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Chapters (49)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. About the Book
  4. About the Author
  5. Also By
  6. Praise
  7. Dedication
  8. The Roman Army Chain of Command
  9. A Brief Introduction to the Roman Army
  10. Map – Britannia 51AD
  11. CHAPTER ONE
  12. CHAPTER TWO
  13. CHAPTER THREE
  14. CHAPTER FOUR
  15. CHAPTER FIVE
  16. CHAPTER SIX
  17. CHAPTER SEVEN
  18. CHAPTER EIGHT
  19. CHAPTER NINE
  20. CHAPTER TEN
  21. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  22. CHAPTER TWELVE
  23. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  24. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  25. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  26. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  27. THE FORT AT BRUCCIUM
  28. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  29. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  30. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  37. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  38. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  39. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  40. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  47. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  48. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. Author’s Note

The mounts rumbled into a gentle trot along the ledge and then followed the line of the slope. As they made their way towards the pass, Cato was relieved to see that the column had halted. Now he could make out a century of legionaries at the front; the rest of the soldiers carried the oval shields of auxiliaries. There was no sign of any deployment. He silently cursed their commander for not being more cautious and urged Hannibal on. A few hundred paces ahead and further down the slope he could see the first of Caratacus’s men gathering themselves for the assault. They, too, had been alerted by the trumpet signals and Cato could see the pale dots of faces looking up the slope. His mind was working through the disposition of the enemy forces and the ground over which the coming battle would be fought. It was already clear that there would be little chance of breaking through to the fort. All that was left was the possibility of a fighting retreat towards Gobannium. If they reached the outpost and Caratacus chose to lay siege to that as well then his force would be stretched to cover both Roman fortifications. To that extent Macro and the rest of the garrison would have a better chance of survival, Cato reflected.

His thoughts were interrupted by the blare of Celtic horns from the group of riders clustered around Caratacus. The note was quickly taken up by the other war bands and then the sound of their wild cheers crashed up the slope towards Cato and his men like the roar of a wave. Warriors erupted from the ground and surged towards the front and flanks of the Roman column. Cato felt his guts tighten with a terrible anxiety as he saw that none of the men was moving.

‘What the fuck are they waiting for?’ Stellanus demanded.

Then, as if in answer to his words, the soldiers in the column began to form up around the baggage train and the escort’s cavalry squadron trotted out to one side to form a line. The men were well drilled, Cato knew, but it was clear that there was little chance of them completing their manoeuvre before the warriors charged in amongst them.

‘Shit,’ he muttered to himself, then turned in his saddle to issue an order. His hand had been forced. There was only one thing to do now. ‘Halt! Deploy in line and make ready to charge!’

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

‘Charge?’ Centurion Stellanus repeated, wheeling his horse round to face his superior. ‘Sir, we cannot charge down the slope. It’s too steep. Half our men would fall before we reached the pass.’