Maps of the area and battle.

The Battle of the 30th Milestone,

from the book 'Eagle in the Snow',

by Geoff Fabron

Introduction
    Many historical commentators point to the rerunning of Gaul by various barbarian tribes in 407 as the final straw that pushed the Western Roman Empire to collapse.  The Rhine frontier had been denuded of its best troops by Stilicho to fight Alaric and his Visigoths in 401-2, and Radagasius and the Vandals, Quadi and Marcomanni in 405-6.  Alaric had withdrawn back into the Balkan provinces of Noricum and Pannonia, whilst the survivors of Radagasius abortive invasion (he was captured and executed at Rome in 405) retreated back into Germany, crowding the territory of the Alemanni, Burgundians and Franks along the Rhine Frontier in the vicinity of Moguntiam (Mainz).  The formidable natural barrier of the Rhine backed by the few remaining forces left behind by Stilicho were enough to hold the barbarians in check until the severe winter of 406-7 when the Rhine froze and on the last day of the year 406, the barbarian tribes crossed the Rhine into Gaul. Moguntatium, Augusta Trevorium (Trier), Barbetomagus (Worms), Remi (Rheims) and many other cities were sacked and burnt.  Whole regions of Gaul were devastated as the tribes plundered their way across Gaul and eventually into Spain.  The Vandals making it across to Africa in 429 to remove yet another rich province from the control of the Western Empire.
    The loss of Gaul led to the execution of Stilicho and the subsequent mutiny of some 30.000 Germanic troops of the western field army that were loyal to the general.  This gave Alaric and his Visigoths a free rein in Italy leading to the capture and sack of Rome in 410.
    In addition to devastating the rich provinces of Gaul, it also cut communications with Britain and Spain and encouraged the rebellion of the Army in Britain who raised their commander to the purple as Constantius III. An additional set of problems that the Western Empire under Honorius certainly did not need.
    Many reasons have been put forward for the fall of Rome in the West, and there is no clear concensus in the academic world, whether the primary cause of the fall was military, economic, moral, religious or social.  However, there can be no serious disagreement that the barbarian invasions that started on the last day of 406 and cut a swath though the heart of the Western Empire, feature centre stage in the events that made up the fall of Rome in the early 5th Century AD.
    Many readers of this publication (Miniature Wargames. Gazkhan), especially those with an interest in the Roman period, will have read Wallace Breem's book 'Eagle in the Snow'.  Despite a number of inaccuracies in his description of a Roman Legion of the late period the book is full of action and provides an excellent background for a wargamer upon which to base a campaign or a series of linked battles.
Eagle in the Snow
    Eagle in the Snow is the story of Paulinus Maximus an old fashioned Roman soldier living during the period of the barbarian invasions of the Western Empire 367-407 AD.  His early command of a cohort of auxiliaries on Hadrian's Wall during the Barbarian Conspiracy invasion of 367 AD and his reorganisation of the XXth Legion (Valeria Victrix) into a combined arms force of heavy infantry, missile troops and heavy cavalry is covered in the first few chapters.  The XXth's role as part of Stilicho's army fighting Alaric's Goths is glossed over to get to the main part of the story, the attempt to hold the Rhine frontier (see Figure I) against the migrations of the Vandals, Quadi, Alani. Marcomanni. Burgundians and the Alamani.
    For two-three years Maximus holds the Rhine, recruiting and training auxiliaries. building fortifications and fighting both the tribes and the Imperial bureaucracy. Then on the last day of 406 AD the Rhine freezes.
    The last chapters of the book deal with the dramatic fight to hold back the hordes of barbarians, the treachery of an ally, the fighting retreat towards the major city of Augusta Treverorum and the final battle at the 30th milestone.
The 30th Milestone
    At the 3Oth Milestone, Maximus had previously arranged for a camp to be constructed as well as a palisade across the valley.  Finding that his troops are too exhausted to cover the 30 miles to Augusta Treverorum with the barbarians so close, he resolves to take the field against them the next day in a desperate gamble to beat them in open battle.
    At dawn. the legion. auxiliaries and Frankish allies form up for battle in front of the palisade, The numbers given in brackets are my estimate of the number of men according to the information in the book. The heavy and light cohorts of the legion (3,000) deployed in the centre with archers (2x500) on each flank angled forward.  Behind the legion Maximus deployed the auxiliary infantry (2,000) and cavalry (500), with the Franks (2,000) behind the flank of the archers on his left.  On the right flank, forward of the archers were the seamen (500) of the Rhine fleet together with auxiliaries from the signal posts (500) and some legionaries (250) to support them.  The regular legionary cavalry (2,000), Maximus deployed equally on the two wings of the army and a force of auxiliaries (500) from Augusta Treverorum were concealed in a copse to the front of the seamen and cavalry on the right flank (see Figure 2).
