Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War by Thomas A. Timmes Page A

Legion to their front, and push the Gauls on each flank.  Both Legions executed the maneuver on the run, formed a 500 man Hastati front line followed by the Principes and Triarii , and attacked the flanks of the Gauls, who were already fighting the three Legions in the center.  The slaughter began and continued until no Gauls were left standing.  Earlier, Papus readied his cavalry to attack the Gauls should they break and run for cover, which they never did.
    In the front, Regulus’ 15,000 Legionaries tenaciously held their ground against the 30,000 Boii and Taurisci who were fighting more defensively than offensively.  The large protective Roman shields, thrusting short swords, and rotating ranks were more effective than the Gallic smaller shields, slashing long swords, and fight until-you-die tactics.  Finally, Regulus’ cavalry rode down the hill into the Gauls exposed flank and clinched the victory. The Gallic infantry was finished and their cavalry put to flight.  The fight had lasted four hours.
    Even in victory, Rome lost 10,000 Legionaries, which is approximately 1200 per Legion or 1 of every five men.  It was an extremely high price to pay, but prevented further devastation of the Italian countryside and even the possible sacking of Rome.  It was a price that Rome was willing to pay to preserve their Republic and way of life, but as King Pyrrhus of Epirus said in 279 BC after winning a very costly battle, “one more such victory would utterly undo him.”
    Around 40,000 Gauls were killed and 10,000, including Concolitanus, taken prisoner. Aneroestes escaped with a small group of followers, but later committed suicide as the Roman cavalry closed in. The loot that the Gauls had taken from the Italian countryside was distributed among the Legionaries.  It would have been impossible to return it to the looted villages, many of which were burned and the residents killed.
    Rome was spared; the Gauls, Boii , Gaesatae, and Insubres were defeated, and Manius grew in reputation and status.  For his actions, he was awarded the corona aurea [gold crown].  Manius also recommended numerous awards for his Legionaries including the torques [necklaces], armillae, [armbands] and phalerae [embossed discs worn on the uniform].
    Before any of the Roman or Gallic dead were removed from where they fell, Manius was appointed to lead a team of fellow Centurions from all the Legions to walk throughout the battlefield and observe the manner of wounds most common to Roman Legionaries.  His Legate told him that Papus would use the information to recommend alterations to Roman equipment.  Having performed a similar task less than two weeks earlier, Manius knew what faced him and he did not relish the assignment.
    Nonetheless, Manius organized the Centurions, assigned scribes to keep track of the data, and dispatched the teams.  He hoped to have their result later in the day and present his findings to the Legate early the next morning before the Legions would begin gathering their dead for the funeral pyres.
    Once all the Centurions provided him with the results of their observations later that evening, Manius prepared his briefing for the Legate.  Essentially, the Centurions discovered that Romans died from Gallic arrows to the face, sword blows to the face and back of the neck, and severed arms.  On the positive side, the newly reinforced shields prevented most downward slashes from doing any real damage.  It was also evident that a few Legionaries had removed the iron bars welded to the top of their shields to lighten their load during the march.  Thankfully, the Gauls were unable to use their ballistae in this battle.  They sat unused with the wagons and were shipped back to Rome for analysis.
    The Legate listened intently as Manius presented the Centurions’ report and sent him to brief the other Consul, Papus.  When Manius finished, Consul Papus thanked him for his good work and instructed him to present the briefing