The start of the Roman occupation of Germany started in 15 BC.
A gigantic flank attack was planned in which the original
plans of Caesar Augustus intended bringing the land as far as north as the Elbe
river under Roman rule.
In AD 9, a germanic tribe attacked the Roman army. In the
Battle of the Teutoburger Forest the large Roman army suffered a devastating
defeat.
After wards several emperors went through trying to push up
but never really made a great deal of difference.
They then made a wall that is the largest man made structure
after the wall of China.
Even though they were able to make some progress into
Germany they never really conquered them.
The short answer is that it wasn't worth it. People make a
lot out of their defeat at the hands of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of
the Teutoberg Forest, but the effect is exaggerated.
Yes, it was a spectacular
defeat which stunned their ego.
But the Romans throughout their history
demonstrated showed that they would keep on fighting even after major losses.
Germany simply
wasn't worth the effort. The Germanic tribes were even less developed than the
Celtic tribes. Even the Celts had large, organized tribes with kings who often
minted coinage, and urban centers, especially in Gaul.
Germany had none of these. It was largely forest all, meaning there wasn't much
agriculture. There was nothing even resembling towns and cities. Same with
roads. And the tribal structures were much more primitive. Whereas Celtic
tribes had organized into kingdoms, German tribes were still more like clans.
So when one general messed up and got a legion killed, Rome sent more soldiers just to make them selves look good again. Then left the Germain alone.
So when one general messed up and got a legion killed, Rome sent more soldiers just to make them selves look good again. Then left the Germain alone.
Thank you for doing this. It'll be easier for me to read it now that I read this interesting little summary.
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