A disaster that came near being fatal.

[**The following takes place during the Pannonian War of 7-9 AD.**] >At the Volcae Marshes, west of Mitrovica in the Sava Valley, the rebels surrounded and attacked the camp of the five legions. When the Roman commanders led the legions, auxiliaries and cavalry out to fight, the rebels closed with the Thracian cavalry. ‘The king’s horsemen were routed,’ said Velleius, and ‘the cavalry of the allies put to flight.’ Auxiliary cohorts turned and ran, ‘and the panic extended even to the standards of the legions’. It was ‘a disaster that came near being fatal’. >Tribunes and first-rank centurions were killed by rebels swarming around the prized legionary eagles. Legion camp-prefects and prefects of auxiliary cohorts were cut off and surrounded. ‘In this crisis the valour of the Roman soldier claimed for itself a greater share of the glory than it left to the generals.’ With their men ‘shouting encouragement to each other’, the legions mounted a charge and ‘fell upon the enemy’. The legion charge broke through the rebel line ‘and wrested a victory from a desperate situation’. ________________________ **Source:** Dando-Collins, Stephen. “Part III: The Battles – The Pannonian War.” *Legions of Rome: The Definitive History of Every Imperial Roman Legion*. Thomas Dunne Books, 2012. 231. Print. **Original Source Listed:** Velle., *HR*, II, CXII, 5-6. ________________________ **Further Reading:** [Marcus Velleius Paterculus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Velleius_Paterculus)