The wars fought by the talented Germanicus…

The wars fought by the talented Germanicus Caesar on behalf of his uncle Tiberius, emperor of Rome, against the perpetrators of the massacre of three Roman legions in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, in the year 9, had began in the last years of the reign of Augustus, first emperor of Rome, who in the year 14 had died an old but respected man and was celebrated with much pomp and splendor.

Augustus had left a document to be read to the senate posthumously, expressly forbidding extension of the empire beyond the Rhine.

The Germanic tribes had welcomed news of the will, thinking it gave them a free hand in the region.

Germanicus had found it necessary to pacify the border, which he has done by a combination of scorched earth raids and offers of alliance with Rome.

These raids have also kept the army of the lower Rhine distracted from the possibility of mutiny, which had broken out on Augustus's death and only been quelled by concessions and executions.

Germanicus despite doubts on Tiberius's part in 16 manages to raise another huge army and invades Germany again.

He forces a crossing of the Weser River near modern Minden, suffering heavy losses, then …