The
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (,
Hermannsschlacht or
Varusschlacht), described as
clades Variana (the
Varian disaster) by
Roman historians, took place in the
Teutoburg Forest in 9
CE, when an alliance of
Germanic tribes ambushed and decisively destroyed three Roman
legions and their auxiliaries, led by
Publius Quinctilius Varus. The anti-Roman alliance was led by
Arminius, who had acquired Roman citizenship and received a Roman military education, thus enabling him to personally deceive the Roman commander and foresee the Roman army's tactical responses.