Germanicus: The Roman General Who Restored Honor To The Empire

[Music] during his short life and especially after his death the reputation of Germanicus was unequaled to his soldiers his bravery and skill as a commander inspired them to victory even under the most dire circumstances for the common citizen he was the one man they hoped could bring long-cherished democracy back to the former Republic Germanicus was born with the name Niro Claudius Drusus in 16 BC into the Giulio Claudian dynasty which was the first Roman imperial dynasty his father druce's senior had been a successful general in his own right winning praise for his victorious campaigns against the Barbarian tribes in Germania in September 9 BC druce's senior died from injuries sustained from falling from his horse he was honoured by the Roman Senate and all of his male descendants were given the honorary name of Germanicus Nero Claudius drusus was adopted by his uncle Tiberius in 4 ad and his name was changed to Germanic as Julius Caesar Germanicus simply meant the German but it conveyed a powerful and emotive image to the Roman public to them it showed a great Roman military commander as Victor of her savage warriors in the wild and untamed land of rivers swamps and forests a faraway Germania Germanicus was recognized at a young age by his superiors as an intelligent and talented military leader he was able to take on increasing responsibility and also maintain control when given progressively larger groups of men to command at age 21 he was first charged by Emperor Augustus with forming a military unit for deployment during a large-scale rebellion in the province of Illyricum his challenge was to gather a group of citizens and freed slaves and trained them into a battle ready fighting unit in its first operational season in seven AD the unit proved effective in defeating them as a tribe in the lowlands of bosnia-herzegovina it was a great achievement considering Germanicus had no leadership training for the role he was asked to perform having impressed his adopted father Tiberius Germanicus was given greater responsibilities and placed in charge of regular legions and cohorts the following year in Croatia during the campaign he was acclaimed Imperato by his men as a mark of their gratitude towards him after the war he was among the victorious senior commanders honored with a triumph in nine ad one of the most humiliating and crushing defeats Imperial Rome would ever suffer occurred in Germany's Teutoburg forest Roman general public's quintilius Varis had lost his life and three full legions of Roman troops were slaughtered over 20,000 Romans were brutally butchered on the battlefield ambushed by an endless sea of Germanic tribesmen the Germanic leader was achieved in and former Roman Ally named Arminius he secretly planned a revolt against Roman rule that culminated in his defeat of the Roman army at Tutor burg right after the disaster at two de Burgh Germanicus was placed in command of the remaining Rhine army units on the German border while Tiberius sought guidance from Emperor Augustus having won his adoptive father's confidence his mentorship under Tiberius continued when he accompanied him on a campaign inter Germania in 1180 augustus promoted Germanicus to governor of try Scalia and thirteen ad during his tenure he put down an insurrection of Gallic rebels restoring order to the province as envoi of the emperor he assumed full responsibility for the armory in the to Germany's which represented a third of all Rome's legionary troops and auxiliary cohorts after Augustus died in 14 ad he acted quickly to face down a mutiny of Roman citizen soldiers in his jurisdiction he listened to their grievances and dealt with the issues of pay and conditions with bad feeling lingering in the ranks he recognized that the need to rebuild unit cohesion was urgent and led them in a raid across the Rhine River the attack on Rome's barbarian enemies and the desired effect the raid became a first step to a larger mission into Germania Germanicus was invested by the Emperor with the power to take such actions as necessary to safeguard the borders of his territory Tiberius who was now the Emperor allowed the raid despite the advice he received from Augustus not to expand the boundaries of the Empire he led an army of 12,000 Roman legions 26 infantry cohorts and 8 mounted cohorts across the Rhine into Germania and 14 AD the Germanic tribes were unprepared for the Roman incursion as they were still celebrating the prolonged absence of Roman forces during the morning of the death of Augustus and also from the military insurrection Germanicus forces first surrounded and destroyed a village of the marci tribe sparing no one he next ordered his legions to devastate the region 450 miles around leveling everything sacred or profane to the German tribes to the ground it could hardly be described as a glorious victory but the point of the raid was to provide a means for his troops to redeem themselves and to rebuild unit cohesion after the divisive events of the previous weeks for that reason he was successful the neighboring Germanic tribes soon learned of the general slaughter unleashed upon the Marcy and prepare to attack the Romans on the return to the Rhine however Jamarcus had anticipated this and prepared his forces accordingly the allied tribes attacked the marching Roman troops in their most vulnerable area but Germanicus personally read