Babylon 5: The Gathering/Midnight on the Firing Line

[remagynona]

Probably the most famous of the ancient sneak attacks was the battle at Teutoburg Forest. The Germanic-Roman general Arminius defected and ambushed the Roman Legions there, killing pretty much all of them. The loss was so severe that the Romans basically gave up entirely on trying to incorporate Germania into the empire, and switch their strategy in Central Europe to containment and half-hearted diplomacy. Repeated German incursions of course would be one of the major factors in the eventual fall of the Western Empire, so that one sneak attack would have effects lasting centuries. It's fair to say sneak attacks are maligned by some mainly because when they work, they really work.

[TGLS]

Repeated German incursions of course would be one of the major factors in the eventual fall of the Western Empire, so that one sneak attack would have effects lasting centuries.

That's sort of unfair given the Roman Empire lasted literal centuries after their defeat at Teutoburg Forest. Admittedly the moment where an Emperor was strong enough to mount such a campaign was lost after Teutoberg Forest, but it's not like it was strictly inevitable

[CrypticMirror]

Repeated German incursions of course would be one of the major factors in the eventual fall of the Western Empire, so that one sneak attack would have effects lasting centuries.

That's sort of unfair given the Roman Empire lasted literal centuries after their defeat at Teutoburg Forest. Admittedly the moment where an Emperor was strong enough to mount such a campaign was lost after Teutoberg Forest, but it's not like it was strictly inevitable

Yeah. I think pretty much all historians agree the constant internecine fighting, political corruption, and general backstabbing in the ruling class, were all far more key to the Western Empire falling apart than Germanic Tribes on its borders. Too much individual self interest at the top, and bad governance in general, were the culprits. The inability to resist invasions was more a symptom than a cause.