Battle of The Weser River - The Battle

The Battle

The Germanic tribes generally avoided open large-scale combat but by repeated Roman incursions deep into Germanic territory, Germanicus was able to force Arminius, at the head of a large but fractious coalition, into response. The heavily-armed Roman legionaries stood fast, but Arminius' warriors slowly began to rout them in overwhelming numbers. The Romans, along with the Chauci who fought on the Roman side as auxiliaries, defeated the allied Germanic forces decisively, inflicting heavy losses on them. Arminius and his uncle Inviomerus evaded capture and fled with the remnants of their army into the forests.

It is unknown how many Germans and Romans were killed in the battle. According to Tacitus, the number of Germanic casualties were between 10,000- 20,000 dead or wounded, while probably less than ten thousand Romans were killed.

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