The Battle of Teutoburg Forest was one of the worst defeats suffered by the Roman army in its entire existence not in terms of men lost, though many were, but in terms of setting limits to Roman expansion and dispelling the reputation of the power of the Roman army. The Romans were at the height of imperialism and had gained a large amount of territory under Emperor Augustus. Some of these territories were hard won but the Romans usually persevered in a territory until it was conquered until they met disaster in the Teutoburg Forest.
The Teutoburg forest in Germany is a mountainous region covered by a dense forest located just southwest of modern Hanover. The German tribes who lived in the area were quite mobile and often times did not stay long enough in any one place to cultivate crops and were able to load their possessions on wagons and go very quickly. Despite the nomadic lifestyle the area around Teutoburg held a large population of many different tribes most of whom were hostile to Rome.
Battle Of Teutoburg Forest Movie
In today's animated educational cartoon we go back in time to the greatest defeat of the Roman army, The Battle of Teutoburg Forest.🎬 MAKE VIDEOS LIKE OURS. Try also: Call of Duty WWII Mac OS X. Another useful fact about Battlefield 1 Mac OS is the new restart system. When you die, you can choose a different character to play with, instead of reloading from a checkpoint. The multiplayer mode is huge! The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, in which Germanic tribes under the Cheruscan warlord Arminius, later idealized as Hermann, annihilated a Roman army of up to 18,000 men in the year AD 9, has. Sep 19, 2017 The Battle of Teutoburg Forest and its hero Arminius have been painted occasionally, most recently in a German nationalist context. Arminius’ name was abbreviated to Armin, and mistranslated as Hermann; he is sometimes therefore known humorously as Hermann the German. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest was one of the worst defeats suffered by the Roman army in its entire existence not in terms of men lost, though many were, but in terms of setting limits to Roman expansion and dispelling the reputation of the power of the Roman army. The Romans were at the height of imperialism and had gained a large amount of.
Much of the area of Germany had been pacified a few years before by Tiberius who would later be the successor to Augustus. Tiberius had made a lot of progress in the area essentially conquering tribes and reconquering them if they revolted. Tiberius fought it Germany until 6 CE when he was called to end a revolt in Illyria and Quintilius Varus took his place in Germany and was known for a degree of cruelty and treating subjected nations as slaves of the empire. Varus was a confident man and would prove to be a very trusting man as well.
Varus initially had a great sense of security as he immediately went into German territory and spread out his legions in order to bring Roman law to where it was needed. The sense of security was likely because the tribes in the area had suffered many defeats in living memory and knew that they likely could not successfully revolt, though the hatred was still there. The other factor giving Varus a sense of power and security was his close advisor Arminius who was from this area but had been raised in Rome as a hostage. Once Arminius was in Germany with Varus he began to contact German tribes to set up an attack.
While heading back to the winter fort near the safer Rhine River, Varus was told of rebellion to the East, deeper in German territory. Arminius had advised Varus of this uprising which was likely fabricated and Arminius also proposed a quick route to get to the rebelling area which conveniently led through areas of dense forests and multiple valleys. Varus took three legions along with an equal amount of auxiliaries with an estimated total around 30-35,000 soldiers with a significant number of camp followers.
Varus marched eastward with his forces however the terrain forced the column to stretch for miles and become disjointed. Varus also neglected to stop to reform the column of march and with the dense forest, rolling hills and increasing fog and rain, the soldiers could hardly see what was going on with any part of the army other than their immediate surroundings. Arminius slipped away into the woods with all the allies who were loyal to him. While Varus and the rest of the legion were realizing that he was gone, Arminius was busy sending multiple contingents of Germans into position along the Roman line of march and sending word to all tribes that a Roman army was primed for destruction.
The Romans were in a very poor position and at their weakest. They have been marching for days in a long, disjointed column. They were likely tired and not in full battle dress. They had been fighting through the thick forest for most of the journey. With the heavy fog and rain turning into a downpour, Arminius attacked.
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The attacking Germans were quite timid at first, after all they were attacking a Roman army and many men had seen defeat at the hands of Romans before. As the Germans continued attacking they realized how weak the Romans were and went in with full force. The Romans suffered greatly but in credit to Roman training, they were able to form a central position and construct a fortified camp as best as they could and wait out the night. Arminius likely had a rotation of skirmishers harassing the camp through the night although the continuing rainstorms likely reduced the effectiveness.
