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their camp, which was taken by
Antonius' forces. Antonius then attacked Cremona, which surrendered. Cremona was sacked and then burned by the victorious troops over four days; many residents were raped, murdered and robbed. Antonius was embarrassed by the episode and forbade the keeping of Cremonans as slaves, resulting in many being murdered by their captors to evade punishment.
25:
663:
When news of the defeat was brought to
Brixellum, many of Otho's troops urged him to fight on, pointing out that more troops were on the way, but Otho chose suicide rather than cause more deaths. He had been emperor for fewer than three months; Vitellius continued his march on Rome, where he made a
624:
Titanius had now joined the
Othonian armies and took command. It was decided to march on Cremona to give battle, against the advice of Paulinus and other generals, who wished to wait until other legions had arrived. Otho remained at Brixellum to await the outcome. On 14 April the two armies met on
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had served in Syria for many years and while there had adopted a local custom. As the sun rose, they saluted it with cheers; this was misinterpreted by the
Vitellian forces, who thought that they were greeting reinforcements from the east and lost heart. The Vitellian forces were driven back into
981:
Caecina's army, now without their general, advanced on
Cremona. Antonius was now at Bedriacum, and advanced towards Cremona with a force of cavalry. They encountered the vanguard of the Vitellian army between Bedriacum and Cremona on 24 October and a battle followed, with Antonius sending back to
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had been on their way to support Otho when they heard of his defeat at the first battle of
Bedriacum. They had been made to swear allegiance to Vitellius, but when they heard of Vespasian's bid for power they switched their support to him. They persuaded the other two legions,
996:, Antonius' legion, suffered heavy casualties and lost its eagle for a while, though one of its centurions later sacrificed his own life to win it back. Eventually Antonius' forces began to gain the upper hand, and the turning point came when dawn broke. Antonius' III
617:. The Othonians were warned and their army marched for Locus Castorum, led by Suetonius Paulinus. The Othonians had the better of the fighting and Caecina's troops retreated to Cremona. Here they were joined by Valens' army, which had followed a longer route through
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did all the more readily as they were one of the legions which had been defeated at First
Bedriacum, and had been made to build amphitheatres for Valens and Caecina as punishment. Led by the commanding officer of the VII
647:
acquitted itself well, capturing the eagle of the 21st, though its commanding officer was killed as the 21st strove to recover it. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Otho's 13th Legion was defeated by
Vitellius'
660:, about 40,000 men were killed in the fighting. The Othonian troops fled back to their camp in Bedriacum and the next day surrendered to the Vitellian forces and took the oath of allegiance to Vitellius.
263:
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Antonius continued to Rome, where
Vitellius was taken prisoner and shortly afterwards killed. The way was thus cleared for Vespasian to ascend the throne near the end of this bloody year of crisis.
978:
at
Ravenna, to switch their support to Vespasian. His troops refused to follow his lead however and put him in chains. Valens, who had been delayed by illness, had by now set out from Rome.
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Antonius' forces advanced along the Via Postumia towards Cremona. They were opposed by a powerful Vitellian army, who had been reinforced by other legions including
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the Via Postumia, nearer Cremona than Bedriacum, with the Othonian troops already tired after a long march. Some of the heaviest fighting was where Otho's I
330:
in northern Italy. The fighting in fact took place between Bedriacum and Cremona, and the battles are sometimes called "First Cremona" and "Second Cremona".
992:, but were still without a commander as Valens had not yet arrived. By now night had fallen and the battle continued through the hours of darkness. The VII
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525:, had also claimed the throne earlier in the month and marched on Rome with his troops. Vitellius' forces were divided into two armies, one commanded by
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Bedriacum for the legions. Antonius' troops had the better of the fighting, and the Vitellian troops retreated to their camp outside Cremona.
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Otho left Rome on March 14 and marched north to meet the challenge, leaving his brother Titianus in charge of Rome. He made his base at
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but though urged to attack them before the remainder of the army arrived, Caecina declined to do so. Caecina had been plotting with
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together with detachments from seven other legions and a force of auxiliaries. The first of Antonius' legions had arrived at
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eight years before but Otho decided to call his brother Titianus from Rome to act as his commander in chief.
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and a strong force drawn from the Judaean and Syrian legions marched on Rome under the command of Mucianus.
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but were repulsed by the Othonian garrison and fell back on Cremona to await the arrival of Valens' army.
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When Vitellius heard of Antonius' approach, he dispatched Caecina with a powerful army composed of XXI
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Before Titianus arrived, one engagement had already been fought. Caecina tried to set an ambush at
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eventually gave way when a force of Batavian auxiliaries took them in the flank. According to
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How 40,000 could have been killed in a battle of 4 legions with a total number of 20,000?
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Before the eastern legions could reach Rome, the Danubian legions of the provinces of
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1116:. (2nd Revised Edition 1986), R. Ernest Dupuy and Trevor N. Dupuy. pp. 127–128
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from all the other legions stationed on the Rhine, together with a strong force of
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also acclaimed Vespasian as emperor in August. Three of these legions,
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364:, four influential generals successively vied for the imperial throne.
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as emperor. Vespasian had been given a special command in Judaea by
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The Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 B.C. to the Present
1097:"The Second Battle of Cremona: The Histories by Cornelius Tacitus"
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triumphal entry and was recognized as emperor by the Senate.
