Sieges of Gergovia and Alesia

Now in late April or early May by season, or thereabouts, which Caesar would have called mid July officially, he marches towards Gergovia. Vercingetorix, who's name means "great leader of warriors", is marching his army ahead of Caesar so he doesn't have to fight him in a bad position. The fact he could do such a thing with this rag-tag barbarian army is really impressive. After 5 days march Caesar engages the Gallic cavalry at the outskirts of Gergovia. This hill fort was situated on a very good position. The Gauls were able to have complete command of the region. Opposite the fort was another hill. It was lightly guarded and Caesar was able to take it during the night and held it with 2 legions. He built a 12-foot wide double trench from this hill to his main camp. Caesar now could starve his enemy here, if he could completely encircle it.

But now Caesar learns that the Aedui tribe is on the verge of betraying him. Losing 10,000+ men is bad enough, but to be completely isolated in Gaul with out allies is pure suicide for any army. So Caesar takes 4 light-armed legions to meet the Aedui. He meets them 25 miles away and they submit to him. They realized their leader was just betraying them as pawns. The leader, named Litavicus, flees to the Gauls at Gergovia. Caesar, himself with his 4 legions, heads back. In the middle of the night he gets word from his lieutenant Caius (Gaius) Fabius that his two legions are under heavy attack. From the description of the Gallic actions Caesar must have realized that the camp may fall so he marches at least 20 miles in several hours at night. To see this must have been amazing.

Back at Gergovia Caesar learns that the Gauls are trying to improve their position by securing an area that could prevent Caesar from completely encircling Gergovia. Caesar decided to send one legion to hide in the woods near the town. The suspicious Gauls send their whole army down. Seeing the enemy camp deserted, he moves his other troops. He puts the Aedui contingent on the right. Caesar seems to have wanted to drive the Gauls camping in front of the city off the hill. His men do this and Caesar orders a retreat. The job was done but the other legions didn't hear the trumpet. These men attack the town itself, trying to scale the walls. The glory seeking Centurions use their own men as ladders to reach the ramparts. But the message of the Roman attack reached the Gallic army on the other side of the hill who was watching the legion in the woods. The Gauls quickly moved to counter the Romans, who were fighting on greatly unfavorable ground. Caesar must of realized this, but there was little he could do now. He sends Titus Sextius, one of his lieutenants, to move to the area to outflank the Gauls if the Romans retreat. Caesar knew the fight was fruitless now. The Romans were soon surrounded and forced down the hill. On more level ground the 10th legion and part of the 13th were able to keep the Gauls from chasing the Romans too far. Vercingetorix orders his men to stop. Fighting the legions on level ground would have eliminated his victory. Caesar reports that 46 Centurions were lost, and 700 regular legionaries missing. Obviously the Romans died on land still held by the enemy, which meant that the attack was pointless for the Romans. Caesar was not happy. Gergovia was Caesar's first military defeat and was surely quite humiliating for him personally.

The next day, Caesar berated his soldiers for not listening to his orders and those of the tribunes. He also gave them hell for being too arrogant, strange for a Roman. But he told them not to despair. The next day on level ground, Caesar put his whole army in battle order and dared Vercingetorix to attack. The cavalry clashed, but no battle. The next day Caesar moved his camp and rebuilt a bridge across the Allier river. The next day he led his army over.