The next day Varus exited the camp and sought to escape to more favorable terrain. Punching through to another forested area the Romans suffered and likely many of the non-combatants perished while being unable to keep pace. Over the course of the day the Roman’s began to lose their most vital equipment, their shields. The constant downpour soaked the already heavy wooden shields and those armed with bows found them to be slackened by the rain. The Germans did not suffer much from this as they had much smaller shields as well as being in home territory with plenty of access to fresh equipment. The attacks continued throughout the day and during the night the Romans constructed a camp and attempted to escape in the early hours of the morning.
Unfortunately for the Romans, Arminius had his men spending the night cutting ditches through roads and felling trees to create only one distinct route the Romans could take. Arminius lined this narrow route with soldiers and had them create an earth wall to allow them both cover and a slight height advantage on the Romans. When Varus marched out of camp he led his forces through the path Arminius set for him and met a dead end at the base of a hill. The Romans were exhausted after several days of marching and fighting all through a continuous storm and were spread between their camp and a dead end of Germans. At this point the Germans rushed towards the Romans with full strength. The German army had grown considerably larger as word had spread of the previous day’s successes and men from miles around came for a chance to plunder.
What happened next was an almost complete breakdown of the Roman army. The second in command, cavalry commander Vala Numonius fled with much of the cavalry but was killed soon after. The Romans made many attempts to scale the earthen wall but either failed or were quickly overcome upon reaching the other side. The Roman command collapsed when Varus and many other officers decided to take their own lives. Many of the men lost complete control and cast away their weapons to be killed by whoever arrived first. Small groups tried to flee in every direction but most were killed or captured quickly. Losses for the Germans are hard to pinpoint but estimates are around 1,000. The Romans lost around 20,000 men with many being enslaved. A little over 1,000 Romans, led by camp prefect Caedicius, were able to escape.
When news reached Rome Augustus took it badly. Though it may well be an exaggeration, Suetonius says Augustus let his hair grow out and went unshaven and periodically shouted “Varus, give me back my legions” while beating his head on a door. While this certainly seems like an exaggeration Augustus still took the news hard and had the anniversary become a day of mourning.
After the initial shock of the defeat wore off, Augustus’ successor Tiberius had one of his best generals, Claudius Germanicus, invade Germany in 14 CE Germanicus had great success in Germany and even sprung an ambush with heavy losses incurred by the Germans. From 14-16 CE Germanicus fought many successful battles against the Germans. Germanicus would later find
the site of the Varian disaster and discover skulls pinned to trees and heaps of bones. He was able to recover two of the lost legion eagles with the third being recovered some time after. Arminius was a hero after the battle and today remains a proud symbol of Germany but he had a hard fall from grace as he suffered several defeats as the Romans sought retribution. he faced anger from multiple tribes but was ultimately murdered by members of his own tribe who felt he had too much power.
It is easy to see how powerful this battle was beyond just the amount of men lost. Losing a legionary eagle was an utter disgrace; even in terrible defeats every effort was made to save the eagle but in this case three eagles were captured. It is a testament to the staying power of the Germans that they were able to fend off the Romans when they were arguably at their most powerful. Great military leaders such as Augustus, Tiberius and Germanicus were all accomplished conquerors but despite winning multiple battles against the Germans they still were not able to effectively subdue them.