326:), about 35 kilometers (22 mi) from the town of
517:murdered in January and claimed the throne. Legate
874:. He gained the support of the governor of Syria,
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340:
598:. His general staff included generals such as
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8:
854:The legions in the Middle East provinces of
629:legion, recently raised from the marines of
602:, who, as governor of Britain, had defeated
360:The Roman Empire, AD 69. After the death of
322:(AD 69) near the village of Bedriacum (now
53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
674:
337:
264:
250:
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230:Learn how and when to remove this message
212:Learn how and when to remove this message
110:Learn how and when to remove this message
870:in 67 with the task of putting down the
533:. The Vitellian forces included legions
318:refers to two battles fought during the
73:This article includes a list of general
1013:
836:
594:, the Praetorian Guard, and a force of
562:to reach northern Italy. They attacked
148:Please improve this article by adding
16:Part of the Year of the Four Emperors
7:
1176:Battles involving the Roman Empire
639:, clashed with Vitellius' veteran
79:it lacks sufficient corresponding
14:
1071:Tacitus, Publius (25 June 2009).
1046:Tacitus, Publius (25 June 2009).
1021:Tacitus, Publius (25 June 2009).
34:This article has multiple issues.
354:
126:
64:
23:
42:or discuss these issues on the
1130:(Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1975)
1123:(Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1975)
573:. His forces included legions
521:, governor of the province of
1:
1121:The Year of the Four Emperors
1075:. Penguin. pp. 133–134.
922:to join them, which the XIII
150:secondary or tertiary sources
1181:Military history of Lombardy
843:An unknown number of cavalry
1219:
678:Second Battle of Bedriacum
671:Second Battle of Bedriacum
587:, a forward detachment of
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341:First Battle of Bedriacum
334:First Battle of Bedriacum
320:Year of the Four Emperors
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275:Year of the Four Emperors
600:Gaius Suetonius Paulinus
443:Gaius Suetonius Paulinus
1050:. Penguin. p. 75.
1025:. Penguin. p. 74.
876:Gaius Licinius Mucianus
94:more precise citations.
966:Sextus Lucilius Bassus
933:Marcus Antonius Primus
872:First Jewish–Roman War
757:Marcus Antonius Primus
747:Commanders and leaders
560:Great St. Bernard Pass
513:, had his predecessor
425:Commanders and leaders
137:relies excessively on
811:Legio XXII Primigenia
766:Aulus Caecina Alienus
719:Victory for Vespasian
527:Aulus Caecina Alienus
491:Casualties and losses
456:Aulus Caecina Alienus
397:Victory for Vitellius
298:1st and 2nd Bedriacum
161:"Battle of Bedriacum"
303:Revolt of the Batavi
1196:1st-century battles
1148: /
968:, commander of the
815:Legio IV Macedonica
507:Marcus Salvius Otho
316:Battle of Bedriacum
1128:The Twelve Caesars
1119:P.A.L. Greenhalgh
829:25,600 Legionaries
826:25,600 Legionaries
790:Legio VII Galbiana
782:Legio VIII Augusta
1082:978-0-140-44964-8
1057:978-0-140-44964-8
1032:978-0-140-44964-8
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794:Legio XIII Gemina
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683:Part of the
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36:Please help
33:
1155: /
976:Roman fleet
658:Dio Cassius
556:auxiliaries
509:, with the
431:Marcus Otho
376:14 April 69
288:Forum Julii
202:August 2024
92:introducing
1170:Categories
1008:References
989:Macedonica
987:Legion IV
957:Primigenia
596:gladiators
172:newspapers
139:references
100:April 2017
75:references
39:improve it
918:and XIII
864:Vespasian
762:Vitellius
741:Vitellius
735:Vespasian
709:Bedriacum
571:Brixellum
564:Placentia
419:Vitellius
387:Bedriacum
324:Calvatone
45:talk page
994:Galbiana
929:Galbiana
915:Galbiana
821:Strength
753:Mucianus
703:Location
654:Adiutrix
652:and the
645:Adiutrix
627:Adiutrix
577:Adiutrix
553:Batavian
447:Titianus
381:Location
1143:10°08′E
1140:45°05′N
998:Gallica
950:Italica
944:Alaudae
907:Claudia
900:Augusta
893:Gallica
650:Alaudae
637:Ravenna
604:Boudica
544:Alaudae
437:†
328:Cremona
186:scholar
88:improve
1079:
1054:
1029:
974:, the
962:Verona
953:, and
924:Gemina
920:Gemina
903:, and
887:Moesia
883:Raetia
856:Judaea
716:Result
643:. The
591:Gemina
584:Gemina
433:
394:Result
188:
181:
174:
167:
159:
77:, but
955:XXII
940:Rapax
898:VIII
860:Syria
707:Near
641:Rapax
582:XIII
537:Rapax
515:Galba
385:Near
193:JSTOR
179:books
1077:ISBN
1052:ISBN
1027:ISBN
942:, V
913:VII
905:VII
891:III
885:and
868:Nero
858:and
695:Date
619:Gaul
589:XIV
535:XXI
413:Otho
373:Date
362:Nero
314:The
165:news
635:at
141:to
1186:69
1172::
948:I
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896:,
621:.
580:,
575:I
542:V
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265:e
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