Caesar again split his force and sent Labienus with 4 legions to take cities near Paris. But Labienus is cornered in many places and has to get ships to get his men back across the Loire river. But in mid May or so (late July), he was attacked. The Roman crushed the Gauls on the right wing and managed to outflank them. The Gallic general Camulogenus was killed. After the battle Labienus got his supplies from Agendicum and marched with all haste to meet Caesar. Now the Aedui are in full revolt and kill the hostages that Caesar had left with them earlier. The elect Vercingetorix as their leader. The Aedui could supply him 15,000 cavalry. The only roman force away from Julius Caesar now is the newly recruited 22 cohorts under Lucius Caesar. These troops were able to defeat the enemy and hold them off. Julius Caesar made good his alliance with some of the Germans and hired some of them to counter the superior Gallic cavalry. Caesar gave his best horses to the Germans, he was taking no chance. It was now certainly mid June by season, the end of August by the calendar. The Germans would needed some time to reach him. While this was happening the Gauls decided to attack the Roman column as Julius was marching closer to Lucius Caesar. The Germans were with him when Vercingetorix attacked. The Gauls had three cavalry divisions, one in front of Caesar blocking him, two at his rear. Caesar split his cavalry the same and charged the Gauls. The Germans were able to force them from a hill. The Romans and Germans chased the Gauls to where their infantry was. Caesar secured his baggage on a hill with 2 legions and used the rest of his men to chase the retreating Gauls, killing about 3000 of them. The Gauls were terrified since Caesar had defeated their cavalry, their best hope. Caesar had also captured the leaders of the Aedui tribe who betrayed him. Vercingetorix now led his remaining troops to a town in the Mandubii territory. This town was superior for a base and commanded the area. It was right smack in the middle of Gaul. The town was called Alesia. On the Roman Calendar, it was probably, or just after, September 1. Today we'd call it about June 25.

Now being the beginning of summer, there is little food to spare all round. Food wasn't shipped around in Gaul, like it was in Italy. This was a tribal area and food was a local business. So Vercingetorix and his 80,000 men had only enough food for 30 days. Caesar himself seems to have had food problems. He after all seems to have had all his forces in one place, around 60,000 men. After all, he had already done in half a year what most do in 1 full year. So the Romans were short of food as well. The next day, Caesar camps at Alesia. He quickly realizes that the town can only be starved out. To attack would be as tough as Gergovia. Caesar encouraged his men that they had the Gauls trapped and could inflict a final defeat. So the 60,000 men went to work building an extremely elaborate circumvallation of Alesia. The work was to be in all over 11 miles. This might seem huge but there were 60,000 men there who were physically fit and paid. Plus if they one they would likely have at least one slave each, a good reward.

Of course Vercingetorix wasn't going to just let Caesar surround him. He had built a wall of his own. Then he attacks the Romans with his cavalry. Caesar used the Germans in his ranks to hold them off. There was a long 3 mile plain in front of the hill were this took place. All around the Romans had built 23 fortified sections to protect against an all-out attack. But the Gauls do make the mistake of attacking in large numbers. The gates in the Gallic wall are too small for the fleeing troops to pass through and the German cavalry cuts them to pieces. Vercingetorix now must send for help. During the night the Gallic cavalry manages to escape where the Roman wall wasn't finished. These men had to return to their tribe to get help. Vercingetorix rations out the corn man by man and the cattle. All 80,000 men are brought into the town and wait for outside relief. Plutarch says that there were 170,000 people there. It must have been a very crowded and smelly experience. This let Caesar complete his work with relative ease. He learns from some scared but smart deserters, Vercingetorix's plans. So the work continued. Caesar was so proud of his work that he described the construction in his writings:

