Battle of Tridentum

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The Battle of Tridentum took place in a valley just beyond Tridentum in the Autumn of 102 BC. The Germanic Cimbri almost succeeded in overrunning a Roman camp in the middle of the Roman strategical retreat. The Romans were saved by the heroic charge of the men from the Samnite legion which bought the rest of the army enough time to cross the river and escape. Despite some light losses a disaster was averted.

Background

According to ancient sources, sometime around 120–115 BC, the Cimbri, a large Germanic tribe, left their homeland around the

The Romans tried to stop the Germanic invaders in 112 at the Battle of Noreia, in 107 at the Battle of Burdigala, and in 105 at the Battle of Arausio but met with defeat each time. The Battle of Arausio was considered the Romans' greatest defeat since Hannibal crushed their army at Cannae. Fortunately for the Romans, the Germans did not invade Italy after their victories but travelled through Gaul and Hispania instead. For a decade the Romans lived in fear of a Germanic invasion they thought would arrive at any moment.

Rome now turned to their most effective and capable general,

Catulus marched his army to Tridentum, a small trading town in one of the valleys in the Alps. From Tridentum he advanced up the valley to where it narrowed considerably. Catulus may have intended to use the valley's narrowness to his advantage because the Cimbri heavily outnumbered him. However, eventually the Romans decided on a strategical retreat.^[3]

Battle

By this time the Cimbri had become fully aware of the Roman presence, and decided to attack. The Cimbri first came across the camp of the Samnite Legion. The commander of the legion, the

For his actions, the aforementioned Primus pilus Gnaeus Petreius Atinas was awarded the Grass Crown, the highest military honor able to be bestowed upon a Roman soldier, which was only awarded when the actions of the recipient ensured the survival of the legion which offered it. At the time, Gnaeus Petreius Atinas was only the sixth Roman officer whose actions qualified for such a distinction.

The Cimbri now descended into the

Meanwhile, Marius had defeated and destroyed the Teutones at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae. The next year (101 BC) Marius and Catulus joined forces and defeated and destroyed the Cimbri at the Battle of Vercellae, finally ending the German threat.^[6]

In fiction

• Colleen McCullough describes the battle in her novel The First Man in Rome, the first book in her Masters of Rome series. In her novel Gnaeus Petreius is awarded the Grass Crown for his heroism.

References