    The battle opened with the barbarians advancing in columns on the Roman line, the Marcomanni on the right, the Ouadi and Alans on the left and the Vandal tribes in the centre.  The barbarian horse rode ahead of the infantry and moved to the flanks when they saw the Roman cavalry.
    The Marcomanni tried to outflank the archers and were engaged by the Franks whilst on the right the Quadi were checked by the Roman cavalry with support from some auxiliaries. The mass of barbarian infantry that made up the Vandal host slammed into the main Roman line and engaged in a fierce struggle with the XXth Legion.
    For half an hour the struggle in the centre continued and when the Legionary Cavalry charged the Vandals in both flanks.  Just as the barbarians began to waver, the Marcomanni. reinforced from their camp, broke through the Franks and began to assault the Roman Cavalry and Infantry in the flank. Maximus took his bodyguard and charged into the Marcomanni, forcing them back and stabilising the line. At this point both forces separated and there was a lull in the battle.
    The second phase of the battle began when Maximus advanced forward to engage the barbarians, and the Roman cavalry drove off the barbarian horse on both flanks. The auxiliaries hidden in the copse joined in the attack and the entire barbarian force was on the verge of breaking when the cavalry on the left was checked and held when their commander, Quintus was wounded.  Panic began to spread throughout the Roman lines and they began to retreat. To prevent the retreat turning into a rout Maximus again charged with his bodyguard into the Vandals, allowing his forces to complete an orderly withdrawal to their camp. The barbarians, also exhausted returned to their camp, but Maximus's gamble had failed.
    For the next two days, Maximus and his men reinforced by some 2,000 freed slaves, gladiators and civilian volunteers from Augusta Treverorum held the palisade across the valley.  Then on 16th January 407AD, the barbarian horde overran the last barrier between them and the helpless province of Gaul.
Eagle in the Snow Wargame
    Over the past I 5 years since I first read the book, I have set up a number of scenarios and campaigns based on the attempt by Maximus to hold the Rhine and with the publication of WRG's DBM rules, I have dusted off my notes and updated the OB's to reflect the DBM classifications.
    For this article I will set out the scenario for the final battle between the XXth Legion with its attendant auxiliaries and allies and the hordes of barbarian warriors eager to destroy this last obstacle between themselves and the riches of Roman Gaul.  If there is enough interest from readers I will publish the full campaign rules which I have used in the past and covers the story from the initial assault across the frozen Rhine to the 3Oth milestone.  I have calculated the size of the Roman and allied forces at the 3Oth Milestone from the information given in the book and then estimated the size of the Barbarian tribes to fit.  The approximate numbers of barbarians are mentioned in a number of places throughout the book, but no specific figures are given for the battle at the 30th Milestone, except that they outnumbered the forces of Maximus by a considerable margin.
    The battle will last for a maximum of 30 bounds.  If there is no clear victory after that it will be declared a draw, unless the scenario is extended (see below).
Roman Forces
    The Roman forces consist of the XXth Legion, their auxiliaries and Frankish allies less the casualties they have suffered during the fighting to hold the Rhine and their retreat to the camp at the 3Oth Milestone. The estimate I have made from the book looks like this:
XXth Legion  
1 Knight     (I)       Maximus' Bodyguard
6 Blades     (O)      Legion Heavy Infantry
6 Aux         (S)       Legion Light Infantry
8 Cav         (O)      Legion Cavalry
Auxillaries  
8 Aux     (O)        Infantry
4 Bow    (O)        Archers
2 Cav     (O)        Cavalry
2 Aux     (I)          Signal Post Garrisons
2 Psilio   (S)         Seaman/Marines
Franks
8 Warband     (S)        Fredegar's men
Commands
3 Regular     Maximus (C-in-C), Quintus, Fabinius
1 Irregular    Fredegar
    The Roman forces come to a total of 336 points according to the DBM scoring system.  I have not included any costs for the field fortifications (a palisade and ditch across the valley) or for the Roman camp and baggage, since these did not feature during the open battle that made up the first day of the 'XXth's last stand'.
Barbarian Forces
    The Barbarian tribes at the 30th Milestone were from the Vandals, Alani, Marcomanni, and the Ouadi.  No numbers are indicated except that they were in overwhelming numbers and had some cavalry and a few archers (skirmishers) with them. Since they were migrating as opposed to raiding, the baggage component would be large as would the number of 'non­combatants' who would be accompanying the army.
