Battle of Sucro

Battle of Sucro
Part of the Sertorian War
Date 75 BC Location on the banks of the Sucro river 39°9′50″N 0°15′6″W / 39.16389°N 0.25167°W / 39.16389; -0.25167 Result Draw (each side lost one of its wing)
Belligerents
Sertorian rebels	Roman Senate
Commanders and leaders
Sertorius	Pompey Lucius Afranius
Strength
unknown but similar to Pompey's	6 understrength legions and an unknown number of auxiliaries and allied troops
Casualties and losses
10,000[1]	10,000[1]
class=notpageimage| Location within Spain

The Battle of Sucro^[2] was fought in 75 BC between a rebel army under the command of the Roman rebel Quintus Sertorius and a Roman army under the command of the Roman general Pompey. The battle was fought on the banks of the river Sucro near a town bearing the same name (present day Albalat de la Ribera). It ended indecisively: with Sertorius winning a tactical victory but having to withdraw because Pompey's colleague Metellus and his army were approaching.

Background

In 88 BC,

The evening before the battle there was a thunderstorm, the entire horizon was lit by lightning flashes.[11] The veteran soldiers of both armies ignored the ominous event and the next day the armies drew up for battle. Each general took station on his right flank, which meant that Sertorius was facing the capable Lucius Afranius, Pompey's second-in-command, while Pompey was facing an unknown subordinate of Sertorius.^[12]

The battle

As both sides engaged there was hard fighting all over the line. Halfway through the battle Pompey's wing began to push hard and the enemy's left began to fall back. Sertorius, realizing the danger his army was in, turned over command of fighting Afranius to one of his subordinates and rode over to save his left wing. The presence of Sertorius in their ranks inspired his men. After stabilizing his left Sertorius launched a fierce counter-attack which shattered the Pompeian right. Pompey did his best to stem the tide of his men's retreat and was almost captured by his enemy. He was saved by his horse, not because it carried him to safety but because Sertorius' troops stopped to capture the prized abandoned equine apparition instead of going after its owner.^[13] Meanwhile, Afranius had overwhelmed his opponents and had pushed into the Sertorian camp. Now Afranius' men, sure of victory, started pillaging the place. Unfortunately for them Sertorius and the other half of his army now descended on them with a vengeance. Catching them off guard the Sertorians killed many of them. In the meantime Pompey had regrouped most of his army and retreated to his own camp.

Meanwhile, a second Roman army under the command of Metellus, Pompey's colleague, had fought its way through Sertorius' rearguard and was only a good days march away. This meant that, if Sertorius chose to fight Pompey the next day, he would probably end up fighting Metellus as well. Fighting two enemies at once was something Sertorius did not relish. He had lost his chance to take Pompey out of the campaign. His bitter comment has been preserved by Plutarch:

If the old woman had not made an appearance, I'd have trashed the boy and packed him off to Rome.^[14]

Despite knocking Pompey out of the battle, Sertorius’ army had suffered a great number of casualties and when Metellus arrived he would be outnumbered. Sertorius decided to retreat toward Clunia in the highlands of Celtiberia.^[15] Here he would be among his allies and Pompey and Metellus would have to follow him at their own peril.

Aftermath

Sertorius had fought long and hard for the Iberian east coast but now had no other choice other than concede his conquests. But the war was long from over, Sertorius still had allies, his reputation and an army. He marched into the Celtiberian uplands and reverted to guerrilla warfare again. The war would drag on for another three years and only end because a few of his own men plotted against Sertorius and assassinated him.

References