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"Hermannsdenkmal", aka. Hermann Monument (aka. Arminius the Cheruski)
Born in 17 B.C. to a royal family of the Cheruscan tribe, Hermann was an "heir apparent to leadership."
While Roman forces were dominating all known governments and sweeping through the European continent, a young Hermann traveled to Rome from his homeland to learn the Roman language and the society's battle tactics. There _ known as Arminius _ he gained Roman citizenship and, in 6 B.C., before returning to his homeland, served as a unit commander for the Romans in what came to be known as the Pannonian War.
Following the war, Hermann was named a leader of the auxiliary group of Cheruscans fighting for the Romans. As years passed, however, Germanic tribes grew weary of the Romans' northward expansion. Witnessing this, Hermann began to formulate his plan for revolt in 9 A.D. by uniting neighboring tribes against their oppressors from the south. Using the information he had attained as a youth in Rome, he aligned his forces for what turned out to be widely regarded as one of the most influential battles in world history.
"Perhaps Hermann gained his notoriety because the battle he carried out against those Roman forces is one of the most defining battles of all time," Koelpin said. "It virtually affected the entire development of Europe."There are no firsthand accounts of the battle on record, but it is widely believed Hermann and his forces engaged the ruling Roman Governor Quintilius Varus and three Roman legions in what is now central Germany's Teutoberg Forest in 9 A.D.
As the Roman leader and his legions of soldiers moved from their summer encampments in the north to winter forts on the banks of the Rhine River, they were forced to traverse a narrow road through the immense forest approximately 20 kilometers northeast from the present city of Osnabruck. It is believed Hermann and his rebelling tribes ambushed the Romans at several points along this route.
"But it's important to remember that this was not a mutiny," Koelpin said. "It was really a planned attack. Planned, intended, and well thought out. The goal of the battle was really to defeat the invader before they could expand further north."Trained for the open battlefield, where their strength depended on heavily fortified lines of defenses, the Roman occupiers were not prepared to fight in the area's dense woods and expansive swamps. Implementing the same tactics Native Americans used against arriving British forces in the 18th century, Hermann and his men employed a strategy now known as "guerrilla warfare" against Varus' troops. Thought to have lasted three or four days, the battle was believed to have been a slaughter. Three of Varus' six legions _ between 15,000 and 20,000 soldiers _ were virtually slaughtered on the battlefield. And, acknowledging his loss, Varus committed suicide among the corpses of his men. Although this decisive battle slowed the Romans' northward expansion, it did not stop it. Six years following Hermann's first victory, the Roman field marshall Germanicus arrived with more troops to reestablish their rule in the region. Hermann, however, continued his armed defiance.
A few years after Germanicus arrived, and having enjoyed only moderate successes against the tribes, the leader sent to end the defiance was recalled to Rome about 17 A.D."At this point the Romans underwent a shift in policy and gave up extending their northern and eastern borders," Koelpin said. "The result of that decision ended up shaping the entire continent's heritage."
Later, about 20 or 21 A.D., the Germanic tribes who had once fought alongside Hermann realized his original intentions in wanting to be their sole leader. Despising him for his selfrighteousness, they murdered him at the age of 38.
In the 18th and19th centuries A.D., as Germany began to unify and take on its modern independent form, the figure of Hermann became a symbol of unity and independence. As a reminder of Hermann's defeat over the Romans, a monument to him was designed and raised by Ernst von Bandel in Detmold, Germany, in 1875. Von Bandel spent most of his adult life designing, raising funds for the monument, and overseeing its construction. Twenty-two years later, the Hermann Monument in New Ulm was completed.
Sketches:
http://www.erziehung.uni-giessen.de/studis/Robert/hermann.gif
http://www.varusschlacht.de/Seite2.htm
More Views:
http://www.eutels.de/hermannsdenkmal.html
http://www.newulmtel.net/history/stories/herman.html
Born in 17 B.C. to a royal family of the Cheruscan tribe, Hermann was an "heir apparent to leadership."
While Roman forces were dominating all known governments and sweeping through the European continent, a young Hermann traveled to Rome from his homeland to learn the Roman language and the society's battle tactics. There _ known as Arminius _ he gained Roman citizenship and, in 6 B.C., before returning to his homeland, served as a unit commander for the Romans in what came to be known as the Pannonian War.
Following the war, Hermann was named a leader of the auxiliary group of Cheruscans fighting for the Romans. As years passed, however, Germanic tribes grew weary of the Romans' northward expansion. Witnessing this, Hermann began to formulate his plan for revolt in 9 A.D. by uniting neighboring tribes against their oppressors from the south. Using the information he had attained as a youth in Rome, he aligned his forces for what turned out to be widely regarded as one of the most influential battles in world history.
"Perhaps Hermann gained his notoriety because the battle he carried out against those Roman forces is one of the most defining battles of all time," Koelpin said. "It virtually affected the entire development of Europe."There are no firsthand accounts of the battle on record, but it is widely believed Hermann and his forces engaged the ruling Roman Governor Quintilius Varus and three Roman legions in what is now central Germany's Teutoberg Forest in 9 A.D.
As the Roman leader and his legions of soldiers moved from their summer encampments in the north to winter forts on the banks of the Rhine River, they were forced to traverse a narrow road through the immense forest approximately 20 kilometers northeast from the present city of Osnabruck. It is believed Hermann and his rebelling tribes ambushed the Romans at several points along this route.
"But it's important to remember that this was not a mutiny," Koelpin said. "It was really a planned attack. Planned, intended, and well thought out. The goal of the battle was really to defeat the invader before they could expand further north."Trained for the open battlefield, where their strength depended on heavily fortified lines of defenses, the Roman occupiers were not prepared to fight in the area's dense woods and expansive swamps. Implementing the same tactics Native Americans used against arriving British forces in the 18th century, Hermann and his men employed a strategy now known as "guerrilla warfare" against Varus' troops. Thought to have lasted three or four days, the battle was believed to have been a slaughter. Three of Varus' six legions _ between 15,000 and 20,000 soldiers _ were virtually slaughtered on the battlefield. And, acknowledging his loss, Varus committed suicide among the corpses of his men. Although this decisive battle slowed the Romans' northward expansion, it did not stop it. Six years following Hermann's first victory, the Roman field marshall Germanicus arrived with more troops to reestablish their rule in the region. Hermann, however, continued his armed defiance.
A few years after Germanicus arrived, and having enjoyed only moderate successes against the tribes, the leader sent to end the defiance was recalled to Rome about 17 A.D."At this point the Romans underwent a shift in policy and gave up extending their northern and eastern borders," Koelpin said. "The result of that decision ended up shaping the entire continent's heritage."
Later, about 20 or 21 A.D., the Germanic tribes who had once fought alongside Hermann realized his original intentions in wanting to be their sole leader. Despising him for his selfrighteousness, they murdered him at the age of 38.
In the 18th and19th centuries A.D., as Germany began to unify and take on its modern independent form, the figure of Hermann became a symbol of unity and independence. As a reminder of Hermann's defeat over the Romans, a monument to him was designed and raised by Ernst von Bandel in Detmold, Germany, in 1875. Von Bandel spent most of his adult life designing, raising funds for the monument, and overseeing its construction. Twenty-two years later, the Hermann Monument in New Ulm was completed.
Sketches:
http://www.erziehung.uni-giessen.de/studis/Robert/hermann.gif
http://www.varusschlacht.de/Seite2.htm
More Views:
http://www.eutels.de/hermannsdenkmal.html
http://www.newulmtel.net/history/stories/herman.html
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