Crassus Turns The Tide
Crassus revealed himself to be a brutal and cruel commander. When he learned that Spartacus was on the march through Picenum, he ordered Mummius to shadow the enemy but not engage. Instead, Mummius foolishly attacked the rebels from the rear and was defeated. Hundreds of soldiers fled, but if they thought they were retreating to safety, they were sorely mistaken. To set an example, Crassus decimated men accused of cowardice. He reportedly divided 500 of his army into 50 groups of 10. Lots were drawn, and one soldier was executed from each of the 50 groups.
Crassus forced his whole army to watch the executions. It is not known whether he only decimated 50 men or if he had his entire army decimated after a defeat. The latter is unlikely as it would have resulted in the deaths of up to 4,000 soldiers. From this point onwards, the Romans feared their commander more than the enemy. As harsh as the punishment was, it did galvanize the men and improved discipline. Crassus retrained and rearmed his troops. He drilled the soldiers in the use of the ‘pilum,’ and they were divided into cohorts of 480. A full legion was now comprised of approximately 5,000 well-trained men.
With eight legions, Crassus chased Spartacus across Italy and scored a victory in a running battle in the Lucania region. The rebels retreated to Rhegium where a desperate Spartacus bribed Sicilian pirates to take his men to Sicily. He hoped it would breathe new life to the uprising in a place where a rebellion occurred only a generation previously. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Pirates took the money but reneged on their promise. The rebels were trapped on the Brittum peninsula, and Crassus knew it.
Rather than engaging the enemy in open battle, the Roman commander ordered his soldiers to build a wall to keep the slaves hemmed in; the ultimate goal was to cause them to starve and surrender. Initially, Spartacus ignored the wall and tried to find another way out. Unfortunately for the rebels, winter was fast approaching, and their supplies were running out. Spartacus realized their only hope was to break through the barricade and they did so during a winter storm. The gladiators were once again free to roam the Italian countryside, and a panic-stricken Senate recalled Lucullus and Pompey from their respective wars.