Culture
Archaeologists have launched a new drive to explore an ancient Germanic-Roman battlefield. Nationalists spun the carnage into a myth about Germany's birth - fake news that has persisted to this day.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
The 1st-century Roman-Germanic clash
Numerous artefacts have been uncovered at Kalkriese at what is suspected to be the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD). One of the most spectular is an iron mask from a Roman cavalryman's helmet, pictured in a large-scale model that's exhibited in the Kalkriese Museum at the presumed site of the battle.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Detailed restoration work
The original Roman cavalryman's mask reveals signs of plunder - the silver foil was roughly torn off it. Here, the mask, the most iconic discovery at Kalkriese, is being restored.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Roman javelins and arrow heads
This summer, experts are launching a new excavation of the site at Kalkriese to determine whether it was indeed the location of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, which saw Germanic tribes conquer Roman troops in a surprising upset. Pictured are tips of Roman 'pilum' javelins and arrow heads found at the battleground some 15 kilometers north of OsnabrĂĽck in northwestern Germany.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Archaeologists at work
At the presumed battlefield in Kalkriese, excavations have been taking place for some 30 years. A fresh dig is due to start on September 4, and experts are hoping to shed light on the course the battle took.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Confirmation needed
Archaeologists keep finding fresh evidence suggesting that Kalkriese is indeed the site of the famous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest - but it's not yet 100 percent conclusive.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Casualties of war
Archaeologist Axel Thiele is pictured recovering the skeleton of a mule, an animal that was commonly used in the Roman army. Some 18,000 Roman troops participated in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Metal footprint
Hundreds of coins have been discovered at Kalkriese. Small piles of them were a telling sign of impending doom - meaning that soldiers were attempting to hide their treasures before it was too late. This coin shows the countermark of Varus, the governor of Germania. So far, none of the coins found were minted after AD 9. That’s a sign that it could be the site of the famous battle.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Wall's history now questioned
The earthen wall in the picture is part of a 400-meter stretch uncovered at Kalkriese that has been restored to give visitors a sense of what it used looked like. New archaeological findings suggest the wall may have been part of a Roman camp rather than a Germanic, one as previously thought. The current excavation should determine more about its history.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Reliving history
Every two years, there is a gentle re-enactment of the battle at Kalkriese as part of a festival to show Roman and Germanic life 2,000 years ago. These days, it’s easier to find Roman re-enactors than Germanic ones.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Hermann monument
A gigantic monument to Arminius, the leader of the German tribes who later became known and idealized as Hermann, was completed in 1875 near Detmold. It testifies to the power of the cult surrounding him as Germany’s supposed liberator. The sword, donated by the Krupp company, measures seven meters.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
The 1st-century Roman-Germanic clash
Numerous artefacts have been uncovered at Kalkriese at what is suspected to be the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD). One of the most spectular is an iron mask from a Roman cavalryman's helmet, pictured in a large-scale model that's exhibited in the Kalkriese Museum at the presumed site of the battle.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Detailed restoration work
The original Roman cavalryman's mask reveals signs of plunder - the silver foil was roughly torn off it. Here, the mask, the most iconic discovery at Kalkriese, is being restored.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Roman javelins and arrow heads
This summer, experts are launching a new excavation of the site at Kalkriese to determine whether it was indeed the location of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, which saw Germanic tribes conquer Roman troops in a surprising upset. Pictured are tips of Roman 'pilum' javelins and arrow heads found at the battleground some 15 kilometers north of OsnabrĂĽck in northwestern Germany.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Archaeologists at work
At the presumed battlefield in Kalkriese, excavations have been taking place for some 30 years. A fresh dig is due to start on September 4, and experts are hoping to shed light on the course the battle took.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Confirmation needed
Archaeologists keep finding fresh evidence suggesting that Kalkriese is indeed the site of the famous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest - but it's not yet 100 percent conclusive.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Casualties of war
Archaeologist Axel Thiele is pictured recovering the skeleton of a mule, an animal that was commonly used in the Roman army. Some 18,000 Roman troops participated in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Metal footprint
Hundreds of coins have been discovered at Kalkriese. Small piles of them were a telling sign of impending doom - meaning that soldiers were attempting to hide their treasures before it was too late. This coin shows the countermark of Varus, the governor of Germania. So far, none of the coins found were minted after AD 9. That’s a sign that it could be the site of the famous battle.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Wall's history now questioned
The earthen wall in the picture is part of a 400-meter stretch uncovered at Kalkriese that has been restored to give visitors a sense of what it used looked like. New archaeological findings suggest the wall may have been part of a Roman camp rather than a Germanic, one as previously thought. The current excavation should determine more about its history.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Reliving history
Every two years, there is a gentle re-enactment of the battle at Kalkriese as part of a festival to show Roman and Germanic life 2,000 years ago. These days, it’s easier to find Roman re-enactors than Germanic ones.
The Roman-Germanic battle that became 'fake news'
Hermann monument
A gigantic monument to Arminius, the leader of the German tribes who later became known and idealized as Hermann, was completed in 1875 near Detmold. It testifies to the power of the cult surrounding him as Germany’s supposed liberator. The sword, donated by the Krupp company, measures seven meters.
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, in which Germanic tribes under the Cheruscan warlord Arminius, later idealized as Hermann, annihilated a Roman army of up to 18,000 men in the year AD 9, has gone down in history as the big bang that created the German nation.
It sent a shockwave through the Roman Empire, spawned the first German hero, and is seen by some historians as the main reason why Rome refrained from colonizing the regions north and east of the Rhine River.
