Early Germanic warfare

Warfare seems to have been a constant in Germanic society, and archaeology indicates this was the case prior to the arrival of the Romans in the 1st century BC.

[2] The early Germanic languages preserve various words for "war", and they did not necessarily clearly differentiate between warfare and other forms of violent interaction.

[8] Archaeological records indicate that the arrival of the Corded Ware culture in Northern Europe was accompanied by large-scale migration and warfare.

[8] The military situation in the Germanic world was radically changed with the emergence of the Iron Age and the late centuries BC.

For close to a thousand years afterward, the Germanic world was characterized by almost continuous warfare and large-scale migration.

Three Roman legions were ambushed and destroyed by an alliance of Germanic tribes headed by Arminius at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE.

That military transition was additionally spurred by the arrival of the Vikings from Scandinavia in the 8th to 10th centuries, giving rise to modern Europe and medieval warfare.

Tacitus and Ammianus Marcellinus (4th century CE) indicate that armies included both young men and older, more experienced warriors.

[29] Germanic infantry fought in tight formations in close combat, in a style that Steuer compares to the Greek phalanx.

When fighting the Roman legions, Germanic warriors seem to have preferred to attack from ambush, which would require organization and training.

[32] The three main types of warfare carried out during the Germanic Iron Age were feuds, raids and total war involving the entire tribe.

Since quarrels between individuals were at the time not regulated by any form of tribal law, feuds became in many cases the only way to obtain remedy for an injury.

[8] Raids were typically carried out by the early Germanic peoples either for the purpose of acquiring booty or for scouting for areas suitable for colonization.

One of the earliest Germanic peoples involved in such warfare were the Bastarnae, who are mentioned in classical sources as battling the Illyrians in Southeast Europe in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

[8] When engaged in total war, Germanic armies often consisted of more than 50 percent noncombatants, as displaced people would travel with large groups of soldiers, the elderly, women and children.

[33] In Getica, the 6th century Gothic historian Jordanes mentions a series of mass-migrations of the Goths from Scandinavia towards the Black Sea, but the accuracy of his writing has been put up to question.

Many of the most famous early Germanic kings, such as Alaric I, Theodoric the Great, Genseric and Alboin, are remembered for leading their people on such migrations.

[8] The earliest of Germanic mass migrations are not recounted in classical literature, and clues about such events can only be derived from archaeological discoveries.

Defeat on the battlefield at the hands of the Romans or other barbarians often meant the end of a ruler and in some cases, being absorbed by "another, victorious confederation.

"[34] It was reported in Roman sources that upon being defeated, Germanic women would kill their own children and commit suicide in order to avoid slavery.

In Germanic warfare, cavalry was generally used for reconnaissance, flanking, the pursuit of fleeing enemies and other special tasks.

[37] Older scholarship often said that the Germani possessed no fortresses of their own, however the existence of fortifications have been shown archaeologically, as well as larger earthworks meant to protect entire stretches of territory.

[39] Larger fortified towns (Latin: oppida), found as far north as modern central Germany, are often identified as "Celtic" by archaeologists, although this cannot be clearly established.

[41] Hilltop fortifications, which Steuer calls "castles", are also attested from the pre-Roman Iron Age (5th/4th–1st century BCE) onward.

[8] For logistical reasons, early Germanic peoples generally carried out war in summer, but as they expanded southwards at the expense of the Romans, they were able to fight in the winter as well.

[47] The Germanic word for breastplate, brunna, is of Celtic origin, indicating that it was borrowed prior to the Roman period.

Depiction of a Gothic warrior battling Roman cavalry , from the 3rd century Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus
Battle between Germanic warriors and the Roman army , on the Portonaccio sarcophagus (190-200)
The 3rd-century Great Ludovisi sarcophagus depicts a battle between Goths and Romans .
A bog body , the Osterby Man , displaying the Suebian knot , a hairstyle which, according to Tacitus, was common among Germanic warriors [ 14 ]
Image of Romans fighting the Marcomanni on the Column of Marcus Aurelius (193 CE)
A book illustration with an armed man on a horse in a town, and below the writing "Alboin in Pavia"
A modern rendering of Alboin and the Lombards entrance into Ticinum . In the late 6th century, the entire Lombard people invaded and settled Italy .
A scene from the Hervarar saga . Örvar-Oddr and Hjalmar bid each other farewell, by Mårten Eskil Winge (1866).
"The Women of the Teutons Defend the Wagon Fort " (1882) by Heinrich Leutemann
Depiction of a Gothic cavalryman with a Phrygian cap battling a number of Roman soldiers, from the 3rd century Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus
Sea-faring Danes depicted invading England. Illuminated illustration from the 12th century Miscellany on the Life of St. Edmund ( Pierpont Morgan Library )
The Spearhead of Kovel, a migration period spearhead with a runic inscription in Gothic