Battle of Vercellae

The Raudine Plain Battle is another name for the Battle of Vercellae. The Romans and the Germanic-Celtic battled in this conflict. Gaius Marius, the consul, oversaw the Romans, while Boiorix, the Cimbric king, commanded the Germanic-Celtic Cimbri. The Roman Army was supposed to be positioned in the Alps to block the Germans from entering Italy, Gauis Marius had to work with Consul Lutatius Catulus. When Catulus and Marius engaged the Germans in combat, their numbers were still about 55,000 versus a conservatively larger adversary of over 180,000. First, the Cimbric assaulted Northern Italy, where they were beaten by 20,000 soldiers under Consul Lutatius Catulus, the consul. After defeating the Teutons at Aquae Sextiae, Marius led 32,000 men on a march to aid Catulus.

The Romans launched a surprise assault against the Germans by positioning their forces in the mist. The Germans launched a cavalry counterattack to flank the Romans on the left. In response, Gaius Marius attacked the space on the German right where the cavalry and infantry separated, enabling the Romans to cut off the flanking force and strike the German infantry in a weak position. The German women performed better than the Aquae Sexitae ladies by taking up weapons and putting up a valiant battle until many of them were captured and sold into slavery. With a loss of between 65,000 and 160,000 troops and the capture of 60,000, the Cimbri was annihilated. The Romans' triumph in this conflict laid the groundwork for the Roman Republic's eventual transformation into the Roman Empire.

Date: 30 July 101 BC
Location: Vercelli in Cisalpine Gaul, Northern Italy
Combatants: the Roman Republic against Cimbri
Result: Roman victory