Arguably, it explains why Germany to this day is divided into the Roman-influenced, Catholic and - some would say - more fun-loving South and West, and the rougher, cooler Protestant North and East.
Ever since the 1987 discovery of the presumed battlefield in northwestern Germany, archaeologists have been trying to piece together how Arminius defeated three highly-trained Roman legions under General Publius Quinctilius Varus, governor of Germania, in four days of carnage.
Bones and weapons found
They have amassed a trove of evidence, such as human bones with terrible wounds, hundreds of coins, spear tips, lead sling-bullets, fragments of Roman armor, belt buckles, tent pegs, sandal nails, surgical instruments and a spectacular face mask from a cavalryman's helmet (first picture in the gallery above).
But they have yet to find irrefutable proof that the site near the village of Kalkriese, a low-lying area of woods and fields some 15 kilometers (over nine miles) northeast of OsnabrĂĽck, really is the location of that battle.
Also, questions remain over the sequence of events in the fighting that is believed to have started with ambushes on the thin Roman column snaking through the forest before culminating at Kalkriese in a bottleneck between a hill and a moor.
In a fresh attempt to find answers, the local Kalkriese Museum will start a major new excavation on September 4 and has launched a three-year project to analyze the metallurgical make-up of items discovered so far.
'We haven't got final proof; we haven't found anything with the inscription of the 19th or 18th or 17th legions,' Professor Salvatore Ortisi, a specialist on provincial Roman archaeology at the University of Munich who is heading the dig, told DW. 'We're hoping for some piece of a helmet with an inscription or a plaque with the name of a unit, or a stamped artillery bolt.'
Some historians still have their doubts about Kalkriese and say it could be the site of a later battle, but the circumstantial evidence in favor of it has been piling up steadily over the years.
Coins discovered at the site are no more recent than 9 AD
New dig may rewrite history
Eight pits containing the bones of men aged 20 to 45 have been found, with many skulls showing gaping holes. The pits tally with Roman accounts of how an army under commander Germanicus discovered the battlefield in AD 16 and buried the piles of bleached bones strewn across it. One Roman account said the soldiers found skulls nailed to trees.
It is significant that none of the many coins found so far, including a hoard of more than 200 silver coins uncovered earlier this year, were minted after AD 9, which is seen as an indication that archeologists are on the right track.
The dig in September is also eagerly awaited because it will seek confirmation of a new theory that the Romans hastily threw up a fortified camp in the final stages of the battle.
During an excavation last year, Ortisi's team found a layer of sand in the ground that suggests a Roman fortification was built there. The sand contained fragments of carbonized wood that was not indigenous to the forest and was dated to the first century BC.
The discovery cast doubt on the current theory that a 400-meter portion of wall previously found on the battlefield, which has partially been reconstructed by the museum, was from a Germanic fortress from which Arminius and his men raided the Romans in the final stage of the battle.
The archaeologists plan to cut into the ground a little further west and if they find a further layer of sand, it will strengthen Ortisi's theory of a Roman fort and force a reevaluation of the likely course the battle took.
'It would suggest the fortifications we have there were a Roman camp that was overrun by the Germans,' said Ortisi. 'That would fit in with historical accounts of the battle. The scenario would then be that the Romans, under pressure from the Germanic attacks, set up a fortification in the afternoon or evening, very hastily and very makeshift, and that they fought there and were beaten and then attempted to flee northwards across the moor.'
According to historical accounts, the Roman General Varus fell on his sword rather than be captured by the Germanic hordes slaughtering his troops.
Desperation and defeat
The search for answers is as thrilling as it is poignant. The clues in the ground tell stories of desperate legionaries burying their money in the ground, of the dead and dying being violently stripped of their armor, of bodies left to rot in the forest, of victors calmly stacking looted war material for recycling.
'It's a fascinating place because it gives us a snapshot of an important event as well as a sense of the people who fought and died here,' said Ortisi, whose father is Italian and who was born and raised in Germany. 'For someone who sees it from a Roman point of view there's a lot of tragedy here, and that's a bit depressing.'
Archaeologists have found scores of clues that the battle ended disastrously. Many small items such as buckles, hinges and connecting parts of body armor were found, suggesting that they broke off as they were torn from the dead.
Archaeologists found metal frames ripped from shields, folded and ready for transport to be melted down. A plausible theory is that they were in piles of loot to be distributed among the victorious Germanic warriors, and that some of it got lost in the churned-up forest ground.
