As the Roman Empire expanded its reaches into what is now Germany, its legions were faced with ferocious Germanic tribesmen. In 9AD their chieftain, Arminius, raised in Rome as a hostage of peace, used his military training to slaughter the Roman General Varus' army at Teutoburg Forest.

This landmark battle established the Rhine River as the frontier between the Empire, and its growing barbaric enemies. Six years later, when General Germanicus set out across the Rhine for revenge, he found heaps of bones and severed skulls, nailed to trees as a reminder of the barbarians' victory.

At the Battle of the Weser River, Germanicus faced Arminius and won. Germanicus captured Arminius' pregnant wife, Thusnelda, and paraded her through the streets of Rome, as a symbol of his triumph.