History of Julius Caesar Vol. 2 of 2

Of the nine legions remaining with Cæsar, three were sent with T. Labienus to the north towards the ocean, into the part of the country of the Eburones which touched on that of the Menapii; three to the south with C. Trebonius, to ravage the districts neighbouring on the Aduatuci (towards the south-west, between the Meuse and the Demer); lastly, Cæsar, at the head of the three others, advanced towards the Scheldt, the waters of which, at this period, mingled with those of the Meuse.454 (See Plate 14.) It was his intention to gain the extremity of the Ardennes (between Brussels and Antwerp), whither it was said that Ambiorix had retired with a few horsemen. He announced, on his departure, that he should return to Aduatuca on the seventh day, the period for the distribution of provisions to the legion which was left at that place in charge of the baggage. Labienus and Trebonius were, if they found it possible, to return at the same period, in order to concert again on the measures to be taken after they had made themselves acquainted with the designs of the enemy.

The Eburones had neither regular force, nor garrison, nor oppidum. They formed a scattered multitude, always in ambush, attacking the soldiers when isolated, and obliging the Romans to carry on a harassing war, without any decisive result; for the nature of the country, covered with thick forests, and intersected by marshes, protected the barbarians, who could only be reached by small detachments. In the midst of these difficulties, Cæsar preferred doing less injury to the enemy, and sparing the lives of his own soldiers, by having recourse to the Gauls. He accordingly sent messages to invite the neighbouring peoples to come and ravage the territory of the Eburones, and assist him in exterminating a race guilty of having slaughtered his soldiers. At his call, numerous hordes rushed from all sides, and the entire territory of the Eburones was soon given up to pillage.455

The Sicambri attack Aduatuca.

VII. Meanwhile, the seventh day, the period fixed for Cæsar’s return, approached. Chance, so common in war, brought about a remarkable incident. The enemy, scattered, and struck with terror, could no longer inspire the least fear. But rumour having spread beyond the Rhine, among the Germans, that all peoples were invited to ravage the country of the Eburones, the Sicambri, neighbours to the river, who had, as we have seen, received the Usipetes and Tencteri after their defeat, collect 2,000 cavalry; they pass the Rhine on rafts and boats, thirty miles below where Cæsar had built his bridge and left a guard (forty-five kilomètres below Bonn.)456 They invade the territory of the Eburones, pick up a crowd of fugitives, and seize upon a great number of cattle. The attraction of booty draws them on farther and farther; bred in the midst of war and plundering, nothing stops them – neither marshes nor woods. On their arrival at some distance from the Meuse, they learn from prisoners the absence of Cæsar and the distance of the army, and that in three hours they can reach Aduatuca, where the riches of the Romans are deposited. They are made to believe that this fortress is defended by a garrison too weak to line the walls or venture to issue from the retrenchments. Trusting in this information, the Germans hide their booty, and, guided by a prisoner, march against Aduatuca, crossing the Meuse at Maestricht.

Hitherto, Cicero had scrupulously executed Cæsar’s order, and retained the troops in the camp without even permitting a single valet to quit it; but on the seventh day, reckoning no longer on the return of the general at the term fixed, he yielded to the complaints of the soldiers, who blamed his obstinacy in keeping them shut up as though they were besieged. He believed, moreover, that the nine legions, and the numerous cavalry which scoured the country, permitted him to venture without danger to a distance of three miles from his camp, especially after the dispersion of the enemy’s forces; he therefore sent five cohorts to cut wheat in the nearest fields, situated to the north of Aduatuca, and separated from the camp only by a hill. With them went, under the same ensign, 300 men of different legions left sick, but then restored, and a multitude of valets, taking with them a great number of beasts of burden, which were in the camp.

Suddenly the German cavalry arrive; their march had been concealed by the woods. Without halting, they rush toward the Decuman gate, and attempt to enter the camp. (See Plate 18.) The attack is so sudden, that the merchants established under the vallum have not time to enter. The soldiers, taken by surprise, are in confusion; the cohort on guard struggles to prevent the enemy from entering the gate. The Sicambri spread themselves round the camp, to discover another passage; but, fortunately, the nature of the locality and the retrenchments render access impossible everywhere but at the gates. They attempt to force an entry there, and are prevented with difficulty. The alarm and disorder are at their height. The soldiers are uncertain where to direct their steps, or where to assemble; some pretend that the camp is taken, others that the army and Cæsar have perished. A feeling of superstitious anxiety recalls to their minds the disaster of Sabinus and Cotta, slain at the same place. At the sight of such a general consternation, the barbarians are confirmed in their opinion that the Romans are too few to resist; they strive to force an entrance, and urge one another not to let so rich a prey escape.

