Free Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War by Thomas A. Timmes Page B

around either flank to weaken and cause disarray in the three center Legions.  He wanted the Gallic infantry to conduct a frontal attack against his prepared defensive position.
    When word was brought to Papus that the Gauls had changed directions and were now heading north away from him and into Regulus’ Legions, he reluctantly abandoned his fortifications, but moved with all haste to make contact with the Gauls’ rear elements.  The decisive battle was upon him.  Within the hour, he could see the Gauls’ rear guard and immediately sent his cavalry to attack them.  He hoped to force the Gauls to stop, turn, and deploy to face his advancing Legionaries.  He deployed his five Legions as he had done in the defensive: three on line and one stacked behind the front Legions on each flank.  He feared that the Gallic cavalry would attack one of his flanks, but felt the sight of a Legion on each flank would give them second thoughts.  He reasoned that if his weaker center started to give way, he could reinforce it with whichever Legion on the flank was not engaged.
    The Gauls were unaware of Regulus' rush to seize the hill and assumed that Papus had somehow managed to send part of his cavalry ahead to occupy the hill.  The Chieftains sent some of their own cavalry and a few light infantry including archers against them to contest the hill.
    At first, the battle was confined to the hill with a small number of cavalry engaged in a desperate struggle for supremacy in full view of Regulus’ advancing Legions and the now stationary Gallic army.  Regulus was in the thick of it when he was struck down by a Gallic arrow.  The archer ran up to the fallen Roman, cut off his head and brought it to the chieftains; but there was no time to celebrate.  Despite the loss of Regulus, his entire 1200-man Roman cavalry force eventually arrived on the hill in a massive cloud of dust and continued the fight.  By sheer numbers, they overpowered the Gauls before they could send for reinforcements and the Romans gained possession of the hill.  The advancing Legions sent up a loud cheer as they saw the Gallic cavalry flee the hill and the Roman horsemen raising their swords in victory.  It was a well timed morale boost for the Legions.
    For the Gauls, the situation grew more desperate by the minute.  They now faced three Legions to their front and five in the rear.  Their cavalry had just been mauled and they worried about their valuable baggage train.
    The Chieftains had no choice but to deploy their infantry facing both front and rear. They knew the situation was perilous, but did not yet think it was desperate.  They decided to keep the tough 30,000 Gaesatae and Insubres at the rear against Papus, and moved the Boii and Taurisci to the front to meet Regulus’ two Legions.   A small Gallic infantry force quickly established a defensive perimeter around the heavy laden wagons and precious loot.  Gallic archers were placed at the front and rear and were the first to draw Roman blood.  Hundreds of arrows flew into the shields; some stuck flesh, many others ricocheted off to the sides.  Shield and helmets resounded with the sound of the arrows; an occasional strike in the face was followed by a scream of pain and another Legionaire stepped forward to fill the gap.
    The Gauls’ redeployment of men to the front and others to the rear was done too quickly and the Gallic army lost its coherence and confidence.  The individual Gallic units were barely repositioned against the advancing wall of shields when the first of thousands of iron-tipped Roman pila smashed into their still milling ranks.
    The Legate had earlier moved Manius from his Maniple in the Principes to one in the Hastati to capitalize on his power of observation and leadership.  The Legate wanted Manius in the thick of it to see what else he would discover about the Gauls’ fighting techniques.  Manius did not like leaving his Maniple after training them for just such a