank. The Emperor remained in position with his guard, but dispatched screening forces who covered the deployment of the army. The main legionary body and the auxiliaries took up positions in the center. Though the Triplex Achaeus was a thing of the past, the Roman army still held to the strategy of withholding reserves. In keeping to this tradition, several Batavian units were stationed just behind the center. Skirmishers and ranged troops surely also helped fill in supporting positions around the main body of heavy infantry. The left side of the army however was still moving up. It had been a long march and only some forces were yet ready to secure that side of the battle line. Perhaps the cavalry body was only able to deploy part of its forces on the far left. The rest were stuck struggling behind on the dusty road. Historians offer a range of estimates, but most modern numbers seem to indicate that around 15,000 Roman troops now faced off against the Goths. This included 10,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. These numbers are rather diminished because the three armies from which they are drawn from are assumed not to have been at full strength. It is also smaller than might be expected because Valens had left substantial forces behind to secure Adrianople and its important arms factory. The Gothic force amassed on the hill was most likely of comparative size. In ideal conditions, this would have given favor to the Romans who routinely beat armies much larger than their own. Both sides were likely well aware of this fact. The Goths sought to improve their chances by staying close to their reinforced hilltop position. Meanwhile, Fritjern decided to play for time, hoping that help would soon be on the way. In fact, the 10,000 troops that the Roman scouts had reported were only part of the army. The rest of the Goths were off foraging for supplies. These included a substantial number of Gruthungi horsemen led by Aletheus and Saphrax. The arrival of such forces would be required if the Goths were to have any chance. All they needed was a little time. Fritjern began by dispatching envoys to seek terms of peace with the Romans. Valens questioned the motive behind this move and demanded that if they truly wanted peace, then high-ranking officials would have to be sent. The Gothic emissaries were dismissed and rode across the plain. After some time, they returned. Fritjern had decided to respond not with the requested envoys, but with yet another message. He asked for the Romans to send their own high-ranking officials for peace talks in the fortified camp. These back-and-forth dealings were taking excessive amounts of time. They ran counter to the plan for immediate action and frustrated the troops who were forced to watch the comings and goings of riders in the hot sun. Conditions were made worse by Goths who began to light fires whose smoke drifted across the battlefield, adding discomfort and impeding the visibility of the Romans. While the imperial commanders prepared to send out a delegation, the impatient troops took action. They had had enough of waiting in the heat against an enemy who was clearly at their mercy. The cavalry acted first. Two units on the left flank commenced an attack on their own accord. The Tribune Baccharius led the horse archers of the Commedes Sagittarii Armani, while the Tribune Cassio commanded a Sagittarii squadron. Together, they charged the wagon line and engaged Goths along the perimeter. This may have been part of screening operations or skirmishing gone wrong. Perhaps a couple horsemen simply got caught too close to the enemy and their comrades rushed in to extract them. Apparently, the defenders had been prepared for such an attack and unleashed a hail of arrows and javelins from within their prepared positions in the camp. More Goths poured into the location and this small point of contact between the two armies became a vortex that would suck in more and more forces. The Roman cavalry was being torn apart and attempted to gallop out of range. Valens and his council would still have been discussing peace terms when they realized the scale of the disaster unfolding on the wing. Much of the senior command was removed from their posts while the troops and their officers were left wondering what was happening. Did they miss an order? Should they advance to help the cavalry? The battle had started, but there was no stopping it now. Even the ablest of commanders such as Julius Caesar had trouble reining in troops from developing combat. Valens may have seized on the inevitable and ordered the trumpets blown. In any case, the main line now advanced. Roman legions on the approach would have behaved differently than their predecessors. Rather than the strictly enforced silence of earlier times, they now raised an uproar. The troops would have banged their weapons and raised their shields to their mouths to create reverberations from their chanting. This was known as the Baradus quote which began as a faint murmur and slowly increasing. It rose like a wave crashing against crags. With troop behavior, their equipment would also have been different. The standard infantrymen would have been supplied with equipment drawn from the state's arms manufacturing facilities. These supplies were then distributed to the troops by the civil bureaucracy. This is to be contrasted with the earlier legions who furnished their own weapons in camp workshops and distributed these using military administration. The