"he dug a trench twenty feet deep, with perpendicular sides, in such a manner that the base of this trench should extend so far as the edges were apart at the top. He raised all his other works at a distance of four hundred feet from that ditch; [he did] that with this intention, lest (since he necessarily embraced so extensive an area, and the whole works could not be easily surrounded by a line of soldiers) a large number of the enemy should suddenly, or by night, sally against the fortifications; or lest they should by day cast weapons against our men while occupied with the works. Having left this interval, he drew two trenches fifteen feet broad, and of the same depth; the innermost of them, being in low and level ground, he filled with water conveyed from the river. Behind these he raised a rampart and wall twelve feet high; to this he added a parapet and battlements, with large stakes cut like stags' horns, projecting from the junction of the parapet and battlements, to prevent the enemy from scaling it, and surrounded the entire work with turrets, which were eighty feet distant from one another. It was necessary, at one and the same time, to procure timber [for the rampart], lay in supplies of corn, and raise also extensive fortifications, and the available troops were in consequence of this reduced in number, since they used to advance to some distance from the camp, and sometimes the Gauls endeavored to attack our works, and to make a sally from the town by several gates and in great force. Caesar thought that further additions should be made to these works, in order that the fortifications might be defensible by a small number of soldiers. Having, therefore, cut down the trunks of trees or very thick branches, and having stripped their tops of the bark, and sharpened them into a point, he drew a continued trench every where five feet deep. These stakes being sunk into this trench, and fastened firmly at the bottom, to prevent the possibility of their being torn up, had their branches only projecting from the ground. There were five rows in connection with, and intersecting each other; and whoever entered within them were likely to impale themselves on very sharp stakes. The soldiers called these "cippi." Before these, which were arranged in oblique rows in the form of a quincunx, pits three feet deep were dug, which gradually diminished in depth to the bottom. In these pits tapering stakes, of the thickness of a man's thigh; sharpened at the top and hardened in the fire, were sunk in such a manner as to project from the ground not more than four inches; at the same time for the purpose of giving them strength and stability, they were each filled with trampled clay to the height of one foot from the bottom: the rest of the pit was covered over with osiers and twigs, to conceal the deceit. Eight rows of this kind were dug, and were three feet distant from each other. They called this a lily from its resemblance to that flower. Stakes a foot long, with iron hooks attached to them, were entirely sunk in the ground before these, and were planted in every place at small intervals; these they called spurs."

Now 60,000 men could have built this very quickly. Organization is a pure Roman virtue. This work could have been done in less than 3 weeks. When it was done, Caesar of course realizes that this is useless against a Gallic relief army from outside, so they build the same thing facing outward. The soldiers, now knowing what they have to do, probably built this fortification much quicker. Caesar now camping his 60,000 men within in the two rings, orders his men out to gather enough food for 30 days. This is done because its unsafe to venture out of the camp for any great distance with a relief army approaching, and also that Vercingetorix is running out of food and will either attack or surrender soon anyway. Towards the end of September, (mid July) it was all ready. Vercingetorix was now in dire straights. He was not rationing the food properly. But the Gauls were coming. It was a massive army for barbarians. Vercingetorix demanded all those who could carry arms come to fight. But the tribal chiefs decided to send fixed numbers. The 43 tribes in the end decided on a force of 283,000 men, but ended up at 240,000 infantry and 8000 cavalry. They gathered in the area of the Aedui tribe, 100 km south, then marched confidently towards Alesia. Up in Alesia, the Gauls who are beginning to starve are discussing their next move. Some want to surrender, others attack. One Gaul, Critognatus, wants to wait for a simultaneous attack on the Romans. Hey correctly believes that this is their only chance. Nonetheless, the citizens of the local Mandubii tribe beg the Romans for peace as a delay tactic. These people were ignored at the inner Roman wall, left to die starving and crying with their wives and children. Now by the very end of September, it had only 29 days at this time, the quarter million Gauls are camped 1 mile from the Romans. The next day they brought their men out onto the plain in full sight of the besieged Gauls. They are elated and prepare for an all-out attack.

This day, possibly on or around September 29, 52 BC, what we'd call July 25th or so, the battle began. It was fought from noon to sunset, an 8-9 hour fight. Roman soldiers were killed by Gallic archers. Cavalry clashed everywhere. At the end of the day, the German cavalry drove back the Gauls and surrounded their archers and slaughtered them. The Gauls broke and ran. The legions chased the Gauls to their camp. It seems that on the inside, the Gauls couldn't get through the Roman wall and despairingly retreated into Alesia.

The Gauls spent the next day making siege ladders and iron equipment. At midnight they attacked. They had more weapons and killed many Romans. The Romans had to abandon some of the 23 outposts to assist Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) in manning the Ballistas and other siege engines. The fight lasted all night. It seems that many Gauls tried to attack the wall and were impaled on stakes or killed by Ballistas. Of course it was completely dark. If my dating is correct, the new moon was only a few days before, so there was no moonlight. At daybreak the Gauls retreated to protect their flank. Meanwhile inside, Vercingetorix moved too slowly to attack the inner wall and was forced to retreat.

