Teutoburg Forest: How Rome Lost Three Legions (AD 9)

In the autumn of AD 9, the emperor Augustus couldn't sleep. For months he refused to cut his hair or shave, and sometimes, his servants said, he would beat his head against a door and cry out: "Varus, give me back my legions!" Three entire Roman legions had vanished in the forests of Germany. ▶ The 60-second version:    • "Varus, Give Me Back My Legions!"   ▶ Watch next: Cannae: Hannibal's Perfect Trap (216 BC)    • Cannae: Hannibal's Perfect Trap (216 BC)   ▶ Playlist:    • Great Battles of History   This animated documentary tells the full story: Rome's push beyond the Rhine, the prince Arminius (a Roman citizen and officer), the governor Varus, the warning at the banquet, the detour, the rain and the forest, the burning wagons, the turf wall at Kalkriese, the fall of the three eagles, Augustus's despair, Germanicus and the field of bones, the eagles' return, the British army officer whose metal detector found the battlefield, and how Arminius became "Hermann". Chapters 0:00 Cold open 0:31 1. Beyond the Rhine 1:21 2. The Prince 1:54 3. The Governor 2:37 4. A Warning Ignored 3:21 5. The Detour 4:11 6. Into the Forest 4:58 7. Burning the Wagons 5:38 8. The Wall 6:17 9. The Eagles Fall 7:00 10. Give Me Back My Legions 7:41 11. The Field of Bones 8:25 12. The Eagles Come Home 9:16 13. The Metal Detector 10:15 14. The Border That Stayed 11:08 Outro A note on the history: the size of Varus's army, the day-by-day details of the march (from Cassius Dio) and exactly where the fighting happened are debated. Most historians accept Kalkriese as at least part of the battlefield; a few argue it was a later battle. Augustus's famous cry comes from Suetonius, writing about a century later. The Kalkriese diagram is a simplified sketch of the excavated site. Sources include Velleius Paterculus, Cassius Dio (book 56), Tacitus (Annals 1–2), Suetonius and Strabo; Peter S. Wells, Adrian Murdoch, Tony Clunn and Adrian Goldsworthy; and the Museum und Park Kalkriese. Map outlines from Natural Earth. Which battle should we cover next? Tell us in the comments. Subscribe to Drawn Through Time for animated history: @DrawnThroughTimes #TeutoburgForest #RomanEmpire #AncientHistory