Teutoburg Battle Map
Small piles of coins found in various locations were a telling sign of impending doom. 'It looks like the attempt to hide one's own money purse before it's too late; it indicates that this must have been a very, very, threatening situation,' explained Ortisi.
How the Romans were beaten
How could a Roman army of that size succumb to Germanic tribesmen they had previously been able to vanquish with their superior discipline, training and equipment?
The element of surprise played a part, as did the Romans' inability to get into battle formation in the dense forest, historians have said. Besides, Arminius was a seasoned warrior. He commanded a troop of Germanic cavalry attached to the Roman army as auxiliaries.
In fact, Varus had trusted him. The two men had dined together, and Arminius led Varus into a trap by persuading him to make a detour to put down a rebellion, Roman historians wrote. Arminius wanted to lead an uprising so that he could found his own kingdom.
'The Germans cleverly maneuvered the Romans into a situation where they couldn't bring their superiority to bear,' said Ortisi. 'Also, as soon as psychology comes into it, as soon as people sense the possibility of defeat, an army crumbles. Discipline goes and then the strength of the Roman army, which was to obey commands as a unit, was gone. In the end it was every man for himself.'
Re-enactments of the Battle of Teutoburg are held regularly
Metal tests to bring certainty
A separate program to analyze the metal fragments found in Kalkriese - sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation - might also uncover new insights.
In Roman times, military equipment was forged or repaired in smithies that tended to use melted-down armor as their raw material. The longer a unit was stationed in a particular area, the more likely its equipment was to have an identifiable metallurgical fingerprint, said researchers.
The legions of Varus were stationed along the Rhine River, the frontier between the Roman Empire and the unsubdued German tribes, for decades. By contrast, the troops of Germanicus, who conducted a punitive campaign against Germanic tribes six years after the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, were drawn from regions as far away as today's Spain and Hungary.
By analyzing the metal found in Kalkriese, researchers hope to identify which troops fought there. If it was the soldiers of Germanicus, then it wasn't the location of the legendary battle Germans call 'Varusschlacht.'
Myth and propaganda
Whatever the research yields this year, the myth surrounding the battle is a topical lesson in the enduring power of fake news.
From the 16th century onwards, nationalists began hailing Arminius, or 'Hermann,' as Martin Luther called him, as the heroic liberator who created the German nation.
But that wasn't true.
'Arminius wasn't the liberator of Germania and it's simply wrong to call this the hour of the German nation's birth,' Tillmann Bendikowski, a historian who has written a book about the battle and the Hermann myth, told DW.
The more than 50 Germanic tribes of the ancient period were the forefathers of many European nations, not just the Germans. And Arminius didn't unite them - he persuaded five tribes to join him, and he was killed by members of his own tribe a few years later.
Chiefdom
'You can see how hard it is to bury myths right now in Europe and the US where we're falling back into nationalism,' said Bendikowski.
In the 19th century, when Germany was fragmented into dozens of states and struggling to unify, Hermann served as the perfect symbol of national unity.
The Herrmann monument was erected shortly after German unity in the 1870s
Portrayed as a blond, muscle-bound warrior, he featured in more than 50 operas and plays during the 18th and 19th centuries. His cult kept on growing and in 1875, four years after Germany unified, a gigantic monument to him was completed near the northwestern town of Detmold, holding aloft a sword that is seven meters (23 feet) long.
A symbol when unity was fragile
The figure evoked an increasingly aggressive nationalism in the run-up to National Socialist rule. As a result, schools shunned his story after World War II ended in 1945, which explains why not all Germans these days have heard of him.
Sibb
However, interest was reawakened by the discovery of the Kalkriese site and by media coverage and the publication of new books on Hermann commemorating the 2,000th anniversary of the battle in 2009.
Some 1,000 school groups are among the 80,000 visitors who come to Kalkriese every year to see its growing treasure of exhibits and to walk the battlefield.
'The myth about Hermann the Cheruscan remains anchored in many minds,' Joseph Rottmann, managing director of the museum, told DW. 'We're trying to convey a neutral picture of history and to thereby allow every visitor to have their own view.'
Every two years, there's a gentle re-enactment of the battle as part of a festival to show Roman and Germanic life 2,000 years ago. These days, it's easier to find Roman re-enactors than Germanic ones.
Bendikowski believes the myth of Hermann will eventually fade. 'What will remain of him will be the memory of how a nation tried to invent itself by fabricating history. It will help us to understand ourselves and other nations better.'