The coming day was the most important, possibly October 2, 60,000 Gauls under Vergasillaunus, a cousin of Vercingetorix, would try to pierce the Roman lines where a wall could not be built. The attack was to begin at noon. It did, from all directions. Vercingetorix led an all-out assault on the inner wall. The Romans were hard pressed everywhere. It seems that the Gauls were winning, But the great Roman discipline kept the Romans alive. The strong relieved the tired and so on. Caesar, watching from a high position, sends Labienus to counter the 60,000 Gauls with 6 cohorts, only about 3000 men. Clearly Caesar was in dire straights. He was outnumbered overall almost 6 to 1. The orders were to hold the line. Attack only if there is no other choice. Caesar himself has to ride around encouraging his men to hold the line. On the inner wall the Gauls have forced the Romans back. Caesar and 13 cohorts drive them back. Then he takes these men to aid Labienus. Labienus sends Caesar a message that his line is crumbling and that he must attack. Caesar quickly speeds off. It seems that the Romans were relying on their shields and javelins. When Caesar reached Labienus all the troops on that side of the wall saw him in his scarlet cape. A shout of attack went up, probably to aid their General who was in grave danger, to attack. The Romans drew the Gladius short sword and slaughter the Gauls. Then the Gauls see the cavalry that has followed Caesar and panic. Then they begin to run. The Roman cavalry cuts the fleeing Gauls into bits. 74 Gallic standards are captured and brought to Caesar. The Gauls flee their camp a mile away. Caesar says that he's sure that he could have killed all the Gauls if his troops hadn't been so exhausted. At midnight the cavalry goes out again and attack the fleeing Gauls. Only a fraction seems to have escaped. The Gauls on the inside had to give up their attack. The following day, Vercingetorix sent word of his surrender to Caesar. Cannibalism was probably being done in Alesia. Caesar ordered that Vercingetorix surrender the chiefs of Gaul and their weapons to him. Vercingetorix himself, in his best armor, rode out to Caesar, dismounted, and sat quietly at Caesar's feet. He was then led away, to Rome.

Vercingetorix would have no mercy. He was to rot in prison until Caesar could celebrate his triumph, which Caesar must have hoped would be the next year. After the battle, Caesar marched south to the lands of the Aedui and recovered it. He also made peace with Vercingetorix's own tribe, the Arveni. Caesar decided of course to winter in Gaul, at Bibracte. He posted his legions at various points:

"he orders Titus Labienus to march into the [country of the] Sequani with two legions and the cavalry, and to him he attaches Marcus Sempronius Rutilus; he places Caius Fabius, and Lucius Minucius Basilus, with two legions in the country of the Remi, lest they should sustain any loss from the Bellovaci in their neighborhood. He sends Caius Antistius Reginus into the [country of the] Ambivareti, Titus Sextius into the territories of the Bituriges, and Caius Caninius Rebilus into those of the Ruteni, with one legion each. He stations Quintus Tullius Cicero, and Publius Sulpicius among the Aedui at Cabillo and Matisco on the Saone, to procure supplies of corn."

Caesar wouldn't have time to rest. The Gauls wouldn't give up. They decided on a "revolt everywhere and tire out the Romans into retreating from Gaul". Not likely. Caesar left Marcus Antonius in charge of the fort at Bibracte, and on the 29th of December (October 13th or so) he sped of on horseback with a cavalry guard for the 13th legion in the territory of the Bituriges. He joins the 13th with the 11th legion and marches with 18 cohorts to the heart of the Bituriges' lands. Caesar was able to march his troops around more quickly that the Bituriges could organize. In 40 days he forced them to submit. He was back in Bibracte on February 10, 51 BC (December 1 or so). Caesar promised his men more money for their hardships and dedication. 200 Sesterces per legionary, 2000 per Centurion. The Bituriges then asked for Caesar's help in fighting the Carnutes. On March 1 (December 18 or around there), Caesar takes the 14th and 6th legions on a campaign in the middle of winter. The Carnutes don't put up much of a fight and the Romans basically hunt them like animals, plundering and killing. Their lands are abandoned to the Romans. Caesar places Caius (Gaius) Trebonius with two legions in the town of Genabum to garrison the area. Next Caesar learns that the Gauls are raising another army and threatened the ally of a Roman ally, the Remi. The rebels were the Bellovaci tribe. Caesar gathers 4 legions together to fight them in the lands of the Suessiones. The legions were the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 11th.

