The Eagles Conquest

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Work on the bridgehead fortifications continued at first light. A thin mist had risen from the Tamesis and wreathed the camp of the Second Legion in its clammy chill. In the pallid glow of the rising sun, a column of legionaries trudged out of the northern gate of the marching camp that had been hastily thrown up as soon as the main body of the legion was ferried across the river. The rest of the army would soon be joining the Second to continue the campaign, and the fortifications had to be extended to accommodate the other legions and auxiliary cohorts. Round the Second Legion's palisade the engineers had marked out a vast rectangle with surveying posts. A substantial stretch of earthworks had been raised the previous day, and the engineers set to work at once on extending the defences.

With weapons neatly stacked nearby, the legionaries continued excavating the surrounding ditch and piling the spoil to form an i

With relentless effort the earthworks were extended from the river in sections of a hundred feet at a time. Years of drilling ensured that every man knew his duty, and the work was carried out with an efficiency that gratified Vespasian when he rode out to inspect their progress. But he was preoccupied and troubled. His thoughts turned yet again to the meeting of senior officers he had attended yesterday. All the legion commanders had been present, as well as his brother Sabinus, now acting as Plautius' chief of staff.

Aulus Plautius had commended their achievements, and that the army's scouts reported that there was no significant body of enemy soldiers for many miles to their front. The Britons had taken a beating and retreated far beyond the Tamesis. Vespasian had argued that the enemy should be pursued and destroyed, before Caratacus had a chance to regroup and reinforce his army from those tribes who were only just begi

The general had nodded at Vespasian's arguments, but there was no shifting him from strict adherence to the instructions he had received from Narcissus, Emperor Claudius' chief secretary.

'I agree with everything you say, Vespasian. Everything. Believe me, if there were any ambiguity in the orders, I'd exploit the loopholes. But Narcissus was quite precise: the moment we secure a bridgehead on the far bank of the Tamesis we are to halt and wait for the Emperor to come and take personal command of the final phase of this campaign. Once we've taken Camulodunum, Claudius and his entourage will head home, we'll consolidate what we hold and prepare for next year's campaign. It'll be some years yet before this island is completely tamed. But we must make sure we are strong enough to deal with Caratacus.' 'We've beaten him before, we can beat him again.'

'Only if we keep the upper hand,' replied Vespasian. 'Right now Caratacus has no army as such, just the scattered remnants of the forces we've defeated so far. If we push on we can wipe them out easily, and that'll be the end of any effective resistance before we reach Camulodunum.' Vespasian paused to choose his next words carefully. 'I know what the orders say, but what if we destroy the remainder of the enemy and then pull back to the bridgehead? Surely that would satisfy our strategic needs and the Emperor's political goals?'

Plautius clasped his hands together and leaned forward across his desk. 'The Emperor needs a military victory. He needs it for himself, and we are going to give it to him. If we do what you say and utterly crush the opposition, then who will he fight when he gets here?'

'And if we leave Caratacus alone until Claudius arrives, maybe we won't be able to beat the Britons at all. Maybe he'll arrive just in time to join the rout back to the ships. How will that look on his political record?'

'Vespasian!' Sabinus cut in, glancing sharply at his younger brother. 'I'm sure it won't come to that. Even if Caratacus does manage to field another army, we'll be reinforced by the men the Emperor brings with him. Most of the Eighth, some of the Praetorian Guard cohorts, and even elephants. Isn't that right?' Sabinus looked across the table to Plautius.

'Quite right. More than enough to crush anything the Britons can place in our way. Once those savages catch sight of the elephants, they'll bolt.'

'Elephants!' Vespasian laughed bitterly as he recalled a vivid account of the battle of Zama he had read as a boy. 'I rather think they pose more danger to our side than to the enemy. The Eighth are mostly a bunch of aged invalids and raw recruits, and the Praetorians are used to the soft life in Rome. We don't need them, any of them, if we strike now.'

'Which we ca

Sabinus sensed his brother's submission and quickly turned the discussion on to the next item on the agenda.

'Sir, we need to consider the allocation of replacements. It's most urgent.'

'Very well.' Plautius was eager to move on to a new subject. 'I've looked over your strength returns and decided on the allocations. The biggest share goes to the Second Legion.' He smiled placatingly at Vespasian. 'Your unit has taken the most casualties since we landed.'

Plautius completed his allocation of replacements, which left only the commander of the Twentieth unhappy with his lot. He was granted no extra men and, worse, his legion was relegated to the role of strategic reserve – a move guaranteed to diminish his share of the coming glory, assuming the campaign concluded successfully for the invaders.

'One final matter, gentlemen.' Plautius leaned back and made sure that he had the close attention of every officer. 'I've had reports that the enemy is using Roman army equipment: swords, slingshot and some scaled armour. If this was no more than one or two items, I might not be concerned. It is not unknown for a discharged veteran to sell his army issue to a passing trader. But the quantity recovered so far is too large to overlook. It would appear that someone has been ru