With Cannae in the discussions recently, I thought it might be fun to
bring up another of the great defeats of the Roman Republic, often
forgotten and rarely talked about these days.
In 105 BC, two Roman armies totaling 80 thousand Legionairres were
reported to have been killed by barbarian Germanic tribes, far greater
than the loss of Varus' legions.
In the 110s, the Cimbri tribe migrated south and attacked local
barbarians of the region. They defeated two Roman armies dispatch to
deal with the migration, until finally arriving at southern France to
meet two Roman armies commanded by Caepio and Maximus. The friction and
non-cooperation between the Roman commanders would doom the day. Eager
for personal glory Caepio launched an all out assault against the
Cimbri camp, which poorly planned, ended in a virtual slaughter of the
Romans. The Cimbri then procceeded against Maximus, routing the
remaining portion of the Roman forces. Livy wrote:
...according to Valerius Antias, 80,000 soldiers and 40,000
servants and camp followers were killed near Arausio. Caepio, who had caused
the defeat by his rashness, was convicted; his possessions were confiscated
(for the first time since king Tarquinius) and his powers abrogated.
The leader of the Cimbri did not proceed into Roman territory, and his
tribe were eventually defeated after wandering through Spain, and thus
this battle is sometimes forgotten. However, it was far from a minor
one, for it shook the foundations of the Republic and allowed men like
Marius to rise to power.