Vandals 
12   Warband     (S) - Fanatic warriors
26   Warband     (O) - Normal Warriors
6     Light Horse  (O) - Cavalry
6     Psilos           (O) - Skirmishers
2 Irregular Commands
Alani
20    Warband     (O) - Normal Warriors
10    Light Horse (O) - Cavalry
5      Psilos           (O) - Skirmishers
1 Irregular Command
Marcomanni
4     Warband       (S) - Fanatic Warriors
20   Warband       (O) - Normal Warriors
4      Light Horse   (O) - Cavalry
5      Psilos            (O) - Skirmishers
1 Irregular Command
Quadi
20    Warband       (O) - Normal Warriors
4       Light Horse   (O) - Cavalry
5       Psilos            (O) - Skirmishers
1 Irregular Command
    The above barbarian forces come to a total of 550 points under DBM classification.
Non Combatants etc
12 Baggage elements and 20 Hordes (I)
    The baggage and the hordes, represent the families and sick of the migrating tribes and are treated as a single mass rather than split between tribes.
Extending the Scenario
    If there is no result after 30 bounds of 'open' battle, then by mutual agreement the players may extend the scenario to include the battle behind the palisade.
    The battle will restart with the Roman player having a 20 element wide temporary fortification across his front, with a fortified camp to the rear, and will have received 3 Spear (I) and 1 Blade (0) as reinforcements from AugustaTreverorum.  The barbarian tribes receive as reinforcements all the Warbands and Psillo elements lost so far.
    The game will then continue until the barbarian is able to exit all the baggage and horde elements off the Roman edge of the table.
    After every 30 bounds, if the barbarian player has not met his objectives, all barbarian elements are returned to their starting position and the Roman player may reorganise his defences, including the repair of any palisades damaged or destroyed. The barbarian player also receives all the Warband and Psillo elements lost in combat, but there are no additional Roman reinforcements.
    If the Roman player can survive for longer than two days (i.e. 60 bounds) then he is considered to have won an 'historical victory'!  
Using WRG 7th Edition
    Many readers will wish to use a different set of rules for this scenario and for the WRG 7th Edition the following unit definitions should be used.
Legion
Heavy Cohorts        MI, Reg B, HTW, ILS, Sh
Light Cohorts          LMI, Reg B, JLS, Sh
Cavalry                   HC, Reg B, JLS, Sh
Bodyguard              HC, Reg A, L, Sh
Auxiliaries
Infantry                    LMI, Reg C, JLS. Sh
Archers                   LMI. Reg C, B, Sh
Cavalry                   HC, Reg C. JLS, Sh
Seaman                   LI, Reg C, ILS, Sh
Signal Post              LMI, Reg D, JLS. Sh
Others
Franks                    MI, Irreg C, HTW. Sh
Gladiators               HI, Irreg C, HTW. Sh
Freed slaves            LMI, Irreg D, LTS, Sh
Barbarians
Warriors                  MI. Irreg C, JLS, SH(a portion should be Irreg B)
Cavalry                    a mixture of LC and MC. Irreg C. ILS, Sh
Skirmishers              a mixture of LI, Irreg C. JLS, Sh and LI. Irreg D, BFigures
    The range of figures and scales of this period is extensive and I will not attempt a listing here for fear of omitting somebody! I tend to use 6mm when playing a game of this size, using a mixture of Heroics and Ross, and Irregular Miniature.  This gives the visual effect of hordes of barbarians bearing down on the 'the Imperial Roman line' that I have had in mind ever since I first read the 'Eagle in the Snow'.
Bibliography
Breem, Wallace.     Eagle in the Snow, 1971Sphere paperback.  
Gibbon, Edward.    The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Penguin Classics.
Ferrill, Arthur.         The Fall of the Roman Empirethe military explanation. 1988. Thames and Hudson.
Editor's Notes
    There are several other possibilities from this excellent book.  Before the Rhine freezes over the Romans mounted a raid on the vast Barbarian camp. By building a temporary bridge further upstream they crossed with a mixed force of Legionaires, Auxilaries and Cavalry and assaulted one side of the camp.  Although they delivered a bloody nose they had to withdraw back across the bridge and burn it before being overwhelmed by numbers.  Then there is the actual crossing on the frozen river and the withdrawal to the 3Oth Milestone. In fact the scenario makes for an interesting campaign mixing the players available to accentuate the differences between characters.