10-27-2013, 01:23 PM
Andy wrote:
Probably bad scouting & intelligence by Valens or his generals led to belief that Goths had split their forces & an opportunity to destroy part of Fritigern's army while Alatheus & Safrax's cavalry was scattered & foraging presented itself. Otto J. Meanchen-Helfen in his book “The World of the Huns" thinks that had the Gothic/Alan cavalry not returned just in time the Visigoths in all probability would have been defeated, if not annihilated. So Valens probably attacked in the expectation of victory, even with a small army but not counting on timely return of Gothic cavalry hitting Roman infantry in flank while engaged, throwing them into confusion, then into panic, and then turning into a massacre. As to whether Valens wanting to claim glory for himself & not share it with Gratian or whether it was a purely military decision to attack one part of a divided enemy I think later Christian writers despised Valens for being an Arian & a heretic so they would inevitably blame his decisions for the catastrophe & question why he made them whether out of jealousy or vanity. Also survivors of battle like his Sarmatian general Victor would obviously lay the blame on Valens. If he had defeated the Visigoths while separated from the main cavalry force then come to some arrangement with remainder then Late Roman history could have been different, but I doubt it.
In answer to your second question Maenchen-Helfen isn't sure whether Gratian could have arrived in time to participate in battle as he had problems of his own with tribal groups along Danube in Pannonia as the Goths were not alone in being pressured by the Huns. Maenchen-Helfen also criticizes Gratian over his frivolous wish to present himself to Valens as the victor over mighty barbarians in the West which delayed his march for nearly a month. After delaying at Sirmium for 4 days following a series of forced marches, he crossed the river downstream to Castra Martis where according to Ammianus he was unexpectedly attacked by Alans (Pannonian Alans) & he lost a few of his followers. This was around middle of July so depending on his losses & the time needed to suppress or make peace with Pannonian Alans to protect his rear, whether he could have got to Adrianople around August 9th is debatable.
Regards
Michael Kerr
Quote:If Valens waited for Gratian maybye he would have 80,000. Why did he attack with only 15,000 army? Were the attacking on different sections on the Rhine besides Adrianople?
Probably bad scouting & intelligence by Valens or his generals led to belief that Goths had split their forces & an opportunity to destroy part of Fritigern's army while Alatheus & Safrax's cavalry was scattered & foraging presented itself. Otto J. Meanchen-Helfen in his book “The World of the Huns" thinks that had the Gothic/Alan cavalry not returned just in time the Visigoths in all probability would have been defeated, if not annihilated. So Valens probably attacked in the expectation of victory, even with a small army but not counting on timely return of Gothic cavalry hitting Roman infantry in flank while engaged, throwing them into confusion, then into panic, and then turning into a massacre. As to whether Valens wanting to claim glory for himself & not share it with Gratian or whether it was a purely military decision to attack one part of a divided enemy I think later Christian writers despised Valens for being an Arian & a heretic so they would inevitably blame his decisions for the catastrophe & question why he made them whether out of jealousy or vanity. Also survivors of battle like his Sarmatian general Victor would obviously lay the blame on Valens. If he had defeated the Visigoths while separated from the main cavalry force then come to some arrangement with remainder then Late Roman history could have been different, but I doubt it.
In answer to your second question Maenchen-Helfen isn't sure whether Gratian could have arrived in time to participate in battle as he had problems of his own with tribal groups along Danube in Pannonia as the Goths were not alone in being pressured by the Huns. Maenchen-Helfen also criticizes Gratian over his frivolous wish to present himself to Valens as the victor over mighty barbarians in the West which delayed his march for nearly a month. After delaying at Sirmium for 4 days following a series of forced marches, he crossed the river downstream to Castra Martis where according to Ammianus he was unexpectedly attacked by Alans (Pannonian Alans) & he lost a few of his followers. This was around middle of July so depending on his losses & the time needed to suppress or make peace with Pannonian Alans to protect his rear, whether he could have got to Adrianople around August 9th is debatable.
Regards
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
