17604. THE BATTLE THAT STOPPED ROME BY PETER S. WELLS. This paper reviews Wells’ book about the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. In that battle, which occurred in 9 AD, three Roman legions under the command of Varus were destroyed (about 20,000 Roman soldiers died) by a force of German warriors. Concludes that Wells is not entirely successful in his effort to convince the reader that he Germans were much greater warriors than the Romans believed. Wells fails to support his thesis because of his reliance on speculation. KEYWORDS: fall of roman empire battle teutoburg forest. Written 2005. MLA Style. 6 pages, 13 footnotes, 1 bibliographic source. 1,411 words.