Battle of Sucro

The battle of Sucro ^[1][2][3]was fought in 75 BC between a rebel army under the command of the Roman rebel Quintus Sertorius and a Roman army under the command of the Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius (better known as Pompey). The battle was fought on the banks of the river Sucro near a town bearing the same name. Each general took station on his right flank, which meant that Sertorius was facing Lucius Afranius, Pompey's second-in-command, while Pompey was facing an unknown subordinate of Sertorius.^[4]

As both sides engaged there was hard fighting all over the line. Halfway through the battle Pompey's wing began to push hard and the enemy's left began to fall back. Sertorius, realizing the danger his army was in, turned over command of fighting Afrianus to one of his subordinates and rode over to save his left wing. The presence of Sertorius in their ranks inspired his men. After stabilizing his left Sertorius launched a fierce counter-attack which shattered the Pompeian right. Meanwhile Afranius had overwhelmed his opponents and had pushed into the Sertorian camp. Now Afranius' men, sure of victory, started pillaging the place. Unfortunately for them Sertorius and the other half of his army now descended on them with a vengeance. Catching them off guard the Sertorians massacred a great many of them. In the meantime Pompey had regrouped most of his army and retreated to his own camp.

Meanwhile a second Roman army under the command of Quintus Caelius Metellus Pius, Pompey's colleague, had fought its way through Sertorius' rearguard and was only a good days march away. This meant that, if Sertorius chose to fight Pompey the next day, he would probably end up fighting Metellus as well. Fighting two enemies at once was something Sertorius didn't relish. He had lost his chance to take Pompey out of the campaign. His bitter comment has been preserved by Plutarch 'If the old woman had not made an appearance, I'd have trashed the boy and packed him of to Rome'.^[7]

Despite trashing Pompey, Sertorius army had suffered a great number of casualties and when Metellus arrived they would be outnumbered. Sertorius decided to retreat toward Clunia in the highlands of Celtiberia.^[8]