up to his men on horseback rallied them and pushed the attackers back for good the Romans managed to survive the attack and set up camp for the season before winter took over by the end of the year Germanicus had returned to Rome as a hero the word of his exploits and putting down the mutiny and invading Germania reached the city well before he arrived he had restored much of the prestige of the Roman army that had been squashed in the disaster years earlier in the - de Burgh forest in spring 15 AD Germanicus invaded Germania again launching a two-pronged assault on the chatti nation after a quick advance through enemy territory he located the enemy tribe in the encounter was a bloody and brutal affair most of the tribe was killed or captured after the able-bodied men fled from the invading Roman army after regrouping the chatty warriors fared no better after attempting to stop the rampaging Roman forces they soon attempted to negotiate for peace but Germanicus refused leaving them no choice but to surrender or flee into the vast surrounding woodlands left undefended the Romans raised the Chadian settlements to the ground at will including their tribal capital of mattum the Roman army continued on marching deeper into Germania temporarily establishing itself in a fort built by Germanic as his father decades earlier with the spring offensive concluded his new mission would address the continuing threat posed by Arminius now the undisputed head of the Cherokee Nation some charros he believed that there was more to be gained from an alliance with Rome than remaining independent the anti Roman faction led by Arminius and the pro Roman faction headed by a noble name suggest as' had grown far apart complicating matters these two men were bound by family ties suggest this was Arminius as unwilling father-in-law by way of marriage to his daughter thews Nelda prior to the Battle of Teutoburg he had warned varus that his son-in-law was planning a rebellion but was ignored in favour of their seemingly loyal ally Arminius years later suggest us remain loyal to Rome and continuously fed intelligence back to his partners across the Rhine Germanicus learned that the old man was living day-to-day under the constant threat of imprisonment or death by those in his community supporting Arminius who still sought war with Rome Germanicus soon devised a rescue mission and after a struggle Roman forces located and rescued sig Estus he also captured Arminius his pregnant wife Susan Elda and took them back to Roman territory her capture was a huge accomplishment for Germanicus he now had his main adversaries wife but as she was pregnant also his child importantly his soldiers found plunder and spoils stolen from varus and his army six years before suggest his thank Germanicus who in turn assured him that he his daughter and his grandchild would be looked after while in Roman territory for the rest of their lives after hearing of his wife's capture Arminius declared total war on the Romans and began preparations for attack on Germanic is's forces the Romans had recently crossed back over the Rhine River from their time back in Italy Germanicus had anticipated an attack and launched a preemptive strike on German territory with three different army groups to surround and isolate the char whisky Germanicus himself would lead an amphibious invasion that would deliver his troops directly to the estuary of the m's River where they would march southeast following the course of the river four legions made up his army group among which were auxiliaries from allied Germanic tribes with Germanicus forces for survivors of the disaster of nine ad men who were denied the right to return to Italy and knew the lay of the land and what to expect when they traversed it the warder topo Arminius had begun wholeheartedly after successful incursions into German territory the three army groups eventually joined up close to the site of the infamous Teutoburg disaster fearing from his campaign plan Germanicus felt compelled to visit the place where so many Romans had fallen and whose bones were thought to stow lie unburied guided by the survivors of the massacre they found the battle site he assembled the men and announced that their countrymen would be honored with a tumulus a sacred mount of Earth Germanicus himself laid the first pile of dirt they began collecting and bringing the scattered balance to a place of burial it was an emotional moment for all gathered at the grim location Germanicus channeled the collective sorrow and rage of the Romans into an act of communal piety with his men unified in common cause Germanicus gave the order to march on their mission was to hunt down the man responsible for the slaughter of their countrymen our mini Isis men were close by and launched an ambush on the Roman column from the cover of the forest the surprise attack temporarily caused panic for the Romans but Germanicus arrived just in time with his legions to stave off the attack the two forces separated after a brief engagement with Germanicus is timely arrival saving the Romans from disaster mindful that the campaigning season was entering its final days Germanicus decided it was time to call for a general withdrawal his Expeditionary Force was now deep inside Romania and the Rhine was hundreds of miles away Germanicus led his army group on the sea transports back to Roman territory he then ordered the second army group to take the more