In war this nation is very severe in the first attack, terrible by
their clamour and looks, filling the air with horrid shouts and the
deep-toned clangour of very long trumpets; swift and rapid in their
advances and frequent throwing of darts. Bold in the first onset,
they cannot bear a repulse, being easily thrown into confusion as
soon as they turn their backs; and they trust to flight for safety,
without attempting to rally, which the poet thought reprehensible
in martial conflicts:
"Ignavum scelus est tantum fuga;"
and elsewhere -
"In vitium culpae ducit fuga, si caret arte."
The character given to the Teutones in the Roman History, may be
applied to this people. "In their first attack they are more than
men, in the second, less than women." Their courage manifests
itself chiefly in the retreat, when they frequently return, and,
like the Parthians, shoot their arrows behind them; and, as after
success and victory in battle, even cowards boast of their courage,
so, after a reverse of fortune, even the bravest men are not
allowed their due claims of merit. Their mode of fighting consists
in chasing the enemy or in retreating. This light-armed people,
relying more on their activity than on their strength, cannot
struggle for the field of battle, enter into close engagement, or
endure long and severe actions, such as the poet describes:
"Jam clypeo clypeus, umbone repellitur umbo,
Ense minax ensis, pede pes, et cuspide cuspis."
Though defeated and put to flight on one day, they are ready to
resume the combat on the next, neither dejected by their loss, nor
by their dishonour; and although, perhaps, they do not display
great fortitude in open engagements and regular conflicts, yet they
harass the enemy by ambuscades and nightly sallies.
