ARAUSIO BATTLE MAP PLUS

An ambush of Roman troops and the temporary rebellion of the town of Tolosa caused Roman troops to mobilise in the area, with three strong forces. The migrations of the Cimbri tribe through Gaul and adjacent territories had disturbed the balance of power and incited or provoked other tribes, such as the Helvetii into conlict with the Romans. The terrible defeat gave Gaius Marius the opportunity to come to the fore and radically reform the organisation and recruitment of Roman legions. Roman losses are quoted at up to 80,000 troops, and many more servants and camp followers (total loss estimated at about 112,000 men).

However, bitter differences between the commanders prevented the Roman armies from cooperating with devastating results. Ranged against the migratory tribes of the Cimbri under Boiorix and the Teutoni were two Roman armies, commanded by the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus. The Battle of Arausio took place on October 6, 105 BC, between the town of Arausio and the Rhone River. Nonetheless, you may be interested in the article so here it is: Nevertheless, I posted on this board to get a 'reality check' on the info - so I want to thank you for your help with this. Indeed, I am a little sceptical of internet sources, though this one looks reasonably trustworthy. While poor leadership is quite possible, I think it far more likely that the Roman commander simply under estimated enemy capabilites and got violated in the most disturbing manner as a result.īoris the Romanian, I am attaching an article I found on the web about the Battle of Arausio. Livius is a great writer but a mediocre military historian. It sounds suspiciously like the words of Titus Livius, who had the rather annoying tendency of blaming poor Roman martial prowess on ineffectual leadership rather than recognizing enemy fighting abilities for their true worth. I'd be rather careful with that statement. 'Supposedly one of the reasons for how poorly the Romans fared in the battle was abysmal coordination between the two consular armies commanded by men who hated each other.'

ARAUSIO BATTLE MAP PLUS

Given Roman commitments in Spain and also in the war against Jugurtha, plus the process of reforms, it seems highly unlikely that they would have been able to instantaneously raise two consular armies on the spur of the moment, especially if you consider that the number of men lost at the Battle of Noreia and preceeding skirmishes amounted to almost half a consular army. Your typical consular army would have around 40,000 men whereas this one had perhaps as many as 65,000 troops. I've read that there was 'only' one consular army but that it was significantly reinforced by both Italian and Gallic Allies.

That seems to be contrary to what I've read. 'The article about the battle mentioned, however, that there was not one, but two consular armies involved in the battle.'

Arausio battle map