HKB
6 passages · search this phrase →
Often appears with: supply, logistics, and encampment · strategy and the aims of war · conquest, plunder, and captives · valens · siege and fortification · roman settlement policy · roman corruption · roman campaigns under augustus · rhaetia and noricum · naval warfare and sea power · military recruitment · military engineering
Usually: narrative (4) · detachment (2) · commentary or gloss (1) · dialogue (1) · confronting death (1) · the fall of the great (1) · the stranger's arrival (1) · curiosity (1) · indignation (1)
“The passage of a river like the Danube, in front of an enemy knowing perfectly the localities, and having the inhabitants on its side, is one of the greatest operations of war which it is possible to conceive.” Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796-1812 · observation
A.D. 376 begins as groups of displaced Goths and other peoples retreat toward Thrace with Valens’s permission to cross, while Roman officers manage their settlement and enable the influx of “auxiliaries.”
it passes through the lands of the Taifali, and he completed this line of fortification with great diligence, thinking that by this step he should secure his own personal safety. 8. While this important work was going on, the Huns kept pressing on his traces with great speed, and they would have overtaken and destroyed him if they had not been forced to abandon the pursuit from being impeded by the great quantity of…
Roman officials receive the refugees with hope and greed, organize their dangerous crossing of the swollen Danube, and then assign them temporary support and land—framed as a disaster that helps undermine imperial stability.
invincible; observing further that, by the yearly payment for military reinforcements which came in every year from the provinces, a vast treasure of gold might be accumulated in his coffers. 5. Full of this hope he sent forth several officers to bring this ferocious people and their waggons into our territory. And such great pains were taken to gratify this nation which was destined to overthrow the empire of Rome,…
Julian’s success depends on speed: he splits his forces near Basil, sends detachments through Rhaetia, Noricum, and the Alps, and personally leads volunteers through the Black Forest to reach the Danube and surprise his enemies.
whom he sent into Tuscany. (Ammian. xxi. 5.) Libanius, with savage fury, insults Nebridius, applauds the soldiers, and almost censures the humanity of Julian. (Orat. Parent. c. 53, p. 278.)] 27 (return) [ Ammian. xxi. 8. In this promotion, Julian obeyed the law which he publicly imposed on himself. Neque civilis quisquam judex nec militaris rector, alio quodam præter merita suffragante, ad potiorem…
Strabo recounts the rise of the Getae under Bœrebistas, his wars against Romans and neighboring peoples, his use of a sorcerer (Decæneus), his murder, and subsequent division of Getae power under Augustus.
there are 900 stadia.[2684] In the district intervening there are two great lakes; one is open to the sea, and is used as a harbour,[2685] the other has no outlet. 16. At the mouth of the Dniester there is a tower called the Tower of Neoptolemus, and a village called Hermōnax.[2686] As you sail up the river 140 stadia, there are cities on both sides; the one is Niconia,[2687] and that on the left Ophiussa.[2688] Tho…
At a broad crossing on the Danube, Hagan plans to find ferrymen, and mermaids warn him that the journey to Etzel’s land leads to death for the guests, except the chaplain’s possible survival claim; Hagan demands passage instructions and chooses to continue.
V "Who cares for dreams," said Hagan, "and thinks by them to walk, Ne'er in the path of honor with sturdy steps can stalk, Or breathe the voice of reason, but wavers to and fro. I rede, my noble master take leave and forward go. VI "Yes, we shall ride full gladly hence into Etzel's land. There kings need for their service many a good hero's hand, And this fair feast of Kriemhild's awaits us the…
The narrator explains tactical and logistical issues in Napoleon’s Danube crossing at Ebersdorf after Essling, noting unexpected river rise, bridge damage, and quoting Napoleon’s claim about the operation’s difficulty.
No. 5. *Ebersdorf.*--Written five days after the murderous battle of Essling. Montgaillard, whose temper and judgment, as Alison remarks, are not equal to his talents, cannot resist a covert sneer (writing under the Bourbons) at Napoleon's generalship on this occasion, although he adds a veneer by reminding us that Cæsar was defeated at Dyrrachium, Turenne at Marienthal, Eugène at Denain, Frederick the Great at Koli…