Legio V Alaudae ("Fifth Legion of the Lark"), sometimes also known as Gallica, was a legion of the Roman army founded in 52 BC by the general Gaius Julius Caesar (dictator of Rome 49-44 BC). It was levied in Transalpine Gaul to fight the armies of Vercingetorix, and was the first Roman legion to comprise non-citizens. Historians disagree whether the legion was destroyed during the Batavian rebellion in AD 70, or during the First Battle of Tapae (AD 86).
History
Origin and early history
The legion was founded in Transalpine Gaul in 52 BC by Julius Caesar. Caesar paid the soldiers from his private purse. Only later was it recognized by the Senate. It is possible the legion was originally named Legio V Gallica. The unusual, Gaulish surname must refer to the Gallic custom to wear lark's wings on their helmets. The new legion saw its first action during the campaign against the Gallic leader Vercingetorix and the siege of Alesia. During the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, the V Alaudae took part in Caesar's invasion of Italy and stayed in Apulia for some time. It also fought at Dyrrhachium. The legion did take part in the African campaign against Cato, which culminated in the Battle of Thapsus. Here, the legion heroically fought against the elephants used by Caesar's republican enemies. This made a great impression, and V Alaudae became the only Caesarian legion known not to have used the bull as its emblem, instead choosing the elephant. This emblem was awarded in 46 BC for this action.
The last war of the Republic
After a civil war broke out between Mark Antony and Augustus, the legion sided with Antony and fought for him in the lost Battle of Mutina. When the two men later decided to cooperate, they defeated the murderers of Caesar in the Battle of Philippi. The V Alaudae was there. The legion participated in Antony's war against the Parthian empire. Antony employed the legion also during his campaign against Octavian, which culminated in the naval Battle of Actium, where Antony was defeated. Augustus transferred the V Alaudae to Mérida in Lusitania after 30 BC, where it took part in the campaigns against the Cantabrians.
Service in Germania
After a few years, V Alaudae was moved to Gallia Belgica. While in Gaul the legion may have temporary lost its standard when its commander Marcus Lollius was defeated by the Germanic Sugambri. The battle probably took place in the valley of the Meuse. Although we cannot be precise, it is likely that the transfer from Hispania Ulterior to Belgica had taken place in 19 BC, when Augustus' friend Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa invaded Germania. The legion was transferred to or Xanten by Augustus' stepson Drusus and it took part in his Germanic campaigns. The soldiers of V Alaudae crossed the Weser and reached the Elbe in 9 BCE. For some time, they may have lived at Oberaden or Haltern on the east bank of the Rhine. In 6 CE, several legions marched against king Maroboduus of the Marcomanni in Czechia; at the same time, the V Alaudae were to attack the Marcomanni along the Elbe. It was to be the most grandiose operation that was ever conducted by a Roman army, but a rebellion in Pannonia obstructed its execution.
Not much later, the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest put an end to Roman ambition to conquer Germania. Commander Lucius Nonius Asprenas used the First legion Germanica and the Fifth legion Alaudae to occupy the fortresses of Germania Inferior and prevent a Germanic raid on Belgica After the disaster, V Alaudae was stationed at Xanten, together with XXI Rapax, keeping an eye on the nearby tribe of the Cugerni and guarding the confluence of the Rhine and Lippe. Both units took part in the Germanic campaigns of Germanicus in the first years of the reign of Tiberius. In 43 AD, the twenty-first was replaced by XV Primigenia. At the same time, Xanten was rebuilt. We know that the Fifteenth occupied the eastern half of the base, and the Fifth the western.
In 28 CE, the fifth legion suppressed a Frisian revolt, but the emperor Tiberius nonetheless allowed the Frisians to be independent. Twelve years later, V Alaudae joined the emperor Caligula when he visited the delta of the Rhine. The famous anecdote, told by Suetonius, about the emperor commanding soldiers to collect shells on the beach, refers to the visit of the fifth to Lugdunum. The V Alaudae and XV Primigenia are thought to have been part of the expeditionary force that was led against the Frisians and Chauci by the Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo in 47 AD.