direct overland route back to the Rhine on the way back they were attacked by Arminius but he was repulsed again after a heroic struggle the Romans pushed on and made their way back successfully to the Rhine the third army group followed the shoreline and was eventually picked up by Germanic assist transports but only after fateful mistakes due to the ebb and flow of the tides which trapped and drowned many of their men all three army groups were finally back at their base across the Rhine River despite the embarrassing mishaps of the return journey overall the campaign in Germania had been successful the chatty and turue ski have been rally defeated an arch-villain Arminius had been humiliated sagusti's and his pro grumman entourage have been rescued the story would play well at the home crowd who were eager to erase the humiliation of the tudor burg disaster at the start of 16 ad Germanicus planned a new campaign to achieve a total victory against Arminius once and for all back across the rhine he first encountered the army of Arminius at the Battle of the Vassar River Germanicus decided to retreat after a costly opening assault against Arminius had failed next at the Battle of at East Ebisu Arminius his men charged in hard hoping to score a quick victory against the Roman forces however the sudden sight of eight eagles flying overhead had inspired the Romans to fight off the assault as the bird of Jupiter and the iconic emblem carried by each of the legions the eagle had great significance for the Romans the morale of the Roman army had lifted and the enemy assault was speeding back for good with Arminius nearly captured after getting wounded in battle the dramatic forces were massacred while the Romans suffered slight casualties the war might have ended there but the Germanic alliance under Arminius chose to make a last stand to avenge their humiliation at a deist aviso at the Battle of the Angra Varian wall the teeth forces met each other for the decisive clash of the war the Germanic tribes had created a defensive earthwork and hoped to ambush the Roman attackers at the rear from a nearby forest Arminius had hoped the Romans would become bogged down from attacking the heavily defended wall Germanicus had discovered the plan and split his troops to deal with the anticipated strategy by Arminius always leading from the front he decided to lead the more difficult assault on the heavily guarded wall the battle soon commenced and both sides became bogged down in difficult terrain and it soon turned into brutal hand-to-hand fighting to turn the tide of the battle Germanicus ripped off his helmet so that his men could see his face he urged the men around him to fight on take-no-prisoners but continued the slaughter until the Germanic army was completely destroyed fired up by their commanders words and seeing him personally engaged in the fight be weary and bloodied Roman troops fought on eventually the persistent Romans cut their way through the enemy lines and pushed the Germanic forces back Arminius finally gave up the fight and fled with his life and with him with the survivors of the Allied Germanic armies when the last of the tribesmen had retreated from the field the Romans proclaimed victory before the invasion Germanicus had set his mind on bringing Germania to heel for the glory of Rome however it was near the end of campaign season and the Romans began to make their way back home in the end Germanicus had completely defeated Arminius and as many allied Germanic tribes importantly he also recovered two of varus's three Eagle standards lost atutor berg since his time in Germania the bitter defeat of tutor berg had finally been expunged in roman honour restored only at the end of 16 ad did emperor Tiberius intervene to prevent further actions after he decided the investment was too high for the gains achieved and those being promised Germanicus pleaded for further action in Germania to achieve total victory but finally accepted the decision by his commander-in-chief an adoptive father Germanicus returned to Rome as a hero and was given a triumphal parade in May 17 AD in 1880 he was given supreme authority over the eastern Roman Empire by Tiberius Germanic has stayed in the eastern part of the empire until he mysteriously died in Syria in October 1980 he is thought to have been poisoned by rival named Gallo scalp our newest P so who was governor of the Syrian province the death of Germanicus in the midst of his promising career kept him from becoming the Emperor however he still influenced history for the next 50 years not only from the reputation he built when he was alive but also from his role as the father of one Emperor Caligula the brother of another Claudius and the grandfather of a third Nero [Music] you [Music]

Channel: History Uncovered

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Keywords: germanicus rome, germanicus, germanicus documentary, roman generals, famous roman generals, arminius, rome teutoburg forest, roman empire, teutoburg forest, history uncovered, roman army, germania, augustus, germanic tribes, roman emperor, history documentary, ancient rome, ancient battles, roman legions, battle of the teutoburg forest, roman military, rome documentary, roman empire history, rome, roman history, ancient history, spqr, germanicus maximus, generals rome, caesars

Id: Nwz7UN7sQM4

Length: 16min 19sec (979 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 31 2018