Among the sick left in the camp was the primipilus P. Sextius Baculus, who had signalised himself in the preceding combats. For five days he had taken no food. Uneasy for the safety of all, as well as his own, he leaves his tent without arms, sees before him the enemy and the danger, snatches a sword from the first man he meets, and takes his post at a gate. The centurions of the cohort on guard follow him, and all together sustain the attack for a few instants. Baculus, grievously wounded, faints. He is passed from hand to hand, and only saved with difficulty. This incident gives the others time to recover their courage. They remain on the rampart, and present at least some appearance of defence.

At this moment the soldiers who had gone out to reap were on their way back to the camp; they are struck with the cries they hear; the cavalry press forward, perceive the imminence of the danger, and see, with terror, that it is no longer possible to obtain refuge behind the retrenchments. The newly-levied soldiers, inexperienced in war, interrogate the tribune and centurions with their looks, and wait their orders. There is no one so brave as not to be agitated by so unexpected an event. The Sicambri, perceiving the ensigns at a distance, believe at first that the legions were returning, and cease from the attack; but soon, filled with contempt for such a handful of men, they rush upon them on all sides.

The valets take refuge on a neighbouring hill, that on which now stands the village of Berg. Driven from this post, they rush back into the midst of the ensigns and manipuli, and increase the fear of the already intimidated men. Among the soldiers, some propose to form in wedge, in order to open themselves a way to the camp they see so near them: the loss of a small number will be the safety of all. Others advise to remain firm on the heights, and run the same chance together. This latter opinion is not that of the old soldiers, united under the same ensign. Led by C. Trebonius, a Roman knight, they fight their way through the enemy, and re-enter the camp without the loss of a single man. Under protection of this bold movement, the valets and cavalry succeed in following them. As to the young soldiers who had posted themselves on the heights, they were not able, in their inexperience, either to maintain their resolution to defend themselves in their position, or to imitate the successful energy of the veterans; they engaged on disadvantageous ground in an attempt to regain the camp, and their destruction would have been certain but for the devotedness of the centurions. Some had been promoted from the lowest ranks of the army to this grade, in reward for their courage; and for a moment they intimidated the enemy, by sacrificing their lives in order to justify their renown. This heroic act, contrary to all expectation, enabled three cohorts to re-enter the camp; the two others perished.

During these combats, the defenders of the camp had recovered from their first alarm. When they saw them stationed on the rampart, the Germans despaired of being able to force the retrenchments; they withdrew, and repassed the Rhine with their booty. The terror they had spread was such that, even after their retreat, when, the following night, C. Volusenus arrived at Aduatuca with the cavalry which preceded the legions, the return of Cæsar and the safety of the army seemed hardly credible. Men’s minds were affected to such a degree that they supposed the cavalry alone had escaped from the disaster; for, they said, the Germans would never have attacked the camp if the legions had not been defeated. The arrival of Cæsar alone dissipated all their fears.

Accustomed to the various chances of war, and to events which must be supported without complaining, he uttered no reproach;457 he merely reminded them that they should not have run the least risk by letting the troops go out of the camp; that, moreover, if they might blame fortune for the sudden attack of the enemy, they might, on the other hand, congratulate themselves on having driven them back from the gates of the camp. He was astonished, nevertheless, that the Germans, having crossed the Rhine for the purpose of ravaging the territory of the Eburones, should have acted so as to render the most signal service to Ambiorix, by coming to attack the Romans.

