§6.37.1Hoc ipso tempore et casu Germani equites interveniunt protinusque eodem illo, quo venerant, cursu ab decumana porta in castra irrumpere conantur, §6.37.2nec prius sunt visi obiectis ab ea parte silvis, quam castris appropinquarent, usque eo ut qui sub vallo tenderent mercatores recipiendi sui facultatem non haberent. §6.37.3Inopinantes nostri re nova perturbantur, ac vix primum impetum cohors in statione sustinet. §6.37.4Circumfunduntur ex reliquis hostes partibus, si quem aditum reperire possent. §6.37.5Aegre portas nostri tuentur, reliquos aditus locus ipse per se munitioque defendit. §6.37.6Totis trepidatur castris, atque alius ex alio causam tumultus quaerit; neque quo signa ferantur neque quam in partem quisque conveniat provident. §6.37.7Alius iam castra capta pronuntiat, alius deleto exercitu atque imperatore victores barbaros venisse contendit; §6.37.8plerique novas sibi ex loco religiones fingunt Cottaeque et Tituri calamitatem, qui in eodem occiderint castello, ante oculos ponunt. §6.37.9Tali timore omnibus perterritis confirmatur opinio barbaris, ut ex captivo audierant, nullum esse intus praesidium. §6.37.10perrumpere nituntur seque ipsi adhortantur, ne tantam fortunam ex manibus dimittant.
At this very time and by this chance, the German horsemen arrive and immediately, in that same course in which they had come, attempt to break into the camp through the decuman gate. Nor were they seen beforehand, because the woods obstructed them on that side, until they were drawing near to the camp, to such a degree that the merchants who were pitching their tents under the rampart had no opportunity of retreating. Our men, not expecting them, are thrown into confusion by the sudden event, and the cohort on guard duty scarcely sustains the first onset. The enemy pour around from the remaining parts, to see if they could find any entrance. Our men with difficulty defend the gates; the place itself by itself and the fortification defend the other approaches. There is a panic in the whole camp, and one inquires of another the cause of the uproar; nor do they foresee whither the standards should be carried, nor in what direction each person should assemble. One already declares that the camp is taken, another maintains that the army and the commander-in-chief have been destroyed, and that the victorious barbarians have come; most of them form new superstitions for themselves from the place, and place before their eyes the disaster of Cotta and Titurius, who perished in the same fort. When all were thoroughly terrified by such fear, the opinion was confirmed among the barbarians, as they had heard from the captive, that there was no garrison within. They strive to break through and encourage each other not to let such great good fortune slip from their hands.