Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, ancient

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest was a battle fought in September AD 9 at Osnabrück, in what is now Germany. It was part of the Germanic Wars. The recorded result: Germanic victory.

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Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtSeptember AD 9
WhereOsnabrück, Germany52.407N, 8.126E
OutcomeGermanic victory
BelligerentsAllied Germanic peoples, possibly including: Angrivarii; Bructeri; Chatti; Cherusci; Marsi; Sugambri; UsipetesagainstRoman Empire
Casualties and lossesUnknownand16,000–20,000 killed
Part ofGermanic Wars

Where it sits in the Germanic Wars

Clades Lolliana, 16 BCBattle of the Teutoburg Forest, AD 9Battle of Idistaviso, AD 16Battle of the Angrivarian Wall, AD 16Battle of Baduhenna Wood, AD 28Siege of Thessalonica, AD 254Battle of Nestos, AD 268Battle of Lake Constance, AD 355Siege of Autun, AD 356Battle of Vicus Helena, AD 440Battle of Corsica, AD 456Battle of Agrigentum, AD 456Battle of Garigliano, AD 457Battle of Toulouse, AD 458Battle of Bergamo, AD 464Battle of Angers, AD 464Battle of Bolia, AD 469Battle of Pavia, AD 476Battle of Ravenna, AD 47616 BCAD 476Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, AD 9
19 placed engagements of the Germanic Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateSeptember AD 9 (month precision)
PlaceOsnabrück, Germany
52.407N, 8.126E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength18,00030,000: Angrivarii:5,000; Bructeri:8,000; Cherusci:8,000; Remainder likely from the remaining tribesEstimates vary:
Casualties and lossesUnknown16,000–20,000 killed
Commanders
  • Arminius
  • Publius Quinctilius Varus
Battle of the Teutoburg ForestBattle of the Teutoburg ForestOperation GarlicBattle of GohfeldBattle of MindenSiege of MindenBattle of VlothoOperation GarlicHamburgBremenDüsseldorfHanoverGroningenGöttingenBremerhavenEssen100 km52.407N, 8.126E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of the Teutoburg Forest today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-04-03. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 63 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 40 to 180 m, 139 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 38% cropland, 38% tree cover, 21% grassland.

cropland: 38%tree cover: 38%grassland: 21%cropland 38%tree cover 38%grassland 21%
west to east, 10.0 km45 to 80 mnorth to south, 10.0 km42 to 174 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest is one of 57 engagements of the 1st century in the atlas and one of 538 in present-day Germany.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q87779, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, revision 1383265319, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.