The German chieftain, Arminius
The Battle of Teutoburg Forest is a battle that occurred in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany in September 9 AD. It features in Rome: Total War as a historical battle. You play as Rome as you try to bring your troops to a fort before sunset.
Units[]
Quinctilius Varus (Romans)[]
The Roman army is composed mainly of heavy infantry with a few units of archers and cavalry.
Arminius (Germania)[]
The German army is composed mostly of heavy infantry with several units of archers and cavalry. They also have an unit of spearmen and several of war dogs.
In History[]
By 9 AD the frontier of the Roman world lay along the natural moat of the Rhine. To the north, the barbarians lurked in their dark forests (according to the Romans) and plotted the destruction of all things civilized. The Emperor Augustus was, however, absolutely convinced that the comforts of civilized living could be brought to the German tribes, and pushed for full provincial development of the German interior. However, there seemed to be faint prospect of ever bringing civilization and its comforts to the awkward Germans. This may have been behind the decision to appoint Quinctilius Varus as governor of the province. The man was an able administrator, but not a very good soldier. He was a civilian with a civilian's mission of collecting taxes, conscripting soldiers, and establishing Roman law. Perhaps Roman efficiency would win over the Germans.
The German ambush
The German tribes, on the other hand, were equally convinced that the comforts of Rome were probably very nice, but not the Roman government and taxes that seemed to go with them. There was little money to pay taxes (barter economies don't need money), free warriors saw conscription as slavery, and Roman law was completely barbaric - why was it alright to go around imprisoning people and flogging them when a blood feud settled a dispute properly? Varus established his main camp somewhere on the Weser (best guesses place it somewhere near modern Minden), but as winter approached, Varus, his army and the camp followers pulled back towards winter quarters to the south. This was the opportunity that the Germans had been waiting for. Arminius, their hidden leader, had spent time in Varus' camp but once the Romans were on the march and the route they were to take was established, he disappeared - and the attacks by the wild men of the German forests began...