All true. But he was still a full-blooded German. He understood the Roman's fatal weakness: on terrain that did not allow the Legions room to move in large, superbly disciplined groups that fought as a team, they were at a severe disadvantage. The Germans, much like the Celts, preferred to win glory in personal combat. In large scale warfare, they would always lose to the Romans, who used far more efficient tactics and fought as a team rather a group of individuals.
But in small scale, close quarter combat, the Germans and Celts had the advantage. The average Roman soldier was used to fighting in a huge shield wall, surrounded by his comrades and fighting as a unit. He was not trained to fight as an individual; he was a soldier, not a Gladiator. By contrast, the Germans and Celts were bigger, stronger and trained to fight one on one.
