36 The action began with distant
fighting. The Britons with equal steadiness and skill used their huge swords
and small shields to avoid or to parry the missiles of our soldiers, while they
themselves poured on us a dense shower of darts, till Agricola encouraged three
Batavian and two Tungrian cohorts to bring matters to the decision of close
fighting with swords. Such tactics were familiar to these veteran soldiers, but
were embarrassing to an enemy armed with small bucklers and unwieldy weapons.
The swords of the Britons are not pointed, and do not allow them to close with
the foe, or to fight in the open field. No sooner did the Batavians begin to
close with the enemy, to strike them with their shields, to disfigure their
faces, and overthrowing the force on the plain to advance their line up the
hill, than the other auxiliary cohorts joined with eager rivalry in cutting
down all the nearest of the foe. Many were left behind half dead, some even
unwounded, in the hurry of victory. Meantime the enemy’s cavalry had fled, and
the charioteers had mingled in the engagement of the infantry. But although
these at first spread panic, they were soon impeded by the close array of our
ranks and by the inequalities of the ground. The battle had anything but the
appearance of a cavalry action, for men and horses were carried along in
confusion together, while chariots, destitute of guidance, and terrified horses
without drivers, dashed as panic urged them, sideways, or in direct collision
against the ranks.
|