typical rectangular scutum had slowly been replaced by large oval shields. There are many theories as to why this occurred. An oval shield can have the same height and width as a rectangular one, but requires less material and weighs less. Without sacrificing much, the user would therefore have had a reduced burden on the march. Some postulate that the new shape was therefore simply easier to carry over long distances which better suited the more mobile armies of the fourth century. The oval design may have also been easier to manufacture and maintain. The new shield was also more conducive to the changing Roman fighting style. It seems that the auxiliaries had used rounded shields before and now the increasingly barbarized army was more fond of the rounder shields. In the same vein, barbarian-influenced infantry found themselves using a more open style of fighting and might be dealing with opponents on multiple fronts. In this case, a rounded surface is perhaps better suited for such versatility. Spears were also in more common use and would be easier to handle in conjunction with a rounded shield. Lastly, the round shield still maintained its usefulness in forming a shield wall, providing similarly powerful overlapping shield formations as rectangular ones. When it came to armor, it seems that the iconic Lorica segmentata and old imperial helmets had all but vanished. For body armor, they now mostly wore scale or male cuirasses, which were once again a bit easier to produce and maintain. Helmets tended to vary as well, but seemingly favored cheaper designs which still offered good protection. Arms and legs might be covered by specific padding or armor, while trousers were becoming increasingly common. Legions in the northern provinces had also traded in the old-fashioned caligae for various styles of enclosed shoes and boots. In terms of weaponry, things also changed. Infantry and cavalrymen alike were now usually equipped with a long-bladed spatha sword worn on the left side. This is consistent with the new open fighting style where slashing with a larger blade was favored over stabbing from within a well-formed line. Many Roman units would also find themselves equipped with spears. Versions of the pilla still appeared to have been in use at this time but were less common than conventionally shaped javelins. Soldiers might also be using a new projectile. These were weighted darts known as plumbata, able to be clipped onto the inside of a shield. A legionnaire could have several of these which would then be thrown at the enemy. They did not have as much piercing power as the older pillum but could probably damage lighter armed troops or horses. Despite these changes, the ranks of the advancing legions would have brought with them all the ferocity expected of a Roman force. Goths emerged from behind the wagon logger, challenging their enemies with battle cries and chants. Gothic armies were typically focused around heavily armed and armored warbands who followed powerful nobles. The rank and file of a force was usually less well equipped but it seems that the barbarians at Adrianople were probably able to use plundered Roman equipment. Many warbands had also come across the Danube to join Fritigern and so there may have been more elite forces than might be otherwise expected. Troops fought with a mix of weapons and might use short spears, swords, and axes. They were overall fierce fighters who valued bravery in battle and were now further emboldened in the defense of their families. Flurries of missiles flew from the Gothic camp, peppering the heavy Roman formations. A few missiles met their mark but largely pinged off the wall of advancing armor. The Roman line was met by the Goths who came charging down the hill. Like water from a breaking dam, they washed over the legions. Momentum from the downward charging troops halted the Roman assault in its tracks. Forces in the middle interlocked in a mess of smoke, dust, and blood. The battle was fierce. Ammianus specifically details the chaos of quote, the stroke of axes which split helmet and breastplate end quote. We're told of Goths with severed hamstrings or lopped off hands who still clawed at the Romans and fought with defiant courage. At the back of the barbarian lines lay their families. The brave warriors would sell their lives dearly in the defense of loved ones. On the Roman left, the failed cavalry assault which had precipitated the battle had pulled back and caused severe disruption in the infantry lines. This added to the particular vulnerability of the left flank which had not even been fully formed when the battle began. Now, the Goths took full advantage of this opportunity. Warriors streamed down from the wagons and pinned the Romans. It is probably at this point that the Gothic reinforcements arrived. Thousands of Grithongi horsemen rode onto the battlefield. They quickly identified the disorganized Roman troops on the flank who had been stripped of their cavalry support. Alotheus and Saffrax reformed their men into a massive line for a charge. This thundering hammer came crashing down onto the legions caught against the anvil of barbarian infantry. Men were trampled helplessly from the sides and run down. Downward slashes from the cavalry cut across unprotected backs left and right. The Roman infantry was crushed together to the point that, quote, hardly anyone could draw his sword or pull back his arm, end quote. The situation was quickly devolving into the Nightmare at Cannae.