The Teutoburg Forest;
In the first decade CE and the previous few decades the Roman Empire had experienced expansion east, past the River Rhine (in modern day Germany). As they looked to consolidate the land from the Rhine to the Elbe river the Romans found stiff opposition from Germanic tribes who would not so easily be brought in line.
In 9 CE Roman General Publius Varus led the 17, 18th, and 19th legions on operations within the region. This force was accompanied by German auxiliaries (troops made up of natives) which was not uncommon. These auxiliaries navigated through the forest leading the way. Their commander was a prince from his tribe, Arminius, who had served under Roman command for some years gaining the trust of those around him.
By the end of the summer as the legions marched back to their winter stations along with large amounts of supplies and their families. During the march through the Teutoburg Forest Arminius and his forces disappeared leaving the Romans to fend for themselves. These troops once “loyal” to the cause began harassing the long and encumbered force and escaping to the deep woods over the next few days with hit and run tactics. When finally deemed weak enough the legions were ambushed and totally overrun. Almost all 15,000 Romans were killed in this deadly attack never to leave the forest.
When returning to the forest some years later, there are Roman accounts of bones and weapons strewn across the floor with skulls nailed to trees. Germanic resistance would take heavy beatings from the Romans and were mostly suppressed this did indicated the potential limit of Roman imperial might. The land east of the Rhine would stay outside the realm of the Empire.
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