Cæsar, to complete the ruin of the Eburones, marched again, collected a great number of pillagers from the neighbouring states, and sent them in different directions in pursuit of the enemy, to plunder and burn everything. Their villages and habitations became, without exception, a prey to the flames. The cavalry scoured the country in all directions, in the hope of overtaking Ambiorix; the prospect of seizing him, and gaining thereby the gratitude of the general, made them support infinite fatigues, almost beyond human endurance. At every moment they believed they were on the point of seizing the fugitive, and continually the thick forests or deep retreats hid him from their pursuit. At last, under protection of night, he reached other regions, escorted by four horsemen, the only friends left to whom he dared trust his life. Ambiorix escaped, but the massacre of the legion of Sabinus was cruelly avenged by the devastation of the country of the Eburones!

After this expedition, Cæsar led back to Durocortorum (Rheims), the chief town of the Remi, the army diminished by the two cohorts lost at Aduatuca. He there convoked the assembly of Gaul, and caused judgment to be passed on the conspiracy of the Senones and Carnutes. Acco, the chief of the revolt, was condemned to death, and executed according to the old Roman custom. Some others, fearing the same fate, took flight. They were forbidden fire and water (that is, they were condemned to exile). Cæsar sent two legions to winter quarters on the frontier of the Treviri, two among the Lingones, and the six others among the Senones, at Agedincum (Sens). After providing for the provisionment of the army, he proceeded into Italy.458

CHAPTER X.

(Year of Rome 702.)

(Book VII. of the “Commentaries.”)REVOLT OF GAUL – CAPTURE OF VELLAUNODUNUM, GENABUM, AND NOVIODUNUM – SIEGES OF AVARICUM AND GERGOVIA – CAMPAIGN OF LABIENUS AGAINST THE PARISII – SIEGE OF ALESIA

Revolt of Gaul.

I. THE Roman arms had in six years subjugated, one after another, the principal states of Gaul. Belgium, Aquitaine, and the countries on the sea-coast, had been the theatre of the most desperate struggles. The inhabitants of the isle of Britain, like the Germans, had become prudent by the defeats they had suffered. Cæsar had just taken a signal vengeance upon the revolted Eburones, and thought that he might without danger leave his army and proceed into Italy, to hold the assemblies. During his abode in this part of his command, the murder of P. Clodius took place (the 13th of the Calends of February, 30th of December, 701), which caused a great agitation, and gave rise to the Senatus-consultus, which ordered all the youths of Italy to take the military oath; Cæsar took advantage of it to make levies also in the Province. The rumours of what was taking place at Rome soon passed the Alps, to revive the resentments and hopes of the Gauls; they believed that the domestic troubles would detain Cæsar in Italy, and would give rise to a favourable opportunity for a new insurrection.

The principal chiefs meet in secluded spots; mutually excite each other by the recital of their grievances, and by the remembrance of the death of Acco; promise great rewards to those who, at the peril of their lives, will commence the war; but decide that, before all, the return of Cæsar to his army must be rendered impossible, a project the execution of which was so much the easier, since the legions would not dare to leave their winter quarters in the absence of their general, and since the general himself could not join them without a sufficient escort.

The Carnutes are the first to offer to take arms: as the necessity of acting secretly did not allow them to exchange hostages, they exact as security an oath of alliance. This oath is taken by all the ensigns in a meeting in which the moment for the rising is fixed.

On the day appointed, the Carnutes, led by two resolute men, Cotuatus and Conetodunus, rush to Genabum (Gien), plunder and slaughter the Roman merchants, amongst others the knight C. Fusius Cita, charged by Cæsar with the victualling department. These news reached every state in Gaul with an extreme celerity, according to the custom of the Gauls of communicating remarkable events by cries transmitted from neighbour to neighbour across the country.459 Thus what had happened at Genabum at sunrise, was known by the Arverni before the end of the first watch (towards eight o’clock at night), at a distance of 160 miles.

Vercingetorix, a young Arvernan who possessed great influence in his country,460 and whose father, Celtillus, for a time chief of all Gaul, had been put to death by his countrymen for having aspired to the royalty, calls his clients together, and excites their zeal. Expelled from Gergovia by those who were unwilling to tempt fortune with him, he raises the country, and, with the help of a numerous band, retakes the town, and causes himself to be proclaimed king. Soon he seduces the Senones, the Parisii, the Pictones, the Cadurci, the Turones, the Aulerci, the Lemovices of Armorica, the Andes, and the other peoples who dwell on the shores of the ocean. The commandment is given to him by unanimous consent. He exacts hostages from those peoples, orders a prompt levy of soldiers, fixes the number of men and arms which each country is to furnish in a given time, and occupies himself especially with the raising of the cavalry. Active, daring, severe, and inflexible even to cruelty, he subjects to the most atrocious tortures those who hesitate, and by these means of terror soon forms an army.