Now lets look at the situation. Back in Rome in 51 BC, Caesar's position back in Rome was under threat. Although the tribunes of the people would hold the government at bay, eventually Caesar would have to use something other than political skill to hold any power after his term ended. So the reporting of a prolonged campaign in the middle of winter was a kind of way of telling the senators in Rome that "I have one hell of an army, you better keep me happy". So it was basically now up to Caesar to finish his Gallic wars and solidify support before he could try to gain a second Consulship.

Caesar learned of the rebel's plans from captured Gauls. Caesar marched his 4 legions quickly. He arrived at the enemy's position sooner than the Gauls hoped. The Gauls were on defendable high ground with a deep gorge between them and refused to move. Caesar responded by building a strong legionary camp, so that his men could leave to find food while leaving a small garrison. He also did this to goat the Gauls to fight. Caesar himself says that his men were beaten back in small fighting, and that the foragers, who had to steal food from private houses, were ambushed and killed. 500 German cavalry joined the now elated Gauls. For several days Caesar waited, it must have been very cold. He wrote to his other commanders to come with 3 legions. He had the allied Gallic cavalry aid his forages. he had the legions come to him by forced marches. Clearly, Caesar's temper was melting the snow and his patience disappearing. It got worse when the Remi cavalry were annihilated, their leader, Vertiscus, an old man, was captured. The Roman allied German cavalry was able to hold off the Gauls for a few more days. Now the Gauls learned that Gaius Trebonius is approaching with 3 legions. Fearing an Alesia like situation, they evacuate the unarmed people and supplies from their camp at night. Caesar didn't want a general battle on the steep hill, but fight on more favorable ground. He built a plank bridge over the swamp that was nearby, marched his troops over it and onto another hill where he could use his siege engines; ballistas, catapults and onagers. The Gauls were forced to hold and take the punishment. Caesar reports that the barbarians decided to retreat by setting fire to long lines of straw in front of them at night. It worked. Caesar was unable to follow them at any great pace. The smoke and flames scared the cavalry. The Gauls had carts to carry their supplies, the Roman soldier carried much of his. The Gauls were able to retreat unharmed for 10 miles. They were able to kill many of the Roman soldiers hunting for food. Caesar learns of the intentions of the enemy General, Correus, from a prisoner. The idea was that 6000 Gauls and 1000 cavalry would ambush the legions in an area with more food. It seems that the winter was ending now, so the calendar was probably late April now, but around the February 15 by season. These men attacked the vanguard of the Roman column and were defeated after a hard fight. The Romans fought with the idea of Caesar seeing them pounding the enemy into dust. Correus died in the fight. This battle seems to have taken the heart out of the Gauls. Comius the Atrebatian, another man who raised revolts and evaded Caesar, fled to the Germans, but many of them surrendered. All the tribes sent hostages to Caesar, hoping for mercy. Comius didn't show up because Titus Labienus tried to kill him 1 1/2 years earlier while Caesar was in Cisalpine Gaul. He was badly wounded and made a promise to never be near a Roman. Caesar believed that he had tired Gaul into submission and spent the coming months sending his legions far and wide to stamp out any resistance. He laid waste the lands of Ambiorix, who he fought before. Caesar says his men burnt, pillaged, and raped. He sent Labienus to destroy the lands of Treviri, near the Rhine. The lieutenant Caius Caninius had to defeat a Gallic army that had been besieging the town of Limonum, on the lower Loire valley. Caius Caninius wrote to Caius Fabius to help out. Fabius was able to correctly guess the path of the Gauls and managed to successfully attack their rear, capturing much treasure. The next day Fabius used his cavalry to lure the Gauls to fight and soon came up with his legions and killed 12,000 men. He captured all their supplies. Then the Gauls try to march to attack the Roman province of Transalpine Gaul. Caius Caninius went with his 2 legions to catch them. Caius Fabius went off to reconquer the Carnutes and other tribes near the Atlantic. Caninius chased the Gauls south to the fort of Uxellodunum, in southeast Aquitaine. This place, like Gergovia, was on the edge of the Central Massif. Drapes and Luterius, the leader of the Gauls, realized that they had put themselves into another Alesia like position. Caninius decides to make 3 strong camps and join them with walls to hold them in. Luterius had survived Alesia. So Drapes and Luterius left 2000 men and took 3000 men to gather lots of food. They did just that. In the meantime Caninius decided to surround the entire town with a wall. Drapes and Luterius tried to get the corn into the town but were so noisy that the Romans found them and attacked the baggage train and took no prisoners. Luterius barely got away. Caninius found out where Drapes was camped, marched a legion there and with German cavalry, captured or killed them all. Drapes was taken alive. Caninius returned and completed his works, and one day later, Caius Fabius shows up with his men to help. They each took a side of the town to besiege. These events all took place in the spring and summer of 51 BC. Caesar now was touring around Gaul securing loyalty. When he reached the Carnutes, he had one of their leaders, Guturvatus, whipped to death and beheaded. Here Caesar learns of what his lieutenants have been up to. He decided that the siege of Uxellodunum would be the event that was to show that Caesar would tolerate rebellion no longer. He had 2 legions with him and ordered Quintus Calenus to march them normally behind him, while he rushed to Uxellodunum with the cavalry. Caninius and Fabius and their men didn't seem to be expecting Caesar, but Caesar must have been proud of what they did.

