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September 9
9. (yes, the year 9, AD. Looks odd, doesn't it). The Battle of Teutoberg Forest. An alliance of six Germanic tribes unite to set an ambush and completely annihilate three entire Roman legions under the command of Publius Quintilius Varus. As a result of the battle, the stoic Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, appears to temporarily lose his sanity, refusing to cut his hair or shave for months. He later regains his composure, but is sometimes heard to cry out "Quinctilius Varus, Give me back my legions."
The loss has both minor and major effects on the history of Europe. Although the Romans eventually recovered the standards of the lost legions, their designations are never used again in the Roman order of battle, and Legions XVII, XVIII and XIX pass from history. Further, Augustus ordered the Roman Legions to stay west of the Rhine, and the Roman Empire never did bring the northern and eastern regions of Germany under its control.
A campaign of revenge, however, was conducted shortly after Augustus' death by the new Emperor, Tiberius, who ordered his nephew, now known to history as Germanicus, to cross the Rhine. He did, successfully, and found the battle site littered with many heads staked to trees, which they buried. Burial pits with remains have been found in Germany to support this account. In 16 AD, Germanicus brought the Germans to two set-piece battles, inflicting very high casualties in comparison to his own. With the German tribal alliance broken and pride restored, the Romans once again withdrew behind the Rhine.
1791. The new capital of the United States is named after it's first President -- Washington, D.C.
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