He sent a part of it to the Ruteni, under the command of Cadurcus Lucterius, a man full of daring; and to draw the Bituriges into the insurrection, he invaded their territory. By acting thus, he threatened the Province, and protected his rear whilst he moved towards the north, where the Roman occupation was concentrated. On his approach, the Bituriges solicited the help of the Ædui, their allies. The last, by the advice of Cæsar’s lieutenants, who had remained with the army, sent them a body of cavalry and infantry to support them against Vercingetorix; but, when they reached the Loire, which separated the territory of the two peoples, these auxiliary troops halted for some days, and then returned, without having dared to cross the river, pretending that they had been betrayed by the Bituriges. Immediately after their departure, the latter joined the Arverni.461

Cæsar begins the Campaign.

II. Cæsar heard of these events in Italy, and, reassured on the troubles in Rome, which had been appeased by the firmness of Pompey, he took his departure from Transalpine Gaul. When he arrived on the other side of the Alps (perhaps on the banks of the Rhone), he was struck with the difficulties which lay in the way of his joining the army. If he sent for the legions into the Roman province, they would be compelled, on their way, to fight without him; if, on the other hand, he would go to them, he was obliged to pass through populations to whom, notwithstanding their apparent tranquillity, it would have been imprudent to trust his person.

While Cæsar found so great difficulties before him, Lucterius,462 who had been sent by Vercingetorix to the Ruteni, brings them over to the alliance with the Arverni, advances towards the Nitiobriges and the Gabali, from whom he receives hostages, and, at the head of a numerous army, threatens the Province in the direction of Narbonne. These events made Cæsar resolve to proceed to that town. His arrival put an end to people’s fears. He placed garrisons among the peoples who bordered on the territory of the enemy, the Ruteni of the left bank of the Tarn (Ruteni provinciales), the Volcæ Arecomici, the Tolosates, and near Narbonne. At the same time, he ordered a part of the troops of the province, and the re-enforcements which he had brought from Italy, to unite on the territory of the Helvi, which bordered upon that of the Arverni.463 Intimidated by these dispositions, Lucterius did not venture to engage himself in the midst of these garrisons, and retired.

This first danger averted, it was important for Cæsar to prevent Vercingetorix from raising other peoples, who might perhaps be inclined to follow the example of the Bituriges. By invading the country of the Arverni, Cæsar might hope to draw the Gaulish chief into his own country, and thus remove him from those where the legions were wintering. He proceeded, therefore, to the country of the Helvi, where he joined the troops who had just concentrated there. The mountains of the Cévennes, which separated this people from the Arverni, were covered with six feet of snow; the soldiers opened a passage by dint of labour. Advancing by Aps and Saint-Cirgues, between the sources of the Loire and the Allier (see Plate 19), Cæsar debouched on Le Puy and Brioude. The Arverni, at this season, the most rigorous of the year, believed themselves defended by the Cévennes, as by an insurmountable wall: he fell upon them unexpectedly, and, in order to spread still greater terror, he caused the cavalry to scour the country far around.

Quickly informed of this march, Vercingetorix, at the prayer of the Arverni, who implored his succour, abandoned the country of the Bituriges. Cæsar had foreseen this; so he only remains two days amongst the Arverni, and, quitting them under the pretext of increasing his forces, he leaves the command to young Brutus, whom he enjoins to throw out his reconnoitring parties to as great a distance as possible, and promises to return at the end of three days. Having by this diversion drawn Vercingetorix southward, he proceeds in great haste to Vienne, arrives there unexpectedly, takes the newly-raised cavalry which he had sent thither, marches night and day, crosses the country of the Ædui, and directs his march towards the Lingones, where two legions were in winter quarters. By this extreme rapidity he seeks to prevent any evil design on the part of the Ædui. Scarcely has he arrived amongst the Lingones, when he sends orders to the other legions, two of which were on the frontiers of the Treviri, and the six others in the country of the Senones, to concentrate the whole army at Agedincum (Sens) before his march is known to the Arverni. As soon as Vercingetorix was informed of this movement, he returned with his army to the country of the Bituriges, and thence started to lay siege to Gorgobina (Saint-Parize-le-Châtel), an oppidum of the Boii, who had settled, after the defeat of the Helvetii, near the confluence of the Allier and the Loire.464

Taking of Vellaunodunum, Genabum, and Noviodunum.