Caesar decided to use the topography and his siege engines to keep the people of the Uxellodunum form getting water, except from one place. Caesar had siege works put near this source, a large spring, and many in Uxellodunum died of thirst. But the Gauls cleverly managed to fire bomb the Roman siege works and Caesar made the appearance of attacking the walls and managed to render the spring useless to the town. The townsmen were so astonished that they believed, according to Caesar, that the gods had intervened. The town capitulated. Caesar made an example of them. The date of this is hard to determine. But it was in midsummer because Caesar spent as he says, "the latter part of summer" marching through Aquitaine, where he had never been. So the siege was most likely in July by season, September the calendar. Aquitaine did whatever he wanted. In the fall he marched to Narbo in Transalpine Gaul. He then placed his soldiers for winter quarters in the following matter:

"He posted four legions in the country of the Belgae, under Marcus Antonius, Caius Trebonius, Publius Vatinius, and Quintus Tullius, his lieutenants. Two he detached to the Aedui, knowing them to have a very powerful influence throughout all Gaul. Two he placed among the Turoni, near the confines of the Carnutes, to keep in awe the entire tract of country bordering on the ocean; the other two he placed in the territories of the Lemovices, at a small distance from the Arverni, that no part of Gaul might be without an army."

Caesar settled all affairs in Narbo in a few days. He returned to his legions among the Belgae and wintered at Nemetocenna. He spent the winter of 51/50 BC gaining support of the chiefs of Gaul by making overtures of friendship. Realistically, he was offering the carrot after 8 years of delivering the stick, hard. Gaul had been exhausted. So ended the Gallic Wars. Caesar had killed almost 1.2 million people, and enslaved hundreds of thousands. No Roman had ever enslaved and killed so many people before.

Of all the Romans who led wars of conquest, none before or since matched the scope of Caesar. He knew the mistakes of those who came before him, but those who lived after Caesar never achieved his level as a General. For this is why his military achievements are remembered above all others who conquered in the name of the Roman people.