Slaughter at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest

The result was a total catastrophe. "An army unexcelled in bravery, the first of Roman armies in discipline, in energy, and in experience in the field, through the negligence of its general, the perfidy of the enemy, and the unkindness of fortune ...was exterminated almost to a man by the very enemy whom it has always slaughtered like cattle," a Roman military historian wrote 20 years later. The Romans who surrendered were tortured and sacrificed, their skulls nailed to the trees and their bodies stripped and left to rot on the battlefield.

A few survivors managed to carry word of the defeat south to Rome, where the reaction was shock and disbelief. Augustus reportedly cried, "Varus, give me back my legions!" when he heard the news. The defeat wiped out 10 percent of the Roman army – a stunning blow to the most powerful empire in the world at the time. Known as the "Slaughter of Varus" in German, the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest marked the end of Rome's ambitions in Germany. Arminius is remembered today as the first German national hero and Varus as the man who led Rome's armyto its worst defeat ever.

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