III. Although Cæsar had succeeded in uniting his troops, and in placing himself at their head, he found it still difficult to fix upon a determined plan. If he opened the campaign too early, the army might run short of provisions through the difficulty of transport. If, on the other hand, during the rest of the winter,465 his army, remaining inactive, allowed Vercingetorix to take Gorgobina, a place tributary to the Ædui, the example might discourage his allies and lead to the defection of the whole of Gaul. Rather than undergo such an affront, he resolved to brave all obstacles. He engaged the Ædui, therefore, to furnish provisions, announced his speedy arrival to the Boii, recommended them to remain faithful, and to offer an energetic resistance; and then, leaving at Agedincum two legions and the baggage of the whole army, he marched with the eight others towards the territory of the Boii. On the second day466 he arrived at Vellaunodunum (Triguères), a town of the Senones, and prepared to lay siege to it, in order to protect his rear and secure his supply of provisions. (See Plate 19.) The countervallation was finished in two days. On the third, the town offered to surrender: the capitulation was only accepted on condition of delivering up the arms, the beasts of burden, and 600 hostages. Cæsar left C. Trebonius, his lieutenant, to see the convention executed, and marched in haste towards Genabum (Gien), a town of the Carnutes.467 He arrived there in two days, and sufficiently early to surprise the inhabitants, who, thinking that the siege of Vellaunodunum would last longer, had not yet assembled sufficient troops for the defence of the place. The Roman army took its position before the oppidum; but the approach of night made it necessary to postpone the attack until the following morning. However, as Genabum had a bridge on the Loire adjoining to the town, Cæsar kept two legions under arms to watch it, in the fear that the besieged might escape during the night. And, in fact, towards midnight they silently issued from Genabum and began to pass the river. Cæsar, informed by his scouts, set fire to the gates, introduced the legions he had kept in reserve, and took possession of the place. The fugitives, who were closely crowded together at the issues of the town, and at the entrance of the bridge, which were too narrow to allow them to pass, fell nearly all into the hands of the Romans. Genabum was plundered and burnt, and the spoil abandoned to the soldiers. Then the army passed the Loire, arrived on the territory of the Bituriges, and continued its march.

The town of Noviodunum (Sancerre), belonging to this latter people, lay in Cæsar’s route; he undertook to lay siege to it. The inhabitants were already hastening to make their submission, and a part of the hostages had been delivered, when they saw in the distance the cavalry of Vercingetorix, who, warned of the approach of the Romans, had raised the siege of Gorgobina, and marched to meet them. At this sight, the besieged, mustering courage again, seize their arms, shut their gates, and man the wall. The Roman cavalry was immediately sent to meet the enemy; staggered at the first shock, it was on the point of giving way; but soon, supported by about 400 German cavalry, in Cæsar’s pay since the commencement of the campaign, they entirely routed the Gauls. This defeat having again spread terror in the town, the inhabitants delivered up the instigators of the revolt, and surrendered. Cæsar marched thence, through the fertile territory of the Biturges, towards Avaricum (Bourges), the largest and strongest oppidum of that people. The taking of this town, he considered, would render him master of the whole country.468

Siege of Avaricum.

IV. Vercingetorix, after having experienced so many reverses successively at Vellaunodunum, at Genabum, and at Noviodunum, convokes a council, in which he explains the necessity of adopting a new system of warfare. Above all, according to him, they must take advantage of the season, and of the numerous Gaulish cavalry, to cut off the Romans from provisions and forage, sacrifice private interest to the common welfare, set fire to the habitations, burgs, and oppida which they could not defend, so as to spread desolation from the territory of the Boii as far as the enemy could extend his incursions. If that be an extreme sacrifice, it is nothing in comparison with death and slavery.